One Perfect Moment: A question about a Giant Nazi Robot

[proteus_lives]

Greetings True Believers!

This page and panel from Steve Niles' "Giant Monster" has always made me laugh.

A giant monster is rampaging across America and the only thing that can stop it is a giant Nazi robot. But one inquisitive lad has an important question for the government when they launch the robot.

From the mouth of babes......









It so silly but it has always made me chuckle.

Comments

[falseaesop]

Well sure that seems obvious in hindsight... but really are you going to delay your giant robot launch while you drive down to Sherwin Williams for a can of paint. No. You're not. There's a giant switch that needs to be thrown and by god you throw it, swasticas or no.

[crinos]

Honestly it wont even be a problem if the fight takes place in a remote or evacuated area; you can just paint over the Swastika's after the fact and no one is the wiser.

So, where does the robot end up engaging the titular monster?

[proteus_lives]

Downtown L.A.

[crinos]

Ah, well, fuck.

(I set up my first post on the hunch the fight took place in a populated area, and the Shtick Gods have rewarded my faith.)

[blackruzsa]

They could always give the "it's the Chinese symbol for wisdom" reason.

It's a great excuse because it's true.

[fredneil.livejournal.com]

There's no such thing as a great excuse in this situation. If they said that, I'd think they were either a bunch of closet nazis with enough self-awareness to know they should keep their mouth shut about being nazis or a bunch of idiots who don't know what a giant robot covered in swastika would look like in downtown LA.

The only thing that can be said in this situation is "We fucked up."

[blackruzsa]

Or variably, "oh shit".

Honest mistake, really.

[fredneil.livejournal.com]

I guess if they needed a nazi robot to stop a monster right away, they deserved some leeway for being preoccupied. Otherwise, they would have deserved a kick in the head for either of the reasons I suggested.

When something like this happens in real life, either it's a Genya Ravan/Dead Boys type situation and they need to be educated, or they're really ok with nazis and they REALLY need that kick in the head. It's not a honest mistake that's easy to make.

[icon_uk]

Isn't the swastika the wrong way round for the "wisdom" bit?

[blackruzsa]

Wisdom is to the right, peace is to the left, if I remember right.

[nezchan]

From what I gather it's more or less a sun symbol in several cultures, and different cultures use it in different directions. Presumably the Nazis wanted it for similar reasons.

[salad_barbarian]

HAHAHA!

(I'm trying real hard not to wake everyone up with my laughing right now.)

[khamelea]

He's right, like the skull-faceplate and the iron cross don't say "Nazi" enough,

[psychopathicus_rex]

The faceplate can be excused as 'trying to look badass', the cross is... well, it's a cross. True, it's an IRON cross, but then, it's an iron robot - you can always explain it away by bringing up religion. The swastikas are the only things you CAN'T really explain away.

[khamelea]

Sadly enough, I was trying to be funny. I was commenting on the overall Naziesque appearance of the robot without intending to make a serious argument regarding considerations of its public image.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Oh, I know. I guess I just meant that it actually doesn't look too far off from a lot of presumably-non-nazi people's 'badass intimidating giant robot' designs' - people tend to go overboard on these things.

[espanolbot]

It's a Hindu robot.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Could work, except for the fact that the swastikas are the wrong way around. I suppose you could indignantly state that the guy who painted them on was dyslexic, and how DARE you criticize the poor man's work; hasn't he suffered enough already? Must you add to his pain? IT'S A CRUEL AND SAVAGE WORLD OUT THERE FOR DYSLEXIC GIANT ROBOT SYMBOL PAINTERS! HAVE SOME SYMPATHY!

[proteus_lives]

Mecha-Shiva! Mecha-Shiva!