Action Comic #8 Up Up And Away!

[superfangirl1]

Comments

Re: SPOILER

[jlroberson]

Right, the fundamental difference in Marvel and DC's moral outlooks. In DC, morality is inherent and black and white(and superheroes are an aristocracy). In Marvel, morality is relative to who you are and shifts all the time, and is more a matter of free will divided by circumstance.

The latter of which is more like the world of the last 50 years than DC ever is.

By the way, going back and looking, I see now that what he in fact did was LOBOTOMIZE Brainiac and enslave him, and steal his ship. (with all those collections, for which he's the new jailer!) Isn't this...what Ultraman did in Morrison's EARTH 2?

Re: SPOILER

[lascoden]

I don't think Marvel and DC are that different. I would say that the Marvel superhero world is even more of an aristocracy then the DC, for one. And despite the fact that they often claim they're events are shades of grey, most aren't. CW wasn't, they said outright that Pro-Reg was right. They've said the same about AvX. Dark Reign and Siege sure as hell weren't, though they didn't really claim that with Siege.

Re: SPOILER

[jlroberson]

Actually ONE side said pro-reg was right. I seem to recall Captain America and some others taking issue with that, and that kind of being the engine on which the whole thing ran, that conflict. So I really don't know what you mean there.

Re: SPOILER

[lascoden]

Oh, I thought we were talking about the publisher's outlook, not the in-story character's. Sorry, I talking about a more meta context, I guess. Sorry.

Re: SPOILER

[jlroberson]

I'm just saying that's the general bent of the two companies, at least as far as their main lines. Those are angles on it you see recur. The advantage of this for Marvel is that as it's in constant flux it doesn't usually need to reboot like DC does(and when it does it's very jarring). DC is less flexible. But I mean, DC has always been about the black and white morality(Morrison has approached it when at DC as a conscious cosmology, which is how it was treated in the 60s JLA: Comics Code as mystical worldview, and good always wins, a phrase you heard at DC all the time but that would have been insanely corny at Marvel)--it's something that makes it really noticeable when they deviate from it.

Re: SPOILER

[lascoden]

Honest question: How do you feel about stories with black and white morality? I know quite a few people who hate the concept because they find it unrealistic. Do you prefer grey morality stories, or have no opinion either way?

Re: SPOILER

[jlroberson]

I want what makes a convincing story, and to have a black and white morality in a story is limiting, lacks verisimilitude, and pretty much negates suspense, doesn't it? And the only serious point of doing that anyway, beyond just lack of imagination on the part of a writer, is to arrive at a conclusion that's largely preordained.

So I'd probably favor a more organic approach. I don't really think of it as an either/or issue, more of bad vs. good writing. But this is me also speaking as a creator. It's just that idea is artificial and kind of boring. I didn't even really care for it when Morrison made use of it.

But saying that's how DC is is not necessarily criticism of DC, just characterization. For good or ill, they are often in the B/W realm and when they deviate from it, it's noticeable.

Re: SPOILER

[arbre_rieur]

Well, remember how this issue ends, the final page.

Now remember the final page of EARTH 2. "12 o'clock, Brainiac. All's well," as Ultraman looks down on Earth.

Re: SPOILER

[jlroberson]

Oh dear goddamn god.

This backs up my hypothesis this is really Superboy Prime, you know. (which explains why he smiles like he's getting away with something. And REALLY explains his characterization over in JUSTICE LEAGUE)

Re: SPOILER

[arbre_rieur]

Argh, in the first sentence, that should be "final page before the brief epilogue," which I forgot about.