Superman's lesson in the complicated world of benign intervention and global politics

[superboyprime]

Comments

[thatnickguy]

Interesting how Superman in New Frontier was completely shocked when Wonder Woman did this very same thing.

[theflames]

I found that pretty funny. She was in the right at the time.

For some reason, I'm not so sure here.

[jlbarnett]

they used this plot a couple of times in Star Trek right? The outsider makes provides weapons to the other side.

[maseiken]

Colloquially known as Arms Trafficking, yes.

[majingojira]

Oh god, it's a Prime Directive episode!

[venatosapiens]

This is a miserably bad interpretation of Superman's morality, and the fact that his response here to a dictator is to foment a violent revolution betrays JMS' absolute lack of understanding of the character.

Why this is being published I haven't the foggiest.

[sir_razorback]

Because it fits exactly in place with the latest DC mindset?

[adam_sherman]

This is indeed fairly out of character for Superman...

But is it wrong that I actually think this is kind of awesome anyway?

[glimmung]

Wow, this is fucking abhorrent.

The last thing Africa needs is another insurgency.

[sadoeuphemist]

Point of fact: this isn't Africa, it's "the island nation of Borada." Borada also happens to be a town in Ghana, but whatevs.

[lilacsigil]

Arming the rebels because you don't like the government? Yeah, that's never been tried before.

[an_idol_mind]

Sometimes I have to wonder about comic book morality. In this example, Superman's code prevents killing, but he seems to be fine with putting guns in the hands of people who will kill many people and ultimately execute that dictator. It seems like Superman is passing sentence on the guy but just doesn't want the blood directly on his hands.

[lilacsigil]

I agree. Superman has been generally shown to be against anyone killing anyone, even in extreme circumstances, so arming people and directly causing the deaths of their opponents (as well as starting an almost certainly futile war which will cost many more lives) is just wrong. I can actually see some other characters - Wonder Woman springs to mind - deciding that being equally matched is more important than the warriors' lives lost, arming the rebels and then going to protect civilians, but not Superman.

[crinos]

I recall the Hypothetical Woman storyline where their response to a tinpot dictator was to just grab him, drag him out of his own country, and leave him marooned somewhere.

Of course it didn't work, like at all, but it was a nice effort.

Also I remember that one story where that new guy Antaeus (I think that was his name) went and killed that dictator, only to discover that doing it caused a civil war which caused more death and destruction than when the guy was in power.

[majingojira]

Didn't they also only go in to that country on behalf of the UN?

And then he out maneuvered them politically by guaranteeing clemency in a neighboring nation.

That was a good story overall. It had Wonder Woman taking on a conventional Army solo. And baking for the Justice League -- to their shock and fear.

[mrstatham]

Oh superhero comics, you really shouldn't toy with ideas you can't even hope to begin explaining in a mature and confident fashion. This is like a two year old's solution to getting rid of a warlord, and the warlord himself is a complete cliche right out of some shitty movie.

[theflames]

Agreed. Simply agreed.

[kingofmadcows]

Well, this could be the beginning of the Justice Lords.

[theflames]

So, this definitely isn't Superman. Not even Superdick.


There's alternate takes on characters, then different characters altogether.

Also, I really hate when they make him do the 'eye-glowy' thing, its the equivalent of brandishing a gun when you take his powers into account. I'm not a fan of having Superman distinctly use fear (or suggestion of violence, in this case, with laser eyes) to get his way.

[majingojira]

I think this may be "Bearded Idiot" from "Superman at Earth's End" before he got the beard.

[hopeofdawn]

Did the NRA sponsor this storyline? 'Cause that's what it feels like to me ...

[mrosa]

It's like they gave The Spectre's personality and lines to Superman. Holy fucking shit, is this a poorly-written Superman...

[silicondream]

This reminds me of that Adventure-Era Legion story where they travel back in time and end up fomenting Earth's (prehistoric) first world war. Except it's worse.

[ap0cryphal]

this is...goddamn infantile. and it's infantile in a way that's very specific to self-identified first-world "liberal" / "progressive" shitbags.

JMS is sure doing an aces job of retroactively poisoning any fond memories i may have had about anything he's ever written. i'm starting to feel bad for liking babylon five, among other

aside: why is JMS reusing that shitty scene from Supreme Power?

Politics

[blue_bolt]

I'm fairly certain that the Superman in name only in this comic isn't being progressive or liberal whatsoever. He's armed insurgents and pretty much overthrown the government. That's not progressive liberal, that's (as you aptly put) "shitbag."

[akodo_rokku]

I look forward to the day when "Superman: Earth One" actually has Superman in it.

[mortimerwclankitybritches]

For the love of christ... out of the literally thousands of ways they could of had superman use his powers to overthrow a bloody dictator they went with him funding and leading a fecking insurrection?! and then fucking gloat over the deaths he is causing and will continue to cause!?

If he is ok with that then why not just show him personally evicerate this guy? its not as if its any better than intentionally causing his death and taunting him about it

[nate_abril96]

I also hate this scene, and think that it is in no way anything Superman; however, can you please explain to me another way that "Super-Guy" (I refuse to call him Superman) could have overthrew this dictator. Because personally, I can't think of any.

[lakrids404]

the quiet american

[mrosa]

I think it's great that you need fucking eidetic memory to remember a cliché like "Who has the guns makes the rules." Fuck you, Superman, I don't need superpowers, I can memorise that from all the times I read it in trash fiction... like the one you're poorly stuck in.

[mastermahan]

I see JMS is still writing Superman with the same nuance and moral understanding he brought to Grounded.

[benuben]

Ok, is it just me, or does that guy looks a lot like that general from For Tomorrow? You know, the one who was actual character, not some cliche evil overlord. Say what you want about that story, but it sure as hell handled this sort of thing better.