"To undermine the fundamental appeal of superheroes like Superman and Supergirl by re-casting them as anti-heroes at best or outright monsters - dragging imaginary childhood paragons off their pedestals to reinforce a fairly facile point about the tendency of real world heroes to exhibit feet of clay, struck me and strikes me still as imaginatively lazy."
To add: this "power corrupts" approach to Superman makes about as much sense as claiming that Batman, who not only has mastered the most advanced forms of meditation, but reconciled his shadow self by using it as a symbol, is this miserable, depressed lunatic who constantly has to reign himself in while exacting justice in case he "crosses THAT line"... All of which implies that he is in fact, worse than us. Not better.
the comment made on the grimmer variantions of beloved fantasy tales resonates so deeply. it's exhausting seeing people try to make a statement and bring "edgey-ness" to the genre in such a soulless way. the need for writers to change a hero's morals for the sake of putting fascists on a pedestal in this way only works in a fascist's favor. thank you for continuing to defend our faith in the "Good" eventually overcoming "Evil" in a world where it already runs rampant-- even if you were unfortunately tricked into doing weekly issues again.
So many excellent quotes in this post. I'm with Damon, I really wish more writers would pay attention to the things you're saying here about how superhero comics should work.
Better observations on superheroes, and the choices made behind the scenes regarding them, in one (two?) newsletters than I’ve seen anywhere else in years.
'I wanna pick someone who's kind of The Opposite of Superman, but also [just] as powerful; so, his having telepathic powers and telekinetic powers and as opposed to physical powers, unlike Superman, kind of represents (for me) 'Okay, I was a guy who was picked-on -- so, in my head, I'm looking at people that were picking on me, and going "I WISH YOU WOULD DIE! I WISH YOU WOULD DIE! I WISH YOU WOULD DIE", and one day they finally DID --
This, I think, is a pretty relatable kind of Dark Fantasy that •most• people have, so -- Manchester IS That Guy.
Manchester's upbringing was very dark -- he comes from an abusive home where there's just Him and His Sister.
His Sister is a bit of a source Hope and some Light for him; she's put in a position where she has to work in a Sweat Shop and she loses her arms in an Industrial Accident and that snaps Manchester -- that's when His Powers unleash, that's when he starts executing Bloody Revenge on anybody who's near him, who ever Hurt him, who ever did •anything• to him. He starts to explore what those Powers mean and what they allow him to do.”
Manchester Black matches up perfectly with The Animated Movie version of Manchester Black, who killed His Father (by mistake) to save His Sister — just like Luke Skywalker.
He is Cain —
The Requirements for a Mortal Sin are :
• It must be a Grave Matter
• Committed in Full Knowledge and
• With the Full Consent of The Will.
Cain had no way of knowing what would happen when he hit his beloved brother REALLY HARD in the head with a rock; because nobody had ever died before.
Manchester Black has no way of knowing, by looking REALLY HARD at His Father and thinking “I wish you would die! I wish you would die! I hope you die!” that he actually WOULD — that’s never happened before.
So, he ISN’T a Murderer — he just can’t forgive HIMSELF.
"To undermine the fundamental appeal of superheroes like Superman and Supergirl by re-casting them as anti-heroes at best or outright monsters - dragging imaginary childhood paragons off their pedestals to reinforce a fairly facile point about the tendency of real world heroes to exhibit feet of clay, struck me and strikes me still as imaginatively lazy."
Outstanding.
I genuinely wish every single person writing big superhero comics today would read this. Thank you, Grant!
I cannot adequately express how much I love reading these stories.
Forsooth!
To add: this "power corrupts" approach to Superman makes about as much sense as claiming that Batman, who not only has mastered the most advanced forms of meditation, but reconciled his shadow self by using it as a symbol, is this miserable, depressed lunatic who constantly has to reign himself in while exacting justice in case he "crosses THAT line"... All of which implies that he is in fact, worse than us. Not better.
Utter posh, I say.
the comment made on the grimmer variantions of beloved fantasy tales resonates so deeply. it's exhausting seeing people try to make a statement and bring "edgey-ness" to the genre in such a soulless way. the need for writers to change a hero's morals for the sake of putting fascists on a pedestal in this way only works in a fascist's favor. thank you for continuing to defend our faith in the "Good" eventually overcoming "Evil" in a world where it already runs rampant-- even if you were unfortunately tricked into doing weekly issues again.
Alfred Hitchcock revealed that 3,200 birds were trained for the movie.
He said the ravens were the cleverest, and the seagulls were the most vicious.
…..like Manchester Black.
So many excellent quotes in this post. I'm with Damon, I really wish more writers would pay attention to the things you're saying here about how superhero comics should work.
Better observations on superheroes, and the choices made behind the scenes regarding them, in one (two?) newsletters than I’ve seen anywhere else in years.
Am transfixed.
“Manchester's Origins are all based on, like,
'I wanna pick someone who's kind of The Opposite of Superman, but also [just] as powerful; so, his having telepathic powers and telekinetic powers and as opposed to physical powers, unlike Superman, kind of represents (for me) 'Okay, I was a guy who was picked-on -- so, in my head, I'm looking at people that were picking on me, and going "I WISH YOU WOULD DIE! I WISH YOU WOULD DIE! I WISH YOU WOULD DIE", and one day they finally DID --
This, I think, is a pretty relatable kind of Dark Fantasy that •most• people have, so -- Manchester IS That Guy.
Manchester's upbringing was very dark -- he comes from an abusive home where there's just Him and His Sister.
His Sister is a bit of a source Hope and some Light for him; she's put in a position where she has to work in a Sweat Shop and she loses her arms in an Industrial Accident and that snaps Manchester -- that's when His Powers unleash, that's when he starts executing Bloody Revenge on anybody who's near him, who ever Hurt him, who ever did •anything• to him. He starts to explore what those Powers mean and what they allow him to do.”
-- Joe Kelly
…..or, possibly, Exodus : Gods & Kings.
Exodus and Gladiator are the •exact• same movie — the first 25 minutes are IDENTICAL.
And they are •both• about Tony Scott.
This Manchester Black is •clearly• driven by the exact same forces as Fox Mulder :
Superman : Your Sister --
Did She Make It?
Mister Black : We Don't •All• Get Happy Endings, Superman.
Manchester Black matches up perfectly with The Animated Movie version of Manchester Black, who killed His Father (by mistake) to save His Sister — just like Luke Skywalker.
He is Cain —
The Requirements for a Mortal Sin are :
• It must be a Grave Matter
• Committed in Full Knowledge and
• With the Full Consent of The Will.
Cain had no way of knowing what would happen when he hit his beloved brother REALLY HARD in the head with a rock; because nobody had ever died before.
Manchester Black has no way of knowing, by looking REALLY HARD at His Father and thinking “I wish you would die! I wish you would die! I hope you die!” that he actually WOULD — that’s never happened before.
So, he ISN’T a Murderer — he just can’t forgive HIMSELF.
Well, it’s ‘Gladiator’, isn’t it?
Are You Not Entertained?
Are You NOT Entertained…?
Is This NOT Why You are HERE..?!?
1933 — Evil Superman/FDR
1955 — George Reeves/James Dean/Elvis
1977 — Chris Reeve/Alec Guinness
1999 — Nick Cage/Ewan McGregor
2021 — Superman Emeritus/‘Krypto’ Kent — Son of Kal-El
“Please - What is it, this ‘Junior’..?”
“That’s His Name — ‘Henry Jones Jr.’”
“I prefer ‘Indiana’.”
“ We named The DOG, Indiana..!!”
“The DOG..?!?”
“I have a lot of fond memories of that dog….”
“You are Named after The DOG..!?”
DC would be in a much healthier place if they took a few pointers from Flex Mentallo and Supergods. Absolutely loving these posts!