Posted on 04/29/2007 10:45:10 AM PDT by 68skylark
The reason Marvel Comics’ Captain America could fight the Nazis and Detective Comics’ (DC) Superman couldn’t is because Hitler possessed the Lance of Longinius. According to DC editors, the Lance had mystical powers due to its sacred origin (which was always carefully left vague in the comic books): it caused any superhuman being to become powerless against the one to held it. Thus any attempt by Superman to simply fly to Berlin and kick Hitler’s ass would have resulted in Superman augering in as he crossed the Western Front — over Nazi territory (and, presumably, that of their allies) he would be within the infuence of the Lance and therefore without his super powers. Superman, limited as he was to this side of the Atlantic, supported the war effort by rooting our “Jap-o-teurs”, promoting blood drives, helping the Army and Navy with heavy work (lifting battleship guns, etc.), and of course fighting crime, as did the other Detective Comics superheroes of the era, including the Flash, Wonder Woman, and the original Green Lantern.
As for DC’s non-superpowered heroes, Batman might conceivably have fought, although the current Batman would have been too young for the war (or even unborn at the time, if you count the movie Batman).
Captain America, on the other hand, could and did fight the Nazis of the Marvel universe. Steve Rogers received his powers from a scientific experiment in which he was dosed with a mysterious serum and exposed to “vita-rays” as part of an Army project to create a super-soldier. Since his powers were of a scientific and earthly nature, he would probably have been immune to any mystical anti-superpower force deployed by the enemy. Of course, in the Marvel universe Hitler did not own the Lance of Longinius, so we’ll never know what its effect might have been.
Incidentally, many Marvel heroes fought in World War 2, including Ben “The Thing” Grimm (a USMC fighter pilot), Reed “Mr. Fantastic” Richards (an OSS operative), Namor of Atlantis (the Sub-Mariner) and Nick Fury (leader of the Army’s “Howling Commandos” special operations force).
I have always found DC’s stable of heroes to be more to my liking, especially Superman, but since DC reimagined most of its heroes as young adults during the 1950s and 1960s, they didn’t have much part in the Good War. World War 2 on the DC front was won by the same guys that won it in real life: Sgt. Rock and the boys from Easy Company.
Ooooo! What was the one about the southern tank driver
who was helped by the ghost of Jeb Stewart?
Miller rocks!
Thank God someone in the entertainment business is speaking out of the horrors that we must fight.
Comics books are supposed to be cheap, disposable entertainment. Unfortunately, the comics books of today are almost completely different from those I knew as a kid. DC editors and creators like Julius Schwartz, Elliot S! Maggin, Mort Weisinger, Curt Swan, Dick Giordano and Joe Kubert were real men, grounded in the real world of bills, wars, and family life. Many were also religious, and worked the general concepts of religion into their work.
(To be fair, Marvel had many religious people such as the incomparable Jack "King" Kirby on staff; I used to refer to Marvel as the Jewish comics company and DC as the Catholic comics company.)
Of course Marvel had gods as heroes (e.g. Thor, Hercules), but in the DC world the God existed and even intervened in human affairs on occasion; for example, DC's the Spectre was the Wrath of God personified, and DC's Green Lantern went to Limbo after he died.
(Superman was raised as a Methodist by the Kents; I'm not sure if he still attends.)
Today's American comic books industry is run by a different breed. Many of the big-shots at DC and Marvel are '70s comics fanboys who have, er, a less traditional view of the world than the folks that made the funnybooks before them. Now, there are lots of good people that work in the U.S. comics industry today, and there were plenty of drunks, wifebeaters, and crazy people making comics back in the old days; the difference between today's comics creators and those of the past is that back in the old days the drunkenness, violence, and insanity were not celebrated in the pages of the books.
Case in point: The hottest creator in comics today — and I mean the absolute darling of comic fans and New York literary critics alike — is a bearded Brit known for "his signature themes...: information overload; cynical, burnt-out adventurers with hidden streaks of compassion and even sentimentality; the erosion of conventional societal taboos; posthuman technology run amok; a dysfunctional relationship between, on the one hand, human consciousness and, on the other, technology and culture; the exploration of the inherent contradictions of transhuman philosophy; protagonists with substance addiction problems; an urgent desire for utopia in the face of overwhelming dystopian trends; and an outrageously extreme sense of humour". He had a big success a few years ago with a series about a team of "uncompromising left-wing superheroes" who take over the world and impose their version of Utopia upon it; and another in which "homosexual doppelgangers of Superman and Batrman" fight against the government which discriminates against their love. So much for Truth, Justice, and the American Way.
Anyway, I mostly write for a living these days. I'm planning on doing some comics again in the near future, but I doubt it'll be for any company that publishes American superhero comics. Sic transit gloria mundi.
That was just a cover story. Superman was actually Jewish but had to pretend to be Methodist since they were unable to circumcise him.
the infowarrior
Personally, I'd consider that a compliment, being dissed by Hollyweird I mean.
I have yet to see the movie but I liked this scene from the trailers I saw. A co-worker said anyone who stands next to a pit with his back to it, deserves to be kicked into it.
Frank Miller isn’t a conservative-— he’s more like a Christopher Hitchens type in that he’s a leftist who reacted with clear sight to 9/11.
In “Dark Knight” for instance, he displays the usual leftist take on Ronald Reagan, portraying him as a hapless (though grasping and corrupt) twit.
ping
The Liberal Left in America is sliding closer and closer to outright Nazism with each passing day, now.
In just the last few days, we’ve had Democrats calling for Special Squads to carry out National Gun Confiscation, Thought Crimes Legislation that carry’s a life sentance for speaking out against gays, etc.,etc....
I’d say the Dems are “Over-reaching”, but the leftist media is FIRMLY behind them, and the sheeple haven’t got a clue...
ping
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.