Woo, the early 20th century, when everything was awesome!

[seriousfic]

Look, guys, Superman started off as a vaguely socialist vigilante (socialist means "arresting people who are breaking the law," right?) and Wonder Woman started off as a walking bondage fetish. Who cares if those are traits that have been phased out through decades of storytelling and experimentation, to become a character that is "popular" or "recognizable"? Every character should be like they are the very first time they're presented. That's why everyone hates shows where characters grow and change. Mention "character development" to any writer, you'll be lucky to get out of there without a split lip. Why do you think people watch Glee?

So, Batman should clearly kill criminals, with guns, and not have a Robin, since that's the way he started out. And James Bond should hate women, gays, and minorities, since that's the way he started out.

Comments

[mcity.livejournal.com]

Also, he already had enough information for the cops to indict. So there was literally, no reason for Superman to do this, besides his evident enjoyment.

Also, Morrison has stated, in interviews, that he honestly believes Superman is right in what he does. That's right, Morrison thinks Superman should drop suspects off of buildings to scare them for his own sadistic pleasure. This isn't "entering stories", this is the writer's openly stated intent. I don't think anyone should stick their fingers in their ears about it.

[jlbarnett.livejournal.com]

okay. I don't generally go searching for interviews and such for info on creators. But I still think it's "entering the story"

Superman is a great deal different from real world people. He can catch the people he drops off buildings with no harm to them. He the most reliable witness in the world. It just seems like a lot of trouble to empathize with a character that is shown no positive traits. It's like "oh, he's a human being, he must have this or that, or whatever." But it's fiction. They're created characters. The guy could be a bigger monster than the devil. And within the confines of the story he's probably feeling as close to the helplessness he'd inflict on others right there at that moment.