Ferguson Based Superman Comic Sets Hero Against Cops
The newest Superman comic, already on stands, has taken a controversial but refreshing look at heroism by setting the superhero against police.
Those familiar with Superman, which is pretty much everybody who is able to read this, are used to seeing the comic hero fighting against bad guys. For 88 years now he has taken everyone from petty street crooks to the most insane villains imaginable. And almost alwasy with the blessing of or on the behalf of law enforcement. But times are changing, and as police have become the new focus of criminal behavior, it is only natural that the new villains would be behind a badge.
The new issue comes from the minds of Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder, who have imagined a much darker story for arguably the world’s most iconic superhero. The comic has been making waves for its controversial theme as the parallels to the riots in Ferguson and St. Louis are impossible to ignore.
In the issue, Clark Kent’s secret identity has been revealed, he has been stripped of most of his powers and he’s ditched his tights. Instead, Kent wears just a T-shirt and jeans, along with tatters of his Superman cape over his fists.
The downtrodden hero returns to a town that is fearful of him. Although a group of his supporters decide to celebrate his return, the police department soon arrives to break up the party. One of his supporters gets unruly, the police get angry, and before long, a full blown riot breaks out. The comic ends with Superman punching a police officer in the face.
The comic has drawn heavy ire from the conscience-less scum bags in police unions and other police supporters who think that LEO’s are above not only the law, but social criticism and constitutionally protected free speech that is skeptical of law enforcement.
Other critics have lambasted the comic for basing the events on those in the real world, however, Superman comics have been using real issues in their pages since the beginning, as do most comic books of any social value or longevity.
“[Some of] the earliest stories involve [Superman] fighting corrupt landlords and businesses and that was to give depression era people something [to relate to],” he said. “When you look back it’s not surprising that he became popular when there was no real world hero to look up to.” said Dimitrios Fragiskatos, the manager of Midtown Comics in New York City.
As police corruption, misconduct, brutality and killings become more common, or at least more visible, it is likely that many of the entertainment and news mediums that once put police on a pedestal will begin to portray them in a different light. One that is more reflective of what we are finding to be true, that cops are the supervillains.
Supervillains are often used as foils and could present a daunting challenge to the superhero. In instances where the supervillain does not have superhuman, mystical, or alien powers, the supervillain may possess a genius intellect or a skill set that allows him or her to draft complex schemes or commit crimes in a way normal humans cannot. Other traits may include a megalomaniac streak and possession of considerable resources to help further their aims. Many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real world dictators, mobsters, and terrorists, with aspirations of world domination or universal leadership.
*Possess superhuman (powers beyond normal human ken) powers- check
*Commit crimes in a way that normals humans cannot- check
*Megalomaniac streak- check
*Possession of considerable resources to further their aims- check
*aspirations of domination- check
Well, I guess since I have already explored how law enforcement fits the definition of a terrorist group, it should be no surprise they also fit the supervillain description.
Let me leave you with a comment I shared recently with a copsucker…
Sometimes the world is such a scary place that we tell ourselves that if we try to appear to be on the side of the scariest things and people of all, maybe they won’t hurt us. And when we see other people get ravaged by the scary things, we scream and yell, “Don’t poke the scary things!”
Inside we hope that the scary things will hear us and spare us their terror. And we become angry at those who are less afraid, because they remind us of how powerless we are in our fear. Then as the scarier things get scarier, we stop blaming the scary things for being scary, and instead blame the fearless. It is a last desperate effort to clutch to the only pretense of safety we have ever believed in.
But it is a delusion. The scary things don’t care if you have supported them. They are scary things, and caring about the scared is not really what they do.
And the world will continue to be a scary place full of scary things, and the scary things will feed from our fear and grow.
But if we just stopped being afraid, if we refused to be scared, there would be nothing for the scary things to feed on, and we can replace their space with the beautiful things we came to this scary place to create.Together…
