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The trope of fearing the superhumans

Accelerator

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So what's your opinion on this?

I mean, I'm thinking of Justice League Unlimited, where Cadmus is created, and basically makes their own superhumans to face down the League. The attack on the Watchtower fails, and it turns out they were wrong... but they make some salient points. The League had a gigantic orbital weapon pointed down at earth. They answered to none but themselves. They had the most insane concentration of metahuman might known on the planet, capable of matching the entirety of the world. Their existence raises tough questions and other kinds of issues.

So what's your take on it?
 
The thing to note about the DCAU's version of Cadmus is that you can see the logic of why they were created and why they're doing what they're doing.

DCAU Earth has been subjected to three different alien invasions in less than a decade by the time they appear, one involved a brainwashed Superman and another it turned out Hawkgirl was an undercover agent for the alien military doing the invading. Plus Cadmus had knowledge of at least one alternate reality where the Justice League took control of the world and became the Justice Lords.

As far as the trope goes I enjoy it when it's done right. The wrong people getting super powers makes for an interesting plot and watching how the world deals with them.

If people just randomly started gaining super powers strong or useful enough to subvert societal order and/or disrupt government monopoly of force we'd probably be looking at the world degrading into some form of feudalism.
 
Yeah. That's kinda why I liked irredeemable. Plutonian had the power... But not the emotional stability.

Which makes things all the more interesting. Most people aren't combat trained. Or very smart. Or experienced in politics.

We've always had superman and captain America be a good guy. I mean, ignoring all the cliches of him turning evil. But what if the power was given to neo nazis? Or like Gallagher. Or hell, what if captain America had realistic values for the 1920s?
 
People in charge of the secret government programs to counter the superheroes also aren't answering to anyone but themselves, not even to government that established them.
Yeah. But they're nominally commanded by the government. And can be used for other things, like, you know, domestic superhumans willing to obey the government.
 
Yeah. But they're nominally commanded by the government. And can be used for other things, like, you know, domestic superhumans willing to obey the government.
Theoretically. They were usually founded to get superheroes answering to government, but ended up being their own organization that usually ends up causing problems instead of solving them. No one elected them, no one can order them around, not even their own governments. What a waste of taxpayer money.
 
Theoretically. They were usually founded to get superheroes answering to government, but ended up being their own organization that usually ends up causing problems instead of solving them. No one elected them, no one can order them around, not even their own governments. What a waste of taxpayer money.
I believe the term is called regulatory capture.
 
Nah that is purely authorial fiat.

If the government is not a corrupt, fascist mess with an incredibly entrenched deep state the creation of things like the X-men or Justice league would have been a non-starter
 
Nah that is purely authorial fiat.

If the government is not a corrupt, fascist mess with an incredibly entrenched deep state the creation of things like the X-men or Justice league would have been a non-starter
Because they'll have been Co opted?
 
Because they'll have been Co opted?

you bet your ass they would have been coopted. At least the Super/Mega mutants. There would have been no wasting of billions upon billions on building giant flying robots to be certain.

I mean the comics even had Canada of all place be uber fascist distopia complete with secret mutant experimentation bases.

Nix that. Every single country in the marvel/dc comicverse makes 1600s Salem seem like a reasonable place. Oh and the dichotomy of millions of people cheering whenever Superman or Spiderman or whatever othe hero of the day showed up BUT there were always lynch mobs eager to kill harmless mutants on the spot or elect the most fascistoid of politicians.
 
Huh. You ever read irredeemable?
I live in the real world instead.
you bet your ass they would have been coopted. At least the Super/Mega mutants. There would have been no wasting of billions upon billions on building giant flying robots to be certain.

I mean the comics even had Canada of all place be uber fascist distopia complete with secret mutant experimentation bases.

Nix that. Every single country in the marvel/dc comicverse makes 1600s Salem seem like a reasonable place. Oh and the dichotomy of millions of people cheering whenever Superman or Spiderman or whatever othe hero of the day showed up BUT there were always lynch mobs eager to kill harmless mutants on the spot or elect the most fascistoid of politicians.
My headcanon is that in the rest of the world, metahumans are properly integrated into the system, like Chinese, Russian or Italian supers working alongside the government peacefully and with proper uniforms instead of spandex.
 
Their would be valid concern. Of course every comic and film seems to have anyone who expresses concern. Be turned into a straw man who immediately goes to the most idiotic extreme. And goes out of their way to alienate the people their concerned about. Instead of you know hiring them. How to deal with supervillains I don't know super cops? No No well go with sentinels won't that Turn the entire mutant population against us? But how else would we deal with mutans criminals. I don't know in a way that doesn't turn them all into criminals?
 
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So how would world landscape change if, say, some small country got a Thor equivalent or the equal to Superman?
 
Really, the deep, core bit of these tropes is simple: replacement. Humans don't take being replaced well, as in at all. Why do you think Luddites and xenophobia are things? That deep, core part of human nature of being replaced goes off and fucks everything.
 
Really, the deep, core bit of these tropes is simple: replacement. Humans don't take being replaced well, as in at all. Why do you think Luddites and xenophobia are things? That deep, core part of human nature of being replaced goes off and fucks everything.
Yes, but in this case, the superheroes not only can come from the general population, 90% literally are from the general population.
 
What kind of instinct? Yes, fear of being replaced, but also, awe at the fact that someone will also get these powers?
Instinct doesn't care if 90% of the supers are from the common man, it cares if it is set off.
 
Because people were losing their livelihoods and didn't like it?
Because they were getting replaced with machines. The instinct doesn't care what is replacing them, it only cares about the idea of being replaced.
 
Really, the deep, core bit of these tropes is simple: replacement. Humans don't take being replaced well, as in at all. Why do you think Luddites and xenophobia are things? That deep, core part of human nature of being replaced goes off and fucks everything.
And I would no problem with this if It was nuanced. I have often found the problem being a race thing to be utterly bizarre? Why not class? IE companies preferring to hire people with superpowers rather then normal people. Or Rich people buying super powers? Because some superpowered people can do the job of ten or a hundred normals. Instead we get magneto who can't tell the difference between hitler using Jews as scapegoats for societal problem and normal people being justifiably afraid of mutants and them actually causing some problems.
 
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