“The best thing we can do with power is give it away” - On the leftist critique of superhero narratives as authoritarian power fantasies:
The ongoing “Jason Todd is a cop” debate has reminded me of a brilliant brief image essay by Joey deVilla. So here it is, images first and the full essay text below:
“A common leftist critique of superhero comics is that they are inherently anti-collectivist, being about small groups of individuals who hold all the power, and the wisdom to wield that power.
I don’t disagree with this reading. I don’t think it’s inaccurate. Superheroes are their own ruling class, the concept of the übermensch writ large.
But it’s a sterile reading. It examines superhero comics as a cold text, and ignores something that I believe in fundamental, especially to superhero storytelling: the way people engage with text. Not what it says, but how it is read.
The average comic reader doesn’t fantasize about being a civilian in a world of superheroes, they fantasize about being a superhero. One could charitably chalk this up to a lust for power, except for one fact…
The fantasy is almost always the act of helping people. Helping the vulnerable, with no reward promised in return.
Being a century into the genre, we’ve seen countless subversions and deconstructions of the story.
But at its core, the superhero myth is about using the gifts you’ve been given to enrich the people around you, never asking for payment, never advancing an ulterior motive.
We should (and do) spend time nitpicking these fantasies, examining their unintended consequences, their hypocrisies.
But it’s worth acknowledging that the most eduring childhood fantasy of the last hundred years hasn’t been to become rich. Superheroes come from every class (don’t let the MCU fool you).
The most enduring fantasy is to become powerful enough to take the weak under your own wing. To give, without needing to take.
So yes, the superhero myth, as a text, isn’t collectivist. But that’s not why we keep coming back to it. That’s not why children read it. We keep coming back to it to learn one simple lesson…
The best thing we can do with power IS GIVE IT AWAY.”
my favorite calvin and hobbes comic is the one where his dad just rolls up and casually destroys his entire night by pointing out some neat trivia about record players
are you sure. are you sure calvin’s dad is not a seasoned elder trickster. are you sure this isn’t the exact outcome he was hoping for
ok but that’s actually canon
You forgot this one
*looks pointedly at ETD*
Calvin’s dad is basically a Calvin who has learned that he can’t get away with running outside naked or throwing snowballs at neighborhood girls, but he is still precisely the same little shit under the thin veneer of civilization.
@lyricwritesproseCalvin and Hobbes has been one of my favorite things since I could read and Calvin’s dad one of my favorite characters, but that last comment blew my mind wide open. Of course that’s what he is. Of course.
one of the most subtly delightful things about calvin and hobbes is that you can SEE that calvin is his parents’ kid: his dad is so playful and imaginative, and his mom has a heck of a temper and a good sense of what’s right and wrong. calvin is a smart, passionate, imaginative kid who gets really upset when he thinks things are stupid or unfair. he drives his parents crazy sometimes because he’s a kid. but they were probably a lot like calvin themselves, when they were little.
My favorite goddamn comic
Also didn’t Calvin make a comment once that apparently his grandma said his mother was just as much of a troublemaker as he is
grimdark says “we are all going to die. the universe is cold and empty.” hopepunk says “yes, and the greatest act of defiance against the dark is kindness.”
grimdark says “nothing can save us forever.” hopepunk says “something can always save us today.”
grimdark says “in a hundred years, we will all be dead and forgotten.” hopepunk says “yes, but here and now, we are alive.”
grimdark says “there is no hope. there is no mercy. there is no justice.” hopepunk says “but there is us.”
hopepunk says “the universe has done all it can, and we are still alive.”
hopepunk is not about the daylight. it’s about the flame you light in the dark of the night. hopepunk is not about being unbroken. it is about taking the beating and staying on your feet. hopepunk is not idealism. hopepunk is the willful, unyielding defiance of cynicism.
Please read it and reblog people have to hear about what happened today. There are videos of nationalists beating people (teenagers) just because they were walking nearby or throwing firecrackers. These are the people that our president was willing to go side by side during the independence day. We can’t rely on the government doing something so please don’t sleep on it, let prople know about things happening in Poland right now.
this needs to end.
70% of the lgbt people in Poland experienced some sort of harassment and abuse. me included.
in Poland there are nearly no anti-discrimination regulations.
homophobia doesn’t exist in Polish law.
all of the anti-pride march protests were fully legal.
there were only 1000 people taking part in pride march. against 4000. four t o u s a n d.
lots of people got hurt. it is said that some of them died because of the damage from the things nationalists were throwing at them. it isn’t confirmed yet, though.
the media is silent, no one talks about what happened today. I DON’T UNDERSTAND IT.
please spread the word, spread the information, the world needs to see this. the world needs to know what’s happening.
please help polish lgbt people.
i don’t want to be scared when i go outside. i don’t want to feel like i can’t hold my loved one’s hand. i don’t want to feel like i can be killed because of my looks. i don’t know what to do.
one girl died that i know of for now, heard multiple rumours about 4 or so kids (aged 15-18) dying as well. also theres quite a few rumours about people not coming back (as of last night. while im writing this, its almost 6am, so i hope they found their way home already). they were throwing tear gas, glass, stones, eggs, bottles, stuff like that.
and this is what we saw near the end of the pride, when it was coming to its very end. (please notice that literally no one in that picture was a participant at pride march. the group that has gathered at the hill were literally out there to get us. king, hope u dont mind me sharing your pic)
heard multiple stories about people getting beaten up severely and police doing nothing. people were mentioning about seeing men with their faces completely covered up (which is illegal to do in public places here), showing off their weapons such as knives and axes and machetes. at least 3 people mentioned to me seeing those. same with having fireworks thrown at them.
even if you didnt participate in march, the city centre was full of people destroying cars nearby. apparently taxi cabs didnt want to come anywhere near there bc they were worried their cars would get damaged, so people trying to run away from all those nazis had very limited ways of running away
the president refused to support us and walk with us. and according to some media news sites, there were 72 other events that people *tried* to get approved & legal at the very exact day. all of them against us.
still cant believe that we got out of there alive. so grateful that many of my friends changed their minds at the last minute and stayed at home. we were so incredibly lucky.
The worst thing is that people actually got hurt and some of them fatally, yet nobody is talking about this in Polish media (nor anywhere else, of course)
It is serious. But because homophobia is a belief in this country and not a threat to people in eyes of politicians, it is fully allowed and legal…
See! Even Alan Davis agrees that Cyclops isn’t the dick everyone makes him out to be.
Text says:
“I’m Solid. Dependable. Disciplined. I have to be. I’m the yin to Wolverine’s yang. Remember there is no shadow without light. And what about all those readers who like practical solid types. Maybe they are in the minority but they identify with me. Aside from that, I haven’t had a decent storyline since Chris Claremont left the book. So what say you give a guy a break”
Just another reason to love Alan Davis. Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t this drawn in protest to being told to kill Cyclops off in a book?
It’s kind of funny that to this day, editors at Marvel can’t figure out why people like Cyclops. (But it’s the same with a lot of their characters)
