#Faster than a speeding bullet

[godisarepublican]

[evilhorse]

Action Comics #1068

[rogueslove]

Uncanny X-Men #173

[allastoredeer]

Would you be at all interested in a scenario I concocted based on the idea that Lucifer and Blitzø are "exes" and that one succubus we see in the background of Apology Tour actually WAS Lucifer in disguise? It's been sizzling in my brain sense the episode aired and I have no one to talk to about it😅🙏

Hmm, well it may not sizzle my brain as much as yours (tho I do know what demon you're talking about. He looked SO much like Lucifer I'm convinced it was intentional. It has to be. There's no way it was an accident. Spindlehorse is making sure we're paying attention. Keeping us on our toes).

But I'm sure there are other fans out there who would love a Lucifer/Blitz bitter ex's concept.

It is funny to think about thought. I mean, the idea that Blitz has dated Verosika Mayday, Stolas of the Ars Goetia, and Lucifer Morningstar??? And he fumbled all of them??? Guy aims high and falls so hard.

[silvadour]

[theforty7thgamer]

They should make a Superman trio of villains.

They should be called

The Speeding Bullet

The Powerful Locomotive

And The Tall Building

[abuddyforeveryseason]

It's Superman and Supergirl! Remember the Superdictionary? The one where Lex Luthor stole forty cakes? He stole forty cakes!

You know, it seems like, inside every writer, there are two wolves - one who wants to be as self-indulgent as they want, write stuff only to themselves, and not care about criticism at all. The other, the one who wants to be as popular as possible, try and craft a story based solely on what people want and strip it of any flaws, no matter how personally revelant these flaws are to them.

And to a certain point, both sides are kind of childish - wanting to be self-indulgent is like wanting to play with your toys alone and get mad at any suggestions, even though sometimes suggestions are given specifically because someone likes the writing, and wants to see it evolve. And of course, being too dependant on praise is also childish, cause it's like wanting mommy to see you do a tumble - having confidence means doing stuff for yourself as well, after all.

The one big criticism every writer has to answer to, the first thing everyone hears again and again when starting to write - is to avoid making your main character a Mary Sue. Meaning, flawless, overpowered, too important to the plot and being too unique compared to the rest of the cast.

Yeah, I mean, that does sound like an unpleasant read. The big problem is that term was created mostly to discuss stories that are based on the idea of external struggle. So if the conflict in the story comes from characters having a hard time surviving, a character that's universally powerful and beloved is boring.

That is the big complaint everyone has about Superman - why is in interesting to read a story where the tension comes from finding out who wins a fight, if one of the challengers can punch the sun shut?

And I'm not sure if I'd classify Superman as a Mary Sue. He's the strongest guy in the story, sure, but the conflict isn't whether he'll win a given fight. The conflict comes from the way the plot's constructed, whether Superman knows who the enemy is, if he can get there in time to stop him, how other people feel about it...

And there's the inner conflict that comes from Superman having a secret identity. That goes against the "Mary Sue" accusation because having the secret identity is a flaw. It was the big flaw that set the character apart from others when he was first published. And although it's never really explained why Superman even bothers "pretending" to be Clark Kent, it makes sense, even if only on a subconscious level, back when the character was created.

I know that, if I started developing superpowers as a teen, I wouldn't abandon my current identity and life, and my adolescence wasn't even as wholesome as Clark's, with his upstanding parents and friends. So, the reason Superman has a secret identity is that, even if he's not human, he's a person, with all the lived-in background, dreams and psychology that that ensues.

Then, during the Silver Age, writers pretty much gave up on portraying Superman as an enviable, much less powerful figure. For most of it, Superman was subjected to all sorts of humiliations, from being turned into a monkey every other issue, becoming evil at the flip of a hat, or otherwise being portrayed as a mean-spirited prankster or neurotic egomaniac.

All that, of course, was to suprise audiences who were shocked to see their hero reduced to such a pathetic figure.

Of course, after then, Superman was not much different than any other superhero out there - if he was super strong, his enemies were just as strong. Also sometimes he wasn't even that strong. There was even The Death of Superman, an interesting story where he was killed by the personification of the nineties.

Of course, the idea that the main character is going to be victorious isn't exactly news to the audience - at least not if the story's supposed to be about dangerous conflict. Nobody watches The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron assuming there's a chance Jimmy will be slaughtered by the end of the episode.

Mary Sues are called conflict-killers because they're overpowered, but also because they're boring. A character can be all that much better/stronger/smarter than everyone else, but readers don't mind it so much if they're also interesting. Or if the story around them is interesting. It's usually the case with a character like Sherlock Holmes - not only is he a genius, he's also surprisingly strong for a skinny, balding englishman. He's rich, too, and can even be pretty handsome and charming when he wants. And to top it all off, he's a badass who flaunts his superior intellect by declaring he gets bored with the matters of the common man.

But the stories are good, because his hypercompetence is what allows us to see him figuring out the truth. And that's often pretty interesting. Except in that story where the guy's impotence drugs were turning him into a monkey.

There are other ways to make stories with all-competent characters interesting. Sometimes comics are more about the art (and in some cases, the circunstances that make it so the backgrounds are so interesting), so it's a lot of fun if Mary Sue's just plowing her way through the plot to let us see the pretty pictures. If the Mary Sue isn't the protagonist, jealousy and admiration are interesting plots. It's a thing that works well in comedy too.

But the interesting thing about Mary Sues, and Superman in particular, is that, if the character isn't bogged down by the dangers of the world and its associated fears, the story becomes becomes purely about morality - if Superman can do anything he wants, what should he do? The best Superman (and Superman analogue) stories are about questions like that. And some of the worst ones are the ones that fumble the answer.

Anyway, he's resting with Supergirl there. Funny. Why does he even need to rest? He can punch out the sun for God's sake!

[shycorvid]

I've read on other posts that some people think authors keep to the batfam when it comes to DC because they're more comfortable using that solid fanon foundation. And that might be true for some, but here's my POV:

I grew up with Batman. The movies and cartoons mostly, yes, but I know enough to make my own headcanons and play with the characters in the way that pleases me most. And what I like most about the bats, besides childhood nostalgia, is that they're human. They don't have powers. They have their brains, training, and gadgets.

I dunno about anyone else, but I'm really not up for playing the whole "why didn't you write this super-powered character do this" or "you do know that this guy can do that" game just because I forget Superman has ice breath or something silly like that. And, sure, I write Danny in the dpxdc crossover just fine, but that's because I'm comfortable picking and choosing our favorite ghost boy's power level- as is most of the dp fandom. We can make him OP as hell or weak depending on our mood, and no one bats an eyelash. Forget that Green Lantern literally has nothing but his imagination to limit him, and people get real uppity about it.

So I'm most comfortable having these super-powered demigods being background characters. Honestly, I don't like playing with OP characters. There's way too many powers to keep track of regarding Superman and his family alone, and I have no patience for powerscalers who want to "but actually" me if I dare "nerf" a character or two.

If I ever expand into the DC-verse, most likely I'll just gravitate to the Arrows.

[cyanide-sippy-cup]

I figured it out. How to solve the whole Superman v Flash who's faster debate without having to explain comic lore. Simply, Superman is faster than a speeding bullet while Flash is as fast as lightning. I'm sure this will clear everything up because everyone definitely knows the difference in speed of those two things. Definitely.

[hawkeyeslaughter]

.

[umbrellajam]

Superman (1987) #91

Lex, after half destroying Metropolis, paralyzed in a dying clone body and about to be stomped on by his own rampaging robot: NOOOO!!! STOP!!! 😭 betrayed by my own creations oh the cruel irony!!! the humanity!!! 😭 STOP you can't do this to meeeee, I wanna live, I wanna LIVE abloobloobloo 😭

Superman: *arrives and tackles the robot away at the last second* ugh. why couldn't I be half a second too late just this once... 😑

Lex, once again saved solely by the grace of Clark Kent: smh that DAMN Kryptonian 😤 I would have WELCOMED death instead of the TORTURE of being LOCKED in this WORTHLESS BODY 😤 CONSTANTLY thwarted by that ARROGANT alien he WANTS me to SUFFER!!!!! 😤

[punkpinkpower]

I would like to congratulate my employer on creating an office environment that is so unfriendly to people with disabilities that it's scary. They should win an award. Maybe from the people who advocate for euthanasia for us. That seems like it would be a good partner for them.

I suppose it's a case of the best intentions and not considering people with disabilities. Why would any of them even assume it's a problem unless they are told. But when you make no effort to be inclusive in situations like this, it sure feels like a very clear message from society: We don't want you here. Get out.

Nevermind that my autism makes me amazing at my job. Nevermind that all the things my team receives praise for are due to my autism. None of that matters because the white noise machine is better for the normies.

I'm going to have to quit this job. And find myself another. And the whole situation is absolutely absurd when you think about it. But here we are.

[captain-303]

@queerjustices

i started drawing this idea i had, then my wrist began to hurt again, so instead of waiting for the pain to go away like a normal person i just used my other hand instead. and you know what i think its better this way

ID under the cut courtesy of @princess-of-purple-prose !

this is what i did before the pain began U_U

[ID: A sketchy Spy x Family comic. Loid and Yor are sitting on the couch, and Loid says, "Yor, I have a question." She says, "Yes?" and he asks, "Why don't you use a gun? I'd think you'd have learned. (As an assassin and all.)" Yor replies cheerily, "Oh, I didn't see the point when I can throw projectiles faster. It's quieter, too." Loid looks comically shocked.

The image under the cut shows a Yor kneeling on the floor and wiping down a long dagger, drawn with cleaner line art and captioned "they were gonna be sitting on the floor cleaning their weapons together :(" End ID]

[h16h-v0l7463]

I bet you 30 Höllers you can't steal the next target off of Quincy's range before he can shoot it

my life is worth more than 30 höllars, sorry

[scorpiolight-ships]

setting up new tags, ignore this post

[myownfavourite]

I’m in a good mood right now I have my sister to thank for that and I am now trying to stay in this good mood