<![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit - io9 Comments]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit - io9 Comments]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> Charlie Jane Anders - "I'm so terribly sorry that this came out the way it did."

delawarejoel - "Sorry for that... ...apoligize for my dickery"

Is this the most soft and apologetic discussion on the entire internet?

Not that I'm complaining - I like it. Sorry if I've offended anyone by implying that civility is not a good thing.

joshnunn

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> I haven't read the others, but "Soon I will be Invincible" is an awesome book, one of the best super-hero novels ever written, and totally mis-represented here. As such, I question the validity of the rest of the article.

Mr. Grossman, I anxiously await your next novel.

outsdr

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> Woah. Looking at my comment now, way too harsh. I think that was on my "bad day at work" night this week. I still didnt like the book but no need to dish out my bad mood. Sorry for that if anybodys still paying attention....I will self edit better than future...apoligize for my dickery to Mr. Grossman and anybody else.

And Moff, my name is Delaware, and I live in Joel.

delawarejoel

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> None of those can match the awesome powers of Earthworm Jim's LowerBacPainMan - "gnhh - I'll be okay in a minute!" - or Turns-His-Eyelids-Inside-OutBoy.

kstop

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> The thing I really like about SIWBI was the fact that the characters were screwed up. You know that every super hero is a mess, and that the only thing that makes them look really heroic is great marketing and a huge support staff.

Back on topic: I remember one x-men villain in the mid-90s who had the ability to transmit himself over the internet. I remember reading that and thinking to myself, "Not only is that lame, but it's a damn good thing his powers didn't manifest in his grandfather. Granpa would have only had the ability to transport himself via morse code."

mwells54

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> I'd like to throw 'Less Than Heroes' by David Yurkovich as great examples of PoMo heroes.

JohnnyZito

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> Just when I thought artists were realizing it's 'way past time superheroes stopped wearing their underwear over their pants, these guys come along and make it practically de rigueur again. How can you possibly have a third-rate, barely-talented superhero who doesn't?

Counterglow

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> The Monarch FTW!

SpeedyGonzalas

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> Can we get a new abbreviation of post-modern? Pomo looks far too much like Porno in Gawker's font.

Pomo
Porno

Yeah. That led to some interesting double-takes in this article.

bnpederson

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Jim_in_Buffalo:

Hoof. Super poewrs related to poop are funny at any age.

Don't think anyone has mentioned Bendis' Alias, with Jessica Jones, something of a substandard super hero who floats around the edges of the Avengers universe.

lukeoneil47

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @delawarejoel: I had planned on retiring the word douchebag from my vocabulary for 2008. You sir have forced me to change my plans.

92BuickLeSabre

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @delawarejoel: Shit. Dissed by delawarejoel, the most creatively named commenter to appear on Gawker Media to date. Soooo, what's your name, and where are you from?

Moff

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @delawarejoel: Unfair on all counts, sir. I liked it quite a bit, my comments above notwithstanding.

Rasselas

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> Mr. Grossman, whatever you were trying to do with your book, you didnt succeed. I couldnt decide whether you were trying for Venture Brothers (tell me your protagonist wasnt a thinly disguised Monarch) or just a Watchmen ripoff. Either way, I think you should stop defending your boring and derivative book now full of themes that have been handled better in regularly old monthly comics for literally decades now. Your characters all belong on this list.

delawarejoel

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> There's also "Flyboy" from Jim Munroe's book "Flyboy Action Figure Comes with Gasmask." I wouldn't say he's a pathetic superhero, just a rather average person who can turn into a fly.

bryantpaul

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Austin Grossman: It kind of brought me down, man. In the way that swapping a big, air-clearing fight for a rabbit out of a hat can, but de gustibus.

Rasselas

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Rasselas: It's basically the Science Center, but the Harvard buildings were only loosely based on reality, b/c I truly didn't feel like going back to gaze at the originals. (And what *was* up with that ending? I'm kind of into it.)

Austin Grossman

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> Don't forget The Superhero League of Hoboken, an older game by Legend Enerttainment. My particular favorite: Tropical Oil Man, who defeats villains by giving them high Cholesterol.

[en.wikipedia.org]

sensenet

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @steven522: Not really the same, although kudos for remembering your Wild Cards arcana. Rainbow Triumph is a teenage female cyborg - she just takes the meds to keep her body from rejecting the implants.

Austin Grossman

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Plague: Thank goodness. The fucking Earnest-O-Meter was getting deep into the red in here. What is taking so long with the more mind-control porn?

Moff

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @outlawpoet: You're right that Elphin doesn't lie about her past - Fatale just thinks she does. But various other people lie, so it's a reasonable confusion.

Austin Grossman

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Plague: You sir, are a genius of wit. I applaud you.

Spiral

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Austin Grossman:
You could work on another book, Grossman.

Plague

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Plague:
(slaps head) Duh! I read SIWBI as well. The "Elphin" header threw me off.

That and the 'ludes.

Plague

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Rasselas: Hey, Sarcastro is absolutely deadly to a person's ego and sense of self.

cde

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Austin Grossman: You could bring up Star Trek or Flash Gordon. That seems to get the blood boiling here. Or, try this one:

Who would win in a fight between Flash Gordon and Captain Kirk?

Or does that not have enough spandex for this thread?

Spiral

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Charlie Jane Anders: Dude, it's totally fine! I was just trying to have like a flame war, all internet style! Like the kids do. Now what will I do with my afternoon?

Austin Grossman

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Annalee Newitz:

I'm confused, when does she lie about her past? And she was in a cage made out of crosses, that seems like a decent way to imprison a fairy.

outlawpoet

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Austin Grossman: I'm so terribly sorry that this came out the way it did. I really didn't mean to make your superhero characters sound lamer than they are, or to lump your book in with the other postmodern satires I'm describing in this post. I was trying to be humorous about Elphin's powers and it totally fell flat, plus I probably shouldn't have been trying to shoehorn your book into a post about some very different novels. I was a total jerk, and I apologize. I'm really very sorry that I mis-represented your book, which is awesome.

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> The Tick's Squirrel Girl. "I just really like squirrels. They're so cute and cuddly..."

ideaman2020

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Austin Grossman: I don't think Charlie meant that you were falling prey to some pomo trap, but [* * spoilers * * ] Elphin does lie about her past and seems to come up with some lame excuses about why she can't break out of the prison at the end. But I disagree with Charlie that the book is full of "crappy-ass superheroes." I think they're awesome heroes, and I thought there was a very melancholy feeling to the novel as we learn about how vulnerable those powers make them.

Annalee Newitz

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Austin Grossman: Your description sounds pretty cool, much better than the one in the article. NOW I'm interested.

Evil Tortie's Mom

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> The ineffectual superhero gag is certainly one that needs to be done right. Done wrong, it's childish, like a 6-year-old laughingly describing a superhero whose sole power is related to poop or some such thing.

I like the way they're described in the Wild Cards series of anthologies... as "deuces."

Jim_in_Buffalo

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> I haven't read "Soon I Will Be Invincible" (yet), but he "drug-dependent Rainbow Triumph, who has to keep taking her meds every few hours or she loses her abilities" sounds a lot like Captain Trips from the "Wild Card" series.

steven522

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> Let us not forget the woeful fate of "Person Man" in the lyrical ballad by They Might Be Giants, "Partical Man".

Miranda Kali (Desperate But Not Serious)

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Austin Grossman: What was up with that ending, anyway? Also, was Impossible supposed to be breaking into one of the science buildings over near the Div School?

Rasselas

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> What about Sarcastro on The Tick, who relied on the devastating power of sarcasm?

Also, it's "die Fledermaus."

Rasselas

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> Grr, now I can't stop thinking about this. I was so much writing against this meme. I think I make it clear from the opening pages that I'm writing "under the skin" of what feels like a mainstream comic, and I always avoided the easy gags of superheroes who can't fly straight, or have useless joke-powers. The point was to write the coolest superhero action possible, then deepen it using the prose medium. And Elphin can fly, and she punches her spear through an armored car in chap 2. Impales a major character in chap 4! &c &c. Sorry.

Austin Grossman

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> Recommendation: Empowered. While the Caged Demonwolf's KEEN SENSES perceive that you are indeed sexually aroused by the cover...don't judge the book by it.

Spoonman

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Miranda Kali: And in Mystery Men's same "ineffectual heroes" vein you've got the Sidekicks in Sky High

Jack

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @ideaman2020: But without the suit, I'm powerless.

B

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Austin Grossman: seriously. I have to say the reading comprehension is pretty low there. Elphin doesn't change her story, Fatale just doesn't believe her. And she can fly and crush robots and punch through armor with enchanted weapons.

And Rainbow Triumph wasn't dependent on drugs for her powers, she needed medication to keep her implants and auto-immune response from killing her.

outlawpoet

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @Miranda Kali: I too think Mystery Men is a great example of under-performing superheroes.

JoeyTheHobo

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> Although well done, picking Elphin out from among the cast on the UK edition cover. Yay, Bryan Hitch!

Austin Grossman

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> wow, reading comprehension much? Elphin was a fairy, and as such, was vulnerable to cold iron, and crucifixes. She never changed her story, the main character just didn't believe her until the last chapters.

She could also fly, control the weather, tear robots in half with her enchanted weapons, and was the last Champion to go down against Dr. Impossible in the last battle.

Rainbow triumph was a heavily modified cyborg. She wasn't dependent on drugs for her powers, she needed to take medication to keep her implants and auto-immune problems from killing her.

outlawpoet

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> Oh now hey, I take exception to being on this list! I'm very loyal to the superhero genre - think the "inadequate superhero" meme is fairly played out - it's an easy out - and I made sure all my heroes (and villains) kicked as much ass as a traditional superhero (or supervillain). Don't make me cite page numbers!

Austin Grossman

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> @B: Carpeted Man of the Civic-Minded Five.

ideaman2020

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> I think tales of the "less than adequate" super hero have become almost as pervasive as the mainstream costumed do-gooder these days. As B pointed out, there's a cornucopia of examples in the Tick, (both the comic and the live action series).
There's Mystery Men as well, and I'm sure those who are better read than I can point out a few others.
When you get down to it, it's easier for a reader to sympathize with someone who's super-power is ineffectual, and if the hero prevails, the story can provide a greater sense of wish fulfillment.
...or maybe it's just cooler

Miranda Kali (Desperate But Not Serious)

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> What, no Bipolar bear from the Tick? Or Deflautermaus for that matter, or Sewer Urchin.

B

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> This is interesting, though I will probably stick to my back issues of Firestorm.

Midwesterner in NYC

]]> <![CDATA[The Weakest Superheroes Of Postmodern Lit]]> Dr. Brain is mildly amusing. Haven't heard of the others.

Plague

]]>