He wasn't saying that we don't understand Nazis, nor was he defending Nazis.

His point was that people like to throw around the word "nazi" to label people who they simply don't like. As in "GOD MOM! MY CURFEW IS AT 11? OH MY GOD YOU ARE SUCH A NAZI! MY LIFE IS SO UNFAIR!"

The same is true for "neocon" which is used by lefties to describe political minded people they dislike. "Neocon" just sounds so much more insidious.

WookieCookie

RAHfanboy

braak

It's nice to be in agreement, what?

RAHfanboy

@Plague: YES. Ex Machina is outstanding superhero/political stuff.

edosan

Plague

braak

Of course, if Martians evolved with telepathy, they probably wouldn't be the same way as a civilization without suddenly developing it.

Balius

spacekicker

It's not the left or right position that's important, it's the structure of the argument that's interesting.

braak

And, again, you'd have to make up some kind of mind shield in which no one knew you had a mind shield. Which is sure possible, I guess. But if the Martians are telepathic early on in their evolution, it seems to me to be entirely possible that they'd evolve cooperative communication first, which might obviate the need to evolve deception at all.

braak

Oh, and by the way:

Lex Luthor=Hillary Clinton
Ras Al Ghul=Barack Hussein Obama
Bizarro Superman=John McCain

RAHfanboy

It's filling in gaps of information that don't need to be filled in... like what Lucas did when he explained the Force. People like mystery -- it lets the reader or viewer become part of the writing by allowing them to come up with their own story and background.

beelzebuddha

Gyrus

Mathmos

I mean, isn't it still full of insane criminals, that don't stay in prison for very long?

braak

Or does breaking random thugs' noses make him feel better in and of itself?

In any event, I can see no real good coming out of a political story in the DC universe. DC likes to keep their characters likable and heroic; unlike Marvel, which was willing to throw Iron Man under the bus in Civil War, DC is liable to paint every political affiliation in a rosy way, with relatively little contention. Even if Supes comes down hard Republican, he's not going to be in South America hooking jumper cables up to gonads. Even if Green Arrow comes out as a Marxist, it will be the emphasis on social obligation to the least well-off that gets spotlighted rather than the historical use of Marx as a tool for rebellion and eventually the institution of a dictator. And if the Marian Manhunter comes out as the spokesman for the Green Party, it will be the environmental gains that get showcased, not the economic hardships stringent guidelines placed on industry cause.

Balius

The nice thing about comics, is you can fight REAL nazis, not decide who is secretly acting like one.

bigswingdaddy

bigswingdaddy

What don't we understand about Nazi? Please, show me the softer, misunderstood side of Adolf and the gang.

I do love that you lump neocons in with Nazis, though. Sure the Kristol boys would be thrilled with that company.

danwaterhouse

braak

I don't think of Superman, Lana Lang, Selina, or Dick Grayson as they were protrayed in DKR and DKSB either.

learned_hands

Actually, the name for that brand of myopic megalomania is "myopic megalomania," which has nothing to do with neoconservatism, which exists in the same universe as "fascism" and "Nazi" as "A word that we don't understand but can be conveniently used as a synonym for 'stuff I don't like.'"

Daveinva

I'd think that in a community were perfect, zero-loss, zero-confusion communication was possible, any attempts to obfuscate, hide, or distort the truth would be painfully obvious.

braak

braak

Mathmos

Throwing continuity out the window and dreaming up other storylines that won't sell (mostly that people won't buy) at a time when the 'average' person's discretionary $ goes for food or gasoline is proof that 'ol DD is out of touch with reality. Our customers (and me included) want stories that make sense...that aren't like the crap that was Countdown + the various worthless tie-ins. Whatever happened to the One Year Later stuff after 52? And last but not least - don't !@#$!%! with the Batman.

Guess what we'll only be ordering 2 or 3 of?

Outlandish

+ Watch video

Moff

Gyrus

learned_hands

braak

BloggyMcBlogBlog

Moff

MackenzieDawgschidt

monkity

I've always liked the Alex Ross idea that Batman considereds himself an aristorcrat in Gotham. He's the feudal lord of Gotham city and it's his duty to protect his citizens, but other than that he's apolitical. His Bruce Wayne presona would make a pretty lousy family values republican.

learned_hands

Clark Kent wants to eat your babies
Clark Kent says he's a reporter but he's *never* at work.
Clark Kent's wife has a long standing relationship with an ALIEN
Clark Kent says he's a small town boy but has spent his life in Metropolis. Some small town Clark.

When looking for a violent paranoid to vote for. Choose Bruce Wayne.

bigswingdaddy

But isn't Batmam always "off his meds"?

dOk

Macloserboy

There's no reason, for instance and to use what seems to be the most contentious example, that you couldn't make Batman a rank-and-file GOP member. He's got the money for the fiscal conservatism, and maybe its just how divorced his need for revenge is from his actual self that he engages in what he does.

The funny problem is that we're at the point where the politics changes more than the super-heroes do. The arena and the sides change constantly, even if no one really admits it. Defining attributes like that stands to risk locking them into a certain mode.

Slatz_Grobnik

Absolutely. Batman isn't a political, or even a social crusader. He's not fighting some idiotic "culture war". He's on a mission of personal revenge. If DC assigns him to a specific political party, it will be simply the most unforgivable act of opportunistic partisan desecration in the history of comics.

Chris Wren

It's kind of a shame he doesn't do America a service, though, and just sit in on the debates.

"He's lying. He's lying. He's telling the truth, but is equivocating. Lying. Okay, that one's true."

braak

danwaterhouse

Well played sir. Well played indeed!

MadJackDeacon

[en.wikipedia.org]

MadJackDeacon

jermom

Mathmos

But, yeah, the DC heroes especially I feel like it doesn't really make sense to put politics in there.

I mean, it'd be easy to think of Batman as being a fascist, who believes that only violent vigilantism can keep the people in line, or a libertarian, who believes that government is essentially useless, wasteful, and corrupt.

But for god's sake, he lives in Gotham. Gotham is a cartoon of corruption. It's not possible to conceive of a government that is more corrupt in every respect than Gotham. Applying Batman's response to that to our political sphere is just retarded.

So, I guess, Macloserboy: agreed.

braak

danwaterhouse

I don't give a rat's ass about these things and does anyone think people like Judd Winnick have the talent to pull it off anyway?

Macloserboy

Depending on who's writing him, Superman is either a Moderate Democrat (world peace and cooperation and all that) or an old-school Republican boy scout (American Way or nothing, and willing to throw his weight around but with good intentions). Usually, Superman falls into the liberal Democrat stance when Captain Marvel is around as he fills out the hardline Reaganite role.

Luthor, on the other hand is a straight up Neocon. always has been, even before we had a name for that brand of myopic megalomania.

Batman strikes me as wavering between Libertarian when he's stable and Paultard when he's off his meds.

Gyrus

DeepFriar

And I thought Dark Knight Returns clearly indicated that Superman rolls with whoever is in charge.

DeepFriar

braak