Magneto was right! (YA Superheroes)

Zoombie · Feb 23, 2012

I love superheroes!

Who doesn't?

Communists.

No! Even Communists love superheroes!

And so, I've been starting work on a young adult superhero novel called Merch! It takes place in an alternate 2012, where (for the past 11 years) superheroes have been a part of the everyday scene. The first one appeared during 9/11, using their latent powers stop the terror attacks, and the American government (and every other government for that matter), corporations and scientists have been aggressively using supers to make the world a better - at least according to their views - place.

The environment is cleaned up, Operation Enduring Freedom lasted 3 months, Osama Bin Ladin is in jail, President McCain is running against Democratic hopeful Obama/Gore and our hero, Jimmy Vega, has just had his latent powers activate, propelling him from high school nobody to world famous super.

Being a super is grand! You get all the endorsement deals you can imagine. Talk shows everywhere want to have you! Cities will pay through the nose to have you as their mascot, and groupies...oh man, don't get me started on the groupies!

(Basically, say you're a super, show off your powers and BAM! Any number of girls or boys or girlboys or boygirls will be swarming you!)

But...being a super doesn't actually involve that much "heroics". Frankly, cops don't want masked vigilantes (especially ones that can lift metric tons with their bare hands, shoot lasers out of their eyes, or see through walls) running around and impinging the rights of criminals.

You know, Miranda rights?

And even if you join the force, people hate it when supers die. And, while some have bullets bounce off their chest or can produce force fields, a lot of them (a worryingly large number of them in fact) kind of...die when you shoot them.

So, actually going with the SWAT team is usually poo-pooed unless you have defensive powers.

The only places supers really get to "fight" "nemesis" is during staged shot-fights run by the WWE, or by joining Blackwater International and becoming super-powered mercinaries. And that's far from glamorous. No spandex, just combat fatigues and lots of third world countries to level.

This is the world that our hero enters, unwittingly. He doesn't expect the glamor and glitz to be...shallow, commercialized and all encompassing. He also didn't expect how privacy vanished. It's one thing to read about supers in the newspapers and see them on TV...it's another thing to be hounded by TMZ, filmed while going on a date, or having slanderous rumors be slung here and there about you.

Which leads us nicely to the central conflict of the piece: A love triangle (of course!) between Jimmy, his "baseline" (I.E, unpowered) girlfriend and another super whose name I haven't decided on yet.

See, this unnamed super rejects the fame and fortune that most supers get in favor of...well, endorsing Magneto. Well, not Magneto, but a collection of supers who share a similar belief: Supers are inherently beyond human morality and laws and should seek to transcend the human condition completely.

This strikes a chord with the disillusioned Jimmy, especially since his powers (Super-speed) have distanced him from his baseline friends, girlfriend and family.

It's hard to have a conversation with someone when, by the they utter the word "Hello", you've run across the country, grabbed a Phillie Cheese Steak Sand-which (from Phillie, mind you!) and eaten it. It's harder still to wait in line, or in traffic.

And sex? Don't get me STARTED on the problems with sex.

So...

Would you guys feel betrayed if, at the end, Jimmy actually went with the as of yet unnamed super? When given the choice...would you side with Magneto?

kuwisdelu · Feb 23, 2012

Sounds like a cross between Watchmen and Tiger & Bunny.

It really depends how you handle it.

I have a feeling my interpretation of X-men was different from yours...

Zoombie · Feb 23, 2012

X-Men was part of my inspiration. So was Booster Gold, Watchmen, Aberrant, that elseworlds story where Superman was found by the US government instead of citizens (I forgot what it was called) and a bit by Chronicle.

I'm curious now, what was your interpretation of X-Men?

PS: Forgot to mention, though, that the unnamed super girl and those that follow her philosophical movement are not classical super villains. No robbing banks or terrorist attacks, not for any but the most radicalized and extreme ones. Kind of like how most enviromentalists are nice, but some throw paint at people, and some throw firebombs at labs.

Think like that.

Except their innate abilities let them level city blocks.

So, it makes the few bad ones that much worse.

kuwisdelu · Feb 23, 2012

Zoombie said:
I'm curious now, what was your interpretation of X-Men?

...I always thought it was a metaphor for autism.

thebloodfiend · Feb 23, 2012

I thought the X-Men were douchebags. Particularly Scott, Jean, and the Professor. I can't even watch the tv-shows made off the comics. I really don't like them, tbh.

There's an elseworld story where SM is found by the US government? I thought they only made Red Son. I will be investigating that later.

Anyway, it depends on how you handle it. I hate the X-Men. I think they're a bunch of self-righteous shits.

But I'm kind of confused. What are you asking? If I would care that your dude went rogue? No, not really. I think rogue super heroes (not Wolverine, please, god not Wolverine) are cool.

Zoombie · Feb 23, 2012

Interesting...

I'm actually going along a slightly similar tac, as the mere fact of having superpowers changes your perception of the world. Sometimes it's literally (seeing through walls, hearing radio waves) and sometimes it's more roundabout (your perception of the world changes when you can run faster than a bullet).

I'm no expert on autism, but I know that it does involve seeing the world, experiencing the world, understanding the world differently.

cara · Feb 23, 2012

There are a ton of good articles on the interpretations of xmen (I'm studying it in film studies atm).
Magneto can be seen as 'Hitler' (leading a 'superior race' to war) or as a product of neglect and failure on societies part (Jewish and trauma).
The xmen represent differences between people and groups in society (ethnicity etc) and have to accept themselves (internal conflict) as well as try and get others to accept them (external).

Zoombie · Feb 23, 2012

These many interpretations are why I'm ripping them off.

Er...inspiration. Thats what I meant.

MttStrn · Feb 23, 2012

thebloodfiend said:
There's an elseworld story where SM is found by the US government? I thought they only made Red Son. I will be investigating that later.

I can't remember an Elseworld that did that but in the Marvel reboot of Squadron Supreme they had Hyperion - Marvel's first Superman ripoff before The Sentry - found and raised by the US government.

It does not go well.

kaitie · Feb 23, 2012

Personally I always thought part of the greatness of X-Men was that, in a lot of ways, Xavier was a total dick and Magneto was right. Doesn't mean I necessarily think Magneto was the good guy and Xavier the bad guy, just that they both had good arguments and motives, and they both occasionally took morally ambiguous (at best) methods to accomplish their goals.

In other words, I'd have no problem with something like that as long as there's a good motivation and understanding of both sides.

I did something sort of similar with my superhero book in that my bad guy was actually right on a lot of points (similar to your comment about miranda and impinging on rights, my superheroes really were subverting justice).

Amadan · Feb 23, 2012

Mostly sounds like Aberrant.

X-Men can be interpreted any way you like, considering all their many (often inconsistent) incarnations. Magneto has been everything from a cackling genocidal monster to a noble ally.

As for Professor X, it's hard to top the dickishness of his earliest appearances:

http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/image/ProfessorX_6.jpg

(Keep in mind, Jean Grey is supposed to be, like, 16 at the time?)

robjvargas · Feb 23, 2012

What? No backlash?

The first time ANY super levels a city block, possibly worse, the shine comes right off that idea. For a lot of people.

Try to think through this: You say they stop the attacks on 9/11/2001. OK, how? Do they crash the planes? I can't help pondering that we'd be FAR less appreciative of the passengers on Flight 93 if the towers hadn't fallen.

areteus · Feb 23, 2012

I've always seen Magneto and Professor X as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. Both trying to achieve the same ends but by different means - one by direct and violent action, the other by peaceful protest and working within the current legal system.

Another source of inspiration you may want to look at is Wild Cards, a series of short story anthologies (and later novels) by George RR Martin and a few of his chums. They take history up to the point somewhere between the end of WW2 and the start of the 1950s (I can't remember the exact date) when an alien virus is released over Manhatten. The virus mutates anyone infected with it. Most die, some are horribly mutated and a rare few become superheroes (which is the intended result of the aliens who designed it, they use earth as a test population). History then diverges from that point with some familiar things changing slightly (people with super powers get especially targetted by the McCarthy senate hearings) and some new things happening (a native revolt in South America after two people with super powers are seen as Incan gods reborn). Its a good series well worth finding and reading for many concepts of political and social changes brought about by superpowers.

Another thing I always consider is 'what about insurance'? You have to think about 'collateral damage' insurance when superheroes are throwing cars about the city centre... the prices of those policies must be obscene, if they are available at all...

Zoombie · Feb 23, 2012

robjvargas said:
What? No backlash?

The first time ANY super levels a city block, possibly worse, the shine comes right off that idea. For a lot of people.

I figure it's a balancing act. If 99% of supers do generally good and popular things, then the 1% that don't (while still negatively thought of) won't cause the entire subspecies to be hated. It's a conciete that I think works...and, because I find it more interesting than the X-Men style "all mutants are hated".

(By the way, that always confused me that X-Men were hated, and yet from what I've read, the Fantastic Four were considered celebrities for a time. I know Spiderman got a lot of flack too...I guess the citizenry in Marvel Universe are kind of dicks)

Try to think through this: You say they stop the attacks on 9/11/2001. OK, how? Do they crash the planes? I can't help pondering that we'd be FAR less appreciative of the passengers on Flight 93 if the towers hadn't fallen

Oh, the super in question wrapped them in a bubble of kinetic/gravitick forces and suspended them in the air before gently putting them down. And I don't quite see how our appreciation for Flight 93 would diminish...heroes are heroes, even if there are people with superpowers running around.

Still, thanks for all the comments and feedback everyone...I figure it all comes down to how I write it.

Figured as much...

robjvargas · Feb 23, 2012

The passengers on Flight 93 brought down an airplane rather than let terrorists do... whatever they were going to do.

Without the images of what the others did, is their ~~herrorism~~ heroism going to be as appreciated by the families of their fellow passengers? By others?

I don't think it's as given as you seem to presume. But we're both heavily speculating.

Zoombie · Feb 23, 2012

Truth, and it's worth thinking a great deal about. I figure it'd be a bittersweet victory at best, a tragic irony at worse.

kaitie · Feb 23, 2012

Zoombie said:
I figure it's a balancing act. If 99% of supers do generally good and popular things, then the 1% that don't (while still negatively thought of) won't cause the entire subspecies to be hated. It's a conciete that I think works...and, because I find it more interesting than the X-Men style "all mutants are hated".

I'd say not necessarily. I'm playing with this idea in my current book, and I think it's very easy for a very small minority who do something negative to lead to negative stereotyping for the entire group. In a way, that's what racism is.

If you have a group of outsiders, which supers inherently are, then the second someone starts fear-mongering you could easily see a backlash against the group as a whole. Not saying it's necessarily going to happen or that every person is going to buy into it, but right now in our current society we have exactly this kind of prejudice all over the place and among large swaths of the public it's socially acceptable.

Hell, look at the backlash against Muslims after 9/11. Just a handful of people and a very small percentage of the followers are terrorists, but it doesn't stop the police from keeping tabs on Muslim students in New York even today...

(By the way, that always confused me that X-Men were hated, and yet from what I've read, the Fantastic Four were considered celebrities for a time. I know Spiderman got a lot of flack too...I guess the citizenry in Marvel Universe are kind of dicks)

I might just be far too cynical lol, but I think they're better reflections of society. X-men, in a lot of ways, was intended to be. Spiderman (my favorite, actually) is interesting because of the negativity.

I think in a real world situation there's going to be a mix of reactions, and I think those reactions can swing depending on the goings on.

Oh, the super in question wrapped them in a bubble of kinetic/gravitick forces and suspended them in the air before gently putting them down. And I don't quite see how our appreciation for Flight 93 would diminish...heroes are heroes, even if there are people with superpowers running around.

Still, thanks for all the comments and feedback everyone...I figure it all comes down to how I write it.

Figured as much...

I still think your idea sounds awesome, though, and honestly I find it intriguing and promising, for what that's worth.

I agree, btw, on the Flight 93 thing. I think those guys would be considered just as heroic even if someone else prevented the other attack. There would just be more heroes at the end of the day.

Hell, I actually think the Flight 93 people would be seen as more heroic in a way--think about it. They sacrifice their own lives to save others, compared to people who prevented an attack from occurring. It wasn't the first time terrorists had hit the World Trade Center. The reason the event is so strong in our minds is because so many people died. If they'd lived, would it have made such a huge impact? I could easily see those who sacrificed and lost their own lives being considered the most heroic of all.

Amadan · Feb 23, 2012

kaitie said:
I'd say not necessarily. I'm playing with this idea in my current book, and I think it's very easy for a very small minority who do something negative to lead to negative stereotyping for the entire group.

Especially if every one of them is a living weapon of mass destruction. It only takes one "supervillain" bringing down a skyscraper or something to give people pretty good reason to fear supers in general.

kaitie · Feb 23, 2012

Especially when you consider that a) the average person probably can't stand up to them, particularly when they have abilities to do things like block bullets and b) the only thing keeping them from using their powers on normal people is a morally conscious choice not to be douchebags.

areteus · Feb 24, 2012

Fantastic four was written in an earlier and more idealistic time. Remember Superman was also a big celeb... they also have different backgrounds and modus operandi. Reed Richards was already a celeb (a popular and famous scientist akin to Einstien or Hawkings) so the F4 celeb status was partially an extension of that. Peter Parker is an anonymous man leaping around with superpowers - no one knows who he is, this engenders fear. Ditto with the X-men - they don't go out of their way to tell people who they are and what they do and they look 'just like us' therefore fear...

J.S.F. · Feb 24, 2012

Superheroes are timeless and always cool. In The Tower, I played with that very idea, but did it from the viewpoint of a kid who stepped into an alternate universe and interacted with them. Doing it from the viewpoint of a superhero can be tricky, as traditionally they come off as being very two-dimensional. My way worked better.

Windcutter · Feb 24, 2012

Zoombie said:
Would you guys feel betrayed if, at the end, Jimmy actually went with the as of yet unnamed super? When given the choice...would you side with Magneto?

I'd love it! I kind of hate the "let's go back to being normal boring everymen" plots, as well as "power is inherently evil" plots.

SBibb · Feb 26, 2012

I'm not sure which I'd prefer; depends on how it was written, to be honest.

But I'd totally want to read that. Sounds awesome. I enjoy X-men, and my current WIP has heavy elements of super heroes in it. :-D

EzzyAlpha · Feb 26, 2012

Amusingly, I am also writing a superhero story but about the very first superheroes of that universe.

Honestly, it depends on how it written.

If the regular friends are dicks and the rogue superheroes are nice guys, Jimmy should go with the superheroes and vice versa. A lot of it is characterization

bickazer · Feb 26, 2012

I always hated the X-Men as analogues to racism/homophobia/whatever, because every writing who tries to make mutants into downtrodden minorities forgets one thing: minorities in real life do not have dangerous, unpredictable powers. They're just regular people and that's the whole point of fighting for equality, the idea that we are all the same and should receive equal treatment.

But you can't say the same about mutants. So yeah, the Marvel population is full of jerks, but those jerks have a point. The hand is stacked against them from the beginning.

But then again, I pretty much hate the X-Men in general. And I hate the whole anti-"muggle" bias of a lot of urban fantasy/superhero stories. Just because someone doesn't have powers doesn't make them lesser or less interesting in any way.

So yeah, I have little sympathy for the "Magneto was right" position (although I do love Magneto as a character and he's much more interesting than Professor X imho). If your MC's a speedster, it might be interesting to look up various characterizations of Quicksilver from the Marvelverse. Well, first of all, I love him, but I also feel that the writers have generally done a good job showing how his superspeed affects his perception of the world (in short, it makes him a jerk).

Magneto was right! (YA Superheroes)

Dragon of the Multiverse

Revolutionize the World

Dragon of the Multiverse

Revolutionize the World

Cory

Dragon of the Multiverse

Dragon of the Multiverse

Action is my reward..that and bacon

With great power comes

Dragon of the Multiverse

Dragon of the Multiverse

With great power comes

With great power comes

Red fish, blue fish...

Unable to write straight females.

someday we'll shine together