Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by MisterBastahrd 1885 days ago
Yeah, let's see... superheroes... political...

There was an early superhero who became popular by halting an execution, beating up a man who was disciplining his wife, and terrorizing a corrupt US Senator. In the next few books, he would force an arms dealer to visit a warzone endangered by his weapons and force a mine operator who operated a mine without proper safety precautions to be subjected to a mine collapse. Hell, he even fought against gentrification, which gets him hunted by the military and the police.

The superhero in question?

Superman.

Some people might call it "political."

Others might call it "life."

Siegel and Schuster created a character to fight for the common man, and they used fantastic life experiences in the beginning instead of creating monsters and ghouls to fight. The first super-villain in the book didn't get introduced until year 2.

Little Nemo might have been an acid trip, but Superman at his start was a political power fantasy about helping the little guy.