I wonder if Paragon will ever wake up and see it's the political system that's the root of his problem and not any one man. Even if he 'beats' Royal Flush and gets the man to change his political stance, the system that RF is a product of still exists. The people RF represents and appeals to still exist. Paragon is only looking to treat the symptoms and not the problem.
Superheroes can't affeect change in any meaningful way. They have to get in and work within the system instead of outside of it. If Paragon really wanted to help he'd be wearing a cop uniform instead of a superhero one. If he disagrees with Royal Flush's stance on immigration, how about becoming Border Patrol Man instead of Paragon and trying to help out where it really matters? Superheroes are always trying to impose their own morality instead of enforcing existing standards as defined by society.
I don't think superheroes should try to effect meaningful change in society. The effect he's trying to have is on the individual people who make up the society. Paragon became involved because he saw Flush's effect on an individual: A scared little girl. His continued interest isn't in silencing Flush or even changing his mind; he just sees the direct impact Flush has on people around him. I think if a superhero becomes too involved in rooting out the cause of social problems, he threatens to abuse his power rather than putting it to good purpose. Vindicator's idea that he's fighting the real problem is just an excuse to indulge his anger by directing it at anyone who represents the thing he's mad at. Paragon doesn't have an answer; he just feels that the response should be positive. He's not perfect, though, so his approach can be just as flawed. Even so, I don't think his concept of morality is antithetical to societal standards.
Thanks for the comments, by the way. Hope I'm not coming off as defensive in my responses. I think this is an interesting conversation to have in a world where the role of morality and the definition of heroism are not always clearly defined.
No you aren't coming across as defensive at all, although being the creator you have every right to be passionate. I have worried about coming across as overly critical and haven't been commenting on every strip because I may seem nitpicky or negative.
I wonder if Paragon will ever wake up and see it's the political system that's the root of his problem and not any one man. Even if he 'beats' Royal Flush and gets the man to change his political stance, the system that RF is a product of still exists. The people RF represents and appeals to still exist. Paragon is only looking to treat the symptoms and not the problem.
ReplyDeleteSuperheroes can't affeect change in any meaningful way. They have to get in and work within the system instead of outside of it. If Paragon really wanted to help he'd be wearing a cop uniform instead of a superhero one. If he disagrees with Royal Flush's stance on immigration, how about becoming Border Patrol Man instead of Paragon and trying to help out where it really matters? Superheroes are always trying to impose their own morality instead of enforcing existing standards as defined by society.
I don't think superheroes should try to effect meaningful change in society. The effect he's trying to have is on the individual people who make up the society. Paragon became involved because he saw Flush's effect on an individual: A scared little girl. His continued interest isn't in silencing Flush or even changing his mind; he just sees the direct impact Flush has on people around him. I think if a superhero becomes too involved in rooting out the cause of social problems, he threatens to abuse his power rather than putting it to good purpose. Vindicator's idea that he's fighting the real problem is just an excuse to indulge his anger by directing it at anyone who represents the thing he's mad at. Paragon doesn't have an answer; he just feels that the response should be positive. He's not perfect, though, so his approach can be just as flawed. Even so, I don't think his concept of morality is antithetical to societal standards.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, by the way. Hope I'm not coming off as defensive in my responses. I think this is an interesting conversation to have in a world where the role of morality and the definition of heroism are not always clearly defined.
ReplyDeleteNo you aren't coming across as defensive at all, although being the creator you have every right to be passionate. I have worried about coming across as overly critical and haven't been commenting on every strip because I may seem nitpicky or negative.
ReplyDelete