Paragon doesn't understand the necessity of violence as a tool because he is unable to be hurt by the mortals he fights. He's essentially invincible and unstoppable. It's easy for him to preach against fighting because he can't be beat. He's even cocky in he bullets strip.
I find him as unrelatable as every other ultra super powered white guy cartoon hero ever written, except Captain America. Cap is mortal, knows what it is to be weak, and embodies political ideas born of patriotism. What does Paragon know of real conflict? Of vulnerability and suffering? How can a man who doesn't have to eat take the moral high ground over someone who has to steal for food?
That's why he comes across as a huge asshole. There's no stakes in it for him. He can't be harmed by disease or violence so he lives in fear of nothing and expects everyone else to think like he does. Even beyond his powers he's completely unrelatable as a character because I still haven't seen where he got his ideals.
Where will Paragon go if it all turns to crap? He can just fly away and say oh well. He really has no horse in the race. Who appointed him god incarnate to preach to us all the perfect morality? I'm really turned off by the guy.
Paragon's vulnerability isn't in the possibility of personally coming to harm, it's his love for humanity. That's the source of his strength, but it's difficult to be an idealist in a world where there is no absolute morality. His fear is that with all his powers he may not be able to make a real difference, which is kind of vindicated in your concern that nothing he does can actually address the issues that cause the problems he's trying to stop.
Paragon doesn't understand the necessity of violence as a tool because he is unable to be hurt by the mortals he fights. He's essentially invincible and unstoppable. It's easy for him to preach against fighting because he can't be beat. He's even cocky in he bullets strip.
ReplyDeleteI find him as unrelatable as every other ultra super powered white guy cartoon hero ever written, except Captain America. Cap is mortal, knows what it is to be weak, and embodies political ideas born of patriotism. What does Paragon know of real conflict? Of vulnerability and suffering? How can a man who doesn't have to eat take the moral high ground over someone who has to steal for food?
That's why he comes across as a huge asshole. There's no stakes in it for him. He can't be harmed by disease or violence so he lives in fear of nothing and expects everyone else to think like he does. Even beyond his powers he's completely unrelatable as a character because I still haven't seen where he got his ideals.
Where will Paragon go if it all turns to crap? He can just fly away and say oh well. He really has no horse in the race. Who appointed him god incarnate to preach to us all the perfect morality? I'm really turned off by the guy.
Paragon's vulnerability isn't in the possibility of personally coming to harm, it's his love for humanity. That's the source of his strength, but it's difficult to be an idealist in a world where there is no absolute morality. His fear is that with all his powers he may not be able to make a real difference, which is kind of vindicated in your concern that nothing he does can actually address the issues that cause the problems he's trying to stop.
ReplyDelete