Grant Morrison during a panel at the Edinburgh Book Festival (via operationfailure)

#i mean superman is wish fulfillment too but for two jewish guys wanting to help people they couldn’t as opposed to like #taking out the privilege of the rich thru violence against the poor #it depends on how you want to define wish fulfillment #but it is true: superman is a working class hero and batman is not

(via anartinsorcery)

(via twoxheartedxdream)

forever reblog, especially with those tags

(via whenyourenotsavingtheworld)

Funny because I just argued about this only a few short days ago on Twitter with a guy who, otherwise, is intelligent and well spoken.  Yet, this idea that Clark is an “othered” figure was totally lost on him.

This is why it doesn’t just make me angry but actually makes me uncomfortable when dudebros get super excited about Batman beating the shit out of Superman.

The last 3 live action adaptations of Superman—-all of which found huge audiences—-have particularly focused on this idea that Clark Kent grows up feeling othered.  (In one of those adapations, Clark Kent was actually played by an actor who is bi-racial and was abandoned by his father at a young age btw.)

In several of these adapations, Clark Kent learning to accept his body and accept his heritage balanced with his intense love and identification as a human is not only a right of passage but the driving force of his identity and self-discovery. The fact that a lot of this self-discovery also often includes a human female who accepts him fully and without fear or persecution for his “otherness” is vital and important.

So when I see people talking about how “awesome” it would be for Batman to come into Superman’s movie and “beat the shit out of him”….I’m not just annoyed with you. I’m not just angry at you. You actually make me uncomfortable. Your thoughts about fictional icons and myths make me uncomfortable.

(via therearecertainshadesoflimelight)

I think it’s also very telling that a lot of these same guys who worship Bruce over Clark, absolutely hated when Dick Grayson (who is open, affectionate, paternal in a way that Bruce isn’t, often queer coded, relies on women, and is a (white-passing) man of color)) was Batman.

They don’t love the idea of Batman himself, a normal man with extraordinary will, training, and resources, but the idea of Bruce Wayne as Batman—a white, super-masculine, super self-reliant, rich man. 

I mean, I love a lot of versions of Bruce too—when he has the right writers, he’s awesome. But yeah.

(via reservoircat)

Man, I have new feelings about Clark Kent now. 

(via cockchomp)

I am so grateful for this. I am so sick of people being like BATMAN IS SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING THAN SUPERMAN. No, he is not. I love both characters but a well written Clark is just as complex, layered, and interesting as a well written Bruce-but you would never know that from the bashing and hatred Clark gets. Darker does not always mean better, and the transparency of Bruce Wayne Batman as a white male wish fulfillment fantasy is pretty damn staggering. 

(via geekygothgirl)

I admit, I was one of those “BATMAN IS BETTER” kids.  I also saw Superman as perfect and Batman as imperfect and, more human.  The people of Metropolis loved him, whereas Gotham City wasn’t always as welcoming to Batman.  

But recently I’ve been seeing that Superman isn’t perfect, either.  He’s not invulnerable, though everyone thinks he is.  He’s the perfect example of that person you think is flawless actually being very flawed.  This is probably why I loved “Man of Steel” so much.  It wasn’t just about him becoming Superman, it was about him becoming Clark Kent, which is why the villains worked so well because they came from the same place as him which meant, aren’t they who he’s supposed to be?  And it became painfully obvious that that was the assumption, since even while he was fighting them the army was attacking him, too.  

I think what’s interesting with Superman is that, I feel like we sort of grew up thinking he was the perfect image.  But, as we grew up, we discovered that there was more to him then that.  But that’s what happens when you grow up.  You notice things about the people close to you, about the people you feel are perfect.  You learn things about your family, your friends, and everything like that.  You learn that these people you have on a pedestal aren’t perfect.  We already know that Batman’s not perfect from the start, but with Superman, we have expectations and suddenly, he’s insecure and questioning himself and the reason why he’s here.  He’s actually, extremely, human.

Take, for example, even the smallest thing.  There’s an artist on Tumblr you really, really like.  You love all of their art and you think they’re perfect.  You start following their blog and you see posts that make you realize that, wow, they aren’t perfect.  This isn’t a bad thing, though.  Maybe it’s something small like, “Working on a commission and not sure I like how it’s coming out,” or something big like, “I hate myself.”  You think, wow, you question yourself too?  But you’re perfect!  At the end of the day, though, there is no “perfect.”  We’re all just human, and I think Superman shows that real well.  At face value, sure, it’s this huge guy who is always doing good and fighting evil and whatnot, but when you dig deeper you realize that there’s more to him then that.  There’s more to everyone then that.  

With “Man of Steel 2” I really think the movie has a good opportunity to not just have this colossal battle, but like, to show the development of Clark Kent more.  "Man of Steel" ended with him going to the Daily Planet, so now the sequel should show him adjusting to that life.  Usually, he’s already there, but we had an entire movie of him dealing with his heritage in a rather tragic way (last of Krypton wants to destroy his current home).  Now, he’s the Clark Kent we know, and frankly, he’s going to have to deal with that AND the destruction of Metropolis and everyone’s opinions about Superman and all that, which I’m pretty sure aren’t going to be nearly as positive as they were back in the cartoons and stuff I watched as a kid.  Usually, I love the dynamic between Superman and Batman, because Batman brings out that kind of snarky side to him.  But let’s face it, after “Man of Steel,” Superman is already there.  He spent his life travelling from place to place not for vengeance, sure, but for something that’s almost worst: because of what people would think of him.  Even if he was doing good things, he would leave because of what he feared the response would be.  And that way of thinking came straight from home: his father, who believed that people would react so badly that he DIED to keep his son’s secret safe.  There’s more to this version of Superman/Clark Kent, so honestly, maybe he’s going to give Batman a run for his money.  Not just in physical combat, but in personality.