Justice League is getting POLITICAL! (9-11 MIHOP reference?)

[oxbow]

Has anybody here watched the latest season of the Justice League on Cartoon Network? The good guys are going up against the US government. Lex Luthor is running for POTUS, and he's using the media to turn the people against the Justice League. Luthor then hacks into the JL's weapon system and uses it to blow up a city. This makes it look like the Justice League did it, thereby giving the MIC (run by a motley group of scientists and crooks with chips on their shoulders) the justification to go against the Justice League in all out war. I haven't watched the entire season yet, but does all this remind you of anything?

There are many other little things all throughout the series, especially this last season, that make me smile when I see them.
But it wasn't until I watched Lex blow up a city and blame it on Superman that I realized how plugged in these writers really are! Who says superheroes are kids stuff?

[BQueen]

1. Drat those subversive entertainment types!

And they can get it in under the radar since Repug types not only think that it's kid's stuff, but they don't remember what it's like to be kids.

great catch! I don't have cable anymore but it's good to know the Cartoon Network is on the good side of things. They won't turn all the kids into brownshirts...

[Behind the Aegis]

2. The Justice League

The JL has had political undertones from day 1. The series opener (when it was just the 8 main characters and is available on DVD) talks about how the military screwed up things and as working against the president on things. There was a great line in a recent one where some said they shouldn't tell the public what was really happening because they wouldn't understand, best to "think for them," or something along those lines.

I love the new series!

BTW...WONDER WOMAN RULES!

[oxbow]

3. Ha! it gets even better!

For instance, in an episode about war, two good guys named Hawk and Dove are being surrounded by thugs inside a sports bar. Dove says "This is ridiculous. Just because I disagree with you, it doesn't make me unpatriotic!"

The thug replies "No, you being a bleeding heart punk makes you unpatriotic!". Then all the sportsbar thugs gang up on Hawk and Dove. It's not hard to figure out what their original argument was about though, eh?

[The Animator]

4. The Justice League cartoons reflect the comic book story arcs.

Lex Luthor becoming President has been in the comics for years. Not sure when that story line first came out though. I can tell you that it pre-dates the first season of the WB TV series Smalleville (there was an episode involving a clarevoiant, she saw into Lex's future and envisioned him in the Oval Office).

It does present Superman with a very interesting conflict. On the one hand he has vowed to uphold truth, justice, and the American way. Unfortunately the American way isn't always aligned with truth and Justice. He honors the democracy in which he was raised, and has for generations placed himself at the service of the sitting U.S. President. As he does this he sends a strong message, that even though he is the most powerful man on Earth, he is not above the law. This helps people to not feel threatened by him, to know that even he is answerable to a higher authority, it is an act of humility. He respects the office of the President because he repects the will of the people.

But what if the people have chosen poorly. What if you know the President is a really bad man. Someone who has always been hungry for power and doesn't care how many people he hurts to get it. You have the power to stop him, but do you dare use your power to subvert the will of the people? Do you impose your clarity of right and wrong on an unwilling world, how close can you get to the line without crossing it?

Superman's morality has become increasingly complex since his first appearance in action comics. His goal has expanded beyond truth, justice, and the American way. His new role is as a gaurdian of the all the world. Sometimes protecting the Earth, and protecting the interests of the United States are in direct opposition, especially with someone like Luthor in power.

[wli]

5. I LOVE IT!

Good work, D.C. Comics!

[davidinalameda]

6. I watch it

comic books have NEVER been for kids

most of them have some underlying messages that are hidden

[oxbow]

7. Me too. I try to look at them as allegories.

I think I'm getting a bit old for the multicolored spandex and the endless fights, but the underlying stories and themes are still VERY resonant. It's what all the great writers have done, from Homer on: use lies to tell us greater truths about ourselves and the world we live in.

The underlying story in JL is about our country right now. How evil people can come to hold the most sacred seats of power. How they can use deception, even attack themselves and blame it on somebody else, in order to tighten their reigns on power. How perception is all that matters in the arena of public opinion. How unscrupulous men can manipulate public opinion to make criminal acts seem moral, and heroes look like criminals. The details of the JL saga may not be true, but the broad strokes are our country personified right now.