# Things I Have Learnt From Comic Books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2007, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148 "2007-04-08T01:40:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/61 "2007-04-09T02:44:42Z")
[QUOTE=RikWriter] Do you have a point or are you just arguing to argue? I think if you interviewed the publishers of the Punisher comic books, they’d tell you that they in no way condone what their character does, that they’re just telling a story, a revenge fantasy a la Death Wish. However, the writers of the rest of Marvel’s superhero comics, when dealing with the Punisher in their mags, all depict him as psycho and a bad guy. You can’t deny that, and you’re looking rather silly trying to. [/QUOTE] Well, I’d certainly hate to look silly. Therefore, I concede your argument that the publishers, writers, and superheroes of Marvel Comics have always considered the Punisher a psychotic, murderous villain. So, with that out of the way… do you have any thoughts as to why actual Vietnam vets never objected more strenuously to the Punisher? I was under the impression that Vietnam vets had to fight against stereotypes of violence and mental instability, and I assume that at least some of them read comics. Yet for decades Marvel has gotten away with publishing stories about an insane, gun-toting Vietnam veteran who routinely massacres huge numbers of people. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/62 "2007-04-09T02:55:00Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] So, with that out of the way… do you have any thoughts as to why actual Vietnam vets never objected more strenuously to the Punisher? I was under the impression that Vietnam vets had to fight against stereotypes of violence and mental instability, and I assume that at least some of them read comics. Yet for decades Marvel has gotten away with publishing stories about an insane, gun-toting Vietnam veteran who routinely massacres huge numbers of people. [/QUOTE] If I remember correctly, Frank was a pretty well-adjusted cop, who happened to be a Vietnam vet, until his family was gunned down. Then he snapped, developed a hatred for criminals, and his means of revenge just happened to utilize his military experience. I don’t recall seeing him portrayed as reliving his Vietnam experiences while gunning down criminals. (My collection includes the original miniseries, the first 50 or so issues of the regular _The Punisher_ title, as well as the first 40+ issues of _The Punisher War Journal_. Also many reprints of his early appearances in Spiderman and Daredevil comics.) ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/63 "2007-04-09T03:06:18Z")
[QUOTE=H3Knuckles] I stand by my assertion that you seem to be giving an awful lot of grief for no real reason, though, and I also maintain my statements about Punisher. [/QUOTE] Well, I hadn’t actually intended for my little corollary to **Ranchoth** ’s gun rule to spiral out of control like that. I just found the idea that comics teach ‘guns are bad’ a little amusing, considering that one of the most massively popular and lucrative comic characters of the 1980s/90s was a guy whose only superpower is an inexhaustible assload of automatic weaponry. That’s like saying comics teach that impaling people with adamantium claws is bad. If I’d thought about it a bit more clearly, I would have preferred the term ‘antihero’ instead of ‘good guy’ to describe the Punisher earlier; thanks for the clarification. Of course, I think we’re all convinced now that the Punisher was always supposed to be a homicidal maniac… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/64 "2007-04-09T03:31:46Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] So, with that out of the way… do you have any thoughts as to why actual Vietnam vets never objected more strenuously to the Punisher? [/QUOTE] Maybe they had better things to do than worry about comic books? ---
**Author:** ![Thalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@Thalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thalion)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/65 "2007-04-09T03:50:06Z")
If you are female, no matter how you obtain your superpowers, there is a side-effect that will give you large, gravity-defying breasts. For some reason, this will also affect every female who is close to a superhero. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/66 "2007-04-09T09:32:27Z")
[QUOTE=RikWriter] Maybe they had better things to do than worry about comic books? [/QUOTE] Maybe so. Well, that’s another thing to be learnt from comic books, isn’t it? _There are better things to do than worry about them._ ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/67 "2007-04-09T10:56:48Z")
[QUOTE=Thalion] If you are female, no matter how you obtain your superpowers, there is a side-effect that will give you large, gravity-defying breasts. For some reason, this will also affect every female who is close to a superhero. [/QUOTE] Damn, I have to go find where the superheroes hang out… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/68 "2007-04-09T11:30:49Z")
If your super powers depend on a prop which can be used on anyone, even you, the person whom it will be used against most often will be, of course, you. Frex, Wonder Woman’s golden lasso. (Not that I’m complaining, mind you.) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/69 "2007-04-09T13:10:58Z")
If you get married and/or have children, there’s a good chance your spouse and/or children will become evil or dead. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/70 "2007-04-09T13:23:21Z")
The word “FLICK” is never to be used by anyone, ever. Every sentence must end in an exclamation point. The presence of a superhero in the city renders the local police department incapable of solving a crime themselves. Falling from a great height and hitting the ground is fatal. However, if you are caught by a superhero in mid air, even after falling a great distance, you will suffer no ill effects. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/71 "2007-04-09T13:56:03Z")
[QUOTE=BobLibDem] Every sentence must end in an exclamation point. [/QUOTE] Only in the older comics. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/72 "2007-04-09T13:58:05Z")
[QUOTE=JThunder] Only in the older comics. [/QUOTE] True enough. I’m “old school” and would much rather go to the used comic store and buy a Superman from the 1960s than the new stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/73 "2007-04-09T14:09:21Z")
People instinctively recognize uniquely personalized exotic variations of common words. For example, if you announce, \*“I am called… **KometFyre!** ” \* everyone automatically knows the proper spelling and will never refer to you as “Cometfire” by mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Viridiana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Viridiana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viridiana)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/74 "2007-04-09T17:48:50Z")
If you are a super-power of any “unconventional” ethnicity, your ridiculous accent will imply you use your native tongue in all casual conversation, but you will lose all ability to speak in a fluid, colloquial, non-cliche manner in said native tongue. Most often you’ll simply pepper your English with phrases made popular to Americans through film and stereotypes. Sacre bleu! ---
**Author:** ![DiggitCamara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@DiggitCamara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiggitCamara)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/75 "2007-04-09T18:49:42Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool] Hmm. Has there ever been a (reasonably) popular parodic superhero comic, one which gleefully plays with the genre conventions? I can’t imagine that there hasn’t been such, but I dunno… [/QUOTE] [The Tick](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tick) springs to mind. heh ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/76 "2007-04-09T20:23:59Z")
[QUOTE=BobLibDem] The word “FLICK” is never to be used by anyone, ever. [/QUOTE] For the same reason that no-one is ever called CLINT. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/77 "2007-04-09T20:47:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Quote: > Originally Posted by John DiFool > Hmm. Has there ever been a (reasonably) popular parodic superhero comic, one which > gleefully plays with the genre conventions? I can’t imagine that there hasn’t been such, > but I dunno… There have been quite a few over the years. Look at **Ambush Bug** , for another example. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Bongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a9adbd/32.png) [@Winston\_Bongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Bongo)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/78 "2007-04-09T21:53:41Z")
Somewhat related to **Terrifel’s** post above, anyone who discovers they have super powers must immediately and spontaneously give themselves a ridiculous code name. This applies even if you don’t have a secret identity to protect. It also helps if you announce your name out loud while striking a dramatic pose, even if no one else is there to witness it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/79 "2007-04-09T21:54:05Z")
[QUOTE=Scissorjack] And the dude from the Virgin Islands, well, he just served as a sad example to crimefighters everwhere. [/QUOTE] Sadly, he _also_ served as the role model for too many comics readers. They called him **The Fanboy**. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2007, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/80 "2007-04-09T22:23:52Z")
[QUOTE=BobLibDem] Falling from a great height and hitting the ground is fatal. However, if you are caught by a superhero in mid air, even after falling a great distance, you will suffer no ill effects. [/QUOTE] Actually, I find that somewhat believable. The superhero would be able to gradually yet quickly decrease the person’s acceleration and break their fall, so to speak. A regular person would do it without the super-control, but could possibly do so well enough to keep the other person from dying (of course the catcher might die instead). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148.md?page=5)