# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/101 "2007-04-11T15:36:04Z")
Bah, too slow on edit, I missed post #82. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/102 "2007-04-11T16:38:36Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] No matter how massive the event; invasions of aliens and demons and gods and so forth, none of the major countries or well known real world cities like New York are ever destroyed, or even suffer permanent harm or change to landmarks. A bunch of terrorists on a plane can take out the WTC; Galactus the World Eater can’t. [/QUOTE] Isn’t San Diego a well known city by you? (Of course, whether San Diego is the real world could be debatable…) ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/103 "2007-04-11T19:04:14Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] A bunch of terrorists on a plane can take out the WTC; Galactus the World Eater can’t [/QUOTE] Or you’re a super villian intent on mayhem and destruction. You even made a laser to give Manhattan a fault line. Yet weep when just the WTC falls down. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/104 "2007-04-11T19:39:15Z")
[QUOTE=Ranchoth] •Alternate universes rarely turn out to be _better_ than the “baseline” universe. Likely, if there’s any marked improvement in one area, there’s likely to be some horrific tradeoff somewhere else. (Two possible explanations: a) Karma/The Universe/The Force does actually tend to balance itself out in the long run, or b) the comic gods are fickle and sadistic, but don’t like to be second-guessed.) [/QUOTE] Never, ever ask yourself, “What if…” It’ll never work our in your, or anyone else’s benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/105 "2007-04-11T19:44:26Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] Isn’t San Diego a well known city by you? (Of course, whether San Diego is the real world could be debatable…) [/QUOTE] Coast City, though it’s slowly coming back. Pittsburgh never got better, though of course the book got cancelled. Metropolis and Gotham both got reduced to rubble for quite some time. Well, story-externally quite some time. Story-internal, Metropolis was back within three months, but hey, they’ve got Zatanna. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/106 "2007-04-11T20:13:16Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] No matter how massive the event; invasions of aliens and demons and gods and so forth, none of the major countries or well known real world cities like New York are ever destroyed, or even suffer permanent harm or change to landmarks. A bunch of terrorists on a plane can take out the WTC; Galactus the World Eater can’t. [/QUOTE] On top of vast portions of San Diego becoming Sub Diego, and Pittsburgh getting wiped out, Vandal Savage nuked Montevideo, Uruguay a few years back (The city of Superbia now floats above where Montevideo used to be - unless it’s been retconned). Of course, a lot of Sub Diego resurfaced according to the latest Aquaman, but there’s still portions underwater, and the resurfaced portions are probably still not particularly inhabitable, and won’t be for some time. And Sub Diego included several major portions of San Diego - the zoo, off the top of my head, was one of the areas to get submerged. (Also, since ‘real world’ only applies to cities and landmarks, in 52, Black Adam recently decimated Bialya, which is a fairly major (if fictional) country within the DCU.) [QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] Coast City, though it’s slowly coming back. [snip] Metropolis and Gotham both got reduced to rubble for quite some time. Well, story-externally quite some time. Story-internal, Metropolis was back within three months, but hey, they’ve got Zatanna. [/QUOTE] None of those are real world cities, though. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/107 "2007-04-12T00:46:50Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] Pittsburgh never got better, though of course the book got cancelled. [/QUOTE] I’m not sure you can count Pittsburgh as a counter to **Der Trihs** ’ point. The books and universe in which that happened were already dying by the time the decision was made to kill off Pittsburgh and make the changes permanent in the whole New Universe. At which point it’s more another _What If…?_ than any real effect on a comics continuity. (Yeah, the New Universe limped on for another… ~10 months, and then a few other ‘bookcase’ format titles, after The Pitt, but the handwriting was on the wall, even before The Pitt.) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/108 "2007-04-12T00:48:54Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] I’m not sure you can count Pittsburgh as a counter to **Der Trihs** ’ point. The books and universe in which that happened were already dying by the time the decision was made to kill off Pittsburgh and make the changes permanent in the whole New Universe. At which point it’s more another _What If…?_ than any real effect on a comics continuity. (Yeah, the New Universe limped on for another… ~10 months, and then a few other ‘bookcase’ format titles, after The Pitt, but the handwriting was on the wall, even before The Pitt.) [/QUOTE] Don’t bother me with facts. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/109 "2007-04-12T00:52:26Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] Don’t bother me with facts. 🆒 [/QUOTE] Can I take this time to mention how cool you are just to have read and remembered that 20 year old experiment? (No, some of those titles couldn’t possibly have been some of my favorite comics titles. Not at all.) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/110 "2007-04-12T01:07:56Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Can I take this time to mention how cool you are just to have read and remembered that 20 year old experiment? (No, some of those titles couldn’t possibly have been some of my favorite comics titles. Not at all.) [/QUOTE] If I tell you I have every New Universe issue published, how much will you hate me? ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148/111 "2007-04-12T01:11:41Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] If I tell you I have every New Universe issue published, how much will you hate me? [/QUOTE] Not at all. I ended up with most of them, myself - never did get Nightwalker #1, but never was all that desperate for it, either. Sorry, you’re still cool, and you can’t make me hate you. But I might want to look at your books sometime. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-have-learnt-from-comic-books/399148.md?page=5)