# You're a comic Editor in Chief: make us angry!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [May 18, 2009, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845 "2009-05-18T12:34:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/41 "2009-05-19T00:14:26Z")

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Suddenly, all the super science and supertech and ancient arcane knowledge gets used like it would in the real world; it permeates life and becomes the norm. There are no superheroes or villains because _ **everyone** _ is a mutagen enhanced cyborg with mystic training, or something of the kind. All the old supers are stuck trying to live life supporting themselves as normal people, as no one special.

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**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/42 "2009-05-19T00:25:25Z")

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> [@amanset](#):
>
> Bruce Wayne killed his own Parents for forcing him to go to the Opera.

Why would he kill them for taking him to _The Mask of Zorro_?

Just goes to show how popular the movies are; they’re supplanting the comics in some cases!

**Der Trihs** : You really think that kind of tech/magic would be accessible to _everyone_? The tech would be hideously expensive, and who knows what kind of training requirements the magic would require? I mean, martial arts would be a LOT easier for everyone to get into, and not everyone is a martial artist…

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**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/43 "2009-05-19T01:25:29Z")

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Sort of going off what Der Trihs said…

Weapons and violence now function like they do in the real world.

Being really good at karate doesn’t give you the ability to dodge bullets, especially when you’re wearing a giant cloak or a helmet shaped like a cat’s face. Costumed adventurers without invulnerability suddenly find themselves beaten to death by street thugs or shot in the face trying to prevent crimes.

Most members of superhero teams like the X-Men and Justice Society are slaughtered by groups of supervillains weilding AK-47s.

Likewise, hitting someone in the back of the skull hard enough to render him unconscious has a non-zero chance of killing or paralyzing him.

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/44 "2009-05-19T01:36:17Z")

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Batman realizes that Thomas Wayne sexually abused him as a child – and his mother knew about it.

But with the help of therapy, he takes on a whole new outlook on life. He lightens up, fighting crime with a smile and clever quip and soon becomes the Bright Knight of Gotham.

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**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/45 "2009-05-19T01:43:57Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Suddenly, all the super science and supertech and ancient arcane knowledge gets used like it would in the real world; it permeates life and becomes the norm. There are no superheroes or villains because everyone is a mutagen enhanced cyborg with mystic training, or something of the kind. All the old supers are stuck trying to live life supporting themselves as normal people, as no one special.

That’s pretty much the idea of [_Top 10_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_10_(comics)).

There was also a play on this idea with the Fantastic Four (I think it was the Ultimate version) where everyone on Earth acquired superpowers. The one exception was Ben Grimm who finally got his wish and went back to being a regular non-superpowered person.

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**Author:** ![Anduinel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Anduinel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduinel)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/46 "2009-05-19T02:10:11Z")

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Northstar was only going through a phase; he realizes this and proposes to Nurse Annie on the spot.

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**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/47 "2009-05-19T03:30:49Z")

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Robin’s by himself in bed. Suddenly, a light nimbus appears on Batman’s profile, hovering in the darkness. Then Batman says “Robin, I have needs…” From then on, Robin becomes the whiny Lifetime Originals archetype rape victim and Batman never dates a woman again.

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**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/48 "2009-05-19T04:26:28Z")

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> [@JThunder](#):
>
> Hire Rob Liefeld.

Aw, jeez, there’s always got to be one. Here we are, having a good time posting about fun stuff like murder and rape and some bastard has to take it TOO FAR and bring everybody down.

Not cool, man. Not cool.

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**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/49 "2009-05-19T06:54:59Z")

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Yeah, Liefeld would be great, but you need a story man. I say we reverse the tired old “comic-to-movie” paradigm and hire Uwe Boll as Editor-in-Chief!

(OK, yeah, he rapes video games, not comic books – but still!)

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**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/50 "2009-05-19T10:53:29Z")

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> [@Tengu](#):
>
> So…you wouldn’t do anything, then?

X-force, X-factor, weapon-x, ultimate this, that and the other…need I go on? I mean reducing it to 4 titles. OK, the individual avengers can have their own titles too, but that’s it.

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**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/51 "2009-05-19T10:57:15Z")

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> [@Scissorjack](#):
>
> Good news, everyone! [Simon Bisley](http://www.simonbisleyonline.com/simon-bisley-pic4.html) has been signed to draw Neil Gaiman’s new [Death](http://www.geocities.com/area51/zone/9923/post3.jpg) miniseries!

Fuck, no!

I like Bisley’s _Slaine_, but I would hate that style for Gaiman…  
Oh, I see. You got me.

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**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/52 "2009-05-19T11:18:42Z")

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_X-Men Babies_

Please tell me this doesn’t already exist.

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**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/53 "2009-05-19T11:23:29Z")

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> [@JThunder](#):
>
> Hire Rob Liefeld.

[The 40 Worst Rob Liefeld Drawings](http://progressiveboink.com/archive/robliefeld.html)

And I hated Bisley’s _Slaine_: Glenn Fabry was the man on that strip.

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**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/54 "2009-05-19T11:47:32Z")

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> [@Leaper](#):
>
> Why would he kill them for taking him to _The Mask of Zorro_?

TBH I’m a Marvel guy. Maybe that’s why I’m trying to ruin a DC character 😉

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**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/55 "2009-05-19T11:56:58Z")

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> [@Scissorjack](#):
>
> And I hated Bisley’s _Slaine_: Glenn Fabry was the man on that strip.

True enough, but I don’t discount Bisley’s run. _Horned God_ worked for me.

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**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/56 "2009-05-19T14:46:27Z")

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> [@Der Trihs](#):
>
> Suddenly, all the super science and supertech and ancient arcane knowledge gets used like it would in the real world; it permeates life and becomes the norm. There are no superheroes or villains because everyone is a mutagen enhanced cyborg with mystic training, or something of the kind. All the old supers are stuck trying to live life supporting themselves as normal people, as no one special.

a.k.a. “Syndrome’s Revenge”.

> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> There was also a play on this idea with the Fantastic Four (I think it was the Ultimate version) where everyone on Earth acquired superpowers. The one exception was Ben Grimm who finally got his wish and went back to being a regular non-superpowered person.

You mean he became [Normalman?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalman)😛

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**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/57 "2009-05-19T16:09:31Z")

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> [@Gyrate](#):
>
> _X-Men Babies_
> 
> Please tell me this doesn’t already exist.

I can’t tell if you’re jerking my chain or not, so here you go: [X-Babies!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Babies)

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**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/58 "2009-05-19T17:06:52Z")

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> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> That’s pretty much the idea of [_Top 10_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_10_(comics)).
> 
> There was also a play on this idea with the Fantastic Four (I think it was the Ultimate version) where everyone on Earth acquired superpowers. The one exception was Ben Grimm who finally got his wish and went back to being a regular non-superpowered person.

BTW- Just hopping in to highly recommend Top Ten. It’s a great pastiche of comic ideas, and a decent handling of the ‘what if everyone was a superhero?’ question, with a strong dash of Hill Street Blues tossed in.

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**Author:** ![DiggitCamara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@DiggitCamara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiggitCamara)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/59 "2009-05-19T19:40:05Z")

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> [@stuthehistoryguy](#):
>
> This actually sounds like a pretty interesting story…except that the readers would have to believe that he could _physically_ come back from alcoholism and be Batman again. It worked for Iron Man, since the tech was really doing all the cool stuff, but to go from being a drunk to the World’s Greatest Gymnast/Martial Artist in a big hurry might stretch credulty.

Well, it worked in “The Dark Knight Returns”, didn’t it? Bruce didn’t exactly become an alcoholic during his hiatus, but Alfred quipped something like “If you continue at this pace, there won’t be a wine-cellar to leave to the next Wayne generation. If there is a next generation.”

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**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-comic-editor-in-chief-make-us-angry/496845/60 "2009-05-19T22:02:15Z")

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> [@Wolverine](#):
>
> I can’t tell if you’re jerking my chain or not, so here you go: [X-Babies!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Babies)

Oh dear Lord…

I wasn’t jerking your chain - it was one of those “so horrible someone probably actually did it” thoughts. And lo and behold, there it is. Gaah. Such things should only exist in Ambush Bug comics (yes, I know- wrong publisher).

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