I disagree. There is nothing cool here at all. Reading it makes me sick and is a prime example of why I avoid Johns like the plague.
I would share your nausea if it was, say Superman or Captain America that did the deed, because Superman and Captain America have been characterized as clean, decent people that fight with restraint. Having them interrogate a terrorist by tearing limbs off would be a grotesque mischaracterization. People would be RIGHT to complain.
But c'mon, that's
Black Adam. He's a results-oriented character whose power is downright frightening.
I only have so much time in the day in which to do things like read comics, read books, or watch movies. So I am very particular about what messages I choose to let in to my soul. Everything you read effects who you are and what you think about.
I can't possibly deny feeling a tingle of joy at a movie as sincere, wonderful and life-affirming as Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. I feel great every time I see that movie and I doubt I'm alone. Is that what you mean by "what you let into your soul?"
But not every movie has to be IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. Not every show necessarily has to be TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL. As Alfred Hitchcock once famously said (and I'm paraphrasing), "Fear, despair, and horror are all things audiences enjoy when they know they're safe." There's plenty of room for a movie like CHINATOWN as well as Capra's Christmas fllick..
I'm not comparing Black Adam to CHINATOWN. What I am saying is that a story and character can be auccessful for different kinds of reasons and for arousing different rkinds of emotions in the reader.
Back in comic-land, the greatest of the heroes, Superman, would never deliberately hurt someone in such a manner, no matter what was at stake, even the life of Lois Lane. (Or would he?)
Superman is my all time favorite superhero because of his ingenuity and pluck and the way every problem to him has a solution, and the very uplifting sense that nothing is really impossible to him. I don't think all supercharacters need to be this way, however.
[/quote="Great Rao"]So the question is - what do you want to be thinking about? I really do not want any more images of gore or messages of violent cruelty in my brain. Our culture is currently out of control in this regard, lost in an increasing spiral of doom. I'd rather have uplifting messages of love and hope. [/quote]
Does it really work that way? Isn't it possible that Tarzan beating up endangered species and Tony Soprano whacking somebody, or a giant snake eating a teenager is a harmless thrill that can be cathartic, and maybe even healthy?
There is something fundamentally wrong with such stories. They encourage and spread despair and loss. Hence they are extremely irresponsible, possibly even evil.
Whatever you do, don't tell Roger Corman!
I don't think there's anything irresponsible about these stories, because these stories didn't create the human attraction and appeal for sensationalist sex and violence. It was already there and they're honest enough to say that it is.