To be honest with you, Marvel would be a much safer place to stay. While there are pan-global (and even the occasional pan-cosmic) threats, they are nowhere as potent nor as often as their DC occurences.
The Marvel world would also be more interesting, and getting powers seems to be much easier (you may not get tectonic plate shifting powers, but levitating a pencil or two .....that's easy).
However, the most important reason (next to relative safety) is that in the DC world you would be a human living in a place where gods flit in and out of humanity. While Marvel also has its share of 'very powerful' beings, it is not like DC where even B-listers (e.g. Animal Man) can shut down the planet if they wanted to (in his case through contact with the Red).
Living with gods can be a very frightening experience if you are merely human .....most people would either fall into a state of mindless worship (one way of their minds to cope with things), or either live in a state that is similar to that in Zimbabwe (where you fear these 'deities' in the same way people fear dictators ...only in this case they are omnipotent dictators).
Think about Superman ....even though he is a hero (for now), are you sure you would be THAT comfortable with BIG BROTHER (in this case invulnerable, omnipotent, and so fast he is basically omnipresent) looming high over the sky?
IT would be fun for the first week ....but then you'd start to wonder ....what if Superman went bad .....what if the JLA went bad .....if Zatanna got PMS ....what if someone like the Martian Manhunter went bad (not to mention if he turned into the Burning) .....
That is something you'd never have to worry about when it comes to Spiderman.
I'd much rather live in Marvel if only for the Initiative and SRA preventing what Spetz was talking about.
As a comic reader, its easy to know exactly how noble every hero is and to say that the SRA is misplaced.
As a citizen, whose daily newspaper is filled with the latest hero/villain clash and related damages?
Not so much.
Originally posted by Boy Blue
I'd much rather live in Marvel if only for the Initiative and SRA preventing what Spetz was talking about.As a comic reader, its easy to know exactly how noble every hero is and to say that the SRA is misplaced.
As a citizen, whose daily newspaper is filled with the latest hero/villain clash and related damages?
Not so much.
Bythe way you raise a very good point. At KMC people know the characters, the histories, the personalities.
However, living in such a world you would only know what is publicly available, as well as some floating rumor here and there.
Think of it: Batman. Why is the 'comic world' so afraid of a grown man who dresses up as a bat? Because, to the criminal underworld, the Batman is the most fearsome being they can conceptualize! They do not see a man in a halloween costume (as readers may, even though they also know the man is highly trained and supremely intelligent) ....what the 'comicworld' sees is a MONSTER!
That is why the very threat that the Batman will come after you (e.g. what Robin told some perps in Bludhaven) is ENOUGH to have the criminals shaking in their boots. (Although it should be noted that Batman is scary ....scary enough to have a Sinestro ring, which operates on fear, sent to him .....for the entire sector!!!!! That shows the level of fear the 'man' generates).
Thus, the perception of 'comicworld' and 'readerworld' are VERY different.
Think of Superman.
What 'comicworld' knows is that he is an alien (that just happens to look like us), and is a one-man Superpower! He can hear everything, see everything, shoot fire from his eyes, arctic cold from his lungs, can move many times faster than thought, and (since they do not have perfect information) probably does other things (....maybe he eats humans to sustain his powers?????? Such rumors would be flying about).
Think of how Governments would be afraid of Superman .....how can they even stop him?
To make matters worse, he has 'friends' that are in some cases even more powerful than him.
Think of the Martian Manhunter ....has the powers of Superman, PLUS MANY OTHERS (e.g. shape-shifting, mass gaining, invisibility, phasing powers, absorption powers, very high level telepathy, the ability to regenerate from a body part, immortality). The only thing worse than a Superman is a Superman who can take the shape of your President, walk through walls and be invisible in your room, and plant thoughts in your head that make you do stuff without even knowing!
The entire JLA would be a major nightmare for any Government ....in ways that even the Avengers (for all their strength and abilities) would not be able to compare. All of the major JLA characters, and most of the B-listers (some of the B-listers are even worse that the A-listers ....someone like Firestorm or Zatanna can foul up the world with a thought ....imagine Firestorm turning all the Fed's gold reserves into swiss cheese, or Zatanna turning the nation's rivers into curdled milk).
Or even someone like Major Disaster (who was a simple criminal until getting some powers, and turning a new leaf, before joining the JLA) calling a meteor strike (he can cause disasters at will) on New York city? Maybe the guy has a nightmare while sleeping, and in a spasm an asteroid is heading for NYC, or a Tsunami for Honolulu).
To be honest with you, the Governments (and people) would be CONSTANTLY worried about the heroes!
Meaning, that people like Superman and Green Lantern (what if THAT guy went loco) would cause enough disconcertion without even going into the VILLAINS.
To be honest with you, the people may actually be relieved when people like Despero show up, because that means that while Despero is around, Superman and his 'friends' will be fighting him .....and thus will be busy.
Meaning that for those few hours, the people of DC Earth do not have to worry about their 'heroes' since they are otherwise occupied.
However, once the fighting ends, once again you have to worry what those 'gods' are thinking of doing while they sit at that Space Station orbiting high above the planet .....after all, they EACH have so much power, and who will be watching the watchmen?
In Marvel, at least, even the superheroes are in various blocks. But in DC, even the various super-hero teams are HOMOGENOUS (think of it ....the JLA is related to the JSA is related to the Teen Titans is related to the Outsiders is related to the .......)
Homogenous. If one turns against you, chances are the rest will also do the same.
Think of Captain Marvel (even before he took on the power of Shazam) ....a KID who has the powers of ancient deities ....and that SMILE of his. Never trust a person who is always smiling.
To be honest, if we lived in 'comicworld,' we would SUPPORT and VOTE for people like Lex Luthor. Yes, Lex. The reason is we would see him as the only hope mankind has against our 'protectors.'
Honestly, think of it. A world where gods fly and walk amongst us, change our perceptions, wield magic, speed through walls, look like us.
No wonder in ancient superstitious societies where people had many gods that they believed lived in the rivers and the jungles and the seas, why people were ALWAYS SO AFRAID.
Imagine looking outside your window and seeing plastic man, 50 feet tall, moving past your window. In 'readerworld' that is silly and humorous, but in 'comicworld' that would actually be VERY scary.
I'd rather live in Marvel. There would be some fear, but not the crazy amounts to be found in DC.
Goodness, even places like Gotham and Bludhaven, where the Bat Family has more or less managed the place without the real super-capes, life is so scary and dreary. Also think about it ....several criminals have decided to flee to Metropolis from Gotham, prefering to face Superman rather than deal with Batman (what does that tell you about that grown man wearing a halloween costume .....Batman is one sick individual).
People would only enjoy living in DC for one week ...a month at the most. Then they would spend their nights in fear and their days in dread.
" Green Lantern (what if THAT guy went loco) "
See Alexander Nero, Parallax, Sinestro, the Alpha Lanterns, Kyle Rayner, etc, etc, etc.
It's always amazed me that more GLs aren't corrupted by the power or have their rings suspended after emotional distress. The ring is a very scary thing in the hands of a good GL.
While I agree with 95% of your post, I must dispute your including Superman in someone who is feared. Aside from the Supes gone rogue thought, which is a legit concern, the part about Big Brother is unfair. Even a normal citizen who meets Superman can see he's a stand-up guy. Even villains see it. Superman just seems like a nice guy when you meet him not under duress. He's also a symbol, and that I think, is what you left out of your arguement.
DC is an age of wonders. Where a citizen can see good triumph over evil, can fly into space to battle a primordial weapon from beyond the cosmos (Mageddon), where gods can wage secret wars and you could be drafted (Early New Gods stories), where a man can fly and save the world by moving it with his strength, where a lasso can reveal the truth of all things to people.
You guys don't see it. You see the terror, the ignorance, the suspicion. You don't see the wonder of it all. A world like that is a world in which man can share the same stage as gods and perhaps join them.
Take Coast City for example. It was trashed twice. But guess what? After the 2nd time, when people saw the GLC defend the city, they came back. Coast City shone green at night, because people thanked and believed in the GLC for giving them hope and something to believe in.
It's the concept of heroes that makes DC great. Because in DC Earth, you can see an entire world saved by a few bright souls. And that my friends, lets you appreciate life and the better things in it.
Originally posted by TricksterPriest
" Green Lantern (what if THAT guy went loco) "See Alexander Nero, Parallax, Sinestro, the Alpha Lanterns, Kyle Rayner, etc, etc, etc.
It's always amazed me that more GLs aren't corrupted by the power or have their rings suspended after emotional distress. The ring is a very scary thing in the hands of a good GL.
While I agree with 95% of your post, I must dispute your including Superman in someone who is feared. Aside from the Supes gone rogue thought, which is a legit concern, the part about Big Brother is unfair. Even a normal citizen who meets Superman can see he's a stand-up guy. Even villains see it. Superman just seems like a nice guy when you meet him not under duress. He's also a symbol, and that I think, is what you left out of your arguement.
DC is an age of wonders. Where a citizen can see good triumph over evil, can fly into space to battle a primordial weapon from beyond the cosmos (Mageddon), where gods can wage secret wars and you could be drafted (Early New Gods stories), where a man can fly and save the world by moving it with his strength, where a lasso can reveal the truth of all things to people.
You guys don't see it. You see the terror, the ignorance, the suspicion. You don't see the wonder of it all. A world like that is a world in which man can share the same stage as gods and perhaps join them.
Take Coast City for example. It was trashed twice. But guess what? After the 2nd time, when people saw the GLC defend the city, they came back. Coast City shone green at night, because people thanked and believed in the GLC for giving them hope and something to believe in.
It's the concept of heroes that makes DC great. Because in DC Earth, you can see an entire world saved by a few bright souls. And that my friends, lets you appreciate life and the better things in it.
I agree, as a reader and lover of DC comics.
However, as a citizen of that world, would I feel the same? Would I worry about the negative what-ifs or relish in the positive facts? Would I see Superman as a benevolent savior, or as a major catastrophe waiting to happen? Would I trust people with the power to destroy continents with a word from their lips, when I can hardly trust our current leaders to not bomb a country for the sake of it, or my bank to not lose my money in some derivative trading strategy gone bad?
Would I see Superman as the paragon of excellence, or start to wonder how many illegal aliens (real aliens) are on Earth? If gods are waging secret wars, would that engross me like some glorious tale of old, or make me wonder what use my life is if humans are just some fickle tool of far-off gods waging endless wars? Would I soar in the belief that I live in an age of wonders, or feel akin to what an ant would feel in the presence of humans? Would I see myself as a master of my own destiny, or simply as a barnacle attached to the hull of a ship captained by rogue gods and fallen angels?
When I kiss my wife good-bye every morning, would I be doing that because I love her, or because I am afraid that I may never see her again because while working some super-dense Kryptonian, a body harder than the hardest diamond, will come hurtling through my office block at hyper-sonic speed (turning all of us into mush) after been tossed by Mongul?
When Lex Luthor steps up, and states that human beings are no longer in control of their destiny, and that our heroes are nothing more than benevolent animal-herders (with the animals, fed and kept safe, but still animals, being us humans) ....would I see him as a threat (as i see him when i read the comics) or see him as a HUMAN alternative to the 'gods' (as I would see him if I lived in Metropolis).
When I hear of the Batman, would I shout with joy when he stops an attack by terrorists in Gotham, or would I say a silent prayer that that monster (since I know only what is publicly available on Batman) at least feasts only on criminals (and silently wonder what he will start feasting upon if all the criminals are finished with)?
The Martian Manhunter is more popular in the Southern Hemisphere than Superman (according to comics), but when I look at him do I wonder which ALIEN SUPER-RACE is slightly better to live with, and less scary....our human looking one that almost killed me last week when he was tossed through my office block, or the green-skinned weird looking shape-shifter who I heard in a rumor last week can read the mind of every person on Earth?
When I see WonderWoman defeat some ancient monster, do I resoundly show her my appreciation, or do I wonder whether defeating some giant dragon was worth having 10,000 people and half a city destroyed (and, like most humans, people would not bother to think that had Wonderwoman NOT stopped the monster, MORE than 10,000 people would have died, and the ENTIRE city would have been destroyed ...many more cities).
Basically ....as a reader of DC, I appreciate all the heroes. The mythology of DC is actually VERY VERY good.
However, if I LIVED there, I would constantly worry for my life, and for my loved ones.
After all, these are gods!
One thing I like about Spiderman, and to a lesser extent the Xmen, is how the perception of the world they live in, and that of the readers, is SO DIFFERENT.
We, the readers, see them as heroes. They see them as threats. Threats to freedom, to their way of life ....to humanity as a species.
Imagine how they would perceive the JLA?
Themyscira. drool
But if that didn't work out, I would totally prefer the Marvel universe. EVERYONE (99.99% at least) is insanely attractive. Meaning that no matter what, I would be ripped/jacked/chiseled and every woman would be impossibly perfect. No, I wouldn't get tired of that. In addition, I'd most likely have amazing hair.
And even though it's essentially a danger-magnet, I would love to live in NYC. So what if bad stuff happens there all the time? That's exactly why I want to be there! Unending excitement. Superheroes everywhere!
Plus, there's a good chance I could gain super powers basically any day of the week. I wouldn't even care if they were lame powers. Any superpower/mutation at all would be awesome.
Of course, there's always just the fact that Marvel > DC.
Originally posted by Raoul
neither world, frankly, as i'd end up feeling pretty useless and inadequate...with powers? sure, i'd give it a go, but as just an average joe? nah...
Oh come on Raoul......you may neet up with Doom or Lex Luthor and gain powers. Heck the Mad Tinker has made a ton of regular people super suits.