Originally posted by BentleySo why da phuck does WWIII Black Adam get no respect? Why da phuck does Ion Sodam Yat get no respect for being the one superhero who lasted longer than anybody barring Monarch, against Prime solo? Let's be clear about this, I use inverse-ninja law to account for eyebrow-raising discrepancies. What are these discrepancies? For Superman Prime, and related Superman Prme discussions, there were a bunch:
While the Inverse Ninja Law can be discussed in theory, as it seemingly works, it makes for very weak arguments because it hinders a certain kind of characters -event characters, team-book characters-.It seems like a thing to gauge spot-light entities such as Doctor Doom, Thor, Loki, Hulk or whatever character's respect thread you're building 😈
No, but seriously, I can see the reasoning, but I'm not sure it can be brought in a debate as a reliable tool to measure powerlevels. There is an objective reality about lesser showings when characters are many: the number of panels in the fight. The intention of those combats is still to make the character impressive, so we deciding "is not that impressive" is against the spirit in which the comic was written. And its not as if individual vs battles didn't brought similar problems, they are just harder to define.
1) Kon-El and Bart Allen started fending him off pretty decently in their respective solo efforts in the last two issues of Infinite Crisis. Drawing blood, fighting hard, taking more than several of his shots... what? Hmph. Excuses are made, clearly he wrecked teams of heroes including them before, so it's an aberration. Weird.
2) World War III comes out after Infinite Crisis. Teth goes on a serious rampage easily rivaling Prime's during Infinite Crisis out of nowhere (seemingly nowhere since 52 was not popular). Comparisons are quickly made. Somehow, they're quickly dismissed. The superheroes are immediately characterized as far inferior, or stupid for taking him on one at a time and not piling on effectively... inverse ninja-law... wait, what? Weirder.
3) Sinestro Corps War breaks out and takes comicdom by storm. Prime makes a dramatic return. He rampages again through the superheroes. He beats Ion Sodam Yat after an issue long fight. Prime's showings are universally praised... even though we just saw it rivaled by Teth. Some comparisons are attempted again and even more quickly dismissed the second time around... wha-wha-what? Weirderer.
4) Ion Sodam Yat? He starts revealing his true power levels after Sinestro Corps War. In terms of 1v1, he was the best match-up against Superman Prime so far, bar none. Nobody lasted that long solo... nobody... not even close. Then he immediately starts getting manhandled by Mongul Jr. along with all the other GLs. So Sodam Yat suddenly sucks. He rates barely higher than Hal or Kyle at this point. So... what does that say about Superman Prime who took an entire issue to down him? Shut up. People are so disappointed that Ion Sodam Yat isn't even approaching Ion II Kyle levels much less classic Ion Kyle levels, he garners nothing but derision. Suddenly, it's like Ion Sodam Yat got his butt kicked by Prime like everyone else. The guy who still lasted longer than anybody against Prime to that point. Yea, but- cmon, what? Really weird.
5) Countdown blows chunks. But we do get Legion of 3 Worlds. Prime rampages again. Superman can't take him. Out of nowhere, Bart is resurrected. Prime poops his pants. Bart handles him, Prime runs, just like he did in Infinite Crisis. That's not even the end, Kon-El comes back too. Prime poops his pants twice over. To add insult to injury, Prime's even having trouble with Kon-El now. Insane symmetry with Infinite Crisis. Whatever, more excuses are made. Weird is spelled w.e.i.r.d.
Fast forward to now and he gets beat up by... of all people, the Teen Titans. Good gravy. People are up in arms. Somehow, being beaten up by Bart Allen + Kon-El + fewer superheroes is, like hands down, just utterly contradictory to everything we've ever seen Prime do beforehand. ..................... seriously, now? Did ya'll even read IC/SCW/Lo3W? Cmon, man.
At this point, the denial is staggering. It's palpable. It's epic. Somehow, nothing will give despite the glaring discrepancies. Oh, explanations are given, a huge hodge-podge of convenient and unsupported excuses essentially boiling down to... oh well at this specific time, he was actually really depowered, or his opponent was really overpowered, or, whatever it's PIS, shut up! But yeah, it's transparent what's going on. The one global explanation that would readily solve it all... Prime benefiting from inverse-ninja law... that just can't be it. Never. Prime's special. Superman, Konvikt, WWH and WWIII Black Adam can have their showings scrutinized- but OH NO, DON'T YOU DARE turn that light onto Prime! Don't even. Kill you to death, yo.
