Be Excellent To Each Other

MissKov is a teacher and they are having a book day, each class has a theme. Mr Benn, Superheroes etc...


Now is Batman a superhero, although he does not have powers I am inclined to say yes, mainly because of what he does (catch villains etc)

He's a hero, but not a superhero.

Batman is a vigilante with a big bank account.

Basically an inferior version of James Brown.

Yeah, I tend to go along with Alan Moore's description of him as a "vigilante psychopath".

He was damn funky though.

And he felt good.

I think there was a comic once when he was kicked out of the superhero "gang" because he wasn't super. When they found out he was still being Batman, Superman went to kill him.
I was only told this, so it may be very wrong.

Actual superheroes are self-concious cunts, basically. Batman, ftw.

Kapow!

For such a celebrated nominal do-gooder, Superman's a dick an awful lot of the time.

Superheroes bore the crap out of me.

[vote:kalmar]

If you've got a definition of "superhero" that doesn't include Batman, your definition needs changing. Seriously.

Superman is dull, I think, simply because he can't die.
Deadpool is my favorite.


You know he's not real, right?

But he is just a mortal man like Punisher and Ironman, he does not have super powers..

Yeah, much more into horror and sci-fi comics than those spandex clad Emos.

Your nappy needs changing.

Makes a note...

Comic idea: "The New Adventures of Malaboob"

Does he get bitten by a radioactive mop?

Odd. There have been a number of non-Supers in The Justice League.

I was also told it about ten years ago, so I could be even wronger.

Certainly Batman has always been my favourite comic book hero. I'm much more keen on the idea of a mortal man able to do extraordinary things through training, ingenuity and shitloads of cash.

I've never read the Iron Man comics, but the films made him out to be essentially Marvel's lighter version of Batman, so he appeals to me in much the same way.

All this said though, the 1978 Superman movie is still the best comic book movie of the lot. Except for that slightly shit ending.

You appear to also be arguing that Iron Man isn't a superhero. If we're taking that on face value then Green Lantern isn't a superhero (just a mortal man with a magic ring) and Captain America's probably out too (just a mortal man on steroids with a shield).


Your point being?

I am not arguing. So a superhero is not just superpowers but can be the way they act?

The best definition I can think of off the top of my head is "a character with extraordinary abilities who dresses up in a costume to fight crime", but there's loads of grey areas even with that.

My general point is just that if your meaning for the word "superhero" doesn't cover a character who is without question one of the three most well-known and recognisable superheroes in the history of the medium, you should probably look at the meaning again.

You seem to be rather upset about it...

Surely it's a fairly basic etymological point? The "Super" refers to superhuman - ie. they can do things that are impossible for a normal human. Nothing Batman does would be impossible for someone else to do, given the resources and commitment.

Fathers for justice.

What about Robin?

I would say a more appropriate definition is to say, "a character with extraordinary abilities who dresses up in a costume to fight criminals who have extraordinary abilities, including, but not exclusive to, super powers."

I'd say Batman is an ordinary bloke who has given himself superhuman powers through the use of training and technology.

Well, no - he hasn't. That's the entire definition of the word 'superhuman'. Incredibly smart, incredibly skilled, and incredibly well equipped? Absolutely. Not superhuman though.

Lex Luthor is surely a supervillain but he isn't magic, just dead clever.

The question wasn't, "is Batman super human" it was "is Batman a superhero?" Given that he is over and above the average hero, surely that makes him a super hero.

I would suggest that he's referred to as a supervillain solely because he's the arch-enemy of a superhero.

Not considering in the Marvel and DC universes, the average hero is already a pretty high-scoring grade.

Well wiki sez:



And about Batman:



I'm pretty sure that there would be an army of irate spods furiously trying to edit those pages if it was that objectionable to refer to Batman as a superhero.

Heh. Not remotely.

But surely, and this will show up my lack of comic reading, the act of heroism is local and referenced to your own universe, therefore in Gotham City, Batman is a super hero, being one of only 3 people willing (able) to aid people in distress. I don't really know anything about "justice league", etc.

Fall down on the "extraordinary abilities" part, I'd have thought. But yeah, as I said even that definition is fuzzy round the edges and doesn't fit every case. I'd argue you shouldn't call The Punisher a superhero even though he'd fit the criteria I specified. Jenny Sparks from The Authority is probably a superhero even though she doesn't wear a costume.

I don't think it's objectionable, it just strikes me that the term is a sensible way to differentiate between people who've got powers and those who haven't.



Batman originally lived in Metropolis

I think the term you're looking for is "superhuman".

Is RoboCop a superhero?

Is Supercop a superhero?
Edit: if you're nonethewiser youtube him.

Is superdupergill a superhero?

Were Supertramp superheroes?

What about Alexander Supertramp? I suspect he was just a bit mental.

What about the tramp that throws crisps into a bush? The only person who'll know what I'm on about is Z (& possibly markg)

Who?

He's not that super, really.

I don't think it'd be quite right to call The Punisher a superhero even if he did have superhuman powers, mainly because (at least in Garth Ennis' run) he's an utterly broken crank with entirely reprehensible motivations.

(Though - not to poke the hornet's nest, or anything - Batman's motivations are essentially the same.)

He's not a psychopath. He has a conscience. He's possibly psychotic, though, and definitely a mentalist.

He's obviously not technically a superhero, but he is lumped in with them because his powers and skills and resources, while not supernatural, are obviously impossible. And his behaviour and background and etc. matches superheroness in basically every way, so.

And yeah, I agree that Superman is very boring. He's basically just perfect, having pretty much all the powers that anyone could ever need, and being utterly unstoppable except when writers or directors or whatever go to massive lengths to force some drama into it. It's like Captain Scarlet - I never understood why anyone ever bothered watching a boring twat who was advertised as being indestructible. No drama at all, so why bother?

Superman can always be weakened by being out of the sun's rays or with Kryptonite though.