Those Poor People...
I always wondered what it'd be like to live in a comic book universe and have to explain to someone like I dunno a lawyer, or an insurance claims adjuster, or even just a close friend when something incredibly bizarre happens.
I'm not really talking about the big stuff, like Black Adam smashing up the city or White Martians invading or San Diego sinking into the ocean. I mean, those are pretty unmistakable.
But how about the little stuff? The really weird stuff. Like that time in Kyle's run of Green Lantern when a couple of city blocks suddenly got replaced with a chunk of future city. It reverted, but still, it'd make a hell of a campfire story.
Or you know, when Hourman turned Beth into a baby. Well, in that case, she ended up fairly entrenched with superhero life. But that sort of bizarre transformation's happened to others, I'm sure. And all the Silver Age type wackiness...
Oh, well, I bet the average bystanders in the DCU have the best "I never..." drinking games ever!
I'm not really talking about the big stuff, like Black Adam smashing up the city or White Martians invading or San Diego sinking into the ocean. I mean, those are pretty unmistakable.
But how about the little stuff? The really weird stuff. Like that time in Kyle's run of Green Lantern when a couple of city blocks suddenly got replaced with a chunk of future city. It reverted, but still, it'd make a hell of a campfire story.
Or you know, when Hourman turned Beth into a baby. Well, in that case, she ended up fairly entrenched with superhero life. But that sort of bizarre transformation's happened to others, I'm sure. And all the Silver Age type wackiness...
Oh, well, I bet the average bystanders in the DCU have the best "I never..." drinking games ever!
posted by kalinara @ 4:03 AM
16 Comments:
At December 02, 2007 4:38 AM,
Ami Angelwings said…
I think it happens so often that telling a story like that is like saying "I saw somebody jaywalk today!"
The only difference is what colour shirt they were wearing
XDDDD
At December 02, 2007 5:52 AM,
LurkerWithout said…
Makes me think of the issue of Hitman set during the Sun-Eater period. And the gang is just sitting in the bar, drinking and telling stories. Slightly worried, but generally figuring that the capes will fix it before the end...
As opposed to the Marvel universe where apparantly Sally fucking Floyd is supposed to be the Everyman equivilant...
At December 02, 2007 5:55 AM,
LurkerWithout said…
The DC Earth people also all got to join the JLA to help fight Maggeddon. That had to pretty out there...
At December 02, 2007 9:59 AM,
Anonymous said…
"Or you know, when Hourman turned Beth into a baby."
Eh? That kind of sentence needs some further explication for the uninitiated!
Which I guess is the point of the post, but still... wha???
At December 02, 2007 12:00 PM,
SallyP said…
I guess this is what superhero insurance is for. No business can do without it...just in case a giant robot happens to fall on your store or pup in the middle of a giant fight.
Lurker is right, I have that Hitman issue, and it is just perfect.
At December 02, 2007 12:35 PM,
kalinara said…
Heh, well, it's an issue of the Hourman comic series. (The most recent, starring the Android "Tyler" and co-starring Snapper Carr.)
There was a slight mix-up in the first and second issue that had some unintentional side effects. :-)
At December 02, 2007 12:50 PM,
Jeff said…
You just gave me something to look up the next time there's a sale on old comics.
At December 02, 2007 2:07 PM,
Brainfreeze said…
Knowing insurance companies, I'd assume that superhero damage would not be covered under most homeowners' policies--it'd be "act of god-like beings" or some such thing.
You'd probably have to buy it separately, like flood insurance.
At December 02, 2007 2:10 PM,
Jeff said…
Isn't that what the Moroboshi- err John Stewart Construction Company is for. Or the JSA?
I figure the big operating expense for the leagues is reconstruction expenses.
At December 02, 2007 2:30 PM,
Scott (The Mad Thinker) Anderson said…
Your post reminds me of Astro City that did a wonderful job of exploring those kinds of issues. Man, I wish that were a more regular series!
At December 02, 2007 5:04 PM,
LurkerWithout said…
There was (I think) a Bat-family No Man's Land book that touched on some of the issues of insurance in the DC universe. Its been awhile since I skimmed any of the trades for that arc, but it involved one of the "normal" people who stayed behind. Than I think the Joker killed him to steal his house. But its been awhile so I'm unsure...
I'm guessing that the AC issue Scott is referring to is the 1st issue from the 2nd volume, about the divorced dad who moves with his two daughters from Boston to Astro City. It had one of the universe's angry god types, Thunderhead, going on a rampage. But afterward it showed how quickly city services moved in to clean up, as well as how the neighbors worked as a group to help each other clean and recover...
Marvel of course had the company Damage Control. At least until the powers that be decided to make them evil...
At December 02, 2007 8:16 PM,
Flidget Jerome said…
I remember at one point in Marvel that Daredevil negociated a billion dollar insurance policy for New York. I also remember everyone immediately noting that 1 billion dollars isn't really much for New York.
. . . Though it's always taken me a rather strong suspension of disbelief to swallow the idea that people in 616 continue to live in New York in the first place.
At December 02, 2007 10:54 PM,
Unknown said…
The new blue beetle's cover story to his high school for why he was away for a year was that he was hit by a beam of light and suddenly it was one year later.
Not only did the school buy it, they already had a special form for just such an event.
At December 03, 2007 12:06 PM,
SallyP said…
NOT Snapper Carr!
At December 03, 2007 8:36 PM,
Anonymous said…
Call me weird, but I'd love to see an ongoing comic about insurance salesfolks and accountants and lawyers in a world with superheroes and supervillains. Kind of like Powers or Love Fights excepts with CPAs. Of course it would have to be about more than just the business of trying to keep up with heroes, villains, and the damage they cause.
At December 04, 2007 3:06 PM,
LurkerWithout said…
Marvel had a brief miniseries about Damage Control. I'm trying to remember who wrote it. McDuffie?
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