Tuesday, March 30, 2021

The Most Important Job


At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements.
😉

There's a new comic book show on The CW with a very familiar protagonist. Superman and Lois. And that's where I got the idea for this week's "what if?". Because in this iteration, Superman is married and has twin sons who are just starting high school. And that got me wondering... 

What if a good superhero neglected his children to the point that they went bad and became supervillians? 

16 comments:

  1. Ha! I'm not sure what would happen, but it makes for a good twist! In a happily ever after story they'd be after attention, and he'd learn to give them more time, and they would reunite in happy tears.

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    1. I did not specify that it couldn't be an HEA, so...

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  2. Oh my .... that would be some difficult story....

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  3. I think that's happened like a hundred times in comics.

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  4. It sounds like a theme that may have been done, at least in video games. It would be a sad story.

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  5. Well, when dad caught up to them it would be a double whammy! Dad to ground and super hero to kick ass.

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    1. Very true. Although, would dad go easy on them? It'd be hard, maybe.

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    2. No telling how dad would take it. That is for another post I guess...haha

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  6. Well, we see this often with regular folk and some parents enable, some try and try and try and others wipe their hands of the kids and refuse to do anything. I think super man, or whoever, would realize what happened and he would always try to help get his kids on the right side. The bad super villains need counselling and stop blaming daddy for their evil ways otherwise daddy will bring some tough love to them.

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    1. Yeah, parenting styles are different. I've seen all sorts, so it would depend on the hero as to how they'd handle it.

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  7. I could see that being an epic story. I don't watch the series, so do they know Dad is Superman? Maybe they would straighten up in their 20's but in the meantime, Superman is in for lots of heartache.

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    1. The kiddos on the show aren't going bad. It was just a thought I had while I watched, as Superman was trying to balance superheroing and family life. I thought, "What if he got it wrong?" (And yes, the kiddos know, but it was a reveal in the pilot.)

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  8. This reminds me of a story published in the comic magazine "2000 AD", from which Judge Dredd originated. Everyone on the planet except one down-on-his-luck divorced father developed super powers in an instant. It was bizarre, to say the least. Be well!

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I appreciate your comments.

I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.

*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.