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superfan1 (superfan1) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-08-03 01:48:00

Entry tags:

char: superman/clark kent, creator: dan jurgens, creator: louise simonson, publisher: dc comics

Superman vs Domestic abuse
.

From Superman: The Man of Steel #16 and Superman #72.

Clark discussing his frustrations with Pa Kent and then Lois, reflecting on an incident early in his Superman career where he dealt with a wife beater. Clark relate how he later found out the wife's dead killed by her abusive husband, as he goes to a reported crime scene to cover it.

While Lois convinces the wife to call a women's shelter. Superman follows up on the husband,find him wanting to commit suicide by jumping a bridge. Superman reaches out to him and convince the guy to get help.

(Post a new comment)

	box_in_the_box 2009-08-03 08:23 am UTC (link)
	Ugh. SO Lifetime. The funny thing? I'm pretty sure that flashback story is almost a panel-for-panel retelling of a Golden Age Superman story. I actually really like the idea of them trying to incorporate that old continuity into the character, to show how much he's evolved. Too bad the rest of this reads like a script for a Lesley Ann Warren made-for-TV movie, though. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	filthysize.livejournal.com 2009-08-03 08:51 am UTC (link)
	(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	cmdr_zoom 2009-08-03 02:40 pm UTC (link)
	I knew it. Something about the poses, the dialogue... Back when the character was pure wish-fulfillment, and to hell with any of society's rules that got in the way. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

proteus_lives, 2009-08-04 05:21 am UTC

	icon_uk 2009-08-03 11:52 am UTC (link)
	I'd say the fact that other media have presented it a something soapy, shouldn't in any way discourage comics from trying. And given the fact it IS a real problem, there are a limited bnumber of ways it can be presented without appearing flip or just plain dismissive. Out of curiosity, how would you have handled it? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

box_in_the_box
2009-08-03 03:06 pm UTC (link)

Hard to say.

I mean, yes, I appreciate that they're trying, and the fact that the story actually acknowledged that primary-colored solutions don't always work for complex problems is an unexpected plus, but I feel like so much attention gets focused on the burly guy who whips his wife over burnt pot roast that we ignore the more subtle nuances of spousal abuse. It's kind of like where portrayals of rape used to be, back when everyone thought it was just strangers in the bushes.

It didn't help that the art made the wife look like she'd suffered toxic waste burns rather than being beaten.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	sherkahn 2009-08-03 08:24 am UTC (link)
	Eek. Must be one of the toughest things to write about, for Supes. I have a guess how every other hero would have handled it, but having Superman deal with this and still remain Superman must have been hard. I will have to let this simmer in my nogging... meanwhile (cue 60's Batman guitar slide), god that is some tacky 90's art. (Reply to this)

	lawrence_live 2009-08-03 10:48 am UTC (link)
	Well, I like it at least. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	lang_ea 2009-08-03 03:25 pm UTC (link)
	Me too. I dig the long face and glasses combo on Clark Kent in this one. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	lawrence_live 2009-08-05 01:17 am UTC (link)
	Also, I love righteous angry Superman, and especially tough Clark Kent! Go Clark! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	ccsharumun 2009-08-03 12:33 pm UTC (link)
	I actually kind of like this, story-wise. It's interesting to see the "strongest man in the world" up again a foe he can't simply beat the crap out of and be done with it. He was facing more than just a man who beat his wife, but a beaten wife who wouldn't leave her husband. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	trelas 2009-08-03 12:56 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, I also kind of liked that in the story. I was also fond how Superman is visibly confused on what is the right thing to do as he can't force the woman to do anything. (Reply to this) (Parent)

psychop_rex
2009-08-05 11:31 pm UTC (link)

Agreed - those kinds of stories are always interesting. For all that people go on about 'how is Superman interesting; he's SUPERMAN, you can't possibly beat him', I personally think that's one of the things that MAKES him interesting, for the simple reason that he's used to being able to face any obstacle. Therefore, when he runs across something that he can't handle through simple force, it throws him a little - he has to stop and really THINK about it before he can deal with it, which means that any Superman story dealing with such matters is likely to be a fairly thoughtful and interesting one, if it's at all well-written.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

fungo_squiggly
2009-08-03 01:03 pm UTC (link)

Back in college, we had a very interesting presentation once on domestic abuse versus consensual BDSM relationships. One of the presenters was a domestic abuse victims' advocate (and a survivor of an abusive relationship herself), and the other presenter was a, um, leather daddy. We got to see him flog a volunteer in front of the audience!

Anyway, what we see dealt with in these scans is clearly horrible domestic abuse. And yet the addition of a B-story where Clark recounts trying to intervene in a different case of "abuse" and ends up learning about the importance of consent and safe-words and such, and how a BDSM relationship differs from an abusive one, would have been quite a sight to see.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	btravage.livejournal.com 2009-08-03 02:36 pm UTC (link)
	Frankly, that would seem a tad dismissive of the issue. (Reply to this) (Parent)

brandiweed.livejournal.com
2009-08-03 03:59 pm UTC (link)

And yet the addition of a B-story where Clark recounts trying to intervene in a different case of "abuse" and ends up learning about the importance of consent and safe-words and such, and how a BDSM relationship differs from an abusive one, would have been quite a sight to see.

And I'm sure we'll see that right around the time Dick Cheney is hauled into the Hague to stand trial for war crimes.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ashtoreth, 2009-08-03 05:40 pm UTC

psychop_rex
2009-08-05 11:36 pm UTC (link)

Except that BDSM tends to be a bit more... OBVIOUS than spousal abuse. I mean, what with the leather and latex and whips and chains and collars and other paraphernalia - not to mention the fact that verbal abuse is doled out in a more deliberate manner, instead of in a fit of rage. I think that Supes would probably get the picture pretty quickly just through listening for a moment.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	sistermagpie 2009-08-03 01:39 pm UTC (link)
	This story definitely sucked me in. Doesn't really matter if you're Superman or the neighbor next door, you're pretty much helpless. (Reply to this)

zordboy
2009-08-03 01:45 pm UTC (link)

It's a little cliche, but you have to respect what they were trying to do. And I do love the idea that, on delicate social issues where even Clark is hesitant to tread, Lois is content to just kick down the fucking door.

(yes, Clark is the one who actually kicks down the fucking door, but you know Lois was about to)

Besides, you know Batman would've just dropped the guy out of the window first go.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	unknownscribler 2009-08-03 02:17 pm UTC (link)
	Batman would have kept an eye on the guy. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

silicone_soul, 2009-08-03 03:41 pm UTC

xammax, 2009-08-03 03:42 pm UTC

tahngarth, 2009-08-03 05:54 pm UTC

tahngarth, 2009-08-03 05:53 pm UTC

selenesue
2009-08-03 02:21 pm UTC (link)

Superman's presence just drove the abusive husband's sense of masculine threat/defense to the extreme.

It's different with Lois in the equation. It would have been different if it had been Supergirl or Wonder Woman kicking in the door too. The abused wife has a sympathetic person to give her some strength that she can accept.

Hard issues. It's not just scaring bank robbers anymore.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

dr_hermes, 2009-08-03 03:34 pm UTC

selenesue, 2009-08-03 03:42 pm UTC

dr_hermes, 2009-08-03 06:39 pm UTC

dustbunny105, 2009-08-03 07:57 pm UTC

dr_hermes, 2009-08-03 08:40 pm UTC

dustbunny105, 2009-08-04 05:24 pm UTC

dr_hermes, 2009-08-05 12:22 am UTC

sir_razorback, 2009-08-03 04:27 pm UTC

crinosg, 2009-08-03 05:02 pm UTC

fungo_squiggly, 2009-08-03 05:32 pm UTC

mooppoom, 2009-08-03 07:14 pm UTC

runespoor7, 2009-08-03 07:46 pm UTC

zordboy, 2009-08-04 12:18 am UTC

fungo_squiggly, 2009-08-04 01:09 am UTC

	interrobamf 2009-08-03 06:21 pm UTC (link)
	I'm amused by Clark's choice in exercise clothing. Great way to hide your superhuman muscles and height, Clark. (Reply to this)

	jcbaggee 2009-08-03 06:38 pm UTC (link)
	Ya know, it's really sad, but as I'm reading this and seeing Superman try to stop a man who's abusing a woman...all I can really think of is... (Reply to this) (Thread)

	dr_hermes 2009-08-03 06:51 pm UTC (link)
	Yep, so sad. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

mooppoom, 2009-08-03 07:35 pm UTC

scottyquick, 2009-08-03 09:44 pm UTC

jcbaggee, 2009-08-03 11:59 pm UTC

kamino_neko, 2009-08-04 01:04 am UTC

scottyquick, 2009-08-04 01:08 am UTC

kamino_neko, 2009-08-04 01:17 am UTC

mooppoom, 2009-08-04 04:43 am UTC

dr_hermes, 2009-08-04 03:43 pm UTC

scottyquick, 2009-08-05 02:39 pm UTC

espanolbot, 2009-08-03 10:04 pm UTC

	milleniumrex 2009-08-03 11:39 pm UTC (link)
	I can never remember the context for that. Is it from one of the 358 times Superman was mind-controlled? Or is there another explanation? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

jcbaggee, 2009-08-03 11:56 pm UTC

milleniumrex, 2009-08-03 11:57 pm UTC

adon_ca, 2009-08-04 12:31 am UTC

	(Anonymous) 2009-08-03 10:55 pm UTC (link)
	Not sure if anyone's posted this, but in Action Comics #1 (June, 1938) On page 5, Supes has to help a woman who's a victim of Domestic Abuse. Seems good ole Supes was always keeping an eye out for the girls :) (Reply to this)