Lord Liaden

That scene in the first Avengers movie had only one woman in it. If there had been no women, no one would have said boo.

If he ever changes his mind, we'll be proud to have you.

Many years ago, someone posted a detailed 4E Silver Surfer write-up to an early incarnation of these forums. I'm afraid I can't remember the person's name, and not a lot of the details; but one thing that stuck in my mind was that they built the Surfer's Power Cosmic as a series of cumulative Variable Power Pools which added together. All Powers in the Pool cost Endurance, but each Pool had a progressively higher Increased END Limitation for all of them, as a game-balancing factor. When all VPP were used together they allowed this version of the Surfer to throw epic attacks or other effects, but which left him almost drained of END.

Ethnic groups, religious groups, language groups, cultural groups... nobody wants to see everything they know and value, that they equate with their own identity, disappear, whether it's deliberately destroyed or simply absorbed or supplanted. Human instinct is to fight to preserve that, even if it's hopeless. That's playing out right now around the world.

Neither Cheney nor Romney could be called in any way "progressive." They voted with their party and with Trump's policies most of the time. I'm sure they'd be happy to capitalize on the cancel culture talking point if it's to their advantage. They just have enough integrity left that they won't support an outright lie being foisted on the American people that undermines democracy, and enough self-respect left that they won't kiss Trump's ring just to get reelected. It's appalling that even that bare minimum has nearly vanished from the GOP.

OTOH MCU Spider-Man didn't get an origin story. Marvel clearly understood most audiences knew it by then from multiple movies. And MCU Hulk's origin was covered in a flashback montage in the first five minutes of his movie. Another character with a history in other media making him known to a wider audience.

But the politicians on the Right who scream about it definitely are trying to distract from their own shenanigans. At least the ones who aren't flat-out stupid or crazy.

It's questionable whether Stan or Jack really had that concept developed when they first created the X-Men. Just as it's questionable whether it's coincidence that DC debuted their own team of misfits led by a wheelchair-bound scientist, the Doom Patrol, three months earlier. TBH I prefer the tack taken by the official Champions Universe. Mutants are a thing, and there are elements of society who see them as a threat to "normal humans" and have even mobilized to destroy them; while there are also violent mutant supremacists who want "their people" to dominate the world. But both are a minority, among the general populace and superhuman mutants. OTOH Book Of The Empress describes an alternate-universe Champions Earth which offers a more logical path to mutant suppression. In that world Menton took control of Doctor Destroyer's vast organization, recruited other mentalist villains, and attempted to conquer the world, initiating a global war. Menton was ultimately stopped, but at great cost. A traumatized humanity readily supported draconian legal and security measures to prevent mentalists from again becoming a threat. Because the majority of mentalists were mutants, those measures were later extended to all mutants. Much of the authority for controlling mutants was ceded to UNTIL, but its director, Juan Martinez -- on that world a man of ruthless ambition -- stoked the public's fear of them to put even more power into his hands, and leveraged it to make himself the effective dictator of the whole Earth.

Are you looking in the 4E or 5E version of COTN? Celestar is only in the latter. (The two books share almost none of the same characters, except Borealis.)

The most beautiful looking spaceship in science-fiction history.

The point isn't to reward people who were smart and responsible enough to do the right thing. It's to try to incentivize the fools who are putting people at risk because they wouldn't do the right thing. It's not fair, but the alternative would be worse. But if it's any consolation, archer, your chance of winning any of that stuff would be negligible even if you were eligible. To believe otherwise would be foolish, but as I wrote, fools are the target audience.

I also don't think we should underrate the effect that costumes and code-names have on the perception of superhumans. People with powers are just that, people, with all our inherent flaws. It's not unreasonable to be afraid of that. But when a person with powers takes on the guise of a superhero, they become a symbol of something greater, not judged by the same standard. So long as they continue to behave consistent with the ideals they espouse, the public will view them as a different category. Clark Kent would make people nervous if they connected him with what he can do; but Superman has proven repeatedly that's he's incorruptible and will always act for the good. So, Spider-Man is simply Spider-Man, a single superhero. A whole species of "spider-men" would be a different matter, particularly if you family gives birth to some of them.

Real human beings hate and fear people for the color of their skin, or the religion they practice, or the language they speak, or where they or their ancestors came from, or how much money they make, or who they vote for. As a species we never run out of lame-ass distinctions to create someone to look down on.

I would agree that the fear of the stranger, the "other," plays a major role in a psychological justification for that attitude. But IMO it would go much deeper, in that the other in this case can be your own children. These strangers can be "hiding" in the very bosom of your family. The people you're closest to, who you think you know best, could be concealing something alien and "monstrous." Those you count on to carry on your legacy, your name and bloodline, may be genetically "corrupted." I can see that concept terrifying some people to their core. On top of that, in a world with superhumans, mutants aren't just different than you, they're more than you. They could have powers and abilities far beyond mortal men. Every one is a walking loaded gun waiting to go off. Even more intimidating, they may show no outward sign of their abilities unless and until they use them. That's the ultimate concealed weapon of which they can't be disarmed. There's no way to prepare for what any of them might be able to do, so the familiar expectations of life that help us all feel secure go out the window. IMO either of those factors could become normalized. But put them together, and you have a recipe for paranoia and knee-jerk reactionism. Of course part of the convention in Marvel Comics is that non-mutant superhumans often are treated differently. IMO that can be partly explained by them not necessarily sharing all the factors listed above. Mutagenic accidents are rare and like acts of God; deliberate experiments leave a recognizable and understandable footprint; advanced technology can be identified and isolated. The habit that superheroes and villains have of wearing distinctive identifiable costumes probably gives the average person a feeling that they can "see them coming."

As an element in that fan service, it's also a callback to a concept that ran in Marvel Comics, A-Force.

That cat looks like a ghost, though, so... That butcher must be incredible. The cow hasn't even noticed.

I don't think anyone would have trouble believing that if Trump wants something, he'll find someone who will get it for him, regardless of whether it's medically contraindicated or detrimental to his health.

Reportedly, he does. Trump is reputed to be addicted to adderall, for which one side effect is diarrhea. A former staffer on The Apprentice recently claimed that Trump often soiled himself during the show, and had an assistant charged with cleaning him up.

Man, I thought my ear hair needed trimming.

You make your perspective very clear, Spence. I share some of it, but not most of it, but that keeps life interesting.

I remember a comparison between Reagan and his VP, George H.W. Bush, that Bush was everything Reagan pretended to be. Reagan wanted to be accepted in high society, but Bush was born into old money. Reagan portrayed a star athlete in movies, Bush was captain of his college softball team. Reagan played a movie war hero, while Bush was a decorated combat officer. Reagan played a cowboy, Bush owned and ran a working ranch in Texas. Reagan was pro-big-business, Bush was a successful oil tycoon. Reagan resembles Trump in that they both sold the public an image of who they want to be seen as. Reagan was a lot more polished at it than Trump, and at least appeared to be a lot less self-serving about it.

"The difference between crazy person and Dali: Dali is not crazy." - Salvador Dali

Jimmy Carter has been called the best ex-President the United States ever had. He wasn't well suited to managing the myriad dilemmas a POTUS faces, but in since using the profile and contacts he gained thereby to promote and direct humanitarian causes, Jimmy found his true calling.