What the hell? Seriously?

--Rawr

I got to thinking about economics and MMOGs because of a post by one of the Nihilum raider guys. I don't like his logic and all, but it did lead me to a very interesting look at a study performed by an economist on monkeys.

Linkage here

--Rawr

According to this article a while back, and this site, there's actually more people who quit WoW each month than have actually killed a single boss inside the Black Temple (high end WoW raiding instance).

That's an interesting thought, isn't it?

First, unrelated news. I have a new job. I'll have to move to southern california. Boo on moving, but yay on new job. I'll be working for one of Activision's studios, doing hybrid designer and programmer work. Again. Whee!

Ok, that aside, I've decided to write about something that's been irking me for a while. Superman. Why do I dislike Superman? He's an American Hero. Been around for decades as a shining example of truth, justice and the american way. So why don't I like him?

He isn't real.

No kidding, sherlock! Of course, I realize he isn't real. He's a comic book character, and comic book characters aren't real. However, I can read Spider-Man and identify with him. I can read X-men and identify with them. Superman... Superman I just don't get. I just don't LIKE him. It's because of his powers, and his weaknesses. Let's review.

Who is Superman's arch nemesis? If you could name the single most influential and real Superman villain of all time, who would it be? It's not Brainiac. It's not Doomsday. It isn't Darkseid. Mr. Mxyzptlk? Nope. General Zod? Not until Superman II. No, his main adversary is, was and will always be Lex Luthor. If you ask anyone on the street who Superman's greatest foe is, it will always be Lex Luthor.

This is the beginning of the problem I have with Superman. Darkseid has the Omega beams. Mxyzptlk is 5-dimensional. Brainiac has the combined knowledge and technology of countless worlds. What power does Lex Luthor have? He's smart and rich. That's it. Smart and rich.

In order for Lex Luthor to be a reasonable foe for Superman, Superman must be stupider than Lex Luthor. And since Lex Luthor is a villain, he is prone to doing stupid things like leaving gaping holes in his plans for superheroes to foil.

Yes. The real weakness of Superman isn't kryptonite. It's his own damn stupidity. This is exhibited time and time again. Superman has nearly limitless power. He is super fast. He is super strong. He is nigh invulnerable, can shoot heat beams from his eyes and freeze stuff with his breath. Even the stuff he is vulnerable to, he shouldn't be. Feel the tingle of Kryptonite? Fly away at super speed, and return with a lead suit to shield yourself from the radiation. Gigantic crystalline island possibly made of lots and lots of kryptonite? Superspeed + X-ray vision to look it over and note "Hey, there's lots and lots of kryptonite there... maybe I should take some precautions!".

Yes, Superman is dumb. And the writers have to keep writing him that way, because if he wasn't dumb he'd be boring as a character. He'd have no real weaknesses, and that's dull. Nobody wants to read about a demigod of a person who goes around righting wrongs all the time. It's dull. There's no conflict. It's just him fixing things. So he's dumb. So what?

I can't really identify myself with dumb people. Call it a personal failing. I've never thought of myself as really stupid. Maybe some people do, and they can identify with Superman making his boneheaded moves. It's not my thing. That's why I dislike Superman.

--Rawr