Current Events > Alan Moore says superhero genre remains a white supremacist dream of master race

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https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/books/watchmen-creator-alan-moore-says-superhero-genre-remains-a-white-supremacist-dream-of-the-master-race

Watchmen creator Alan Moore says superhero genre remains a 'white supremacist dream of the master race' 'The superheroes themselves would seem to be largely employed as cowardice compensators, perhaps a bit like the handgun on the nightstand' He may have created Watchmen, one of the most popular superhero comics of all time, with a television adaptation currently airing on HBO, but Alan Moore is worried about the impact of the genre.

The writer said he believes that superheroes are perfectly suited for children and their scale of imagination. They are not, in his view, meant for adults, for whom they serve a different function, and are fulfilling different needs, and are likely allowing them to never leave their relatively reassuring childhoods. In fact, he added, I think the impact of superheroes on popular culture is both tremendously embarrassing and not a little worrying.He added, in the interview, The superheroes themselves largely written and drawn by creators who have never stood up for their own rights against the companies that employ them, much less the rights of a Jack Kirby or Jerry Siegel or Joe Schuster would seem to be largely employed as cowardice compensators, perhaps a bit like the handgun on the nightstand. I would also remark that save for a smattering of non-white characters (and non-white creators) these books and these iconic characters are still very much white supremacist dreams of the master race. In fact, I think that a good argument can be made for D.W. Griffiths Birth of a Nation (1915) as the first American superhero movie, and the point of origin for all those capes and masks.

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People on CE lost their shit when previously white comic book characters are cast as POC so there might be some substance to this argument

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I mean, yeah, the superhero is basically the ubermensch.

That's one of the primary reasons I never got into comics. The Marvel movies do a decent job of making it feel like normal people matter. Every once in a while, you'll get a citizen helping a superhero or a bald person might say or do something. It's not just a bunch of tall pretty white people doing things that are humanly impossible. (It still kinda leans that way though.)

I mean, kinda. Any sort of nerdcon is full of people who didn't grow up all the way.

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A segment of fans being assholes doesn't mean comic books are white supremacist propaganda, ffs. This is just Moore hating on comics for the billionth time.

Nobody should be taking him seriously after he made Lost Girls (you may not want to look that up).

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Moore has lost his mind.
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DundiesAward posted...

"In fact, I think that a good argument can be made for D.W. Griffiths Birth of a Nation (1915) as the first American superhero movie, and the point of origin for all those capes and masks"

Ohhhh Nononononononooooooo


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Hop103 posted...

Moore has lost his mind.

I don't think he ever had it

That's why his stories were so creative
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Seems a little over the top especially since a lot of comicbook heroes faught the nazis.

ClunkerSlim posted...

Remember that strong black superhero in the Watchman movie?

There was only 1 superhero in Watchmen and he was blue
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i like spider-man :3

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Alan Moore is a bitter old man.

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I wish Alan Moore would think more broadly and recognize that super heroes have been around for thousands of years and do serve a useful purpose. Does anyone really believe Moore has never heard of The Epic of Gilgamesh, the 12 Labors of Heracles, or the miracles of Jesus Christ?

These super heroes lend insight into the human condition from even ancient peoples, their search for an answer to suffering and mortality, and the need for stories and role models that inspire regular people to act bravely and achieve the impossible.

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Southernfatman posted...

Nobody should be taking him seriously after he made Lost Girls

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he's
not
wrong
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Oh look, the day ends with a Y and Alan Moore is hating on comics for doing exactly what he did.

Birth of a Nation does feel a bit superhero-y in the sense that the film's climax has masked men rushing to the rescue of a damsel in distress

But the origin of superheroes comes from Zorro; a nobleman of Spanish California who dawned a cape and mask to fight for the poor. Zorro himself is a roundabout takeoff of the Scarlet Pimpernel, who used disguises (not superhero masks) to fool French tyranny, as well as being a Robin Hood type.

There's definitely a fascist wish-fulfillment vibe to the superheroes, but Moore is objectively wrong when he says that Birth of a Nation is the origin of them.

Skye Reynolds posted...

But the origin of superheroes comes from Zorro; a nobleman of Spanish California who dawned a cape and mask to fight for the poor. Zorro himself is a roundabout takeoff of the Scarlet Pimpernel, who used disguises (not superhero masks) to fool French tyranny, as well as being a Robin Hood type.

I disagree

Superheroes share a lot in common with Greek myths

Hell the very earliest religious views can be seen as superheroes, the sun God, Death God etc.

Hercules beating the shit out of a lion is a comic book of Its age
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E32005 posted...

he's
not
wrong

As usual.

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E32005 posted...

he's
not
wrong

No he's very wrong and frankly it's embarrassing.

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Southernfatman posted...

A segment of fans being assholes doesn't mean comic books are white supremacist propaganda, ffs. This is just Moore hating on comics for the billionth time.

Nobody should be taking him seriously after he made Lost Girls (you may not want to look that up).

What's wrong with Lost Girls? The only reason I haven't finished it is because of some of the handwriting style used is difficult to read. In terms of content it's pretty good.

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Southernfatman posted...

A segment of fans being assholes doesn't mean comic books are white supremacist propaganda, ffs

he wasn't saying that they were propaganda. you might want to read what he said before trying to comment on it

Skye Reynolds posted...

There's definitely a fascist wish-fulfillment vibe to the superheroes, but Moore is objectively wrong when he says that Birth of a Nation is the origin of them.

he was pretty clearly talking about superheros in a contemporary context, and he only said there was an "argument" to be made

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UnfairRepresent posted...

I disagree

Superheroes share a lot in common with Greek myths

Hell the very earliest religious views can be seen as superheroes, the sun God, Death God etc.

Hercules beating the shit out of a lion is a comic book of Its age

Seeing as there is no set definition of what makes a superhero, the argument could be made. DC's Wonder Woman and Marvel's Hercules are just mythical figures placed in comics alongside people with capes and masks. But in the sense of masked heroes with secret identities and mild mannered aliases, that began with Zorro/Scarlet Pimpernel.

Skye Reynolds posted...

There's definitely a fascist wish-fulfillment vibe to the superheroes, but Moore is objectively wrong when he says that Birth of a Nation is the origin of them.

Well that plus Superman is inherently Jewish in origin and only had white supremacy shit affixed to him post-hoc.

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he is correct

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Tyranthraxus posted...

Well that plus Superman is inherently Jewish in origin and only had white supremacy shit affixed to him post-hoc.

Superman was one of the first to speak out against the Klan. No way was he inspired by Griffith's film.

dave_is_slick posted...

No he's very wrong and frankly it's embarrassing.

Yeah, this.
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Southernfatman posted...

Nobody should be taking him seriously after he made Lost Girls (you may not want to look that up).

Aaaah why did you remind me this exists

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I always feel like the first people to cry out racist are secretly the racist ones themselves. I saw it in a movie once so.

For my part, I will say that as a kid, I always sided with the x men when the government were trying to register them, or with the justice league when the government wanted their own taskforce of supers.

But now... I get it. I definitely get why the government would want to regulate basically weapons of mass destruction in human form. I no longer see superheroes as that. Suddenly it makes sense that the government would worry about them.

Yeah, that is a little flawed.

If I could fly and breathe fire, I wouldn't tell the government. But if I were the government, I'd want to know who could fly, who could spit fire, and who had super strength. It's like expecting someone not to register a tank just because they were born with it.

Seems anime wins this round

Sounds like he's stretching as much as Reed Richards

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No lies detected.

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FursonaNonGrata posted...

People on CE lost their shit when previously white comic book characters are cast as POC so there might be some substance to this argument

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Lol I ain't seen a load of horse shit like that in a while

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The right tends to lose their shit when they see a poc as a super hero or when they cast a super hero woman.

this guy must be fun at parties...

FursonaNonGrata posted...

People on CE lost their shit when previously white comic book characters are cast as POC so there might be some substance to this argument

As if CE is a good metric for the other 99.9% of comic readers. Either read the OP, actually know anything about Alan Moores view on comics or dont post embarrassing knee jerk shit like this.

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Southernfatman posted...

A segment of fans being assholes doesn't mean comic books are white supremacist propaganda, ffs. This is just Moore hating on comics for the billionth time.

Nobody should be taking him seriously after he made Lost Girls (you may not want to look that up).

Seriously there is a old superman comic literally titled superman vs the klan. I fliooed through it and sure enough hea beating up on the kkk in the comic. So much white supremacist propaganda.

Its basically a self created problem. Most people who read comics are white so naturally they want to appeal to their base demographic. But most heroes being white turns away some people of color from getting into it I'm sure.

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Moore might have a point if each and every work he's known for wasn't all white people. AFAIK only League of Extraordinary Gentleman's Nemo is non white. He literally has a "superhero" comic book which he had full creative control that's white master race propaganda according to his own ramblings

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"Crazy old man says something racist in an attempt to stay relevant!"

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https://youtu.be/mKgblaifX1s

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Interesting. It's not really a coincidence that the US military wanted to (and did, in some cases IIRC) sponsor Avengers movies and especially Captain America movies.

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so watchmen and dr manhattan's blue raspberry dick is meant to be for kids?? the fuck is this hypocrite even on about

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There's definitely a case for what he's saying, but it would be a disservice to ignore the profound influence that Jewish creators have had on the superhero industry. Jerry Siegal and Joe Shuster were both Jewish immigrants who escaped from Germany as Hitler rose to power, and they created Superman. Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, creators of the incredibly nationalistic Captain America, were Jewish too. Stan Lee - born to Jewish parents, probably Jewish himself.

On top of that, the pioneers of comic books were predominantly immigrants. Every one of those pioneers were immigrants, and Jack Kirby pioneered the genre of comics that bridged a gap between the golden and silver agea of superheroes - romance comics. Without romance comics, there might have never been a comic book industry for superheroes to return to. The entire industry has been pioneered by Jewish immigrants.

A white supremacist who uses a comic book to uphold his racist ideology would have to be one of the stupidest motherfuckers on the planet. Comic books are considered an American medium, and rightfully so as they proliferated in America. Some folks call comic books one of the true American art forms, if not the one true American art form. But much like America itself, the comic book industry is built on the back of immigrants - and the roots of many popular comic book superheroes stem from the lives and experience of their Jewish creators. If comics today are a safe haven for neo-Nazis and white supremacists, then that's a problem that's sprung up somewhere along the way and it's worth addressing. But it wasn't always this way.

The comics industry, while plagued with rights and ownership issues and the same capitalist trappings that saw tens of thousands of workers denied fair pay and proper credit for decades of work across multiple industries, is ultimately one of the purest examples of the American dream. White supremacists have no place claiming comic books as their own, because if they met a comic book pioneer today, they would almost certainly beat the shit out of them due to their bigotry and malice.


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UnfairRepresent posted...

There was only 1 superhero in Watchmen and he was blue

So do you not consider Batman a superhero?

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