Strawman Has a Point: Difference between revisions

** It was supposed to be a nuanced exploration of whether or not [[Super Registration Act|compulsory registration for superheroes]] was necessary to curb catastrophic mistakes and potential abuses of power. ''Both sides'' were supposed to have valid points (but supposedly supporting the Pro-Registration overall). Unfortunately, due to insufficient coordination between the writing teams of different books (as well as a ''serious'' difference in the skills of the writing teams - the anti-reg side got '''[[J. Michael Straczynski]]'''), [[Mark Millar]] failed at making readers sympathize with the pro-registration side and both sides ended up looking like straw men, with the pro-registration side looking particularly monstrous. For starters, the SHRA criminalized the act of apprehending a criminal when you yourself are an average citizen, as well as SHIELD trying to arrest [[Captain America (comics)]] for refusing to join the pro-reg side, ''before'' it was actually signed into law. To make matters worse, the actual specifics of registration [[Depending on the Writer|varied from book to book]]:

** In pro-reg books, registration was treated as a prerequisite to a superhero being a crime=fighter. Supers were given the option of not using their powers, getting trained in using them properly and to establish that they were not a threat to themselves or others, and going to prison. If they did not want to fight crime after they were finished being trained, then they didn't have to, and there was no indication that they would be forced. It was just shown that a lot of people chose to fight crime because they had made friends with their fellow trainees and they felt like they should use their powers for good. However, the pro-registration side was still not sympathetic because Tony Stark and Mr. Fantastic were portrayed as being jerks, who felt like [[Omniscient Morality License|they knew what was best]], as well as committing some blatant war crimes. But they were making excellent points throughout and [[Take Our Word for It|if Mr. Fantastic's math can be believed]], it was the lesser of a few evils.

** In anti-reg books, SHIELD [[Mutant Draft Board|forcibly conscripted anyone who happened to have any kind of superpowers]] whether they wanted to fight crime or not, and the pro-reg heroes were [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|Well Intentioned Extremists]]. When [[Luke Cage, Hero for Hire]] said he just was going to not use his powers and stay out of it, armed gunmen showed up at his door on midnight of the day the act went into effect. In ''Avengers: The Initiative,'' kids recruited were told that they either join the initiative, get their powers taken, or go to jail. Cloud 9, whose power was a little cloud that could make her fly, was recruited, turned into a sniper and sent to killing missions, even though she never wanted to use her power for crime fighting. In addition, Stark orchestrated an attack on [[Black Panther]], foreign chief of state, because his wife (who had diplomatic immunity) refused to sign up. It was quite clearly a case of "work for us or else".

** There is also Sally Floyd, the straw news reporter who argued to Captain America that the ideals he represents had already died a long, long time before he did. Though it doesn't bode well for Cap, it may very well be a case of [[Family-Unfriendly Aesop|sad]] but [[Truth in Television|true]].