Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Don't Step on Superman's... er, Super Wolf's Cape...



Summer-hot greetings, shapeshifter lovers. Yep, from too chilly on the tame prairie to too darn hot. However, that’s a mild complaint given all the weather catastrophes of late. Hope you are safe and well, and getting ready for some summer fun and reading time.

Okay, then, a sort of rant ahead. Why? Because my hot button got walloped last Saturday night. There’s no other place to vent. And, my frustration level, in general, has probably passed Pluto by now.

Side Note: At least I don’t have to be frustrated over the edits for KANDY APPLE AND HER HELLHOUNDS. I completed those, and am about to do a read-over just to double check everything.

The radio show host shall remain nameless because he should remain nameless. However, last Saturday night he interviewed Gotham Chopra, yes, Deepak Chopra’s son, about how Gotham, to quote: “decoded the 7 essential laws that govern the realm of superheroes both ancient and modern, and explained how to apply these laws to our daily lives.”

Yeah, yeah, the mystical meets modern digital comics. While Gotham did have some valuable and pertinent insights, largely based on the gods and goddesses of his ancient East Indian culture... and, yes, their stories are AMAZING!... still, his version of these stories as translated for these times, seemed rather tame.

And, no, not lame. No, that description is reserved for the ‘nameless one’. I mean how often can you state that you find Superman as a superhero BORING. Oh, let’s see now, it had to be roughly TEN times during the late-night chat. Yep, at every opportunity it was the same tired of old mantra of how the nameless one couldn’t relate to a superhero as perfect as Superman.

Gee, really? How come?


What’s so perfect about Superman? He may be an alien man with super powers, but how does that make him perfect? Granted, I only know Superman from the several different TV series I've watched, including the original version. And, of course, Christopher Reeve as Superman on the silver screen.... wow, did my heart race and my breath catch.

Gosh, I don’t find saving the day, or saving the innocent BORING. It’s not like Superman was some robotic imitation of a human. He wasn’t even Spock-like. He had deep feelings and emotions. Over Lois Lane. Over the state of the world. Over... well life, and living life.

The Superman I saw was deeply conflicted at times, and faced terrible choices. Choices, he had to live with. How is THAT not human? Or, relatable?

So, he was often stoic. So, he was about doing the right thing, and being the good guy. So, he acted responsibly in his daily life, unless the Kryptonite got him, or whatever nastiness the villains managed to get him with. So, he was modeled on the ideal version of a man for THOSE times -- right after WWII.

Superman was also lonely. Very lonely, yet he persevered and made the world a better place by his actions. Heck... I bet that’s not relatable, either.

So, Mr. Nameless, he may not be relatable to YOU. Big effing deal. Like everyone else, you have a right to your opinions and feelings. You have a right to choose your fave superheroes and/or superheroines for whatever reason. And, for no reason at all.

But, get over it. Grow up. Get a freaking clue.

And, no problem... have your opinions and feelings, but don’t ‘force’ them on us as if your *opinion* has suddenly become the new religion. And, we all need to convert.

Yes, this hit home with me for two reasons. One, because of what I’ve already ranted about. And, two, because Mr. Nameless-shameless stepped on my Super Wolf’s cape. Good thing, it was White Fang’s metaphorical cape, and not his very real wolf tail. Because, hell, Nameless would be lucky to have a foot left dangling. Although, then White Fang would probably make certain he received medical assistance.

So, my Super Wolf is one of the good guys at heart. Don’t we need those kind of superheroes in our world today?

However, White Fang ain’t no saint, neither. When Pasha puts the seductress moves on him, he can’t resist, even knowing it’s not the wisest thing he’s ever done, and could cost him his mission.

And, like all of us White Fang makes mistakes. He has bad days. And, he’s damn lonely.

Not to mention his bride-mate, a woman he loved, chose another mate -- one reason he signed up for missions on Earth. Gosh, that’s not relatable, is it?

Ya know, some characters walk on the light side and feel the constant pull of the dark side. At times, they succumb. While some characters walk on the dark side, but reach for the light side. Because they crave redemption.

Redeem the bad boy or knock the good guy off his path? Either way, it’s a personal choice for the author, and the reader.

Ya know it takes all kinds of superheroes and superheroines in this world, or inhabiting all the worlds we writers create. So, why not extend an open hand, an open paw, to all of them, instead of a closed and clawed fist. Unless, of course, you’re the bad-guy, ruthless villain with extraordinary powers bent on ruling the world, the entire galaxy, then the universe. Well, hey, then a closed fist might be your style.
~~~~~~

Don’t Step on Super Wolf’s Cape

Human. Every nose in the old-timey gin joint got bent out of joint sniffing the air, including White Fang’s sniffer. The regulars cast suspicious glances, but being used to surviving in a human world, they acted as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

“What’s that ape doing in here? Isn’t it getting close to his beddy bye time?”

White Fang overhead one of the twenty-something werewolves say to his pack buddy. He, and Nick, shared a look, then took a swallow of their beers. Both of their gazes surreptitiously followed the man’s progress as he strolled toward the bar.

After a long day, he and the Guts and Butts Gazette editor, had stopped in for a cold brewski. There’d also been a few matters they wanted to discuss regarding the investigative stories White Fang had been writing about the Tiger Yakuza.

Given White Fang’s recent discovery that one of Shere Khan’s son had hacked into their computer system, he and Nick had become patrons of O’Malley’s roaring twenties’ bar. O’Malley, the grizzled werewolf owner, didn’t allow any of them newfangled devices in his place.

No one snuck one in, either. O’Malley’s nose never failed, and he tossed the offender out on his butt. With a snarl, he would inform them to stay away for the next two weeks.

Once he reached the bar, the *I just hit midlife* yuppie glanced around, a friendly expression on his face. “Hey, fellas. Quite an interesting little town you have here.”

White Fang had been about to answer when O’Malley straightened from wiping the bar, and directed his gaze at the human. “Yeah, interesting. Noticed you followed my rules. Yer not carrying one of them smartphone thingamajigs. What can I serve ya?”

“Whatever you have on tap. The wife is settling into our motel room.”

“Sure. Coming up.” O’Malley slung the large white cloth over one shoulder, and turned toward the tap.

“What’s up with all the werewolf pictures, references and memorabilia? Did the original wolfman move to Talbot’s Peak, and raise a family?” Mr. Smiley-Face Yuppie encompassed them all with his gaze.

“Something like that.” Eric, the twenty-something growled, then buried his nose in his beer for a long swallow.

“Never did get the whole *shift to beast killer during the full moon* thing,” the human announced as if his thoughts arrived from on high.

“Is that so?” Vincent, Eric’s pack buddy, challenged in his ‘pissing contest’ voice. With a stare, he set his tall glass down, the sound a definite clank on the wooden table.

“Do you know what I really can’t believe?” Mr. Yuppie mentally raised his own leg, and gave stare for stare. “Werewolves are the heroes in smut novels. Come on, what woman in her right mind would want...let’s say...relations with a hairy, ugly, butt-smelling --"

White Fang stood fast, intercepting Eric and Vincent as they leaped toward the human, their fangs bared. With finesse, he made it appear as if he merely brushed past them. Instead, he used his super strength to halt them in their tracks.

“Make that beer to go, would you, O’Malley?” White Fang leaned one elbow on the bar casually, but didn’t spare Mr. Yuppie his own fierce stare. “You’re not making any friends here, mister. Why don’t I walk you to your motel?”

“What are you, some good-guy superhero?”

White Fang raised his brows as he handed the filled plastic container to Mr. Not Smiley-Face Now. “Superhero?” he mildly asked.

“Yeah, I saw that move you put on the two college kids over there.”

Feeling the hostile vibes escalate to a dangerous level, White Fang inquired, “Did you?”

“I know a black-belt martial arts move when I see it.”

“On the house,” O’Malley answered the human’s glance and his reach for his wallet. “Just let the man here give you --"

“I don’t need anyone walking me to my motel, even if it is called Hunter’s Moon. Certainly, I don’t need superhero dude here.” With those parting words, the human pivoted, heading for the door

“Like stepping on Superman’s cape, do you?” Nick called after him.

“Like spitting into the wind, too,” the Yuppie mocked, speaking over his shoulder.

Rising, Nick set his beer down, and gave White Fang a wink that said “I’ll watch out for the fucking idiot.”

White Fang answered with a nod. He kept his grin to himself as he returned to his spot at the bar. Yeah, sport, you only get to step on Super Wolf’s cape once. After that, it’s fangs flashing in the moonlight, and one helluva lesson.
~~~~~~

Happy Month of June Shapeshifting

Savanna

Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~
~~~

14 comments:

Serena Shay said...

Oh man, now I have that song in my head. ~wink~ Wow, talking smack about Superman, that's low indeed. This world could use more Superman/super-h types who actually care about people.

LOL...great flash! So Nick's gonna see the ape home, huh. He must be doing his good deed for the week. ;)

Rebecca said...

I'm going to guess the Great Nameless One thought he was being a shock jock when he said Superman was boring. Either that or he's one of the dweebs who only thinks they know what they are talking about.

Great flash, by the way!

Savanna Kougar said...

Serena, I know that song is still playing in my head... lol...

Yeah, Nick is stepping up to the plate on this one. But then, he does care about Talbot's Peak as a safe place for Zeva.

Savanna Kougar said...

Rebecca, yeah, he was in dweeb mode. Who would care if he simply stated that was his opinion, why, and moved on... but, his dweeb attack was almost endless... argh!

THANKS!

Pat C. said...

I wouldn't call Superman lame. Bland, maybe, but only because he embodies a form of heroism that isn't in fashion right now. I felt the same way about Luke Skywalker: moral, upstanding, brave, heroic, and about as exciting to watch as vanilla pudding. Bad-boy Han was waaaay more fun, and just as heroic, sort of. It sounds like Mr. Nameless was looking to promote himself by picking on what he figured was an easy target. It's not as if Superman can fly into the studio and defend himself. (Be fun if one of the DC writers showed up, though.)

Times have changed, and so has the definition of hero. I saw this happen in real life when Kurt Angle, an actual Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, joined the WWE. He was presented as a Superman-type good guy and kept getting boo'd by the audience. They turned his character into a bad guy and he became one of their most popular wrestlers. Go figure.

I'm not quite sure what my point is. Right now it seems to be cool to mock "good" heroes and cheer flawed characters and anti-heroes. I don't know if we as a society can ever return to the innocence that put Superman at the top of the hero pyramid to begin with. I do know I left The Dark Knight movie thinking, enough is enough with the grim and gritty, why can't comic books be fun again? Yeah well.

I think this comment just turned into a post.

Savanna Kougar said...

"Right now it seems to be cool to mock "good" heroes and cheer flawed characters and anti-heroes."

Pat, that has been the trend. And superheroes like Superman are considered bland by many. Upright, stoic, stand against evil, the epitome of the boy scout. Yeah, yeah... but, hey, that's just skimming the surface of 'who' they are, and 'why' they are... imho. Everyone has a shadow side. Remember that episode of Star Trek where Captain Kirk is split, his good side and his bad side?

If the writers remain stuck on the surface of who Superman is, and don't explore his inner depths, of course, he is bland. He's essentially frozen in time, lifeless.

I know what you mean about Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. Although, truth to tell, I enjoyed them both equally. Just me... but my ideal would be a blend of heroic brave Luke and on-the-edge sexy Han... maybe, Solo Skywalker... hmmmm...

Rebecca said...

Han Solo was my favorite of the Srat Wars group, but I love old-school Superman. He was a complete dork who did the right thing be cause it was the right thing... except when Lois was in trouble. You CANNOT tell me making time go backwards just to save her from dying in an earthquake qualified as 'the responsable thing to do.'

The current trens is the badboy who goes strait for the good girl but I still have a soft spot for the goodboy who is willing to get a litle dirt on his honor for his lady wild-child.

Savanna Kougar said...

"a soft spot for the goodboy who is willing to get a litle dirt on his honor for his lady wild-child."

Yep. Me, too.

ladybirdrobi said...

Hey Savannah,
I enjoyed this one. So can we have a glimpse of White Fang's follow up to stupid human dude? I'd love to see how the dude reacts to Superwolf's smackdown.

Robin

Savanna Kougar said...

Hey Robin, I'll put Superwolf's smackdown before the Muse...and see what surfaces. ~smiles~

Pat C. said...

This whole hero thing is part of the point I was making with my post on Monday. I wanted to remind people why Sergei is in Talbot's Peak: he's a hired assassin. Shere Khan brought him in as a hit man. Sure, he rescued two little children from an evil kidnapper. He also killed the guy in a public restroom and stuffed the body (or parts of it) down the toilet. Is he still a hero? What if Shere Khan had ordered him to kill Jess? Why wouldn't he go through with it? Jess is a faceless stranger and it's his job. What would you think of him then?

It's like Wolverine being one of the most popular X-Men, even though he regularly goes into berserker rages and skewers people right and left. I'd have to think long and hard before I dated a guy like that, even if he looked like Hugh Jackman.

I know, it's only fiction, but this is what passes for heroes these days. Lord knows I wouldn't squawk if Batman finally got fed up and offed the Joker. Joker's had it coming for decades. On the other hand, we need Superman to remind us of what the definition of hero used to be, and maybe should be again. It wasn't all that cheesy.

By the by, I've still got my original VHS tape of Star Wars, the "unimproved" version. Lucas tried to clean it up, but I've got the proof: Han shot Greedo first. Maybe I'd have been more outraged and judgmental towards him if I'd known we'd be having this conversation 30 years later.

Savanna Kougar said...

Pat, excellent reminder. In the back of my mind I picked up on that. However, I got caught up in your flash story much more. To be utterly honest, and I'm not advocating this morality... however, I don't care if one assassin kills another in the circumstances you presented.

Of course, if Sergei had been the assassin, and killed Jess, well I'd have to have one of Talbot's Peak's own make certain Sergei was served a dish of poetic justice. Old Gray Guy has his number. Certainly, White Fang would never tolerate it.

But then, really, why is Sergei in Talbot's Peak? There have been a couple of flash stories suggesting he has his own agenda.

As much as I like Wolverine, no, he's not dating material. There's always that balance point between a hero taking extreme action as opposed to simply going berserk. Yeah, sometimes it's a fine, fine line to walk.

Superman, the original, is a reminder. A guidepost. And, on the other hand consider the renegade, the Robin Hood. Both Superman and Robin Hood are heroes in my book.

Like the song says, thank god for the renegade, or a Han Solo, because without them freedom doesn't stand a chance. It took both Luke Skywalker and Han Solo to defeat the empire's death star. Of course, neither one them could have done anything without Princess Leia.

Yeah, Han was who he was... but then, try surviving in those circumstances. A Nazi like empire, bad guys around every corner where it's shoot first or be killed... where most everyone is after your hide for one reason or another. Chaos.

Pat C. said...

Sergei's agenda probably has a lot to do with his growing feelings for Gypsy. Should he fulfill his duty to an employer he despises and risk losing his chance at true love? Gypsy isn't blind to what he is, or what she knows he could be. Both of them may have to question who they are, and both may have to make tough choices. This might be the story I end up contributing to the Talbot's Peak Experience.

Parts of Star Wars did have a Wild West feel to it. Han shooting Greedo under the table was simply a practical move under the circumstances. Interesting how Lucas felt compelled to "fix" the scene and make it look as if Han shot in self-defense. Of course, they weren't selling tons of merchandise to little kids when Star Wars first came out. Ah, political correctness. What would we do without it?

Savanna Kougar said...

Gypsy, with her intuitive nose, would know, as long as she isn't blinded by her feelings. Ah, can love triumph?

Yeah, political correctness. I'm so not a fan in most cases. It's just another way to eliminate freedom of speech. The first Star Wars wasn't geared for kids, per se. But, after that, well, they knew the lucrative market, as reflected by the dialogue in the third movie -- childlike. Still, I enjoyed it immensely.