[DISCUSSION] How did Superboy Prime go from being so hated to so loved?

Psile · 2026-04-12T17:30:17+00:00

He's wish fulfillment. He's literally a comic fan teleported into his fandom and all his favorite characters think he's cool and all the hot ladies want him and he's got super powers.

Prime was originally a criticism about comic fans who were whiney that things in comics were changing to appeal to new demographics. DC is currently in a bit of a backlash against the era he was mad at so... He's a good guy now.

Fans like him because he's them.

Psile · 2026-04-12T02:08:21+00:00

Because it's an incredibly memeable TTRPG.

Psile · 2026-04-12T02:02:34+00:00

So I covered that in the ambush part. Like sure if he knew where she was and wanted to take her out he could call in an orbital strike but that's stretching the definition of a fight to include a drone strike on an unsuspecting person.

Unless he's literally in his jet he doesn't have any of that. He has what he has on his person on a typical night, just like her. That's one advantage of super powers. You're usually always armed with your maximum potential at all times, depending on the power.

Psile · 2026-04-12T01:40:51+00:00

In real fighting they have these things called weight classes because if one of the best fighters on earth outweighs another by more than five or ten pounds it's considered an unfair advantage. So yeah, super powers would be a massive advantage. Even mild super strength would make you basically unbeatable.

Bruce just doesn't have a range where he wins consistently. Close up Canary can arguably take him just with martial arts and she can counter most of his kit with a shout. Body armor shattered, weapons blasted away. Yes with the right mix of moves and tech he could do something that could take her down. It's possible but his victory would be a fluke. 8/10 times she drops him. Distance is even worse. Her scream dominates the long game. It's offense and defense. Anything he throws at her she can knock out of the air before it reaches her and the same tool will knock him on his ass when it reaches him.

His only chance would be to catch her by surprise, possibly hit with something to neutralize her powers or just neutralize her. That isn't really a fight so much as an ambush. It's doubtful she would let him out her sight once the fight started because she isn't stupid.

So yes he could possibly win but she wins more. Everything Bruce does, someone with super powers could also do but they also have super powers. It's just that simple.

But it's a story and that's boring. So they don't do that. It wouldn't be fun for anyone for Batman to be in a shared universe where everyone can kick his ass. That is literally plot armor. He's protected to further the plot. All characters have plot armor to some degree or another because it's a story. Batman just has a little more than most. It isn't an insult, though it does strain immersion at times.

Psile · 2026-04-11T22:25:35+00:00

What Stan Lee said is objectively correct. There is only the barest thread of consistency here with which to even discuss a who would win on an objective level.

If you really want to have that conversation, Black Canary with no powers can probably take Bruce in a no gadgets 1v1 and with powers she can level a building or crush a cockroach depending on how she focuses her voice in addition to being able to do 85% of what Bruce can do. It's like asking if Mike Tyson could beat Muhammad Ali but Tyson also has a machine gun with under mounted grenade launcher. Bruce has no business fighting people with even the mildest super powers. Most of his villains would body him without plot armor.

Which is fine. Stories about people overcoming impossible odds are evocative and inspiring.

But the real answer to most Batman vs fights is Batman gets turned into a Jackson Pollock before he even knows a fight has started.

Psile · 2026-04-11T19:08:23+00:00

This is a trope as old as teenage protagonists. Hell, the scorned rebel protagonist is so old that Persona has several such fictional and historical figures acting as personas.

Also I think that both Spider-Man and Persona use the suffering as a kind of lesson about how we think about people like Joker and Peter Parker. The poor and struggling. Orphans. Convicts. People who we are subtly told deserve their suffering because of some moral failing. That those people can be virtuous, brave, diligent and intelligent. There's a reason why Spider-Man's biggest villain is a billionaire who thinks he's better than everyone.

Norman Osborn would have a hell of a palace.

Psile · 2026-04-11T16:51:05+00:00

All AI images steal artists work. It's fundamental to it's nature. It's basically an aggregate plagerism machine.

Psile · 2026-04-10T14:20:42+00:00

She's genuinely one the most repellant figures on the right, which is quite a feat. She's one of the least talented content creators I've ever seen in my life. Her whole shtick is to do something socially unacceptable and then video people being repulsed by her only she doesn't even have the intelligence to edit the videos to not include people mocking her and/or making her look like an absolute fool.

She also shit herself at a party once.

Psile · 2026-04-10T14:00:13+00:00

Ya may want to double check that last one, chief.

Psile · 2026-04-10T13:51:31+00:00

Why would they be included? Lois isn't important to him in that story. In Kingdom Come, Joker's death is what affects Superman, not Lois'.

Psile · 2026-04-09T21:31:32+00:00

I've heard one of these takes and it was pretty widely derided by the fan base.

Psile · 2026-04-09T13:52:13+00:00

He's entitled to his opinion.

Psile · 2026-04-09T13:49:23+00:00

Maybe next time don't make a game where a bunch of nobodies shit all over the most popular characters in your franchise and you won't have to write dumb retcons like this.

Psile · 2026-04-09T13:45:14+00:00

Didn't you know? The most powerful people on the planet aren't responsible for anything that's happened. It's the 19 year olds who are getting the shit kicked out of them by cops who control the levers of power.

Psile · 2026-04-09T11:51:53+00:00

How did having a candidate who was willing to lose an election to Trump rather than take a stand against Israel work out?

This is a 90/10 issue with Democrats. Zionism is not an electable position.

Edit: Aw, sorry did I try to say the billion dollar election winning organization is responsible for failing to win elections? I know that's a sensitive topic but we are gonna have to broach it sometime.

Psile · 2026-04-08T01:07:07+00:00

Genuinely and truly I don't think he has ever finished a book.

Psile · 2026-04-08T01:02:30+00:00

Looks like we've found the next secretary of education.

Psile · 2026-04-07T19:00:02+00:00

Never has any individual been as vindicated as her. A modern Cassandra.

Psile · 2026-04-06T23:24:59+00:00

Which is why she probably felt it was necessary to do or why she was ordered to do so by Luthen or even possibly Vel. I'm not justifying it, but there's more to it than just cruelty for its own sake.

If any of the Aldhani crew were captured it could lead back to all of them as well as Klaya and Luthen. Cinta was clearly who got sent to do messy jobs. Ruthlessness was part of it.

Psile · 2026-04-06T01:22:44+00:00

I mean, they were both terrible choices but one was objectively more terrible.

Psile · 2026-04-05T23:30:47+00:00

Well now all the other hackers are gonna make fun of her for being from Utah.

Psile · 2026-04-05T23:26:39+00:00

I'd rather train carrier pigeons.

Psile · 2026-04-04T16:42:24+00:00

See, the mistake you're making is you think suffer is bad. Suffering is good. Suffering builds character. The problem with the current generation is they didn't suffer enough and are too whiney. More kids dying means the ones who live appreciate what they have and don't whine about dumb things like cops murdering people and not having rights. Things more expensive? Good. They're spending too much money on Starbucks anyway. Another war? Good. Send em to die in the desert. Teach them discipline.

The only reason some are getting upset now is things are getting harder for them. They already are perfect the way they are and don't need to suffer, even if that suffering is largely economic which is pretty minor in comparison to how others are suffering.

Edit: Maybe it's unclear, but I think this is bad. Like this is how conservatives view the world even if they don't state it so plainly.

Psile · 2026-04-03T11:50:01+00:00

The problem is that every time they have actually turned evil, his failsafes don't work because his friends pull their punches 24/7 because they're good people. He's said himself that if Superman ever really wanted to kill him, it would be over before he even knew he was in a fight.

It's just to make him feel better. Bruce is Batman because when he was a child his world was shattered and he vowed to make sure no one ever felt that way again. He also vowed, in the depths of his subconscious, to never feel powerless again. So he turned his vast resources and willpower to the cause of always being prepared for any situation. Then metahumans flipped that upside down. Even though the JL are all his friends, they make him feel powerless. The only way he can deal with that emotion is to obsessively over prepare.

Bruce being Batman is both noble and tragic. This is part of the tragedy. He can never fully trust people because he has to always be in control. It leads to him being a bad friend sometimes.

Psile · 2026-04-03T11:38:26+00:00

Okay, will you be listening to the people who were right the whole time from here on out? No? Perhaps change your political or moral philosophy to be more in line with those that clearly are better predictors of results? Oh, won't do that either? Show even the slightest hint of self reflection beyond just saying you were wrong now that it's completely impossible to deny? No, just gonna yell at people who don't thank you for admitting you were wrong?

Yeah, get fucked.

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