“I swear by the spirits of my parents to avenge their deaths by spending the rest of my life warring on all criminals.”
Bruce Wayne/Batman
For years, it has come to my attention that one of the most common motivation for superheroes is family tragedy. At some point in their lives, they lose a loved one, which compels them to walk the path of the hero. There are countless examples:
1.) Without the extinction of his species, the destruction of his home planet, and the death of his biological parents, Kal-El/Clark Kent would not have been sent to Earth to grow up and become Superman.
2.) Without witnessing his parents being gunned down in front of him, Bruce Wayne would not have become Batman.
3.) Without his mother being murdered and his father being framed for the crime, Barry Allen would not have become the Flash.
4.) Without the brutal murder of his father, Matt Murdock would not have become Daredevil.
5.) Without his family being killed by the mob, Frank Castle would not have become the Punisher.
6.) Without the death of his uncle, Peter Parker would not have become Spider-Man.
7.) Without the extinction of his species and the death of his family, J’onn J’onzz would not have become the Martian Manhunter.
8.) Without the death of his entire family, Dick Grayson would not have become the first Robin and later Nightwing.
The list goes on and on. In every one of these cases, superheroes were able to take their tragic losses and turn them into fuel that turns them into champions of justice. Fifteen years ago, I kept to this tradition with the Young Guardians Series by having my characters experience their own family tragedy that set them on the path to become heroes. Now, with my current superhero series, I plan to have my strongest protagonist endure a family tragedy of his own, which will solidify his status as a true hero.
“I am Darth Sidious, heir to millennia of grand design, dedicated to achieving vengeance for the Sith.”
Darth Sidious
Emperor Palpatine AKA Darth Sidious was the culmination of a thousand years of Sith knowledge, power, and cunning. He succeeded in overthrowing the Galactic Republic, nearly exterminating the Sith’s ancient Jedi enemies, and he brought the galaxy firmly under Sith rule for two decades. While Darth Sidious was undeniably a brilliant mastermind who always had plans within plans, I often wonder what I would do if I was in Sidious’s shoes. What would I do if I was Galactic Emperor and the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith?
“Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody power, the other to crave it.”
Darth Bane
While I would not make any changes to several of Palpatine’s policies as emperor, I would make extensive changes on how the Sith would be managed in the aftermath of the Clone Wars. For a thousand years, the Sith were governed by Darth Bane’s Rule of Two, which decreed that there could only be two Sith at any time: a master and an apprentice. Not only did this prevent the Sith from being discovered by the Jedi, but it also ensured that each generation of Sith was stronger and more cunning than the last.
While the Rule of Two was useful in making sure the Sith remained hidden from the Jedi and the Republic for centuries, it feels as though it served its purpose after Order 66 and the founding of the Galactic Empire. Now, the Jedi and Sith’s roles are reversed. Now, the Sith rule the galaxy and the remaining Jedi are forced into hiding. Because of this, the Jedi were no longer a threat to the Sith, the Republic no longer existed, and the galaxy was under Sith rule. With the Jedi all but extinct, the Sith were free to do as they pleased with no Jedi to stop them. There was no longer a need for the Sith to limit their numbers to just two. Now would be the perfect time to discard the Rule of Two and replenish the Sith’s ranks to what they were before the Rule of Two.
“But plenty of Sith legacy survived. Individuals who were candidates to become Sith and failed for some reason to achieve full apprenticeship. They knew enough to survive, enough to continue learning. One may have learned enough to become a Master.”
Lumiya
While I would continue to be the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith, I would still keep Darth Vader as my apprentice for the time being. That way, if anything happens to me, Vader would take over the Sith legacy. Until then, I would gather fallen Jedi and other dark side candidates to serve as extensions of the Sith’s will. A prime example would be the sixteen Dark Jedi who were recruited to become the Inquisitors. In addition to the original sixteen Inquisitors, I would continue to recruit new dark side candidates over the years. Originally, the Inquisitors were not trained as Sith and were only trained just enough in the dark side to be effective at hunting Jedi yet not enough to become a threat to either Vader or Sidious. If I was Darth Sidious and had the opportunity to remake the Sith in my image, I would take a different approach with the Inquisitors.
While I would do what Vader and Sidious did with the Inquisitors by making them strong but not too strong, I would do it in a similar fashion. Instead of just basic dark side knowledge, I would give these candidates the tiniest sliver of Sith knowledge as well. Not too much to make them a threat but just enough to whet their appetite and become more effective in hunting Jedi. By having Sith knowledge of any kind even in the smallest amount possible, these candidates would be Sith Acolytes instead of normal Dark Jedi. Since the Inquisitors were originally skilled enough to take down average Jedi, they would become even more potent if they become Sith Acolytes with the barest Sith knowledge at their disposal. I would start this limited training program myself, but when I am otherwise occupied with the empire’s affairs, I would let Vader take over (under the supervision of my spies of course). There would be a pragmatic reason I would approach it this way.
“My Sith will be many, but they will be one; the order itself above all; power magnified by their focus.”
Darth Krayt
After giving my candidates a small taste of Sith knowledge, they would given another task besides hunting Jedi or locating Sith artifacts: finding and training an apprentice of their own. When the Rule of Two was first established, the Sith had to spend centuries rediscovering, relearning, and accumulating lost Sith knowledge and power. It took a thousand years for the Sith to produce a Sith as strong and cunning as Darth Sidious. Due to this, my Sith Acolytes would have to start from scratch like the first Rule of Two Sith did when it comes to growing their knowledge and power. Because of this, even if the Sith Acolytes joined forces either by themselves or with Vader, they won’t be strong enough to be a threat to me. After giving the Acolytes the small piece of Sith knowledge I gave them, they and their apprentices will be on their own when it comes to learning more Sith knowledge. Each master-apprentice pairing would conduct their own version of the Rule of Two, ensuring each generation would be stronger and more cunning than the last. With enough time and training, these Acolytes would become true Sith themselves.
Ultimately, if I was Darth Sidious and had an opportunity to remake the Sith in my image, I imagine it being similar to Darth Krayt’s One Sith, which is governed by the Rule of One. The one in the Rule of One would be the Sith Order itself, which would include many Sith under the rule of only one Dark Lord of the Sith. Vader, my Acolytes and their apprentices, and the candidates who rise to be true Sith would be all united under my authority as Dark Lord. In addition, they will be trained to be loyal and obedient to the Sith Order itself, which includes the reigning Dark Lord.
“Darth Krayt’s vision of galaxy remade will be realized. He lives in us. The Sith will prevail.”
Darth Nihl
Despite being weakened by his cybernetics and armor, Darth Vader would still be my heir apparent due to being my true apprentice instead of just another Acolyte. If anything happens to me, Vader would ascend as the new Dark Lord and choose one of the Acolytes or true Sith as his apprentice. I would store all the Sith artifacts and knowledge the Rule of Two Sith stockpiled for the past thousand years in a top secret vault. Vader will not be able to locate or access the vault until I am gone. If I die before he does, he will have unlimited access to all the knowledge and power the Sith accumulated until now. On the other hand, if anything happens to Vader, I would choose one of the Acolytes or true Sith as my new apprentice and start over. In case both me and Vader die, the Acolytes, their apprentices, and the true Sith would fight amongst themselves until only the strongest and most cunning among them remain. The mightiest of the bunch and their apprentice would succeed me and Vader as the ruling pair of Sith. Mind you, such infighting would dwindle my remade Sith Order’s ranks and resources. However, at this time, the Jedi would be too few in number to take advantage of my Sith’s infighting like they did in the past. That will give my Sith more time to reorganize themselves after they settle on who gets to be the new Dark Lord.
Overall, in ancient times, the Sith were not able to recover from their infighting because the Jedi had the numbers and resources to capitalize on it. That fact necessitated the Rule of Two when Darth Bane and his apprentice went into hiding and the need to remain hidden until the Sith gained enough power and resources to strike back. After Order 66, the Jedi were reduced to a little over one hundred individuals and those numbers continued to dwindle in the years that followed. Meanwhile, the Sith had all the resources in the galaxy at their disposal and had all the time in the world to consolidate their power. Over the course of two decades, the Jedi continued to grow weaker while the Sith grew stronger. Even if my Sith’s numbers and resources are reduced by infighting, they would still have more numbers and resources than the surviving Jedi. Due to this, my Sith would have plenty of chances to survive and endure.
Overall, Darth Sidious wanted to live forever and become an all powerful Dark Lord with no other Sith but him. However, even an all powerful Dark Lord will inevitably wither and die. When that happens, who will be left to carry on the Sith legacy? Darth Bane understood that when he founded the Rule of Two. Enjoying the perks of being Galactic Emperor and Dark Lord of the Sith is all well and good, but if I was in Sidious’s shoes, I would take precautions to ensure the Sith continued to survive in some fashion long after I am gone.
Today, I heard a troubling rumor about both Trump and the MAGA movement in general. As we all know, Trump is an old man and is not in the best shape. Sooner or later, he will pass away. However, it looks like even if Trump dies of natural causes, his MAGA cult are prepared to spread another conspiracy theory that will claim he was assassinated. Due to this, it looks like the MAGA cult is willing to make Trump a martyr no matter what if he dies of natural causes. I knew the MAGA movement was delusional about Trump being their perceived messiah, but I never thought they would go this far.
“I’m fighting for truth, justice, and the American way.”
Superman
The creation of Superman is a complex story. He was created by two immigrant teenagers from Cleveland, Ohio. Their names were Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster. They both enjoyed reading pulp magazines about horror and fantasy, which was something they bonded over. Jerry liked to write while Joe liked to draw. When creating Superman, the two of them drew inspiration from Jesse Owens, the fastest man alive and the pride of Cleveland. They also drew inspiration from the strongmen, who were very popular in the 1930s. Superman’s spit curl is from Tarzan while his boots are from Roman gladiators. Superman’s secret identity as the mild mannered Clark Kent was based on Jerry Siegel himself. As for Superman’s origin story, Jerry and Joe drew inspiration from the Book of Exodus where Moses was sent down the Nile River to be raised by another family, grow up, and fulfill his destiny.
Sadly, it was recently revealed that the idea for Superman has a tragic origin. When Jerry Siegel was a teenager, his father was murdered during a robbery. His father was working late one night and a gunman shot him. The trauma of losing his father caused Jerry to imagine a bulletproof savior rescuing his father from being killed. Due to this, we got Superman and the superhero genre in general because a young boy lost his father.
Because Superman is an alien from another planet, he essentially symbolizes the immigrants who come to America. His story is of an immigrant who is accepted into his new homeland and gives something back to his adopted community. That is not just the story of Superman. That is the core DNA of the American people.
When Superman was first introduced to the world, he started out as an anti-corruption character who fought for the common man. Instead of supervillains, Superman’s first enemies were the top one percent, those who got rich at the expense of the impoverished masses. One example of Superman’s early exploits was when he battled a greedy mine owner who forced his miners to work in dangerous and unsafe conditions.
During the 1950s, Superman changed from being an anti-establishment figure to becoming an establishment figure. This was because the 1950s was a time of oppressive conformity, which was enforced even on superhero comics. Due to this, the creator of a comic book could not use the word “crime”, show blood, or imply any government official was corrupt. A prime example of Superman representing the conformed status quo of the 1950s was the George Reeves version of Superman. Unlike earlier versions of the character, the George Reeves version of Superman fought small time thugs and rescued people on a daily basis. However, he did not fight against injustice or corruption like the original version did. Instead, he was calmer, promoted respect for authority to younger audiences, and had the demeanor of someone’s pleasant uncle.
By 1978, America was recovering from a decade of turmoil, which consisted of the corruption of Watergate and the horrors of the Vietnam War. To give the country a new sense of hope in those dark years, the Christopher Reeve version of Superman was introduced. For younger audiences, the appeal of this version of Superman was that he was an individual who cared about everyone.
Throughout the decades, Superman has serves as a counterbalance for Batman’s darkness. In times of turmoil, Batman is used to enable us to look at the darkness so we can confront our fears as a country. Once that is done, Superman is used to pick us up and reignite our sense of hope. It has been a cycle that has been done for years.
Sadly, in the 1990s, the light of Superman was briefly snuffed out. The reason for this is because of the iconic graphic novel known as The Death of Superman. This graphic novel was created for two reasons. First, to give Superman some limitations and not be overpowered. Second, to see what a world without Superman was like. The answer to the second reason is that a world without Superman is not possible. The character has become deeply integral to American culture that it is not possible to permanently kill him. After The Death of Superman, Superman’s adventures continued, more popular than ever before.
By the 21st century, a haunting question crept into people’s minds: What would it be like if Superman was evil? Three examples were the video game known as Injustice: Gods Among Us, the dark Superman parody horror film known as Brightburn, the graphic novel and streaming series known as The Boys which featured a villainous character based on Superman known as The Homelander. Essentially, in the 21st century, Superman became darker and less idealistic than when he first appeared.
Fortunately, the idealistic version of Superman is making a comeback with the new animated series known as My Adventures With Superman. In this series, Superman is once again a noble boy scout yet is not overpowered and deals with real life problems. Not only is this Superman a true hero again, but he is more flawed and vulnerable, which makes him more likable and relatable to a new audience.
Overall, Superman has had a complex history as a character and cultural icon. Like superheroes in general, Superman continues to reflect the times America lives in. He exists to symbolize our best possible selves and who we strive to be. He will likely become an eternal legend like the Greek gods of old.
Throughout the decades, Batman has evolved extensively to reflect the times America was in. When he first appeared during the Great Depression, cities in America were under siege from gangs and the mob. Batman was created to serve as a symbol of hope against the growing crime waves that were plaguing urban areas. While Superman is idealistic and exists to symbolize our best possible selves, Batman embodies our dark subconscious and id.
During the 1940s, Batman appeared in short film serials that take place before feature films. These serials clearly operated under a small budget because the ears on Batman’s cowl kept flopping around, his cape kept falling off or wrapping around his arms when he fought, and he and Robin fought like drunken street fighters instead of competent crimefighters. On the upside, these serial shorts introduced us to the concept of the Batcave.
During the 1960s, a television producer saw the 1940s Batman serials while attending the Playboy Mansion. After seeing those serials and the Batman comics at the time, he decided to make a new Batman show, which resulted in the Adam West Batman show. Due to being campy and ridiculous, hardcore Batman fans did not like the Adam West version of Batman. On the other hand, some adults enjoyed the show’s humor and younger audiences thoroughly enjoyed it.
During the 1980s, writer Frank Miller released the graphic novel known as The Dark Knight Returns, which returns Batman to his roots as a dark vigilante. This was the grittiest version of Batman yet. For many hardcore Batman fans, this was the version they wanted.
For some time, movie studios were unwilling to make a feature length Batman film because the Adam West version made the character a joke. As a result, studio heads were unable to take Batman seriously. However, when they looked through The Dark Knight Returns, they started to take Batman seriously and decided to make a feature length Batman film. The end result was the Tim Burton version of Batman in 1989.
As a result of The Dark Knight Returns and the 1989 Batman movie, Batman was restored to his rightful place as a dark and gritty vigilante. This restoration defined the character for years to come right up to the present day. While this dark version of Batman has become the mainstream version, the Adam West version remains a popular part of modern pop culture.
As mentioned earlier, the MAGA movement, who claims to believe in Christianity, has effectively replaced God and Jesus with Trump. Despite being MAGA’s perceived messiah, Trump is guilty of all Seven Deadly Sins. Let’s do an overview:
1.) Greed: Trump grifts his followers of their money, accepts money from foreign leaders, and committed financial fraud.
2.) Gluttony: Trump gorges himself on fast food to the point in which he is morbidly obese. Apparently, the smell of fast food lingered in the White House after he left office.
3.) Sloth: Rather than do his job as President, Trump spent more time at his resorts playing golf than he did in governing.
4.) Wrath: Trump is an angry and spiteful man who lashes out against anyone and everyone who criticizes him.
5.) Lust: Trump has a long track record of being a sexual predator with multiple adulteries and has been found liable for sexual assault in his E. Jean Carroll trial. He was even caught on tape bragging about grabbing women by their genitals.
6.) Pride: Trump has an ego the size of the planet Jupiter that is more fragile than glass. He claims to be the best at absolutely everything and thinks the rules do not apply to him.
7.) Envy: Trump is jealous of people who are better and more successful than him. The most prominent of Trump’s jealousy is when he was jealous of Biden’s victory in the 2020 election to the point in which Trump tried to overthrow the government on January 6, 2021 to stay in power.
Based on these facts, can you truly say that Trump is a Godly man and that he is worthy of any shred of admiration?
It has become more than clear that the MAGA movement is a cult. CPAC literally has a gold statue dedicated to Trump that acts like some kind of religious golden idol. In addition, there was an old church that was turned into a Trump gift store with all kinds of Trump and MAGA merchandise. These examples are the most public possible advertisements that the MAGA movement has effectively replaced God and Jesus with Trump. Because of this, it has become questionable if MAGA ever truly believed in Christianity at all. If they did believe in Christianity as they frequently claim, they would never support such a sinful excuse of a man and everything he stands for. The Ten Commandments strictly say, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
It took a while, but I believe I have made a suitable setting for my upcoming superhero series. Like all the classical superheroes, the setting of my story will be in a big fictional city. I intend for it to be a mix between the urban hope of Superman’s city, Metropolis, and the dark grittiness of Batman’s city, Gotham City. By achieving this, I intend to make the city itself its own morally gray character. In terms of name, I went to Google Translate and selected one of the words for “middle”, which will highlight the city’s moral ambiguity of being in the middle between light and dark. In terms of structure, I drew inspiration from Manhattan due to being a big island city in the northeastern United States as well as Chicago due to being a city with multiple canals. I even brainstormed on how the city will be divided up between the areas where the upper, middle, and working class citizens live.
In addition to finishing the first drafts of the first three novellas of my new superhero series, I have also identified an illustrator for this particular series. These illustrations will serve as the covers for these novellas. I already have a very good idea of what the first three are going to look like. One of them will feature the main supervillain, who is easily one of the most badass and complex characters I made. I will keep you posted on all developments on this project. Wish me luck!
I am pleased to announce that I have finally created a cohesive and coherent superhero story and setting. Over the years, I have tried multiple times on creating a proper superhero series. The Young Guardians series was attempt one and Herawulf Rising was attempt two. Sadly, those works were failed projects because they did not have a cohesive, coherent, and believable story and setting. For a while, I had no idea how to do world building for a superhero story or make the characters relatable. Now, after a year’s worth of time, effort, and brainstorming, I believe I have finally reached my goal regarding a proper superhero series. That series has three novellas that are about to undergo editing and there will be roughly 15 or 18 more novellas on the way. Wish me luck and I look forward to sharing my new series with you.
Grady P Brown - Author 