MONKEY MAN (2024)

we said it was just goodbye for now.

Ted Lasso and Believing

insp

I hate it when superheroes are basically just glorified cops. I want them to be glorified social workers. I need more superheroes that just care, not just about their city, or their loved ones, or the civilians, but about their villains too. I'm tired of every superhero being rebooted to be darker and edgier because that always leads to them disregarding their surroundings, ignoring the people their actions indirectly put in danger, and massive property damage for literally no reason other than it looks cool. I need the comics industry (and movie industry) to go back to heroes that are just objectively nice. I've been rewatching a lot of cartoons lately and they really just don't make superheroes like that anymore, but they should, they're so good because they understand what superheroes are.

One of my favorite parts of Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes is Ant-Man and that's because he's nice. His default strategy when dealing with a villain is to turn big and pick them up so they can try to talk things out before it escalates into a full blown fight. It almost never works, because the show has to show, but that doesn't stop Ant-Man from doing it every single time. The Big House at the beginning of that show is so neat to me solely because it actually tries to focus on rehabilitation, on treating the prisoners like people, Ultron was put there by Ant-Man to help reform the villains just as much as Ultron is there to guard the prison. The whole thing is designed to help, Ant-Man wants to help, even if they're villains, that's a true hero.

More great examples are Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. Those shows understood Batman, understood that he's passionate about others, that he cares, that he's actually a great person even if he thinks he's not. Not to mention all of the times villains were more than content with being in jail because they were actually treated like humans. (Ultra-Humanite and Parasite in the connected Superman show to name a few examples)

Most of my favorite episodes from the Justice League shows are the ones staring Flash because that's what I want to see from a hero. There's an episode in Unlimited, Flash and Substance, where four of Flash's rogues are trying to kill him but at most Flash is only mildly annoyed by them. And that's because Flash knows exactly where his rogues hang out, who they are, he doesn't really see them as a problem. In fact he goes and talks to one of them (who was totally on board with killing him) and is just unbelievably nice to him. He doesn't try to punch the answers out of the guy, like Orion or Batman wanted to, he treats Trickster like he's a person, reminds him to take his medication, promises to visit him in the hospital if he turns himself in. And it works, they get the information they need and Trickster promises to turn himself in. Name me the last time that happened to a superhero on the big screen.

I feel like most people see The Dark Knight (either the TDKR comic or the movie trilogy) and think that is what makes a superhero. They look at the MCU's self aware "aren't superheroes so silly, look how ridiculous it is that these people exist" type of humor and think that is what makes a superhero. But that's not the point of a superhero. Superheroes were made to offer hope, to be a bright light in dark times. The best kinds of superheroes are the ones that geniunely care, the ones that are actually kind. And that's not to say I never enjoy heroes who fall on the darker side of things, it can be fun to see an au where things are darker every once in a while. (That's why I like Injustice despite it going against literally everything I like about superheroes.) But what I am saying that dark and edgy shouldn't be the default of superheroes. When that becomes the only way people perceive superheroes, I can't help but feel like something important was lost. Superheroes shouldn't be reflections of the darkest parts of the world, they should remind us of all the good that's in the world. That no matter how bad things get, there will always be good to counter it, a light in the darkness, hope. I'm tired of superheroes that just punch bad guys and never learn anything. I hate it when the deepest take from a superhero story is nothing but "the world is cruel, get used to it."

I want superheroes to be human again, even if they're the farthest thing from a human, I still want them to value humanity, community, I want them to care, to be kind even when the world is not. Because when the world is cruel and unusual, the most revolutionary thing to do is to be unusually kind and care. That is what makes a superhero, and I really wish we'd get to see that again in more modern interpretations, the world definitely needs more kindness for the sake of being kind.

another one 🤭

thedragonwoodconservancy on ig

This is proof that capitalism is not about freedom. Not even close.

In a system that values freedom, it would be expected that people would value living over working.

This is the same mentality as those who claimed to value freedom but owned slaves. They want freedom for themselves while everyone else serves them. They still haven't grown out of that.

Unmute !

Barbara “I like clothes that tell the truth” CFO-No-Last-Name should’ve been allowed to have One conversation with Jamie Tartt. I’m sure the resulting logical sartorial somersaults could’ve propelled our society into nirvana

Also she would probably approve of his ICON hat

Hassidriss 'Untitled Creation' 2024 Haute Couture Collection

This starts out as a nice gesture, then quickly becomes absolutely ridiculous.

1,024 dice. Man.

i hope they find a stupid tiny fish or something on mars and make mining illegal, just like the devil’s hole in california

these endangered bastards and their bathtub-sized habitat (just the surface shelf of a giant cave structure thanks) singlehandedly pissed off SO many businessmen lol

Making Plans 📆