Thinking Out Loud: The Big Question

The advent of The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen in the 1980s, combined with the human propensity to miss the subtle has led to a tendency towards Objectivist interpretations of superheroes, especially Batman. For those not familiar with the works of Ayn Rand, Bioshock or the current downfall of American democracy, Objectivism is (painting broad strokes for the sake of brevity) a right-wing philosophy that posits that the majority of society should support the "extraordinary" people among them, placing no restrictions upon their unbound genius. If that sounds good to you, please remember that everyone thinks that they are the "extraordinary" one[s], even when they're obviously not. Zach Snyder, director of more than a few superhero films, is an avowed Objectivist, which shows strongly in his films, even to the point of putting such themes into the highly socialist world of Superman. There is another big Objectivist name in superheroes that you may have heard of, Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man. 

Although early Spider-Man comics do have a *slight* bent towards Objectivist thinking, it can be seen far more clearly in another of Ditko's creations, The Question. Before he was a DC character, the Question was published by Charlton Comics, where he was the alter-ego of a crusading journalist who battered his opponents into submission with his unrelenting dedication to the truth. Seriously. If you can dig up some Ditko issues of The Question, give them a read, they're a trip. To say that DC is struggling with some their films is pretty fair, but it's clear that Snyder isn't leaving Warner Bros soon and that the Marvel cash-cow is going to force out a few more DC films in the near future. Given that the "safe bets" like Batman and Superman aren't working right now, why not take a risk? Why not have Zach Snyder take a swing at The Question? I mean, seems pretty obvious right? 

Without getting too much into my personal politics, I'm pretty damn far to the "Left" of Objectivism, but I think even I would get a lot out of a film like this. There is an interesting dialogue to be had about power and politics that not a lot of superhero media really engages with; Civil War, Invincible and Irredeemable are about the only examples I can see with a quick scan of my comic collection. Will audiences root for a hero who thinks he's better than everyone else and goes out of his way to prove it? What kind of news progamme does Vic Sage host in this day and age? Fox News? Fox and Friends? Some kind of "truther" podcast? Can that kind of "alternative" news personality carry a superhero story outside of "Red States" or will the broader world reject it? You have to admit that it would be pretty damn interesting to find out. Don't expect to see this as a "The Pitch" article any time soon, it's more of a concept that an idea I can flesh out fully.