In 1982, in his seminal series Marvelman, British writer Alan Moore
offered a number of original insights on American superhero comics. And one of
them was that government authorities, particularly the military, would regard
superheroes as monsters.
And when you think about it, many
superhero origins are ambivalent enough to create either a hero or a villain.
Superman might have been an invader from outer space (an idea explored by
Robert Kirkman). Batman might have been a tortured orphan turned super-criminal
(an idea explored by Mark Millar).
And Dr. Doom might have been a
hero.
Writer Don Glut explored that idea
with artists Fred Kida and Dave Simons in What
If? 22 (Aug. 1980). With the slightest shift in emphasis, Dr. Doom’s origin
— that of a brilliant Gypsy boy whose blameless parents were killed by
benighted bigots — could easily have been shown to turn him into a crusader
against injustice.
Of course, not all What If? premises were quite so
plausible. Take What If Jane Foster Had
Found the Hammer of Thor? (issue 10, Aug, 1978), for example.
Ridiculous.
Could never happen.
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