"Acting to Type"
The day a mob of mains
somehow got the drop on
the Stand-Up Man and
dragged him face-down
through a mud puddle,
Viper Ike tracked down
the instigator and beat him
black-and-blue with a copy of
The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
"Remember, asshole, heroes are heroes
and villains are villains," Viper Ike said
to his moaning victim. "You really
don't want to get us mixed up."
* * *
Notes:
Mains is short for "mainstream people," the ones without superpowers.
Character Bashing
Character bashing is usually considered a feature of bad fanfic. However, it also appears in licensed material, with the result that many fans say "Not my Superman" or "Not My Captain America." People need heroes, and destroying them is destructive to a healthy society. So, this poem is my response to that.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces is a famous book about iconic figures. Despite the title, archetypes include heroes, villains, and many other character roles.