In case you have not noticed, it's an election year. Difficult to escape it if you consume any kind of daily news at all, let alone if you're a news junkie like me. It's especially all-consuming here in Illinois, the Land of Dirty Politics. The attack ads are incessant and the number of lawn signs just make me wish for a really big lawn mower with adamantium blades. The endless war between the Democrats and Republicans (or should they just be called The Kings and The Deuces?) rages on with little or no benefit to we the lowly populace.
But fret no more! Not only is it election time for our local, state, and federal offices, it is by order of their constitution, election time for The Legion of Super-Heroes!
For those of you who are not comic book geeks, worry not. I'll clue you in.
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a comic book series from DC Comics. It's nothing new. In fact, it's been around for a very long time. So long in fact, that its age is evident in the Atomic Age monikers given to its teenage protagonists: Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lass, and so on and so forth all the live long day.
Stories of the Legion take place in DC's 31st Century, often times in the depths of space. Through the wonders of time travel, the Legion was founded by the original Superboy. There have been more Legion members over the years with more individual super powers than I can count and most of them from planets other than Earth. If interested, check Wikipedia's entry on the Legion roster.
Anyway, back to election news. DC Comics is affording the opportunity for fans and casual Internet users alike to take part in a meta-experiment wherein we can all vote for which character will become the new leader for the Legion of Super Heroes. Even if you've never read a Legion comic book in your life (but I suggest that you do, they are quite enjoyable) I encourage you to vote. Go ahead. Base your vote on the character who has the coolest sounding name, the best costume, or the superpower that you envy. All I ask is that you report back and let me know which one you voted for and why. Don't worry. No judgments here. It's not like we're voting for real political leaders. Or are we??? Perhaps in another form of existence, we really are? But I digress.
My one and only objection to this gimmick from DC is that they have failed to include one of my favorite characters, Matter Eater Lad. A teenage boy who can, you guessed it, eat anything.
One point of order: remember Legion Constitutional Amendment to Section 8.0: Anyone attempting to use their superpowers to influence the election may be exiled to Shanghalla and their votes discarded!
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On Facebook, Ghost Dogg said: "I have to confess I didn't know who any of these characters were. So I voted for Phantom Girl, who had the nicest rack."
ReplyDeleteBravo! That's the kind of voting I'm talking about!