“All the minority characters” = The Atom and Firestorm.

Two characters (who sold jack sh*t when they had their own titles). Hardly a tidal wave of racial insensitivity.>>’

Now now Mark. Don’t try to bring any practicality and sense to the debate by pointing out that those characters didn’t sell. Racist!! Soon you’ll have “KET” all over you like white on rice.

… sorry. I didn’t mean to use that evil word. I meant, like, er… soy sauce on rice.

… damn!!! Racially insensitive!! Flog me! Just kill Hal and Bruce and Clark and Ollie (again, of course) and be done with the evil old white boring men.

Right, “KET”?

Why aren’t you helping us? becomes a legitimate question.

It’s a legitimate question when the heroes are congruent with their environment, and that’s never been the case with the mainstream DC and Marvel heroes. Social issues only work in stories when they’re combined with menaces. Supposing that the hero should combat social problems conflicts with the reason he exists, and he, and ten or twenty of his friends couldn’t address problems such as poverty anyway. What are they going to do? Restructure all of American society? Unless they set themselves up as the world’s dictators, problems in real-world Africa would be as much beyond their reach as they’re impossible for the U.S. to solve alone.

Having superheroes battle something other than fantastic problems and menaces results in story logic problems.

SRS

Assume Hal Jordon saves a planet from an alien invasion or whatever. Great, everybody on the planet lives. But say on that planet one race are brutal slave owners of another race. Imagine the worst of the worst. Those on the receiving end of all that might not think too highly of “Mr. Hero” saving the planet and flying away, turning a blind eye to a horrible ongoing injustice. Heck the alien invasion may not be a totally bad thing for them, if the invaders just attack the people in power and take over – then run things with a lot less brutality, it might be a big improvement for them. Depending on the aliens, it could even be the reason for doing the invasion in the first place.

Transpose that situation to Earth, okay things aren’t THAT bad, but there still a lot of shitty things going on. If their situation isn’t improving any (or only improved due to hard fought battles they’ve won, with no help from any green ring wearing heroes) they might not be so hot on Green Lantern, especially when they see him helping out a guy causing them problems.

Why aren’t you helping us? becomes a legitimate question.

I think “All-Star Justice…” I mean “Justice” dealt with the question, “Why aren’t the superheroes more proactive?”

Or, if you want something a bit more disturbing, review the “cat in a tree” scene from the “Superman Doomsday” DVD.

Otherwise, the other side of the coin is something like “Watchmen” or “Squadron Supreme”.

The panel for GL/GA could be viewed as entitlement… “Why aren’t you solving my problems for me?” It’s also a bit patronizing… a black man depending on a white man to solve his problems.

Now a better story would be John Stewart dealing with the real world. Maybe have him interact with a DC’d Luke Cage.

Something in the middle: the two “Metropolis Mailbag” stories from Superman #64 and #76.

At some point I hope he reviews his comments and kicks his own behind.

Can’t get more inclusive than that.”

Nothing like another nod to failed trickle-down economics to justify a general dismissal; I think the Golden Age Superman would likely argue with the idea that a superhero’s work isn’t social work by nature.