Because I'm all heart, I'm the first to say when those who create our treasured comics do something amazing. It's the least I could do, as I'm always waiting in the wings to poke fun when they don't quite hit it out of the park.
Such is the case with Spy Smasher #10:
In the lead story, he decides to head straight over to Germany and do the world a favor and take Hitler out once and for all:
This was not some dream or imaginary story, as was often done when other comic characters were depicted smacking Hitler on behalf of several grateful nations. It's also worth noting that comic book characters were often written out of getting involved directly with the battles on the front lines. Heck, the Golden Age Green Lantern was only in the military for about half a dozen issues or so before he was honorably discharged. So, it's kind of refreshing to see a writer unafraid to go for broke on this very volatile topic.
And not only did Smash go to Germany, he...
well, he did this:
That, my friends, is dang impressive.
And Smash gets caught right away, but he has the same reaction anyone would have had at the time:
But, as awesome as comics are, you can't rewrite current events:
Yeah, I know. We knew something like that was coming, but it's still a bringdown.
Here's where it gets really interesting in a What If Spy Smasher (or Anyone Else) Killed Hitler? sense..
I admit, I had never thought of that possibility. Then again, remember what got the United States into the war? This wouldn't be much different in terms of giving people a cause than Pearl Harbor.
So, Smash learned something and, seventy years later, gave me something to think about:
Yup. Smash thought it was best for Hitler to stay alive until Germany fell... keeping him alive and wearing down Germany made more sense in the long run than the immediate gratification of seeing Hitler get a fraction of what he deserved.
And that, my friends, makes this issue a CMNS Buried Treasure! (tm!)
Posts
9 comments:
I may be nitpicking here, but isn't the Spy Smasher's rifle a trifle short?
(And, no, that's not a euphemism.)
I may be nitpicking here, but doesn't this comic make sense?
-- MrJM
Hmmmmm... I thought it made sense. In the eye of the beholder, I suppose.
Agree with Adam. Though it's still a superhero story, it's more thoughtful than most WWII tales in which Hitler gets put through some comical wringer. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's also refreshing to see a different take. Even seeing it only in parts, I like this better than Will Eisner's story about Adolf in America.
Yeah, it's always a balancing act when I'm trying to show enough to get the story across without actually putting the entire story out there (where Childhood Pal Scotty, the patent attorney, would tell me I'm going beyond "fair use"). Sometimes I do a better job than others, but this is really the gist of the story.
Now that Spy Smasher has brought it up, I confess I can't say whether they would have folded sooner if Hitler was dead. He would have been replaced by Goering(I'm sure that's Goering there behind Hitler), who would have known he would be hanged after Germany surrendered, so he would have wanted to fight on too.
Unknown, that's Spy Smasher's special "I want a big close-up but the panel's too small" rifle.
Maybe Spy Smasher can't claim to have killed Hitler, but at least he has the satisfaction of having given him a knee to the balls. Or was it "ball"?
Is someone going to clear up that dead body double? How long will it stay flopped over the window?
Post a Comment