Superpowers, we all dreamed of having them. However, the eminent screenwriter Alan Moore puts us off by saying that they are simply useless, except for a few occasions. Behind that, we’re talking about a man who has a big history with DC and Marvel
kid’s dream
Each of us has already identified with a superhero from the Marvel or DC stable, and has always dreamed of being like him. Whether for the responsibilities incumbent on him, for his charisma, but also, and above all, for the superpowers he has.
Fly like Superman, have the superhuman strength of Hulk, run as fast as Flash, send bursts of energy like Cyclops or Homelander in The Boysor even communicating with the underwater world like Aquaman, it can all be appealing, depending on what you want to do with it.
lesson in fiction
Yet, according to Alan Moore, the creator behind Watchmen, V for Vendetta or even From Hell, these dreamy superpowers would actually be useless if used in the real world.
In a teaching course on BBC Maestro (developed within the large audiovisual network of the BBCthe learning platform offers recognized professionals in different fields of expertise to transmit their knowledge for a little money), for which he signed for a series of courses on writing fictionthe writer and screenwriter spoke about the relationship between fiction and reality, and how he thinks superheroes would use their abilities if they were real.
run fast, it’s useless
According to him, they would be useless. He explains:
If you think about it, most superpowers are useless. If you have heat vision, how will it benefit you? Well, you can set things on fire. If you have a box of matches, you can set things on fire. The only point for which thermal vision would be useful would be related to the profession of chef.”
Alan Moore adds that integrated into our world, the superpowers would lose their interest, their epic character. They would be far too radical for our model, and would become obsolete in their practicality.. He takes the example of super-speed.
If you could run very fast, what would be so important that you had to arrive so early. What would this power really be used for? What job would you do with super speed? You’d be in pizza delivery. There would be plenty of super-fast characters running around town delivering pizzas as fast as possible to people.”
Thus, if we refer to Moore’s remarks, these powers would therefore be useful in work, or somewhat in everyday life, but would be devoid of their heroic character (concerning the fact of flying, we doubt it, such an ability would be practical). On the other hand, they could obviously be misused, to cause chaos. We are no longer talking about superheroes here. Series The Boys which season 3 premieres on June 3 explores the impact of such powers as well as how these would affect the psychology of the average individual.
A grudge against publishers?
However, it is necessary to qualify such remarks. Because if Alan Moore does not go with dead hands, maybe he had some editorial issues with Marvel or DC. Thus, he first comes into conflict with Marvel UK for late payments and copyright issues regarding an episode reissue of Doctor Who. He would later return to Marvel Comics to work on a collector’s edition of Captain Britain, but it will not be credited.
A few years after his first disappointment, the clash intervenes with the competitor of the house of ideas: DC Comics. Indeed, this new disappointment is linked to the fact that he does not have the characters he created and therefore that he does not receive income on certain derivative products. In addition, he considers certain income from re-editions to be insufficient.
All this could thus push the sulphurous Alan Moore to let go publicly. We should also remember that he is known for qualifying the image of superheroes, in particular through watch menthe comic book series (which inspired the film Watchmen: The Guardians released in 2009, as well as the eponymous HBO series in 2019).
Alan Moore is also known for his anarchist views. He nevertheless remains an expert on superheroes, and has under his pen a very large number of works. He has received the Eisner Prize for best screenwriter nine times since 1988, a Jack-Kirby prize three times, and a Harvey prize seven times. This list of awards makes him one of the most award-winning screenwriters in comics.
