- Hart Viges
Slog tipper Hart Viges, an Iraq War vet, sends this photo of a National Guard recruitment effort at the Great Urban Race near Denny Triangle on Saturday. The big red banner shows the Superman and National Guard logos together—in between it says, “One American icon inspires another.” Later, I saw runners on Capitol Hill wearing red capes emblazoned with the two logos. The joint Man of Steel movie and National Guard promotion is called Soldier of Steel.
As the Soldier of Steel website says, “Superman’s worldwide heroics are invaluable. But he can’t be everywhere at once. The National Guard needs recruits like you.”
Puke.
To make matters worse, Cracked breaks down a hokey new National Guard/Man of Steel commercial and says it depicts Superman “as one big crazy jackass.”
Viges says he approached the recruiters holding the banner in his Iraq Veterans Against the War hoodie—he’s a member of the anti-war group who’s been tabling at local high schools promoting alternatives to military service. Viges says he tried to explain that Lex Luthor, Superman’s arch-nemesis, was an arms dealer, corporate executive, and US president, and they’re twisting the hero’s narrative.
Obvious question: If it’s not okay to use comic book characters to sell cigarettes, why is it okay to use them to sell war?