2015-02-10
Original: 2015-02-10 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Superman: Here's the thing, Lex.
Superman: I have super-strength, super-vision, super-integrity. Why not super-ethics, too?
Superman: But don't you already have single-ethics? You save lots of people.
Superman: Are you familiar with the idea of 'emergent properties'? Qualities of things that aren't apparent until you have them in great quantity?
Superman: You couldn't predict the behavior of an ocean from a molecule of H2O. You couldn't predict any economy from a single human. Maybe when you have a lot of ethics, your ethics become qualitatively different.
Lex: I don't understand.
Superman: That's my point.
Lex: These deaths were just an emergent property of my goodness.
Lex: The atoms in my ocean.
Superman: You're not so different. You've had collateral damage to innocent people during your battles with your supervillains.
Lex: Jesus. I mean, I'm evil, but you're not even on the spectrum.
Superman: That's what I'm saying.
Lex: You're not god Superman.
Lex: No, I am not. I didn't make humanity. I'm not responsible for them.
Superman: Then why do you keep stopping me when I try to cause mayhem?
Superman: Superman?
Lex: No, I am not. I didn't make humanity. I'm not responsible for them.
Superman: Now, when a great villain arises, they don't even try. They just wait.
Lex: Every time I stop you, humans get less self-reliant. They care a little less for themselves and a little more for me.
Superman: But suppose I was the villain.
Superman: This is screwed up, man! I was trying to do a little evil to go even way beyond!
Superman: I'm gonna tell everyone!
Lex: No! No!
Votey:
Superman: Please stop drawing me.
Artist: NEVER
(Newspaper headline shown: "EVIL SUPERVILLAIN PROPOSES THAT SUPERMAN SHOULD NOT RULE WORLD!" smbc-comics.com)
Superman: I have super-strength, super-vision, super-integrity. Why not super-ethics, too?
Superman: But don't you already have single-ethics? You save lots of people.
Superman: Are you familiar with the idea of 'emergent properties'? Qualities of things that aren't apparent until you have them in great quantity?
Superman: You couldn't predict the behavior of an ocean from a molecule of H2O. You couldn't predict any economy from a single human. Maybe when you have a lot of ethics, your ethics become qualitatively different.
Lex: I don't understand.
Superman: That's my point.
Lex: These deaths were just an emergent property of my goodness.
Lex: The atoms in my ocean.
Superman: You're not so different. You've had collateral damage to innocent people during your battles with your supervillains.
Lex: Jesus. I mean, I'm evil, but you're not even on the spectrum.
Superman: That's what I'm saying.
Lex: You're not god Superman.
Lex: No, I am not. I didn't make humanity. I'm not responsible for them.
Superman: Then why do you keep stopping me when I try to cause mayhem?
Superman: Superman?
Lex: No, I am not. I didn't make humanity. I'm not responsible for them.
Superman: Now, when a great villain arises, they don't even try. They just wait.
Lex: Every time I stop you, humans get less self-reliant. They care a little less for themselves and a little more for me.
Superman: But suppose I was the villain.
Superman: This is screwed up, man! I was trying to do a little evil to go even way beyond!
Superman: I'm gonna tell everyone!
Lex: No! No!
Votey:
Superman: Please stop drawing me.
Artist: NEVER
(Newspaper headline shown: "EVIL SUPERVILLAIN PROPOSES THAT SUPERMAN SHOULD NOT RULE WORLD!" smbc-comics.com)
Alt text
A long SMBC comic, a conversation between Superman (in his cape and S-logo costume) and the bald villain Lex (Lex Luthor). Superman argues that since he has super-strength, super-vision, and super-integrity, he should also have 'super-ethics.' He explains the idea of emergent properties: just as you can't predict an ocean's behavior from a single water molecule, having a huge quantity of ethics might make ethics qualitatively different. Lex says he doesn't understand; Superman replies 'That's my point.' The argument inverts their usual roles: Superman claims his collateral damage during villain battles makes him not so different from a villain, and reveals he has been trying to commit evil and 'cause mayhem,' while Lex keeps stopping him. Lex argues that every time he stops Superman, humans grow less self-reliant and depend more on Lex. The roles are fully swapped, with Superman as would-be villain and Lex as protector. At the end Superman panics that this is 'screwed up' and threatens to tell everyone, while Lex shouts 'No! No!' A mock newspaper appears with the headline 'EVIL SUPERVILLAIN PROPOSES THAT SUPERMAN SHOULD NOT RULE WORLD!' In the votey, a hand-drawn Superman pleads 'Please stop drawing me,' and the cartoonist replies 'NEVER' while hunched over a drawing tablet.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.