Challenge: Non-US Patriotic Supers

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Ow. Being a nation with a very fuzzy national identity, and which defines itself by not being various other nations really hurts when you try this exercise.

I'm a Canadian. Tomorrow is our national holiday. Yet here I am, trying not to descend into self-parody. It's tough when your nation doesn't have a strong self image.

One idea immediately came to mind:


Battalion: Once upon a time, the Canadian Defence Ministry decided that since the most credible threats to Canada which would call on the deployment of the military were rampages by various superhumans, it would be a good idea if the Canadian military had weapons that might actually be effective against such opponent. So they invested a huge amount of taxpayer loonies into the creation of a prototype suit of battle armour which was, at the time superior to the suits being used by the American military. They fancied, unrealistically, that they could sell the suits to close allies, making Canada the cutting edge of battlesuit technology into the 21st century.

The Americans were impressed and appalled. They were impalled. They had no intention of cutting out their own contractors and buying foreign or allowing the Canadians to sell them farther afield for fear that one day they'd be facing suits based on Battalion's technology. They put pressure on the Canadian government to shut it down, destroy the prototypes and the blueprints.

But one of the suits was smuggled away...

[jason taylor]

How about for France, Superchef. He is a gadgeteer who defeats the evil with his recipes. However he loses his powers when ever a beautiful woman is in sight.

[jason taylor]

Another thought is to use old ninteenth-century political cartoons. Each nation has it's allegorical symbol.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

How about for France, Superchef. He is a gadgeteer who defeats the evil with his recipes. However he loses his powers when ever a beautiful woman is in sight.

Now you see that's exactly what he didn't want. If you want what the French would see as a walking patriotic symbol look here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne

[Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Heres one that might do. Suppose every nation had a guardian spirit or fairy? Or simply go through the saints list and have the National Superhero be that nation's Saint.

Most of your suggestions are just stereotypes. But this one has merit - a National Spirit for each nation. Of course, as you go back in history, the national spirit changes (Brother Jonathon becomes Uncle Sam).

And when there are multiple spirits, which is appropriate? (Who represents England? Britannia or John Bull? (One is a gorgeous lady but the other one knows all the good pubs.) And what about assimilated nations? (Does Uncle Sam have to acknowledge Johnny Reb? Does Captain Canada have to be polite to Mademoiselle Quebec?) And what about externally divided nations like the two Koreas? One hero or two? And the so-called countries created during de-colonization, with borders laid out at random? Do they get a National Spirit?

Still, it provides a framework to work with.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2

Most of your suggestions are just stereotypes. But this one has merit - a National Spirit for each nation. Of course, as you go back in history, the national spirit changes (Brother Jonathon becomes Uncle Sam).

And when there are multiple spirits, which is appropriate? (Who represents England? Britannia or John Bull? (One is a gorgeous lady but the other one knows all the good pubs.) And what about assimilated nations? (Does Uncle Sam have to acknowledge Johnny Reb? Does Captain Canada have to be polite to Mademoiselle Quebec?) And what about externally divided nations like the two Koreas? One hero or two? And the so-called countries created during de-colonization, with borders laid out at random? Do they get a National Spirit?

Still, it provides a framework to work with.

Maybe Britania and John Bull are married.

[Cernig]

Someone said you'd already mentioned England but you only mentioned the UK. That makes this Scotsman want to headbutt things. :-)

England has John Bull, the invulnerable, long-lived brick who now has a secret identity as a Lloyd's of London insurance underwriter - he gained his powers when the chemical weapons factory he was guarding in 1941 was bombed by the Luftwaffe, unleashing a potent cocktail of gases.

Wales has Owain Glendower, a reincarnated Prince of the old celtic kingdoms with many of the mythical Arthur's powers and possessions, including the magical sword of incredible sharpness, the magical scabard that gives him "homogenous, no blood" and the strength of ten men. As a secret identity, he sells holiday real estate.

Ireland has Erinn, a half-Sidhe magic wielder who specialises in illusions so real they hurt. (Illusion + stigmata + independent). When not being a heroine, she can disappear into fairyland through doors that open in convenient hillsides (limited jumper). For a while, she was a super-villainess because she fought for a united and independent Ireland, but now she has been rehabilitated as part of the peace process and pardoned for past crimes.

Scotland has Rab Rampant, a streetwise shapechanger from Glasgow. When angry (which is often) he becomes a massive, red, head-butting draconic/superhuman. Think of him as The Hulk with a far better line in taunts and threats. In his normal form, he can usually find out information and procure items by asking around in seedy pubs.

Regards, C

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

One idea immediately came to mind

You know, that's a good one. Get the supersuit to someone with good wilderness survival skills (I like an Arctic Ranger myself, but a rural RCMP officer would be so iconic it would hurt) and make sure they're fluently bilingual, reluctant to use force, but willing to do it if it proves vital, and you've got yourself a character.

Plaid flannel shirts optional, as are tuques, parkas, or sheepskin hats with ear flaps. Practical, but optional.

[Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Maybe Britania and John Bull are married.

Heh. She's a Lady. He's a Tough Guy with strong middle-class roots. That's not a super-hero team - that's a sitcom.

It seems that multiple National Spirits would exist only when the nation itself has multiple identities. The discussion of Class Division in England is a old one, but is it strong enough to truly say that Upper-Class and Middle-Class British look on the other as foreigners?

Third World nations - or any nation with a MASSIVE divide between the Upper Levels of Society and the Peasants - might have their National Spirit divided that way (A elegant Lady Brazil like on the coins for the Upper Classes and a mean and tough Brazilian Macho for the peasants).

I know America used to be that divided - before the Civil War, Americans considered their State to be their Country with the USA as a mere convenience or abstraction. It was only after the Civil War of 1861-1865 that Americans began to consider themselves a single nation.

I could see that in the European Union (with National Spirits for the various nations and one spirit for the EU itself), but is England that divided? (I only know what I watch on BBC America - are England, Scotland, and Wales that divided, or do they all consider themselves British first?)

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2

...
I could see that in the European Union (with National Spirits for the various nations and one spirit for the EU itself), but is England that divided? (I only know what I watch on BBC America - are England, Scotland, and Wales that divided, or do they all consider themselves British first?)

Speaking as an uninformed american I would have to say absolutely. They are separated by language or at least mutually unintelligable accents. Language makes culture makes language.