Superman a nazi
- Thread starter Redem
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It would have been usefull for propaganda aimed towards the children at first, then later the Hitler Youth specifically, but would it have the appeal that the US version did. While early US comics may have had racist and sexist depictions, that wasn't the main focus of the books. (Although looking back on allot of them, they were pretty harsh by our standards today.)
If Germany had developed this medium first. It would be so heavily geared toward war, racism, and aryan egoism it would have been really unpalatable to other nations for the most part. But as a propaganda instrument within Germany, and areas with a huge German population, it would have had similiar power as films and radio broadcasting at the time. If started approximately in the early years of the DAP it could have potentially influenced more young people to become openly racist and favor the party as they come of voting age.
Say Hitler with his art background started drawing a godlike figure while spying on the DAP. [This character is the last of the original Aryans, held in suspended animation as an infant in a bunker in the Artic, and found by a childless german explorer.] As he grows more active in the party he starts to publish this character (Supermann or Ubermann(?)) in pamphlet form, which ironically brings some income to the parties' coffers. Later on a youth group is formed - Superfreunde (OTL Hitler Youth).
In the long run though, while setting the stage a little earlier, I don't think it would have had any effect on how WW2 would have turned out. It may even destroy the possiblity for other nations developing this publishing medium as it is seen connected with nazis and the horrible things they did.
If Germany had developed this medium first. It would be so heavily geared toward war, racism, and aryan egoism it would have been really unpalatable to other nations for the most part. But as a propaganda instrument within Germany, and areas with a huge German population, it would have had similiar power as films and radio broadcasting at the time. If started approximately in the early years of the DAP it could have potentially influenced more young people to become openly racist and favor the party as they come of voting age.
Say Hitler with his art background started drawing a godlike figure while spying on the DAP. [This character is the last of the original Aryans, held in suspended animation as an infant in a bunker in the Artic, and found by a childless german explorer.] As he grows more active in the party he starts to publish this character (Supermann or Ubermann(?)) in pamphlet form, which ironically brings some income to the parties' coffers. Later on a youth group is formed - Superfreunde (OTL Hitler Youth).
In the long run though, while setting the stage a little earlier, I don't think it would have had any effect on how WW2 would have turned out. It may even destroy the possiblity for other nations developing this publishing medium as it is seen connected with nazis and the horrible things they did.
Well, technically Nietsche developed the idea of the "superman" (ubermentsche) in terms of a great man unbridled by the convential morality of his times and free to act as he saw fit. DC Comics took the idea and added heat vision and superbreath 
and completely avoided any conflict between superman and society by making their morality and goals identical (they tried to explore this avenue with the whole red krypontonite storyline, but laregely left the potential unused).
and completely avoided any conflict between superman and society by making their morality and goals identical (they tried to explore this avenue with the whole red krypontonite storyline, but laregely left the potential unused).Well I once saw a documentary saying that Gobbels proganda aim was to entertain first and then brainswash so they could have nazi comic without antisemtism or aryan domination being the man focus. If say they would to become a commercial success in Germany (spawning several non-nazi superheroes) they might be americans attemps (which would be ironic most of the early comic book creators were jewish cause it was the best job they were allowed to have)
A problem is resources.
During the war the nazis had pretty bad paper shortages.
I've forgotten his name now but a early pioneer in computers was working in nazi germany and he had to use some pretty weird stuff in place of punch cards due to the shortages.
Would be cool to do this as a AH thing but for a TL...not much different.
During the war the nazis had pretty bad paper shortages.
I've forgotten his name now but a early pioneer in computers was working in nazi germany and he had to use some pretty weird stuff in place of punch cards due to the shortages.
Would be cool to do this as a AH thing but for a TL...not much different.
Also see the short story Übermensch!, about baby Kal-El's ship landing in Germany and him becoming a Nazi superhero. See here for info on where it's been published, you can find cheap used copies of The Year's Best Science Fiction: Ninth Annual Collection and New Worlds 1 on amazon.
Max Sinister
Banned
There were shortages of all kind in nazi Germany, esp. towards the end of the war, but they still had enough paper for newspapers and other propaganda left. Even the "Weiße Rose" somehow got paper for their anti-nazi leaflets - in 1944.
Do you mean Konrad Zuse? Nitpick: His computer used punched tapes, not punch cards.
Maybe they would use that character (nazi superman) in propaganda lefet for when the man ressource start to go low to Hitler Youth when they are about to be send to the front explaining to them things they need to know.
The Artist might become "famous" (at least locally) and might be hunt down at the end of the war
This is why I figure it would have needed to occur in the early days of the DAP. There are resources available that won't be nearer to the outbreak of a europen war.
I could see Hitler doodling during the meetings, as I've said before. He could possibly have become a Disneyesque figure in Germany, but still with political ambitions.
What would this superhero be though? I think we have all been assuming it would be OTL Superman just transposed to Germany, but what sort of power/abilities would a german at this time put into a god-like fictional figure?
Strength obviously. High intelligence of a sort I would guess, yet one prone to obey higher authority (government/state). Heat vision? X-ray vision?
Maybe an army man who travel the world fighting a shadow conspiracy head by the Jews. Maybe he could be batman-esque (a human with near super-human capacity due to training) maybe out for revenge after an humiliation
Max Sinister
Banned
And no flying - before the TV shows, Superman just could jump over skyscrapers.
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Actually in the DC comics, at least as early as the early 1960's he could fly. Ditto the old 1950's TV series.
Not Nazi, and not Superman, but I seem to remember reading somewhere about a wartime Japanese comic which featured a Giant Japanese Robot smashing US planes and ships. Anyone else?
Not Nazi, and not Superman, but I seem to remember reading somewhere about a wartime Japanese comic which featured a Giant Japanese Robot smashing US planes and ships. Anyone else?
He could fly in the old Fleischer Superman cartoons in 1941-1943 too. According to the Powers and abilities section of the Superman wikipedia page, "When making the cartoons, the Fleischer Brothers found it difficult to keep animating him leaping and requested to DC to change his ability to flying."
Well considering that would the US do somekind of answer comic (if they see a propaganda potential for it)
Yeah, similar to what I was thinking. Although with all the germanic and nordic mythology they seemed to be drawn to maybe this guy could control lightning. Sort of a latter day Odin or Thor.