Week 10 Story: A life for a life
A comic panel showing Darkseid and his destructive capabilities
The supreme overlord of countless worlds, Darkseid, was casually strolling through the universe looking for a new world to conquer. As he was going about his planning for the invasion of this new galaxy called "The Milky Way" he was stopped by his most trusted adviser who warned him about invading dangerous planets, as he had already been beaten out of Oa by the guardians. Darkseid pondered this intrusion, and decided to play it safe instead of possibly risking another failure and have his army begin to doubt his power as a leader. "Who are the most powerful beings on this planet" Darkseid ordered as he pointed his finger towards Earth. "Bruce Wayne and Kal-El" the adviser responded. "Here is a brief history of their lives" he said as he gave Darkseid a vision detailing the lives of the 2 beings.
"Batman and Superman huh?" Darkseid paced. "This may be a risk I don't want to take. They have powerful friends and a bottomless will. I should be able to beat them, but what if I can't?" Darkseid stood in deep thought. Finally, he erupted "We will break them from the inside. If Earth loses its 2 pillars of hope, they will fall in line more quickly and we won't need to waste as many soldiers" Darkeid boomed as he shot a beam of gray energy down towards Earth. "I have just sent a message to Kal-El, now we wait."
(Back on Earth, Gotham city to be more precise)
"Don't let me see you around Gotham again" Batman growled as he threw killer croc in jail. This was another typical day for Batman, but things were about to get much, much stranger. As Batman finally let out a sigh of relief, he was struck with an incredible force that sent him through a building and he landed on top of Gotham PD headquarters. As he shook his head and opened his eyes, he couldn't believe what attacked him. "Clark? What the hell is your problem!" Batman yelled. As he stood up to confront Superman, he was immediately shot back down to his sitting position by Superman's laser vision. Batman quietly reached into his utility belt and retrieved his knife made of kryptonite, as this wasn't the first time Superman's mind was toyed with and he had to take down his best friend. Ready to stab the green crystal deep into Superman's neck, Batman slowly got up again. But before he pounced, he noticed something strange. Superman's laser vision wasn't acting alone, there were tears rolling down his face. Nevertheless, Batman stood up again but was immediately shot back down.
"I'm sorry Bruce. I'm so sorry for this" Superman cried as he pushed his laser vision even harder. Batman groaned in agony and and mustered out "Clark" before showing him the dagger, and dropping it next to him on the floor, admitting defeat. This snapped Superman out of it, as he knew that Batman wasn't someone who would reveal their ace in the hole or gave up, especially so easily. "Bruce. I'm so sorry. I was given a vision earlier of Lois. She said that she wasn't dead, and I could still save her. All I had to do... was kill you." Superman's muscles tightened and he puffed his chest preparing for a fight, but was shocked when Batman took off his cape and cowl and laid in the partially melted concrete and smiled.
"Ok Clark. I'm ready whenever you are." Superman was shocked, how could his best friend and rival be so accepting of death, especially at his hands. Batman saw this confusion on Superman's face and simply spoke "I understand. If I received a vision where my parents could come back to live, I would do anything to get them back. Even if I had to blow up Gotham or murder the justice league. So I understand."
Superman took a step backwards "You would kill me? Diane? Barry? Jon? You would blow up Gotham and kill everyone you know? What about Dick and Alfred? Bruce I know you love your family, but even you know that there's a risk listening to visions, there's no way you could do that."
"So why are you?" Batman questioned. "You said it yourself, this is most likely a trick, but you're still standing over me prepared to kill me. I'm prepared Clark, are you?"
(Back in Space)
"Retreat" Darkseid ordered. "They passed the vision test. There is no way we can break their bond or their morals. We will return, but we will need a much larger army.
Authors Notes:
I decided to write about the story "The hare that was not afraid to die." Instead of the hare and its forest friends, I decided to make it about batman and superman. I also changed Sakka to Darkseid. Instead of having Sakka test the morals of the forest friends, I decided to take a more "DC" approach and make it about world invasion. I still wanted the final "test" to be a life or death one, so I made Batman willingly sacrifice himself like the hare did in the original story. I also chose to make the life-or-death test be between Superman and Batman, because I doubt Darkseid would think "Oh you are so humble, I won't invade you." Instead, I made it about a vision to bring back a loved one, and their choice not to kill each other showed that the earthlings had more power than Darkseid imagined instead of the sacrifice showing good virtues and morals.
Marie Shedlock
Eastern Stories and Legends
http://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2015/05/free-books-shedlock-eastern-stories-and.html
Hey Matthew,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your version of "The hare that was not afraid to die". It was really well written out and fun to read. I think you did a good job describing the scenes and action to us. I thought it was really creative how you applied the story to Batman and Superman. The dialogue in the story also adds to it as we can see what's going on in both characters heads throughout the story. I also liked how you alternated between space and earth with Darkseid sharing his thoughts. Overall great story and I'm looking forward to reading more of your stories!
Hey Matthew,
ReplyDeleteI didn't actually read "The Hare that was not Afraid to Die" but I assume that your story matches up with its. Your use of Batman and Superman was awesome, especially how you highlighted their relationship. Throughout their comic history they have been depicted as allies and enemies so it was cool to see both sides of their relationship represented. Batman had obviously fought Superman before with the kryptonite knife, but their interaction when Batman sacrifices himself shows their good sides. It was cool how their strong will was the thing that saved Earth.
Hi Matthew!
ReplyDeleteI did not get to ready "The Hare That Was Not Afraid To Die", but I definitely enjoyed your story of it. It was really easy to read and well developed. I also liked how you added this comic book twist to it and by incorporate superhero/villain characteristics to your story. Maybe for your author's note, add a little bit of background of the original story, so that when other's read it, they have a better idea of what exactly you changed and how you changed it. Other than that, good job!
Hey that was very well done. I'm not super familiar with a lot of the background, but I think that you transplanted the original moral and story into a new setting very well! I really liked the part where Batman said he would kill everyone to bring his parents back, and Superman questioned him, then Batman turned it around to make him question himself. 4D chess haha!
ReplyDeleteHi~
ReplyDeleteI don't know comic characters very well so I was a little confused in the beginning. When Batman and Superman showed up though I felt much better. (I can't believe they used each other's real names in public.) The rest of the story was easy to read and understand. I'm not sure you meant for it to be amusing but I finished it in a light-hearted mood. I did think the ending was a bit abrupt. Maybe you could add a few more lines of detail to really wrap it up.
Good work! I hope your semester ends on a high note.
Hey Matt! I think the theme you chose including Gotham and the DC super heroes was a perfect twist to add to the story about the brave little hare that did not fear death. The only question I have after reading your author’s note is why you may have chosen Batman to be the hero to sacrifice himself, was there any particular reason?
ReplyDeleteHey Matt!
ReplyDeleteYou did such a great job retelling "The hare that was not afraid to die." I had so much fun reading it. I appreciated the creativity that you put into the story. I also appreciated the creativity of the using super heroes. It gave me ideas to maybe blend in my favorite tv/ movie characters into my next story.