Episode 402


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This is a post I made at the CGS board when they reviewed the first volume on the differences between Ditko's Question and O'Neil's Question:

At the time The Question was created, Ditko was fully into the Objectivist philosophy developed by Ayn Rand. This where the "A is A" and "there is black and there is white, and there is nothing in between" associated with Ditko comes from. Ditko believes that heroes are without flaw and that there is absolute good and absolute evil, with no gray area (an example of the difference between the original and the DC series would be that The Question would never have been beaten at the end). In the original Question stories, it was more about spreading the principles of Objectivist philosophy to Ditko than telling super-hero stories, as Ditko was both writer and artist. They're much deeper than the typical hero and villain punch each other stories. Like the 80's Question series, Vic was a TV reporter. In the original stories, he was always portrayed as taking a stand that was against the belief of the public, and he always proved to be correct in the end. His assistants were 100% loyal to him, while the higher ups at the studio were always enraged the Vic presented opinions unpopular with the public. Vic always got his man and showed no remorse if the criminal he was after died. There's a famous scene where two criminals are being swept away by a current in a sewer and, in the original script, the Question mentions something along the lines of the criminals deserving to die. In the final version, the Question mentions that they deserve their fate, but the police will probably pick them up. While Charlton was very hands off in terms of editing, the original line was a bit too far. After the Question's run ended, Ditko focused on his creator owned character Mr. A, who was created at the same time as The Question. The two were very similar, but Mr. A was free from the restrictions of the Comics Code and as a result, much more intense. While the stories can get pretty heavy handed at times with the Objectivist message, they are still fascinating reads that are unlike any other stories published during the Silver Age.
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Ian, I've heard the Spritle character is a little annoying. Is this true? :evil:

Just a tad.

I've only just remembered that Tom mentioned Speed Racer in the last BITD episode, although I don't remember the context. I'd best re-listen so I know where I should add it on the "agree with Deja/disagree with Deja" tally I've got going on! But whatever his verdict, I defy anyone to like the live action Spritle. Even the "actor"'s parents.

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