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Did I mention that I'm a fan of Adam Strange?
Not the vast majority of the deconstructionist Adam Strange stories that have been written since Alan Moore passed by the character, to be sure. I want Adam to be a hero. And I have come up with a framework that allows him to be one, which I was sharing with my friend, Sam, over the weekend.
My theory is that the civilization on Rann (which is the planet of Alpha Centauri that Adam Strange travels to in best ERB-like fashion) is old. And static. And virtually everyone on the planet is completely lacking in problem solving skills, because the great machines that their ancestors built supply their every need and are self-repairing.
Except after some untold number of generations, the machines are breaking down. Oops. The things that the machines defended the planet from, whether natural disaster or critter from outer space, are breaking through. This is a bad thing for the people of Rann.
The last scientist on the planet (because, really, why would you need scientists in this utopia?) invented the Zeta beam and aimed it at Earth, hoping to establish communications with the more primitive people just one star system away. But he didn't account for the effects of cosmic radiation on the beam, which converted it from a communication beam to a teleportation beam. Surprise!
Enter Adam Strange, archeologist, who is picked up by the beam and taken to Rann. There he meets the lovely daughter of the last scientist. And unlike everyone else on the planet, Adam Strange has actual problem solving skills. (The scientist and the daughter are trainable. Everyone else is hopeless.)
You may not think of problem-solving skills as a super-power. I invite you to think of some of your co-workers and reconsider that.
And this is why Adam Strange becomes the champion of Rann.
At least, that's *my* take on it.
And I am now visualizing this as a movie starring Paul Rudd. Because it would be a *good* movie.
Anyway, given all that, I wrote a song about it.
And I now have an entry in my personal songbook with a title starting with the letter Z.
I hope you like it!
( Lyrics inside... )
Not the vast majority of the deconstructionist Adam Strange stories that have been written since Alan Moore passed by the character, to be sure. I want Adam to be a hero. And I have come up with a framework that allows him to be one, which I was sharing with my friend, Sam, over the weekend.
My theory is that the civilization on Rann (which is the planet of Alpha Centauri that Adam Strange travels to in best ERB-like fashion) is old. And static. And virtually everyone on the planet is completely lacking in problem solving skills, because the great machines that their ancestors built supply their every need and are self-repairing.
Except after some untold number of generations, the machines are breaking down. Oops. The things that the machines defended the planet from, whether natural disaster or critter from outer space, are breaking through. This is a bad thing for the people of Rann.
The last scientist on the planet (because, really, why would you need scientists in this utopia?) invented the Zeta beam and aimed it at Earth, hoping to establish communications with the more primitive people just one star system away. But he didn't account for the effects of cosmic radiation on the beam, which converted it from a communication beam to a teleportation beam. Surprise!
Enter Adam Strange, archeologist, who is picked up by the beam and taken to Rann. There he meets the lovely daughter of the last scientist. And unlike everyone else on the planet, Adam Strange has actual problem solving skills. (The scientist and the daughter are trainable. Everyone else is hopeless.)
You may not think of problem-solving skills as a super-power. I invite you to think of some of your co-workers and reconsider that.
And this is why Adam Strange becomes the champion of Rann.
At least, that's *my* take on it.
And I am now visualizing this as a movie starring Paul Rudd. Because it would be a *good* movie.
Anyway, given all that, I wrote a song about it.
And I now have an entry in my personal songbook with a title starting with the letter Z.
I hope you like it!
( Lyrics inside... )