Batman plugs for U.S. government...

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Superman couldn't interfere in WW II because of the Spear of Destiny (Superman is vulnerable to magic, as presumably are most heroes with powers). But what were the excuses of all of the non-superpowered heroes? Did they have a Prime Directive of sorts?

 

[Guy Gardener]

The Spear of Destiny wasn't invented and an excuse for non participation until JSA/All-Star Squadron war comics published in the 70s, but later the "effect" was retconned that the Spear was a misdirect, so that no one realized that Hitler had a telepath who could mind control Superman, Doctor fate or the Spectre which was still later ignored or writers were left ignorant of this because of a lack of accurate investigation.

Other Axis leaders supposedly had their own powerful totems that kept the Super Heroes out of their private humans only wars (Hirohito had the Holy Grail).

Does everyone know what historically the Spear of Destiny is?

2000 years ago a centurion called Longinus wanted to know if he could go home because the crucified jew he was guarding was dead or if he had keep guarding the bloke, so he said "Hey fucker, are you sleeping or dead? Hey fucker, I'm talking to you!?" And when Jesus Christ didn't answer back, the Roman stabbed him a little with his pilum to absolutely double check if J.C. was dead or faking, because if some one cut him down and ran off with the bugger minutes after he buggered off, and this rabble rouser was still alive, there would be hell to pay.

(Or words and actions to those effects.)

But this really means that GOD who is real was giving Hitler a fair shake.

It also means that God who is real is more easily powerful than Superman.

 

[Silvercrest]

Superman couldn't interfere in WW II because of the Spear of Destiny (Superman is vulnerable to magic, as presumably are most heroes with powers). But what were the excuses of all of the non-superpowered heroes? Did they have a Prime Directive of sorts?

They wouldn't make enough difference. They could do more good at home.

Wearing bizarre and memorable garments to make you a man of mystery may work against street crime; against enemy soldiers it just makes you a brighter target. Hitler's mystical leanings aside, I don't think your average soldiers are a cowardly and superstitious lot.

And generally most non-powered heroes wouldn't possess a significant enough tactical advantage on the battlefield. Sandman may try to use his gas-gun against enemy soldiers, but many of them will have gas masks. (Though I admit I have no idea if that was standard issue with the WWII German army.)

Anyway, the whole point of having a hero with powers is that helps him against significant numbers of enemies. Lacking the powers, Wildcat and the Atom may succeed in punching out, what, 20 soldiers each? 40? before they get overrun or shot by the hundreds and thousands that are still out there.

The only non-powered heroes who will be really effective are the ones who can perform black ops, like Batman. Or those few who were engineered for the purpose, like Captain America. (I know, wrong universe, but still.) That's a fairly small number.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Starman mass produces gravity rods for the US Army.

(The Hawks wings, black light, Robotman chassis for wounded soldiers, Miraclo juice for everyone, etc, etc...)

Green Lantern mass drives an Asteroid into Berlin.

After Dresden, Green Lantern wouldn't have to feel guilty about using levels of destruction that are supposedly incapable by mere human beings.

But if Alan was destroying Cities, multiple cities in 1941, its more than possible that the Axis and Allies would join forces to stop him, because one man shouldn't have that much power... Which is kinda how Doctor Manhattan stopped WWIII in Watchmen.

 

[Silvercrest]

Would it go that far? Who was GL 2814 back then, probably Abin Sur's predecessor? WWII would constitute the sort of internal political conflict that GLs aren't supposed to get involved in — but I'd think the Corps would need to get involved when there's mass destruction caused by someone using a Guardian-regulated power.

Oh yeah: I thought the Hawks' nth-metal was the result of a one-time lucky experiment. (Probably in the lab next door to where Myron McLain was working.) Later retconned to be a gift from Katar Hol's father even though Carter still thought it was from the experiment. Non-replicable either way.
I have no idea about the gravity rod; was it supposed to be replicable?
Robotman chassis: seems like they'd require so much customization and be so expensive that you'd never see them mass-produced in a real sense.
Miraclo I can see.
Black light bombs: I can't see, and neither can you! Haw! But seriously, would those provide an advantage if there isn't a blind man around to use it?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Special lenses can see through black light (Phantom Lady.).

Soldiers have gas masks, with enough forethought, but then Germany lost their Russian campaign because forward planning assumed that their invading force would not need heavy coats because victory was supposed to be assured before it started snowing.

Once armies get their shit together, it wouldn't be too difficult to counter, but as far as pacifying towns and civilian resistance goes, they'd be totally screwed.

Skyman had a gravity belt, so the gravity rod tech was replicatiable to a degree, but really it was a really efficient solar battery that expended solar energy energy in a manner of different ways... Of course was there a reason it only worked with Starlight and not sun light?

What about Wonder Woman's invisible plane?

I remember in an All Star Squadron comic that had the invisible plane look like a transparent p-51 mustang, and Diana got huffy that Superman was running interferrance putting his puffed out chest between her plane's hull and NAZI incomming fire, becuase her plane was as bullet proof as he was.

 

[AgentCoop]

Would it go that far? Who was GL 2814 back then, probably Abin Sur's predecessor? WWII would constitute the sort of internal political conflict that GLs aren't supposed to get involved in — but I'd think the Corps would need to get involved when there's mass destruction caused by someone using a Guardian-regulated power.

None of that applies to Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern. He wasn't a member of the Green Lantern Corps.

 

[Silvercrest]

^I said it was a Guardian-regulated power, not that he was a member. Post-Crisis there were two slightly different origins given for the Green Flame that Alan used. Both of them were centered on the Guardians. And one of those origins was based on the Guardians trying to keep the power out of lesser hands, and the other was based on one of their agents going berserk with it when he had it. You don't think the Guardians or the Corps would step in if it happened again? (Not that anyone can predict what the Guardians will do ... @#$% inscrutable little runts ....)

Pre-Crisis or post-New 52, the question does not arise, of course.

Special lenses can see through black light (Phantom Lady.).

Soldiers have gas masks, with enough forethought, but then Germany lost their Russian campaign because forward planning assumed that their invading force would not need heavy coats because victory was supposed to be assured before it started snowing.

Once armies get their shit together, it wouldn't be too difficult to counter, but as far as pacifying towns and civilian resistance goes, they'd be totally screwed.

Skyman had a gravity belt, so the gravity rod tech was replicatiable to a degree, but really it was a really efficient solar battery that expended solar energy energy in a manner of different ways... Of course was there a reason it only worked with Starlight and not sun light?

What about Wonder Woman's invisible plane?

I remember in an All Star Squadron comic that had the invisible plane look like a transparent p-51 mustang, and Diana got huffy that Superman was running interferrance putting his puffed out chest between her plane's hull and NAZI incomming fire, becuase her plane was as bullet proof as he was.

I've never had much idea about the invisible plane. My collecting years didn't include much WW and I don't think she had it then anyway.

Yeah, I can see non-powered heroes doing pretty well in partisan groups-- as long as they speak the language.

Starlight vs. sunlight-- maybe for the same reason you can't use night-vision devices during the day?

Phantom Lady wore special lenses? I couldn't tell you; I don't think I've ever looked at her face.

 

[Christopher]

I've never had much idea about the invisible plane. My collecting years didn't include much WW and I don't think she had it then anyway.

Wonder Woman's invisible plane debuted in her very first story, in January 1942's All-Star Comics #8.

 

[AgentCoop]

^I said it was a Guardian-regulated power, not that he was a member. Post-Crisis there were two slightly different origins given for the Green Flame that Alan used. Both of them were centered on the Guardians. And one of those origins was based on the Guardians trying to keep the power out of lesser hands, and the other was based on one of their agents going berserk with it when he had it. You don't think the Guardians or the Corps would step in if it happened again? (Not that anyone can predict what the Guardians will do ... @#$% inscrutable little runts ....)

Pre-Crisis or post-New 52, the question does not arise, of course.

Ah, okay. I misunderstood what you were saying. When you put it that way, you're probably right.

 

[Guy Gardener]

But how much better was her plane than conventional warplanes on the market at that time?

I'm assuming that the Amazonians just cobbled something together after Steve Trevor crashed on Paradise Island. It's possible that they had never thought to invent air flight before that moment, no matter what superior tech they did happen to be in charge of which some origins claim that they had.

But what if these clever women actually put some effort into designing a warplane?

 

[Guy Gardener]

^I said it was a Guardian-regulated power, not that he was a member. Post-Crisis there were two slightly different origins given for the Green Flame that Alan used. Both of them were centered on the Guardians. And one of those origins was based on the Guardians trying to keep the power out of lesser hands, and the other was based on one of their agents going berserk with it when he had it. You don't think the Guardians or the Corps would step in if it happened again? (Not that anyone can predict what the Guardians will do ... @#$% inscrutable little runts ....)

Pre-Crisis or post-New 52, the question does not arise, of course.

Ah, okay. I misunderstood what you were saying. When you put it that way, you're probably right.

Consider: Earth is a backwater cesspit full of thug barbarian fools no one would miss.

Maybe the Fireheart was left on Earth by the Guardians precisely because it really didn't matter what happened to Earth and the laughable creatures that live on Earth.

If this was true, then they would only become involved if the Fire heart tried to leave Earth space, which I'm guessing Alan has done more than once, but as long as they knew he was going home eventually it'd probably still be hunkydory.

 

[Silvercrest]

I've never had much idea about the invisible plane. My collecting years didn't include much WW and I don't think she had it then anyway.

Wonder Woman's invisible plane debuted in her very first story, in January 1942's All-Star Comics #8.

Sorry, my collecting days don't go that far back!

Seriously, my collecting years were essentially those of the Perez era, give or take a year, and the very little WW I picked up did not feature the plane. I don't think it was part of the mythos at that time.

Anyway, all I meant was that I don't know the concept behind the original plane well enough to know if it's replicable like some of the other items. I performed a Wiki search while writing this and it didn't help much.

 

[Lieut. Arex]

Would it go that far? Who was GL 2814 back then, probably Abin Sur's predecessor?

Abin sur became the GL of 2814 in the 1860's

 

[Silvercrest]

Hmm... guess I could have researched it. I was going too much by the appearances of characters who were appointed GL after 1860 but before Hal — with no Abin Sur in sight. I'm thinking of Donna Parker and Waverly Sayre. I took that to mean Abin was only around for a generation or so. I wonder if the writers screwed that up, or if those were meant to be special cases.

 

[Guy Gardener]

So Abin Sur had to decide if he was going to get involved in the American Civil War?

But that would be like the UN trying to mediate a power struggle inside the Triads.

 

[Silvercrest]

I think Guardian policy, right or wrong, told ol' Abin to steer clear of that particular conflict.

If one side or the other was championed by a muscleman in tights, it might have been a different story. Guardian policy seems to make an exception for one-on-one smackdowns between colorful characters. I think it's because they're secretly fans of professional wrestling.

 

[Guy Gardener]

You don't think that if Hal Jordan found a planet that legally permitted/used slavery to underwrite their economy that Hal wouldn't fly down and free the slaves and preach his own personal morality?

I still Marvel at the cock up that took place when John Stewart tried to stop Apartheid in the 80s.

 

[Silvercrest]

Yeah, Hal would do that, but then the Guardians would generally call him on it. Depending on who was writing them that week, I guess.

John only got away with it ... sort of ... because the Guardians were gone and Appa was in the middle of a meltdown at the time. (Although it was worth it to see Appa decked out in biker togs.)

 

[Guy Gardener]

Um, John didn't get away with it.

The South Africans put him in jail because of some dodgy shit Hal Jordan pulled 10 years earlier, then after he escapes, John tried some really weak sauce civil disobedience like stacking government limos into a massive tower when he had the power to destroy cities...

Then Superman shows up to kick Green Lantern's ass after the UN asks him the alien for John's head.