A Really Great Idea For A Comic Book Story

A Really Great Idea For A Comic Book Story

Ok, here's the plot:

A dastardly mega super villain -- say, Lex Luthor, Magneto, etc -- devises a way to fuck up all the weather on the planet.

So the villain shoots this ray and covers the planet's atmosphere with this stuff that turns winter into summer, etc.

At first, there are only subtle signs that something is amiss. The temperature gets unseasonably warm. Flowers bloom in January. A gigantic ice-shelf falls and melts away here or there.

Then, things get more serious. Droughts in Australia. Floods in Bolivia. Massive hurricanes off the Florida coast.

The calvary is called out to deal with these natural disasters -- either The Avengers or the Justice League, depending which company publishes the story. Aquaman tries to rescue polar bears and emperor penguins as they suddenly die, their habitats melted to pools of salt water. Mr. Fantastic is busy trying to figure out a treatment for the epidemic in skin cancer and new superbugs that have flourished in the higher temperatures.

Then whole sections of countries in Asia and South America are wiped out in typhoons. In contrast, other countries experience crushing drought.

Meanwhile, in New York, Vogue Magazine reports that yes, culottes and tank tops are "in" -- forever! Isn't that great?

New York becomes the new Florida.

Then, a super weather-related disaster hits a city with a high concentration of rich white people in it. Oh, no!

In the end, though there is extensive damage to property and loss of life, the superheroes band together, kick Luthor or Magneto's or whomever's ass, and things are brought back to normal.

But right now, as I write this, cherry blossoms are blooming in New York, clothing stores are stocking up in T-shirts and cute plaid shorts, and scientists have predicted that 2007 might be the hottest year -- ever.

The scenario I've provided - sans superheroes -- has a good probability of coming to pass.

It is the perfect crisis-plot for a comic book, and it is a reality.

We can theorize about potential terrorist threats, or meteors crashing into the Earth, etc, but the environmental crisis is HERE.

Global warming could wear the environment down gradually, or hit places like New York City in an instant.

And I just feel impotent to do anything about it, which is how I gather a lot of people feel.

But I think since we are in a crisis, there are two basic ways we can handle it:
1) Become hedonists (which includes pretending it isn't happening or saying "I don't care")
2) Become aware & involved

Now, I'm not a big genius when it comes to getting socially active for a cause. I can get pretty weak. I come home from work sometimes and all I want is a muffin with my coffee and to watch TV for three hours. So I warn you, I might totally crap out. I might totally blow it and take option #1. But I think I'm going to take a chance with option #2.

Now if you excuse me, I need to buy a cute pair of plaid shorts.