X-men unlimited 112. Fire star part 1

[BobbysWorld]

Sorry, no offense intended. I just can't get behind the notion you are arguing that Fabian Niceiza was pushing a pro-prison propaganda with that storyline. Its just feels to me like you are going beyond criticizing the content of the story and attacking the intentions and motivations of the writer himself, and that is what I am having trouble accepting.

I think we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

I'm not offended, but just saying, you'll notice I never once mentioned Nicieza by name, only 'the writer' because Nicieza and whatever he feels or thinks personally just flat out does not matter to me, and wasn't the point of anything I wrote. I went out of my way NOT to make it personal about what might be MOTIVATING the writer to write what he did.....you don't have to have some kind of theory as to WHY you feel someone wrote something that reads like a propaganda piece to have the opinion that it reads like a propaganda piece.

As I said, all my criticisms revolve around the fact that the narrative expresses a clear viewpoint that Vance's experiences with prison weren't a bad thing, that the system can work if you just trust in it, with Vance literally being the mouthpiece to explicitly say, clear as day....HE felt the system worked the way it was supposed to, going to jail was the right thing, and all his experiences within the prison were fine because he didn't fight or resist or even contest the system, simply trusted in it and passed his complaints 'through the proper channels' and everything worked out and he was practically a hero within the prison and revolutionized the way an adult supervillain supermax prison was run.

My point remains....regardless of WHO writes such a story, what they're like, what their politics are, their personal experiences with the legal system, their personal opinions - I know none of that about Nicieza and frankly I don't care, because I don't NEED to know any of those things to think what I think and what I've been plainly expressing all along, no offense intended either (my only interest is in being clear here):

Regardless of ANYTHING about the writer or his personal takes, my interpretation of the narrative and the basis of my criticism is rooted in the simple fact that I think ANYONE writing a story where a teenager publicly known to be a hero and an abuse victim gets sent to an adult supermax full of supervillains including all kinds of violent offenders, characters we KNOW why they're there because their crimes and motivations play out on the page in countless comics....

And this kid's experience in that environment is hunky-dory, he's improved by his experiences within the prison and the prison is improved by him being there, with him being popular with both the guards and the other inmates, all of whom respond in the best of all possible ways to his belief that the system works and they just have to work with it and his eagerness to make change by just making his complaints known to the authority figures....

Once again....that story could be written by anyone, for any reason, and I will still maintain that regardless, the story itself reads as a pro-prison propaganda piece with an extremely one-sided perspective that displays no nuance while repeatedly hammering home the premise that the legal system on display works, prison works, any flaws aren't within the system or police/prison institutions themselves, but are merely miscommunications with or oversights by the authorities, or due to inmates' refusal to cooperate with authorities or accept accountability.

I don't know how to read such a story, one that acts like someone in Vance's situation there and his background and reason for being there compared to hardened supervillains, would have no bad experiences there worth noting, that no supervillains would react to the presence of a superhero in their midst the way prison populations react to former cops who have been sentenced to prison being in their midst, that no guards or wardens of this notorious supermax prison for the worst villains in Marvel's library would abuse their power/authority except for the ones who stopped as soon as Vance just helpfully pointed out that the inmates would behave better if they were just nicer to them.....

And see any angle by which that DOESN'T read as biased as every element of it seems deliberately angled to demonstrate the idea 'prison can be good actually, everyone just needs to trust the system and best intentions will make everything work out.'

I have no axe to grind with Nicieza, who I know nothing about beyond his work. My beef is with the story and how it reads, and the viewpoint it advances. Just because I have strong feelings about the story and said viewpoint doesn't mean that I'm making this personal, and I would argue that its people acting like I've made it personal or trying to read into MY motivations and insinuate I have some kind of problem with the writer who I never even named....instead of just responding to my points about the narrative and my criticisms of it....that demonstrates the very behavior you're suggesting I'm displaying towards Nicieza for writing the story, going beyond what I've actually written to assume my intentions towards the writer.

Again, I'm not trying to pick a fight with you, lol, nor am I offended, I'm just....trying to be clear. I know I'm passionate about this topic and my posts about it have a certain intensity. I just don't think that invalidates any of the actual points I've made nor does it make my issue with the story any less firmly centered around the STORY, as my only issue with the writer and whatever he may have been thinking or feeling when he wrote the story and why....remains just that....he chose to write this story and chose to write it in this way, and I think this was....a bad take. And the story and the viewpoint it advances merits criticism. Hence....my criticisms.