Now The Righteous Have It In For Sarcasm?

They thwart dastardly supervillains and have saved the world countless times over but macho superheroes now face a determined new foe in the guise of a mild-mannered child psychologist.

Oh, this’ll be a rehash of all the usual Righteous bugbears, I bet…

Professor Sharon Lamb, from the University of Massachusetts in Boston, accuses the new generation of superheroes, exemplified by Robert Downey Junior's playboy millionnaire Iron Man, of being bad role models for young boys.

A millionaire playboy alcoholic who resolves world problems with ultraviolence?

I’m shocked, shocked, that this doesn’t go down well with progressives…

Unlike conventional superheroes such as Superman, who stood for justice, fairness and decency, the modern macho superheroes portray a negative masculinity, characterised by mindless aggression and rampant sexism.

*yawn*

"There is a big difference in the movie superhero of today and the comic book superhero of yesterday," she said.

"Today's superhero is too much like an action hero who participates in non-stop violence; he's aggressive, sarcastic...

Wait, what?

Sarcasm? Sarcasm is verboten now? Since when?

…, and rarely speaks to the virtue of doing good for humanity," she said

Do they need to?

Isn’t it enough that they actually do good? Does it not count unless they yammer on about it night and day, like…err…Progressive Man?

In contrast, Lamb said the boys could look up to the old-style heroes such as Superman, "because outside of their costumes they were real people with real problems and many vulnerabilities".

Well, Superman was an illegal alien with adoption and identity issues, and a chronic allergy that could prove crippling. Despite this, he held down a responsible job as part of the Fourth Estate.

It’s really no wonder the progressives are chuffed to little mint balls with that portrayal…