[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/M3SfSt4.png[/img][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/QTvHLVk.jpg[/img][/center] [color=MediumTurquoise]"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the Godfrey Edition, the [i]only[/i] reliable source for the unvarnished truth in a world gone mad. I am, as always, your humble host, the inimitable G. Gordon Godfrey, and I am absolutely [i]delighted[/i] to be talking to tonight's guest. A man who needs no introduction, but I simply couldn't resist giving him one anyway! "My guest tonight is none other than the CEO of LexCorp, which as of this January is the largest and most profitable tech, communications, and media company in the entire world. He's the developer of LexOS, the fastest and most powerful computer operating system by [i]several[/i] country miles, not to mention his extremely successful line of L-Pad, LexBook, and L-ephone devices. And when he's not creating hardware and software that makes the competition look a good century behind, he's also one of the most forward-thinking socio-political activists out there, an outspoken critic of the 'super-hero' culture that's turned our society on its head, and the author of several books including his latest bestseller, [i]Fire to the People.[/i] He [i]also[/i] happens to be a very good friend of the show. "Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only Lex Luthor. Welcome to the show, Lex!"[/color] [center]][img]https://i.imgur.com/TiQfUHY.png?1[/img][/center] [color=Lime]"Pleasure as always, Gordon! And, ah, thanks for the kind words."[/color] [color=MediumTurquoise]"Oh, I meant every syllable of them. So, you've made some statements on social media suggesting that the recent trend of metahumans cooperating independently is something to watch closely. However, you've also written that the interactions between Superman and the Flash were, and I quote, 'nothing short of [i]Juvenal[/i],' with an [i]A[/i]. Now, I know nobody's perfect, but surely the great and powerful Lex Luthor checks his own spelling before making public statements, yes?"[/color] [color=Lime]"Oh, haha! Nothing gets past you, Gordon! No, that was just a little wordplay, Juvenal was-- ah, well, you caught the reference, so you [i]know[/i] who he was."[/color] [color=MediumTurquoise]"It pays to read more than whatever's trending on your phones, ladies and gentlemen. So, am I to understand, then, that you're skeptical of the idea of the various super-people joining forces?"[/color] [color=Lime]"In the immediate moment? No, I'm, hah, I'm rather glad they kept the world from being destroyed. After all, it's where I keep all my stuff, heh......erm.....but I think the real concern is going to be what happens in a generation or so. Looking at the Greek gods, they joined together and saved the world from Chronos and the Titans at the beginning of the world, but then what? Centuries of looking [i]down[/i] on Man from on high, raping women and hurling down thunderbolts at a whim, visiting cruel and eternal torments on lesser beings for [i]daring[/i] to step out of their place. To the Greeks, the greatest sin of all wasn't greed or wrath or lust, it was [i]hubris.[/i] Pride. The idea of thinking you could be as good as the fickle, capricious Gods who had power over you."[/color] [color=MediumTurquoise]"Well, those were all myths, fairy tales, surely."[/color] [color=Lime]"[i]Were[/i] they, Gordon? I mean, who's to say the metahuman phenomenon is a [i]new[/i] thing? There have been stories of miracle workers, Messiahs, angels and demons, Gods and Devils, ever since Man could tell stories at all. And now we find out about [i]Superman[/i], and the Flash, and Spider-Woman, now we find out there are genetic mutants in our population who can do impossible things. Who's to say how far back it actually goes? I realize it sounds ridiculous, but hey, with aliens and mutants and bat-men about, what exactly is off-limits anymore?"[/color] [color=MediumTurquoise]"So if I'm following, you think the metahumans will eventually rule over humanity, setting up their own Olympus?"[/color] [color=Lime]"'Eventually?' Gordon, it's already happening. By small degrees, baby steps maybe, but they're acting and [i]inter[/i]acting with complete disregard for our own authorities. Superman and the Flash may have been a one-time thing, but they left a team of SHIELD operatives eating dust. And not only are they not letting themselves be policed by mere mortals, but they don't seem particularly interested in policing each other. When it comes to keeping the more dangerous vigilantes in line, Superman isn't striking out, he hasn't even stepped up to [i]Bat.[/i]"[/color] [color=MediumTurquoise]"That's a good point-- I mean, where has Superman been during the mass shootings perpetrated by a crazed gunman in New York? Put on a costume and call yourself 'The Punisher,' and suddenly everyone else with a cape and a gimmick is willing to look the other way. Where was Superman when Harvey Dent was nearly assassinated by--"[/color] [color=Lime]"To get back to my main point, it's clear that while an actual metahuman society and hierarchy doesn't exist [i]yet[/i], there is every reason to expect it [i]will[/i]. Multiple ones, in fact, I'd wager, each with their own standards and rules and social norms. But all of them with a common theme: they are not [i]us[/i], and they won't stand for being [i]treated[/i] like us. At least, not until someone trades a bright red cape for a golden bough."[/color] [color=MediumTurquoise]"Interesting. So what about--"[/color] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/FEGIbzG.gif[/img][/center] [hr] [center]][img]https://i.imgur.com/8cHKAO1.png?2[/img][/center] [h2][center][color=Yellow][b]HELLO, MISTER LUTHOR YOU MAKE THE BEST TOYS THE SHINIEST, THE FASTEST, THE MOST POWERFUL AND YOU'RE SO GOOD AT SHARING THEM WITH EVERYONE [i]MOST[/i] OF THEM, ANYWAY BUT [i]I[/i] KNOW WHAT'S IN YOUR TOYBOX I KNOW WHAT TOYS YOU'RE KEEPING FOR YOURSELF WHICH ONES YOU KEEP INSIDE THEIR PACKAGING GATHERING DUST WHAT GOOD ARE TOYS, MISTER LUTHOR, IF YOU NEVER PLAY WITH THEM? IF YOU WON'T OPEN THE PACKAGING AND SEE WHAT YOUR TOYS CAN REALLY DO [i]I[/i] MIGHT COME OVER AND DO IT MYSELF[/b][/color][/center][/h2] [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/FEGIbzG.gif[/img][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/6goBj7v.jpg[/img][/center] [color=MediumTurquoise]--said [i]cut to commercial, you fucking incompetent--[/i].....erm, ladies and gentlemen, we'll be right--"[/color]