The internet is a weird wild wonderful place, full of everything that’s good and bad in the world; it’s also highly interactive. Users can obtain information, but also give their opinions, for instance in a Comment sections, like the one at the bottom of this very article.
Sometimes, people get really pissed off and Comments can turn from healthy debate into personal insults and hate speech. Last week, this very thing happened on the DC’s The Source blog in a post previewing Superman #709, forcing the publisher to initially shut down commenting for the entire blog and removing the offensive reader comments on the preview post.
Were the commentors all fired up over some political situation? Nope. What about something to do with the tragic earthquake in Japan? No, no, not at all. Readers got fired up over something of true historical importance: Who is faster, Superman or The Flash?
Superman #709 appears to revisit the age-old question of which hero is faster. Comments started quite normally enough with fans of both characters sharing their opinions on the subject and others commenting on the quality of the actual comic book. As the conversation continued it spiraled out of control devolving into direct insults amongst commentors and then insults being hurled at the comic book creators. Eventually someone behind the scenes at The Source had enough and shut down the discussion forums all together. The comments forum was back up not that long afterward, but the comments on the Superman/Flash argument remained closed and all offensive comments were removed. This comment appeared from DC on The Source article when the forum was shut down:
Due to the inappropriate comments on this post, we will no longer be allowing comments on The Source until further notice.
My sincere apologizes to those who came to the blog to actually discuss DC Comics and their books, but this back and forth has gotten out of control on this blog.
Posts have been – and will continue to be – deleted on both sides of this conflict. Your post may not have included any offensive words, but by continuing this dialogue, you are escalating the problem. Therefore and comment that is part of this back-and-forth will be deleted.
For those users that had nothing to do with this, I am very sorry for this inconvenience. We are working to make this site more hospitable to those who choose to comment properly and not take part in these offensive and inappropriate disputes.
Sincerely,
Molly
-DC Comics-
The first thing that strikes me is that Molly calls this discussion a “conflict.” Now that puts a level of importance on this situation that just seems ridiculous (although, I guess it’s obvious how seriously DC fans take this issue). Also, closing down the forums seems really excessive, even if it was short-lived. Why not, to use an XBOX term, whip out the ban hammer and get rid of those that are the troublemakers on the forums? Sounds like someone important behind the scenes at DC got offended and if that’s the case, well it is their website so they can do as they will. But, this isn’t the first time fans have gone too far in their comments, and it surely won’t be the last.
Give us your thoughts on this situation here below.
[Source via Comics Alliance]
They just did what any web site moderators would do. Standard procedure to keep things positive me thinks. That’s just the way it goes
Oh, and Flash is faster ;)
Comment by Greg Davies/cGt2099 — March 24, 2011 @ 3:59 pm
Flash is the Fastest “Man” Alive. Always will be. I will concede that Superman may be the fastest alien. =P
Comment by d1scu5 — March 24, 2011 @ 11:15 am
Flash is the Fastest “Man” Alive. Always will be! I’ll concede that Superman is maybe the fastest alien. =P
Comment by Anonymous — March 24, 2011 @ 4:17 pm
I like pbiersac’s response, but it’s not a true answer to which is faster, just a point of how they stand amongst their own species. I would probably have to go with Greg and agree that Flash is faster!
Comment by Schindler — March 24, 2011 @ 4:54 pm
You #@&%$#!!!!!! Superman can move planets. Flash just gets dressed really quick.
Comment by Bmarch1 — March 24, 2011 @ 9:54 pm
I’m with you about the Flash. I was trying to be diplomatic but I’ll pick sides here. No doubt, the Flash is THE fastest! He taps into and, if I recall, has even merged/become one with the speed force at some point (although it has been a decade since I’ve regularly read comic books). I’ve always thought that if the Flash is all things “speed,” then Superman must be tapping into that energy on some level, somehow. In other words, Superman is able to attain the speeds he can because of the Flash and the speed force. That’s my perspective on this. So what if Superman can move planets? It’s a race and the contestants only have to move faster than the other. Flash wins. And personally, I’ve always like the Flash better as a character anyway. More human, more flawed, more easy to relate to. Even his Rogues Gallery was more interesting than any other hero’s ever was. Well, except maybe Batman.
Comment by Anonymous — March 25, 2011 @ 2:47 am
Ya, Flash is simply superb, fast and the best man alive………………… and ofcourse will be till the end!
Comment by Flvplayer — March 25, 2011 @ 6:18 am
i think they (dc) knew perfectly well this issue would inflame that age-old debate about who is fastest. but that they didnt anticipate it would get so out of hand. but the dc blog site is so boring anyways, there are many better equipped and interesting websites on the web, such as this one for instance!
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Comment by Anonymous — July 9, 2011 @ 7:15 am
BATMAN WINS HANDS DOWN!
Comment by domedabomb1 — April 11, 2014 @ 12:18 am