In the late 1990s, DC Comics released a comedy miniseries titled Major Bummer (by John Arcudi, Doug Mahnke and Tom Nguyen). The main character is Lou Martin, a slacker whose main interests include playing video games and watching TV. At the start of the first issue, a package arrives at his door, but it was meant for Martin Louis, a young lawyer and philanthropist. But this isn't just any old package, it contains something an Extreme Enhancement Module (EEM). The device was created by alien college students doing their thesis on heroes in Earth culture.

A bright light comes out when Lou opens the box and he instantly blacks out. When he wakes up the next day, he has undergone a transformation and has received superhuman strength and intelligence. Because of his slacker personality, however, he doesn't even realize this is the case until he catches his reflection. He is now holding a ray gun he made out of a VCR that he created on the job he was just fired from for being late due to his laziness. Unlike most people with superhuman abilities, Lou does not embrace the responsibility to save mankind.

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Major Bummer accidental creation

On his first anniversary of becoming a superhuman, he comes home to a surprise party thrown by others like him. At the party, he is confronted by The Gecko, who tells Lou that it is about time he owned up to his responsibilities to mankind as a superhuman. But Lou has an interesting counterpoint. Maybe it's his slacker attitude or simply his philosophy, but Lou believes that not everybody who can be a hero, wants to be. When The Gecko argues that people with special talents should use them for the good of mankind, Lou retorts by making references to professional athletes, stating that they possess special talents. These people, however choose to be sports personalities rather than join the police force or the army, questioning the logic of The Gecko.

Lou's outlook on the matter poses an interesting, ethical question about the nature of superheroics. In the same conversation, The Gecko references Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi and L, Robert Oppenheimer as examples of intellectuals who accepted their responsibilities and used their abilities to end World War II. Lou argues instead that they created the atomic bomb, and that these people may be well-intentioned but are not infallible.

To complement Lou's point, it is important to look at how things usually play out between superheroes and the villains they go against. Although the heroes are usually the victors, the majority of the time it comes at great cost. There is great psychological and physical costs to the surrounding civilians and heroes themselves after a superhuman battle. The presence and actions of superheroes sometimes even bring the threat of the end of their world. Lou's reasoning casts doubt on these fictional universes needing superheroes. An argument could be made that superheroes are needed where there are super villains. But too often heroes are only called in to fight in specific circumstances and often ignore smaller crimes and simply allow the police to handle those matters.

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Major Bummer philosophy
Major Bummer philosophy

When DC created Major Bummer, their intentions were to make a comedy series about a slacker who gains powers but is too lazy to actively use them. The comedy throughout is well-written, but what sticks out is the posed ethical dilemmas for the characters. This is a discussion that really thrives with obscure titles like Major Bummer.

More popular characters such as Batman or Superman would not really allow such a nuanced discussion. Their character motivations often center around the idea that they must step up to their responsibilities because nobody else can do so. Major Bummer, despite its comic underpinnings, asks real philoshopical questions about the nature of superheroes and their responsibilities in a fictional world.