Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Mon-El in Superman - SPOILERS

Thanks.

But, I've been wondering. GilDishpan. What is with that name? It sounds like something you keep in your kitchen.

"Ladies, you never need worry about dirty dishes again. Not when you've got your Gil Dishpan! Found wherever fine Gil kitchen products are sold.

Maybe that's the point, or at least the point of the Dishpan part?

SUPERMAN 686... Mon-el continues to introduce himself to various Metropolis entities... Jimmy Olson, Guardian, Steel, Billi Harper and Rampage.

About that last encounter... it's key to remember that this is *pre-Legion* Mon-el, so his inexperience is going to be a part of his immediate future.

Another component of a secret identity (they're spending a lot of time building this part of the character up, aren't they?) is checked off the list, as Mon-el gets a job. <span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text"> As Jonathan Kent, he dons the armor of a Science Police officer. </span></span>

And, he gives himself a haircut.

i like his longer hair best but it does make tactical sense. ahhhhh his not using contractions is soooooo cute ;______; i love him.

so he can cut his hair with an everyday razor? how does clark do that?

I wondered about that too, veryvery.

Also, he seemed to be speaking very properly. I, and this is weird, thought to myself "I wonder if he's speaking in a British-type accent?" Then, he is introduced as "British. English. Whatever."

Can an American please explain to me why Americans don't seem to get the make up of Britain?

A Brit would never describe someone as "American. Texan. Whatever." Same as we would never have referred to George Bush as the Texan President but I've often heard US media refer to Tony Blair as the English Prime Minister.

Every Brit knows that the United States of America is made up of Texas, California, New York, Alaska etc

The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

What is so difficult?

Probably because you go by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, I thought the United States of America was a long name...

Well, I do know that a lot of people don't understand the difference between the UK and Great Britain, and considering that as a people they are called British then people have no idea what you would call United Kingdom people (United Kingers?) so I think that adds to some of the confusion.

Then you have "what language do we speak" we speak English. well, we wouldn't say that someone speaks American or Australian or whatever because we recognize that those are seperate English speaking countries but England isn't a seperate English speaking country (if that makes sense). For example, we would never say that someone speaks Texan, yet British people speak English, so I think somewhere along the line the two descriptions become synomouns (or however you spell it) in some people's mind.

Plus you guys REALLY don't whine about it enough. I mean, I know you would never call a Scottish person English, but I've never really heard too many people correct someone for mixing up England, UK, Great Britain...

I dunno, part of it might be that Americans just don't care that much about what to call other people (as long as it's not a deragatory name)...

You can hardly expect Americans to parse the locale of various UK residents in an accurate fashion. Not when, half the time, a Northerner can't tell a Texan from a Kentuckian based on accent. Or (going by personal experience) somebody from the South or Out West says, "Hey, you're from New Jersey ! Aren't you supposed to sound like Rocky Balboa ?" To which the answer is, "No, ya' dumbass ! Central Jersey is NOT Philly ! Even Pittsburgh isn't Philly and they're technically the same damn state !"

Hmm an interesting insight Steph. I'm not sure all of it is legit. British can refer to the British Isles not just Great Britain. (Why we didn't call ourselves the Kingdom of the British Isles is a question I've often asked without getting an answer). So British is like you folk calling yourselves Americans but that adjective covers everyone from Canada to Chile and doesn't strictly include Hawaii. so United Staters? You have the same problem as us but everyone understands the situation on your side of the Atlantic.

I know the language being called English is a might confusing and given the differences perhaps it would be better to refer to British and American (Or UK English and US English like Microsoft).

I think it is true that the British don't complain about things so perhaps we should start.

we have a very bad educational system. very very dumb children .

most americans can't tell you the geography of their own country. we are collectively very stupid. you're lucky we get any of that correct. but that line in the comic is meant to make a dig at americans' inability to differentiate, not to willfully combine them all, as the author is british himself.

previously they said that mon-el speaks very formally. he doesn't actually have a british accent, it just what people assume it is since it sounds different and they can't put their finger on it. their minds just automatically go to "British".

One basic source of confusion for Americans is the fact that the 13 original states in the U.S. are referred to interchangeably as having been "English colonies" or "British colonies" (the Union of England and Scotland occurs right in the middle of the colonial period) which teaches us at a fairly early age to think of the terms as synonomous.

I also think there's a tendency when Americans think about Northern Island and Scotland in particular to think that these are really just nearby countries that England has managed to annex rather than genuinely equal partners in Union in the way that we like to believe that our states are.

Ambiguous references to people and cultures like "British" and "American" are part of thousands of years of human traditions! "Greek", "Roman" and "Persian" had very complex meanings that don't really do a good job describing those societies or the people that lived in them but were commonly used then and are still commonly used today.

So why screw up such a grand tradition?

Historically with Ireland especially that may have been true but I hope that the fact that Tony Blair's successor Gordon Borown is Scottish shows that it is no longer the case. If anything the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish are over represented in the British/UK government.

Thanks folks, this has been a really interesting insight. Much appreciated.

Anyone remember on Star Trek:TNG when Data went back in time? Or was a character in the Dixon Hill holdeck program? He was intoduced as "Carlos, from South America," which everyone seemed to accept, or simply said "I am from France," which MOST people accepted.

I have never been to Europe and may never go. I have to say that in school, we never stressed the United Kingdom. In fact, it is ironic that it is called that, given that, from what I have heard, the English and Scottish don't particularly like each other. A friend of mine visited pen pals in Scotland. Every pub he went to, as long as he said something like "Ah, the English, who needs 'em?" someone bought him a round. True story.

We in the U.S. are one country, on continent of several countries, whereas I thought the UK is 3 countries on what, 2 islands? 3? It is just confusing and never was made a high priority in school.

The UK is one country on over 1000 islands, Great Britain and Ireland being the largest two.

The English and Scottish have had a long standing rivalry - until 1707 they were separate and sometimes warring countries, but 300 years is a long time to be one nation. The rivalry now is more akin to say Texans still harping back to the Texas Republic that was independant until 1845.

Your penfriend would have got his drinks on the basis of being a stranger. We British are like that.

It is sad IMHO that any 12 year old in the UK could name pretty much all of the US states as well as locating all the major countries across the globe on a map, while in the US you seem to know only about the US. I once read that only 7% of US citizens have passports. Here in the UK the figure is 98%

Until recently, we haven't needed passports to get into our two adjoining countries.

Everywhere else is VERY far away, so most of us don't ever get the chance to go where we need a passport.
I have one, though I've never used it.

But, I HAVE traveled in both Canada and Mexico.

Our 6th graders are studying ancient world history this year.

Next year, I'm not sure, but current world geography and events might be high school subjects for us.
(I've been working in special ed. for so long, where it's usually a moot point, I'm not up on regular curriculums.)
sigh

About Lar ~ I just read Superman #686 and I was wondering if anyone else likes his secret identity look?

I certainly do, but is he going to change back to Mon El when he's superheroing or what?
CAN he change his look back? (Other than the clothes, I mean.)

Anyway, I love the artists and writer on this arc!

And I love that Lar gets a center stage showing!
I just miss his relationship with Tasmia, preferably Umbra.
I guess I AM a bit of a traditionalist, in a strange way.

Good point candle, I have a passport (cause it's good to have) but haven't used it since I went to Germany on a school trip.

I'm sure that percentage of UK citizens with passports will decrease over the years since they don't need passports to visit most of Europe anymore...

As for Superman #686 I was actually a bit disappointed, it seemed like a really quick read. The fight scene was cool, but I would have prefered some internal narrative or something, cause otherwise we get three to four pages of no words, and I don't think the art really had the desired affect of "selling" the lack of dialouge.

Also, don't like the haircut, yeah I understand why he did it, but I don't like it. I liked Mon's old haircut and if he had to get his hair cut short I would have prefered he didn't spike it up.

Also, "battle wig" what was up with that? I understand wanting to show why Mon-El decided to cut his hair, but gosh that was an akward exchange/moment (as was his convo with Billie Harper).

I expected more and really I want a bit more going on with my books, especially when they are setting something up.

but I'll pick up next months and see how I feel from there, I'm interested in what happens with Mon-El but I don't want it to take forever.

I asked 'the teacher who knows' and he said that 7th graders get geography.
In 8th, it's US history, while high school is econmics/politics/world events and another year of US history.

As for Lar, I like change, especially when I know it's probably temporary.
I liked Supes with long hair, in fact.
:embarrassed smile:

I think part of the problem is in the US we are 50 united states belonging to one big country. Our neighbors are two big countries as well.

In Europe every small region wants to be their own country. But these age old complications are part of their identity and they are raised to understand it.

It's like someone knowing two languages being able to learn a new language easier than someone that knows just one.

Canada, US, Mexico. No major disputed area all three young big countries. I've been to Europe quite a bit and notice huge differences between one town and the next. I also try to be PC and use the word British and usually am quickly corrected "ENGLISH!" "SCOTTISH" "WELSH", etc.

You have four countries and a bunch of small islands that are smaller than New England.

Also every single Brit I've met (quite a few) called me an American. Every single British film I've seen with describe citizens of the US as "Americans".

Another non-British but still European example. Ever call a Sicilian an Italian? Oh boy! Fighting words. A Basque, Spanish? Even worse.

I am not excusing it. Our education here in the USA can be much better but I think big reason is the we are a large young country surrounded by large young countries in a modern era where communication and travel existed early on...except for a couple of states we don't get very territorial.

The old workd of Europe, Africa, Asia can get down right complicated. (I am actually studying African and Asian geograhpy right now. Heck, Eastern Europe isn't a cake walk either)

By the way read the last two issues of Superman...Mon-El rocks!

Really? My impression has always been that the Scottish Nationalist Party is a fairly powerful political force in Scotland, certainly far more powerful than any similar seccessionist movements in the United States. I've always understood it as much closer to Quebec's relationship to the rest of Canada than Texas's relationship to the rest of the United States.

I can never keep Africa straight. It's even more of a mess because the territorial boundaries don't correspond at all to the distribution of ethnic groups.

Can't imagine boundaries, dynamic as many of them were, had any clear delimination of the Bantu language group. What is the official definition of "ethnicity?" I think it's more about who's marrying sis.

One of the fun parts of traveling from country to country is seeing how localized facial features can still be, even in this modern mobility. Even in my own town, many people can still be identified by their "home" neighborhood just by looking at them. I'm pretty much a mutt but I have had others identify my neighborhood by what words I use and how I act.

Monel, may sound British but he has that tall, dark haired, sharp, high cheeked croatian look to me. I think the accent is a put-on to pick up chicks.

In a referendum on Scottish independence, less than 5% voted in favour. The SNP is used by most as a protest vote when the government of the day is underachieving. Even if the SNP aim - like the Quebecois - is to gain independence, it'll never gain enough support to happen. I often hear Scots proclaim their desire for independance (usually when influenced by alchohol) but when it comes to a vote they always vote for staying in the UK

An interesting observation. It is true that there are VERY few black haired people in northern Europe (apart from recent migrants of course). In southern Europe (around the Med), most peoples with dark hair tend to be darker skinned: Italian, Spanish, Greek etc. But Croats (the people as opposed to Croatian the nationality) are a lighter skinned dark haired people.

I've always found it interesting how many black haired caucasion characters there are in American comics. Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson for example as well as Clark Kent. I've always put this down to the high level of Jewish creators rather than a indication of the prevalence of black hair in American society. Outside of the Italian, Spanish and Greek communities (that none of the characters ever came from) I've never detected a large black haired fair skinned population in the US. .

And you know, I've never thought about it.

But there is actually a large portion of black haired fair skin part of the population represented in the movies.

Look at the movies coming out when these characters were created, you have Clark Gable, bunch of other guys, but many of them were black haired or dark enough brown that it appeared black on the movie screen. Could that factor in to why so many black haired characters exist (plus ease of coloring) because that was the "ideal" look for men.

Dunno, but it's hard to tell now what the black haired/light haired mix should be because so many people have mixed ethnic backgrounds (I'm Slavic on my dad's side and pretty pure British Isle stock on my mom's).