Honey Pot

ID: I want to talk about the honey pot.

S: I chose you in spite of your work for that magazine, but if this question's going where I think it's going, this interview's done.

ID: No. This interview's a part of the honey pot, central to the idea. In our first segment, you “let slip” that Batman was Bruce Wayne; you also admitted that you were Clark Kent, married to Lois Lane. In the last few weeks, metahuman arrests in the vicinity of your two home addresses have increased ten-fold- and that’s according to the mostly public knowledge city police records, not counting the superhumans you and the government ship off to your superhuman Guantanamo. And I have it from a reliable confidential source

S: It's Ollie.

ID: What?

S: Anytime a reporter has a “confidential” source from inside the Justice League, it's Ollie. Even when he's not an active member, he's plugged into a lot of others in the community. And Ollie's always had a bit of a problem with the League. What was it he called us, a bunch of “floating fascists” looking down on humanity from our “Stalinist space station.” He gets very alliterative when he's perturbed. His basic concern is usually in the way we handle civil rights, due process. And he has a point, actually- that there aren't rules in the superhuman community. True, we're largely bound by the rules of our country of origin, or whatever local regulations apply, but as superhumans most of us aren't naturally subordinated to law and order like a regular citizen would be- if the cops came to arrest let's say Flash, they'd just have to hope that he was willing to come along quietly, because there's really no way on Earth they could forcibly subdue him. But Ollie's also a loud-mouth, and has a tendency to talk to reporters rather than voice his concerns to the rest of the League.

ID: Just for those who don't buy their Justice League trading cards on a weekly basis, you mean Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow.

S: Yeah.

ID: But what I was getting at, is I've heard it from a reliable source that the League used this interview to put that information into the hands of supercriminals. In essence, and I think the term comes from computer science, but you created a honey pot, to see who was foolish or opportunistic enough to attempt to attack you- that basically, you wanted people to take their cheap shot while they perceived you as weak. Is that true?

S: Yes.

ID: And are you really dying?

(pause)

S: Yes.

ID: Okay. I'm a journalist, and, as I'm sure you're aware, journalists are whores. But for services rendered, I want you to complete this interview, as outlined. No more funny-business, no half-truths, you want to use me to spread information, that’s fine, but I don’t want to become your propaganda wing.

S: Fair enough.

ID: All right. But out of curiosity, how did you do?

S: We've captured about 78% of our high-priority criminals.

ID: High priority?

S: Repeat violent offenders. I mean, there are plenty of costumed yahoos who knock over banks, steal technology, and generally cause a nuisance, but the high-priority cases are those who have repeatedly shown a preference for using violence, not merely in the commission of a crime, but as an end in itself.

ID: So you're talking the Joker, or a rapist like Dr. Light.

S: Yeah. You know, that still troubles me. The underreporting of rape, in our community both personally and professionally, is a stain on what we do. I remember when J'onn pulled me to the side one day, after the thing with Light came out, and we had a big meeting, and we were all shocked, and dismayed.

ID: J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter.

S: Yeah- and J'onn pulled me to the side. He was very careful to say he doesn't read people's minds without permission, but that there are some emotions that just basically attack him, that are so strong that he sees them without looking. I thought we had just been incredibly lucky, but as it turns out, the League sees roughly the same number of sexual assault cases as anyone in law enforcement, both in the people we help- and even a few League members themselves. And I asked J'onn to share with me everything he'd felt, to show me what he'd seen inadvertently, and he was very reluctant, and said my concern was enough, that he wanted to make sure we took steps, to get everyone counseling and training on dealing with sexual assault and its victims- but I told him it wasn't enough. I needed to know, and he showed me, and- and I actually cried.

I think I've been... insulated in Metropolis. It's a fairly nice city, with an extremely vigilant police force, but being faster than a speeding bullet, it never gets to that point in my city. So long as I'm in town, the moment someone cries out “help,” the attack is over. Of course, after talking with J'onn, I realized how many assaults probably happen quietly at home, date rape, even spousal rape, incest, molestation. As much as we've accomplished in Metropolis, there is still so much more to be done.

And the thing J'onn explained to me, was the statistics are too high. Rape is not an aberration, it isn't just the crazy and immoral people like Light who perpetrate it- the incidence is just too high. It's something normal people engage in- and I'm not even sure how you begin to combat that. How do you fight a culture where people are somehow getting the idea that that kind of behavior is acceptable?

ID: I have no idea.

S: Neither do I. It’s one of the few things I feel genuinely powerless against- and it isn’t a feeling I enjoy. But that’s why Bruce and I conceived the "honey pot." We won’t always be there- I think my illness has put that into stark relief. We wanted to take one last stab at making our friends and family safe. I’m sorry if I was dishonest in my motives, but I think the ends

ID: Justified the means?

S: I recognize that tone; I’ve used it often enough on Lex. But I’d prefer to sacrifice the principle, rather than lose another innocent person. I can stand for my reputation to be slightly tarnished; I couldn't stand “retiring,” knowing there was one more thing I should have done but for pride.

We’ll be trying to bring you a new section of the interview every Monday. Some of the questions have already been prepared by the interviewer, but to ask Superman a question, leave a comment or send an email to DeathofSuperman@gmail.com.