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Fantasy Commentator, v. 1, issue 10, Spring 1946
Page 243
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FANTASY COMMENTATOR 243 Miller; carrying down with them the hope of the human race--- the spirit of all the centuries that might have come. Three slaves. V The Macrocosmic Superman Since Homer Eon Flint originated the giant superman with "The Nth Man" numerous copies of his conception have appeared, nearly all the them distinctly inferior to the original. In order that giants like these be classed as super-human they must possess mentalities to match their stature---for without such a characteristic they would be simply overgrown but otherwise normal humans, and consequently fall outside the pale of this discussion. Examples of the latter type are of course lamentably common, and range in quality from Wells' Food of the Gods down to Rocklynne's bathetic "Big Man." Every example of the superhuman titan is of the singular variety, no one having as yet described a race of titan supermen. As has been previously noted all such beings are of normal human birth, their growth having been stimulated artificially by various methods. The opposition they face throughout life is naturally widespread, but at the same time their inherent size is itself beneficial in dealing with this. Nevertheless this advantage does not enable the typical macrocosmic superman to ward off early extinction, though a few of his kind do manage to remain in quiet seclusion during their last days. The original "Nth Man" is the result of a father's experiments upon his son, at first on a desolate Pacific isle, and later in the adjacent ocean itself. At this superman's first appearance amid civilization he overthrows the one-man rule that has been set up in America by a financial tycoon, returning then to whence he came to watch over the land he has liberated. Another giant-from-the-sea plot appears in Gold's "Out of the Depths." The creature here belongs to a species of ancient terrestrial piscine stock. Despite his benevolent intent he is slain before he has succeeded in staving off an impending invasion of the planet. Earth, however, manages to muddle through unaided. Synthetic giants, created for the purpose of being radio-controlled by a lost race of Peruvian Incas with aspirations of ruling the world, are presented to the unwary reader in Peter Horn's banal short story "Giants out of the Sun." This status as superman, considering their mental level, is however admittedly open to question. The protagonist of the hackneyed "Iron God" of Williamson has been artificially created by a scientist who hopes to lead the world away from wars and petty strife by its use. But the gigantic intelligence so produced sees no hope for accomplishing this goal so long as humans cling to their habitual prejudices and hates, and prefers personal death to the deaths of those that would have to be put out of the way in order to remodel the world. Like the Nth Man, the Iron God has been made in an effort to solve the world's problems; again, however, the copy is much inferior to the original. Fearn's "Superhuman" is one of the few worthy efforts in the macroscopic superman category, and in some respects it is the best. Brought into existence purely as a theoretical experiment, this being exceeds the wildest dreams of his creator, attaining a structure that towers hundreds of feet into the air. In his loneliness he repeats upon an infant girl that same experimental procedure that led to his own creation. As the two attain maturity together they resolve to conquer the world, reduce its inhabitants to the state of vassaldom, and to mate that their kind may be perpetuated, envisioning a race of superhuman giants which will eventually take over sole residence of the planet. This plot harks back to that of "The Avatar," even to the ending when the giant is destroyed by his own father on the eve of the intended conquest. "Superhuman" is second only to "The Nth Man."
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FANTASY COMMENTATOR 243 Miller; carrying down with them the hope of the human race--- the spirit of all the centuries that might have come. Three slaves. V The Macrocosmic Superman Since Homer Eon Flint originated the giant superman with "The Nth Man" numerous copies of his conception have appeared, nearly all the them distinctly inferior to the original. In order that giants like these be classed as super-human they must possess mentalities to match their stature---for without such a characteristic they would be simply overgrown but otherwise normal humans, and consequently fall outside the pale of this discussion. Examples of the latter type are of course lamentably common, and range in quality from Wells' Food of the Gods down to Rocklynne's bathetic "Big Man." Every example of the superhuman titan is of the singular variety, no one having as yet described a race of titan supermen. As has been previously noted all such beings are of normal human birth, their growth having been stimulated artificially by various methods. The opposition they face throughout life is naturally widespread, but at the same time their inherent size is itself beneficial in dealing with this. Nevertheless this advantage does not enable the typical macrocosmic superman to ward off early extinction, though a few of his kind do manage to remain in quiet seclusion during their last days. The original "Nth Man" is the result of a father's experiments upon his son, at first on a desolate Pacific isle, and later in the adjacent ocean itself. At this superman's first appearance amid civilization he overthrows the one-man rule that has been set up in America by a financial tycoon, returning then to whence he came to watch over the land he has liberated. Another giant-from-the-sea plot appears in Gold's "Out of the Depths." The creature here belongs to a species of ancient terrestrial piscine stock. Despite his benevolent intent he is slain before he has succeeded in staving off an impending invasion of the planet. Earth, however, manages to muddle through unaided. Synthetic giants, created for the purpose of being radio-controlled by a lost race of Peruvian Incas with aspirations of ruling the world, are presented to the unwary reader in Peter Horn's banal short story "Giants out of the Sun." This status as superman, considering their mental level, is however admittedly open to question. The protagonist of the hackneyed "Iron God" of Williamson has been artificially created by a scientist who hopes to lead the world away from wars and petty strife by its use. But the gigantic intelligence so produced sees no hope for accomplishing this goal so long as humans cling to their habitual prejudices and hates, and prefers personal death to the deaths of those that would have to be put out of the way in order to remodel the world. Like the Nth Man, the Iron God has been made in an effort to solve the world's problems; again, however, the copy is much inferior to the original. Fearn's "Superhuman" is one of the few worthy efforts in the macroscopic superman category, and in some respects it is the best. Brought into existence purely as a theoretical experiment, this being exceeds the wildest dreams of his creator, attaining a structure that towers hundreds of feet into the air. In his loneliness he repeats upon an infant girl that same experimental procedure that led to his own creation. As the two attain maturity together they resolve to conquer the world, reduce its inhabitants to the state of vassaldom, and to mate that their kind may be perpetuated, envisioning a race of superhuman giants which will eventually take over sole residence of the planet. This plot harks back to that of "The Avatar," even to the ending when the giant is destroyed by his own father on the eve of the intended conquest. "Superhuman" is second only to "The Nth Man."
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