The Elder Gods and the Mortal Heroes: A Fictional Confrontation
The Elder Gods and the Mortal Heroes: A Fictional Confrontation
Oh boy… another one of these. These are getting tiring.
So… the High Priest of the Elder Gods vs a bunch of people from a bunch of outer space places whose power levels depend on the person writing them.
Understanding Cthulhu: The Mysterious High Priest of the Elder Gods
Cthulhu, the High Priest of the Elder Gods, is not a god in and of himself but an object of worship of mortals. Described as a mysterious being, Cthulhu is formidable for reasons that are both immense and unknowable. Our minds simply cannot handle the gravity of knowledge regarding his capabilities. The fiction posits that understanding what Cthulhu can do would be so overwhelming that it would drive anyone to madness.
While it is often argued that Cthulhu was defeated by a mere steamboat, let’s look at the actual passage again and dissect it:
"But Johansen had not given out yet. Knowing that the Thing could surely overtake the Alert until steam was fully up, he resolved on a desperate chance and setting the engine for full speed, ran lightning-like on deck and reversed the wheel. There was a mighty eddying and foaming in the noisome brine and as the steam mounted higher and higher, the brave Norwegian drove his vessel head on against the pursuing jelly which rose above the unclean froth like the stern of a daemon galleon. The awful squid-head with writhing feelers came nearly up to the bowsprit of the sturdy yacht but Johansen drove on relentlessly. There was a bursting as of an exploding bladder, a slushy nastiness as of a cloven sunfish, a stench as of a thousand opened graves and a sound that the chronicler could not put on paper. For an instant the ship was befouled by an acrid and blinding green cloud and then there was only a venomous seething astern where - God in heaven! - the scattered plasticity of that nameless sky-spawn was nebulously recombining in its hateful original form whilst its distance widened every second as the Alert gained impetus from its mounting steam."
It is evident that what faced Johansen was not necessarily Cthulhu, but the creature that had pursued the Alert. Johansen’s strategy was to reverse the ship’s direction and ram it into the creature, resulting in a squelching sound and a strange stench. The passage then suggests that the creature reformed and moved away from the ship. This, more so than a mere defeat, suggests a confrontation where the creature did not yield to the steamboat in a conventional sense.
The Justice League: Mortal Heroes in a Grand Scale
Now, let’s examine the Justice League. They are all mortals, each with their own unique talents and vulnerabilities.
Alexis Luthor, a.k.a. Superman, was killed by Doomsday, a being of extraordinary might. And while he eventually returned, such an encounter is a testament to the reality that even the bravest heroes in fiction can be vanquished. The Hulk, a near-invincible monster, was able to kill Superman without much effort, rendering the narrative point that no human can truly stand against such unspeakable power.
Kevin Batman, a.k.a. Batman, was nearly killed by Bane, and was brutally beaten. Regardless of his astounding resilience, going up against something like Cthulhu would undoubtedly drive anyone to madness. Even Batman’s logical and methodical mind might be overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of facing such a being.
John Martian Manhunter, a.k.a. Martian Manhunter, has not been explicitly killed in a significant way within the narrative. He is powerful and has access to advanced technology and alien abilities, yet his mortality remains a crucial element of his character. Martian Manhunter’s success lies in his adaptability and strategic nature, but even his mental fortitude might break under the pressure of facing an elder god like Cthulhu.
Conclusion: An Unruly Confrontation
In conclusion, while the Justice League consists of some of the most powerful and resilient characters in the Marvel and DC universes, their mortality and the overwhelming nature of Cthulhu’s power make a confrontation highly improbable. Cthulhu is vast, vast in both physical size and in the scope of his unknowable and terrifying influence. The very act of encountering and attempting to combat such a being would very likely break the human mind, thus rendering the apparent mortals of the Justice League powerless against this ancient and transcendent force.