I am no Treckie, but I was under the impression that morality has no real meaning to Spock as Vulcans are driven by pure hard and cold logic. Maybe the conculsions Spock reaches are in line with our understanding of "good" morality, but he never approaches things through a moral lense.
Hank McCoy, being the mutant activist that he is, views things through a much thicker moralist lense.
I'm just going to leave this link here *whistling smiley*
http://25.media.tumblr.com/0197f5efbd41917e2edc5bd34c55e701/tumblr_mmewhpU9VO1qha9mlo1_400.jpg
Hank McCoy, being the mutant activist that he is, views things through a much thicker moralist lense.
Ha, I was referring to a different Dr. McCoy. He's a doctor, Jim, not a mutant!
Potato Potato
The importance is the contrast between Legacy and Tachyon. Legacy is a hyper moral person, but when threatened, his morality can become dangerous. His descent into Iron Legacy may have a starting point when his daughter dies, but he doesn't flip immediately, he sees no hope in the future after he's gone, and does his best to fix the world himself. That leads him down a very dark path, making compromises within his morality. He remains a Moral figure, but his morality is twisted.
A character like Tachyon is the perfect balance, as her morality is not governed by compassion and empathy as much as by a set off laws/tests that help her determine the proper action.
They, like Kirk and Spock, are a great matched set, when Legacy's empathy starts to take that wrong turn she can point it out and get him centered.
Worth noting that the original post suggested Superman as DC's centre, and I can list quite a few alternate universes where he has gone the way of Iron Legacy. For example, I've actually explained the Iron Legacy storyline to new players by comparing it to Injustice: Gods Among Us
Or Irredeemable.
Irredeemable (and Squadron Supreme, and Invincible, and The Sentry, and countless others) is not really Superman. Alternate universe expies are a whole different thing.
That said, there are loads of evil alternate Supermen, too - Ultraman, Ubermensch, Red Son Superman, The Dark Knight Resturns Superman, and even Kingdom Come Superman was headed that way. Also, New 52 Superman might count, but that's probably too big an argument here.
So, absolutely, Iron Legacy validates comparisons to Superman (something Legacy clearly and intentionally invites), rather than refuting them.
As for Tachyon... I am all in favor of each playgroup having their own interpretations for the characters (I mean, do I ever shut up about my takes on AZ and Fanatic, and so forth?), but in a thread like this, dedicated to discussing characters' standings in "canon" SotM, I think you really need some basis for more unusual claims. For example, where in anything we have seen has Tachyon shown any morality more complex than "tries to cure cancer, is a superhero for money"? Extrapolating from that to "her morality is not governed by compassion and empathy as much as by a set off laws/tests that help her determine the proper action," seems like a big stretch to me.
Ironic
Hard to say, I guess I'd need a clearer definition of what the "moral center" actually means, but in my opinion, it certainly isn't Legacy. The existance of Iron Legacy shows me that Legacy is far too unbalanced and morally fragile to be considered the moral center of SotM. If the death of his daughter is all it takes to make him go full super-villain, than that just goes to show that perhaps his dauntless morality is not nearly as durable as it first seems. Honestly, I'd either go with Omnitron-X as the most moral person in the story I've seen. OX is willing to sacrifice himself to save the lives of humans, and has made it his goal to minimize the suffering of all people everywhere, going so far as to attempt to destroy his past self to undo the damage he had done before. He is, in my opinion, the most self-less character in SotM.
Also interesting morally is Mr. Fixer, who shut down his martial arts dojo in an attempt to protect his students, only to finally begin fighting back later in life. Just as Legacy's decent into evil proves how fragile and weak our morality can be, Mr. Fixer proves that morality is not black and white, and that sometimes there is no good option. Sometimes, fighting just makes things worse, and sometimes, when the world keeps pushing you, you have to push back. Mr. Fixer to me shows the reality of the world. Legacy is clean and wholesome, but clearly not as perfect as he seems at first glance, while Mr. Fixer seems more real to me.
The problem with this question is that morality is relative. Sometimes we need someone who will uphold our ideals, who will stand as a beacon of hope, like Legacy. Sometimes we need someone who will never compromise, who refuses to bow to adversity, like Wraith or Fanatic. Sometimes we need a realist, one who does the best they can with what they have, like Fixer. Sometimes we need someone willing to sacrifice everything to put things right, like Omnitron X. Sometimes we need someone calm and careful, patient enough to find the right solution, like The Scholar. And sadly, sometimes we need someone who'll get things done no matter the cost, who'll get rid of the bad guys even if it means putting them down for good, like Expatriette.
My point is, right and wrong depends on context, and therefore it's hard to say who is the 'moral center'.
