DC’s One-Star Squadron has been a damning criticism of capitalism and, in the latest issue, it set its sights on NFTs.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for One-Star Squadron #4, on sale now from DC Comics.
DC’s forgotten D-list superheroes have been facing the worst capitalism has to offer in the comically tragic One-Star Squadron. The previous issue ended with Red Tornado, the boss of the heroes-for-hire business, Heroz4U, being ordered to lay off half of his staff by the company’s board of directors. In the latest issue, he went to tell them they needed to cut their budget another way and, whilst he waited to see them, the cruelty of their initial request was exemplified by the latest and most hated internet fad.
As Red Tornado waited, he overheard the receptionist talking about the painting hanging behind her in One-Star Squadron #4 (by Mark Russell, Steve Lieber, Dave Stewart, and Dave Sharpe). The board was trying to sell the company and resorted to drastic measures to make it seem more appealing for potential buyers. That’s why they forced Tornado to make this horrible decision. Despite the fact that he was being asked to fire half of his staff just to cut costs, what sat behind the receptionist could have solved everything without depriving these heroes of their sole source of income.
Apparently, the painting was bought for a ludicrous three million dollars. Not just that but the company believed they could sell it for four. Considering the heroes that work for this heroes-for-hire company struggle to make a living as it is, it’s ridiculous that Heroz4U would fire them before considering getting rid of the painting. Since the company will be sold anyway, who’s to say the next buyer will even want whatever hangs in the reception of their skyscraper headquarters? Already this whole situation was bad, and yet, it managed to get so much worse.
When the artwork behind her was inevitably revealed, it added a whole new layer of terrible to this whole ordeal. Some may recognize the type of artwork depicted in the painting in this issue. The ugly chain-smoking monkey is one of the most infamous icons of NFTs. For those unaware of NFTs, these “non-fungible tokens” are, essentially, like digital trading cards that sell for ridiculous amounts of money online. Although they claim to be ownership of a digital work of art, digital art cannot be owned. It’s like having a piece of paper that says you own the Mona Lisa even though it’s still in the Louvre. They have been widely criticized for the negative impact they have on the environment, due to the large amounts of power they take to maintain, as well as the harm they inflict on artists. Many have had their work minted as NFTs and sold without their knowledge or permission.
This makes the whole three million dollar painting situation all the worse. Many in the tech industry have called out NFTs for being a scam. Although their supporters have claimed that they help artists, all they seem to have done so far is harm them. The smoking monkey icon that has come to represent NFTs is the perfect symbol of the greed in this issue. The higher-ups of Heroz4U don’t care about their employees in the same way that many NFT supporters don’t care about the environmental consequences or the harm done to artists. It’s hardly surprising to learn that Heroz4U has invested in NFTs then as well.
In the end, none of it mattered anyway. They already sold the company and, therefore, Red Tornado didn’t have to fire anyone. The worst part is, they didn’t even attempt to tell him. They were fully prepared to walk away with their money and let Tornado ruin the lives of his underpaid employees for absolutely no reason whatsoever. Hopefully, the new owners of Heroz4U treat their workers better than the old ones. However, with the money that was made from the sale, it’s likely the cruel corporates who used to run the place will start a new venture. If their NFT obsession is anything to go by, they’ll throw even more people under the bus in pursuit of wealth. Only this time, the victims won’t have superpowers.
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