Captain Cold vs. Superman and Superman Hot Cocoa Mix

I have always been more of a Marvel reader, but I am aware of the relative strengths of the various DC superheroes. Because of this, I have a hard time believing that Captain Cold would think that he could use any of his freeze weapons on Superman. It just defies logic.

Superman dispatches cold with ease and then has these kids on his hands. So does he take them and fly rapidly to freedom? Does he use his heat vision to warm things up? No, he takes his time to serve two piping hot mugs of cocoa made from Superman Hot Cocoa.

This bit of product placement is flagrant misuse of Superman’s power and comes across as low-class. Every superhero knows that first you rescue the kids and bring them straight home to their parents. Then you do a quick round of photo-ops and maybe sign some autographs. Only after that is done, do you get their address and promise to send over some special Superswag. Which is where you include the Super Cocoa and other co-branded products.

This was the 1980s and they were a simpler time, but marketing departments existed back then. An icon like Superman could have really used some brand management. These type of incidents are exactly why Superman’s popularity has fluctuated so wildly in the last few decades. It is very difficult to take the person seriously when they are just going to peddle free samples of their product afterward.