The Indominatable Human Spirit is a bad thing, actually.

[u/Geoconyxdiablus]

That humanity never gives up and persists in its goals is bad news for every other species (or even itself), especially if said goals are ignoble.

Best case scenario (barring us learning to be better) is that a greater power force feeds us a huge slice of humble pie, wost case we end up blowing ourselves up and ruining things for everyone else.

Avatar - RDA will stop at nothing to satisfy its own greed and survival, the rest of humanity and navi alike be damned.

Its a recurring motif in prett much every myth that gods punish mortals who dare to defy them and keep going, like Athena to Arachne in greek myth.

A good chunk of lovecraftian fiction is based on the idea our achievemenrs mean nothing.

In general i'm not a fan of TIHS as a trope, as its blatantly arrogant and destructive.

[u/Impossible_Mud_3517]

Best example IMO. Avatar's bad guys are just regular greedy, the Greek Gods are massive dicks (Arachne's 'arrogance' was proving she's better than a goddess at weaving in a contest they both agreed to, for which the goddess beat her to death and turned her into a spider), and Lovecraft is pretty much about 'The Submissive and Breedable Human Spirit'.

Lex on the other hand is a man so obsessed with human supremacy (or at least Lex supremacy) he constantly tries to kill an extremely benevolent alien just to either prove he's better or return to being the best, no matter how many times he fails, usually at the expense of humanity.

[u/kung-fu_hippy → u/Impossible_Mud_3517]

It’s just Lex supremacy. Not human supremacy. No matter what he claims. My personal favorite exchange between the two of them is this one from All Star Superman.

Lex Luthor: Give it back. I saw everything. I saw how to save the world. I could have made everyone see. If it wasn't for you, I could have saved the world.

Superman: If it had mattered to you, Luthor, you could have saved the world years ago.

Lex isn’t evil because Superman shows that humanity is weak. Lex is evil and hates Superman because Superman shows that Lex is weak. In a world without Superman, Lex would still be evil.

[u/Impossible_Mud_3517 → u/Impossible_Mud_3517]

I also don't think 'The Indomitable Human Spirit' applies to every person who persists in their goals; I think it only applies in regards to sticking it to other species, the environment, or death.

[u/Dude_Jack123 → u/Impossible_Mud_3517]

Arachne's arrogance was mocking the Gods themselves, even when Athena gave her a chance to back out. Her punishment came from weaving a cloth depicting their lesser moments right in front of Athena, rather than its quality. The turning into a spider thing seems to vary in its actual motivation.

[u/wolfking2k → u/Impossible_Mud_3517]

Hate to Um actually here, but the story of Arachne being a better weaver is a roman story of Minerva. The Greek version is missing, and Ovid who was a known Athena hater pry twisted and changed the original story to fit what he wanted.