Pyrrhic Victories

Superman is a pretty terrible person. Every week, some jerk is at it again, trying to steal priceless gems or hack the stock market or something generally evil. So Superman rushes in and saves the day. Sounds cool, right? Well on that level, it is. But invariably, there is an extended battle where Superman and the villain take turns tossing each other through buildings and chucking cars at each other. How many people die in these duels? How much property damage accrues? Is it possible that the gems weren't worth as much as the devastation the town experienced?

This is known as a Pyrrhic victory. It's a situation in which, although you won the battle, it came with such heavy casualties that it was more like a loss. It's an interesting concept with a cool name (gotta love those ancient Greek kings). We are so used to happy endings where everything gets wrapped up in a neat little package. And we are so used to sad endings where everything crumbles away. But bittersweet endings are a unique taste.

Standing up to a bully might be worth it to get him to quit picking on you.  Unless the bully breaks your elbow or knocks out your teeth in the process. Then maybe it wasn't really worth it. But some would argue that it was. Pyrrhic victories can be tricky. They are victories, but they are also atrocities. Their value is up to opinion.