Michael Vick is great -- and lucky

Before he achieved worldwide fame for producing the movie "300" and co-directing "Sin City," Frank Miller revolutionized the comic book industry with his series "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns."

This graphic novel influenced that realm in many ways, but the most compelling was Miller's willingness to view the characters' personalities through prisms no one else would. His Dark Knight had the persona of a brooding, revenge-seeking old man, who, when confronted with seven different options with which to physically neutralize an opponent, chose the one that would cause the most pain.

Miller's Bruce Wayne also took a very different view of Superman. Instead of being focused on the Man of Steel's power, Wayne saw a person so enamored with his otherworldly physical skills that he didn't develop his ancillary talents to anywhere near an equal level. Wayne used this weakness to win the climatic battle at the end of the book and made sure Clark Kent realized why he lost.

The world of pro football has a similar situation with its current Superman, Michael Vick. A cursory look at his statistics this year show a player possessed of once-in-a-lifetime ability, but after taking a closer look at the game tapes and metrics, it is evident Vick could be on the road to suffering a type of defeat similar to Kent's.

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KC Joyner

NFL Insider

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• NFL and CFB analyst for ESPN Insider
• Known as "The Football Scientist"
• Uses proprietary metrics from game tape study