How ridiculously powerful can the DCU get?
Mariner2
What's with the DCU these days? Just about every one of their icon
characters (the JLA) is undergoing a serious increase in the power
department. Why? Granted the DC icons are supposed to be more *godlike*,
but isn't it getting a tad crazy?
Green Lantern, Flash and Aquaman have been given definite power boots in
the last several years. Superman's Electric Blue persona is a different
type of power than he had previously, but he's clearly at a higher power
level - if not as powerful as the pre-Crisis days. All indications seem to
point to Wonder Woman coming out of *Genesis* as a more powerful character
- godhood has even been mentioned. Hell, even the new *Hawkman*, Zauriel,
appears to be more powerful than the Hawkmans of the past. How long is it
going to take for J'onn to reveal some powers we didn't know he had?
What I find a little bothersome is that most of these powers aren't coming
from an advancement of previous powers (like a Marvel mutant honing their
mutant ability), but from a Plot Device. Kyle isn't a better GL than Hal
(and barely better than himself since his introduction), but his ring is
stronger because they wrote away the ring's ineffectiveness to yellow and
the 24 hour time limit. Wonder Woman isn't going to be more powerful
because of extra training, but because of something that will happen *to*
her. Supes is more poweful because of the same reason, something happened
*to* him and he changed. The invention of the Speed Force presumably gives
wally a new high-level to attain - at least it wasn't an instantaneous
jump, he still has to practice becoming more in tune with the Force. (too
bad Yoda ain't a DCU character to help him along). Aquaman's powers are
from within as well, which, IMO, is a better way to go about it, though it
remains to be seen how powerful he gets.
I'm not saying it's a horrible thing that their power levels are
increasing, but I'm just curious as to why it's happening. Remember, the
more powerful these heroes become, the more distant they get from the
people they protect.
Anybody else have any opinions about the power-uppage going on at DC these
days?
--
-mark bousquet ...
mari...@tiac.net
"However, there is something (you may call it Fortune, or Nemesis, or
natural necessity) which prevents the enjoyment of any great success from
ever being pure and unalloyed, and which diversifies the scene of human
life by blending good and evil together."
-Plutarch, "Gaius Marcus"
Lightning
Mariner2 wrote:
> Anybody else have any opinions about the power-uppage going on at DC these
> days?
>
on my part, but it seems today's breed of fan wants more "oomph." It's
not enough to punch a crook, they must be punched through the wall. (Are
there even crooks in comic books these days?) It's not enough to save a
person, or even a city, you have to save the entire universe, and maybe
an alternate one besides. More exaggerated powers mean more exaggerated
pictures; to blazes with telling stories that people can relate to. I
know these are the disgruntled ravings of a one time fan (who has still
not gotten over what they did to Hal Jordan; I admit it,) but I truly
feel that today's comic book reader doesn't want stories, he or she
wants ACTION, and I don't mean the comic book.
Also, side note. Did I quote Tony Isabella's Black Lightning poem
correctly for my signature? I've not been sure since I started using it
and I would like to know.
--
<<Justice, like lightning, should always appear...
...to some men as hope and to other men fear!>>
bla...@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
Mariner2 (mari...@tiac.net) wrote:
: What's with the DCU these days? Just about every one of their icon
: characters (the JLA) is undergoing a serious increase in the power
: department. Why? Granted the DC icons are supposed to be more *godlike*,
: but isn't it getting a tad crazy?
This has happened before, particularly with Superman and Batman. The key
words are: Silver/Bronze Age, and Pre-Crisis.
: I'm not saying it's a horrible thing that their power levels are
: increasing, but I'm just curious as to why it's happening. Remember, the
: more powerful these heroes become, the more distant they get from the
: people they protect.
Power Inflation is common in series fiction with multiple authors. What
happens is the author brings in a gimmick to help the hero escape from a
difficult situation. This is intended to be one-shot, and the better
writers make that clear. Another writer may have heard of this one-shot
gimmick, but wants to have the hero use it regularly.
Another form of PI occurs when characters have poorly-defined powers and
abilities. Their upper limits slowly creep upward - especially when the
editor is not paying careful attention.
Both of these inflation effects can also apply to weaknesses and limit-
ations, but rarely do in practice. The readers notice and complain more.
: Anybody else have any opinions about the power-uppage going on at DC these
: days?
Yes, I certainly do have an opinion.
My objection is not to over-powering per se, but to gimmickry, poor writing,
poor editing, and inconsistency.
A very powerful super-hero (or super-villain) is more difficult to write
for than a moderately powerful one. It's more difficult to visualize
all these powers used in a plausible manner. If the character is also
very intelligent, wise, or fast-thinking, there is an additional challenge.
Often, the addition (or subtraction, or alteration) of powers is a marketing
gimmick. A title sells poorly, so it needs to be revised. Of course, if
the revision is due to the fact that the character was badly written before
and was too inconsistent with too much baggage, and is accompanied by good
writing/art/editing and creative ideas, then it was done for a good reason.
But in today's climate, sales are the deciding factor. Sales seem to be
dropping progressively, so management is in a state of perpetual panic,
cutting and pasting and rebooting. It's easy for them to do all that, but
not as easy to encourage good long-term work and let the creative people
do all that.
: Remember, the
: more powerful these heroes become, the more distant they get from the
: people they protect.
And, more importantly, from the real-life people who write, draw, ink,
color, and edit their stories.
Many writers have a hard time understanding the full implications of
super powers. A being that could move planets, change the spin of
galaxies, blow up stars with energy beams, be invulnerable to everything
except rare substances and other super-beings, and not require food or
sleep really want to spend a good portion of his time in a "secret
identity", impersonating a regular Human?
A good example is super-speed, exemplified in the DCU by the Flash.
At full speed, he's about 10 million times faster than Joe Average.
Are his reflexes and thought processes also this fast? They would have
to be. Does he also age 10 million times faster than normal? How does
he interact with other Humans who exists that much slower?
Running around the world in a few seconds requires not just speed, but
exceptional endurance. What about friction heat, ablation, sonic booms,
shock waves, blue shifting of light, Chervenkov radiation, and effects
of relativity? Not all of these are obvious.
The explanation that Flash and other super-speedsters can accelerate from
normal to super speed and vice versa makes more sense. The acceleration
process could take seconds or minutes, meaning that a two-bit thug could
hit Flash from behind with a pipe wrench before he has time to speed up.
And yes, a super-powered humanoid would think differently than a normal
one, depending on the nature of these powers. Aliens such as Superman
would not be the same as Humans. The fact that he was raised as one,
without Super-powers, makes him a little more human, and easier for the
readers to related to. (If he was raised in a Kryptonian culture, he
might be more like Eradicator.) Mutants/metagenics would be less distant
but here still would be issues of alienation (as in the MU.)
Komix are by no means hard science fiction, but if the companies hired
scientific consultants to point out errors and omissions, that would
help. What would help even more are "common-sense" consultants, if any
exist at all!
===================== ====================================
BLAINE GORDON MANYLUK email: bla...@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
EDMONTON, AB
ALBERT B. CHING
Yeah, but look as MArtian Manhunter. He _gained_ an old
weakness. (fire)
Albert
--
Robert Challenger
Mariner2 wrote:
>
> Anybody else have any opinions about the power-uppage going on at DC these
> days?
>
Its easy..
Theyve been reading the DC vs Marvel threads on rec.arts.comics.* and
decided they wanted to give the DC side a more decisive win 8)
--
Don't think cause I understand, I care.. | Robert Challenger
Don't think cause I'm talking, we're friends.. | Tha...@Zip.Com.Au
- 6 Underground, Sneaker Pimps. |
Richard D. Bergstresser Jr.
Robert Challenger wrote:
>
> Mariner2 wrote:
> >
> > Anybody else have any opinions about the power-uppage going on at DC these
> > days?
> >
>
> Its easy..
>
> Theyve been reading the DC vs Marvel threads on rec.arts.comics.* and
> decided they wanted to give the DC side a more decisive win 8)
More decisive than "No way in Hell can the Marvel team win"?
Hey everybody, check the Wizard special on this one.
Fans voted the JLA can beat the Avengers, FF, X-men, Gen13, and Wildcats.
I figure they can do it simultaneously.
Any more power and the non-DC teams will whine about the fight being unfair.
Sean MacDonald
"Mariner2" <mari...@tiac.net> wrote:
> How long is it
>going to take for J'onn to reveal some powers we didn't know he had?
>
>
He's been doing so on a constant basis, recently.
Originally, his only telepathic power was the ability to probe minds.
Then Giffen gave him a one-shot power to defeat Despero; not much
of a power increase, admittedly. Then he suddenly becomes able to
form telepathic links, mind shields, mind blasts, etc. While these
upgrades in Aquaman might be temporary, I think the Manhunter's
increases will be permanent as the typically-ignorant writers
may not even realize that they *have* been upgrading J'Onn.
--
-SM
"It seemed a dreadful injustice that these wise races should
perish at the hands of creatures who were still little more
than animals. It was as if vultures feasted on and squabbled
over the paralyzed body of the youthful poet who could only
stare at them with puzzled eyes as they slowly robbed him of
an exquisite existence they would never appreciate, never know
they were taking. 'If they valued what they stole, if they knew
what they were destroying...then I would be consoled.'" -Michael Moorcock
Aaron Mojo
I wish this power-uppage would hit Superman. Maybe after this asinine
new-powers thing... I wanna see him move worlds again, yet still be able
to "cradle a small child within his massive arms" or something.
-Aaron!
bla...@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
Sean MacDonald (mcdo...@vorteb.math.uab.edu) wrote:
: "Mariner2" <mari...@tiac.net> wrote:
: > How long is it
: >going to take for J'onn to reveal some powers we didn't know he had?
: He's been doing so on a constant basis, recently.
: Originally, his only telepathic power was the ability to probe minds.
: Then Giffen gave him a one-shot power to defeat Despero; not much
: of a power increase, admittedly. Then he suddenly becomes able to
: form telepathic links, mind shields, mind blasts, etc. While these
: upgrades in Aquaman might be temporary, I think the Manhunter's
: increases will be permanent as the typically-ignorant writers
: may not even realize that they *have* been upgrading J'Onn.
Classic creeping power inflation caused by poor editing...