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On superheros
16 years ago
Just gonna copy this one from DA verbatim, for those who don't watch me on DA. :P
* Mood: Tired
* Listening to: Valkyria Chronicles OST
* Reading: A book about .Net WPF
* Watching: Valkyria Chronicles (TV anime)
* Playing: Sacred 2
* Eating: Lasagna
* Drinking: Water
So, it's stupidly late, and I've just finished inFamous a second time. Played through evil this time, and I have to say, the final boss fight is much more fun when you've had that extra bit of experience with the game. First time through I died like a million times, this time I didn't die once. All the dodging and tossing around of titanic powers made it like something out of anime; truly epic.
Anyway, superheros. I've never really got this genre of media myself. I'm not sure what it is, but something about them just annoys me. Previously I'd have guessed it was the nauseating amount of American patriotism that seems to go hand-in-hand with the genre, and that may still be true, but inFamous brought another point to light.
The main character is sometimes referred to as 'electric man' (or sometimes 'lightbulb man', depending on who is saying it). But he doesn't call himself either. He doesn't wear a lycra bodysuit with a bit 'E' on the chest, or any neon or bright colours at all. Most of the people on the street call him Cole, even; which is just as well seeing as that is his name.
I think maybe I could be interested if there were more stories like his. An ordinary person with extra ordinary abilities, who never dons a ridiculous spandex suit, and who lives in a world somewhat like ours; i.e. not full of other superheros and ludicrous villains.
... But probably not. :P
* Mood: Tired
* Listening to: Valkyria Chronicles OST
* Reading: A book about .Net WPF
* Watching: Valkyria Chronicles (TV anime)
* Playing: Sacred 2
* Eating: Lasagna
* Drinking: Water
So, it's stupidly late, and I've just finished inFamous a second time. Played through evil this time, and I have to say, the final boss fight is much more fun when you've had that extra bit of experience with the game. First time through I died like a million times, this time I didn't die once. All the dodging and tossing around of titanic powers made it like something out of anime; truly epic.
Anyway, superheros. I've never really got this genre of media myself. I'm not sure what it is, but something about them just annoys me. Previously I'd have guessed it was the nauseating amount of American patriotism that seems to go hand-in-hand with the genre, and that may still be true, but inFamous brought another point to light.
The main character is sometimes referred to as 'electric man' (or sometimes 'lightbulb man', depending on who is saying it). But he doesn't call himself either. He doesn't wear a lycra bodysuit with a bit 'E' on the chest, or any neon or bright colours at all. Most of the people on the street call him Cole, even; which is just as well seeing as that is his name.
I think maybe I could be interested if there were more stories like his. An ordinary person with extra ordinary abilities, who never dons a ridiculous spandex suit, and who lives in a world somewhat like ours; i.e. not full of other superheros and ludicrous villains.
... But probably not. :P
What you're looking for is called an, "anti-hero."
Not a villain, mind you, but someone who performs heroic deeds but defies the modern conventions of what a hero is, socially. See also:
Deadpool. Yes, he wears superhero jumpsuit. No, he's not like "other" super heroes.
And yeah, I've heard about Watchmen. Doesn't sound like something I'd really like. Maybe one day tho.
I sort of jab at this with Jacent, aka Captain Comet. His themes tend to revolve around failure. He's powerful physically, but he can't use it properly because he's constantly confused about everyone's motivations- not everything falls into 'good' or 'evil.' He doesn't always foil the robbery, he can't always catch the crook, and sometimes he doesn't make it in time to save somebody from a 100-foot drop. Later on it deals a lot with various themes on the nature of death and innocence, and even later, redemption. Throughout all of it, he's trying to find out what it means to be 'a hero,' and eventually finds it in a teenage girl who needs, basically, a father.
I might just have to check it out anyway, see what I think for myself.
But what about the tight leather suits? The shiny latex? So tight fitting, digging deep into any cleavage, accentuating curves... X3 I'm kinda with you on all that pretty much, otherwise. The only comic books I've actually read were one where nearly all the superheroes died, and a series called Transmetropolitan. The latter was really cool 'cause he wasn't a superhero but a crazy journalist and was pretty mature, though rather vulgar. But, considering all that he does, he's pretty much a superhero, even in the futuristic world it takes place in.
Otherwise, I'll just stick to manga and anime X3
And of course I like tight fitting leather, latex, spandex etc on women, but they don't need to be superpowered to wear that stuff. :P
And I cant read any comics/graphic novels that are like that as it bores me to death.
There was one graphic novel which I did enjoy though that you might like. Its called Top 10 and doesnt have any of that patriotic stuff because quite simply, EVERYONE in the city has super powers. Its about the police of this city trying to solve crimes and keep order in a world in which everyone who inhabits it has super powers of some sort.
But yeah, if EVERYONE has powers, that could be a good story.
Another good comic is "The Runaways", which revolves a group of young people that run awayfrom home due to circumstances like gaining powers, or their parents secretly being in a cult and trying to sacrafice them.
The story has alot of depth to it, actually. It's really just about the kids trying to deal with all these things that happen to them.
In defense of the classic superhero, most of them were originally created in an age where patriotism was almost a necessity. We shouldn't just forget our heroes now that we know there's more important things than patriotism. If you actually READ some of the comics now, quite a few of them are dealing with much more complex issues. I never liked Superman, to be honest- he's too much an amalgam of American patriotics, and the work of Nietzsche, which is a dangerous mix. On the other hand, Batman has never been what you would call patriotic. He has no powers and he uses fear as his strongest weapon,which I find muchmore genuine. I think when it omes down to it,it may actually depend on who's writing the comic at the time, as each writer will change the character a little, and in my opinion, it's made them much more complex.
But yeah..I like Spider-Manz! *Stupid Geek Voice*
like i love the xmen and that style of hero (hero with problems, alot of marvel stuff is like that), and like Jonias said spawn is neat even if he's wearing a costume.
anyways i think you'd be better off with indy comics :P
Honestly, I've not really read comics sing my grandmother used to send me the fleetway Sonic comic and Beano. :P
Seriously tho', I'm not going to try to convince you to give superhero comics another try. You've made it clear you're not all that fond of them and listed your reasons. Pretty solid reasons, at that. Yes, there are titles that answer your concerns -a few of which have been listed by other folks above this post- but they're a bit of a pain to find and really wouldn't change your viewpoint of the overall field. It's all personal opinion anyways and I hate to start a nerd fight on your journal over the aforementioned posted titles that I think suck. :)
Curious tho', is it just Infamous that got you thinking about this or was there some title or movie that made you consider things?
And yes, it was pretty much just inFamous, unless there's some other subconscious influence.
Antihero: a protagonist who lacks the attributes that make a heroic figure, as nobility of mind and spirit, a life or attitude marked by action or purpose, and the like.
Cole does this if you play good in inFamous, for example.