First things first, just because I'm an artist doesn't mean my area of expertise lies solely within that realm. It just means that as a career choice, I have decided to pursue art instead of writing, cooking, or even advertising. THIS IS A MISTAKE A LOT.OF PEOPLE.MAKE.
Now that that's out of the way, on to the major problem I pointed out when I was given the outline. Other than the fact that the character's backstory and overall plot arch sucked. A cardinal rule of character development was broken.
It is a very simple rule in creating super powered protagonists. Pay very close attention because this is kind of important.
SERIOUSLY |
DO NOT EVER OVERPOWER YOUR SUPERHERO OR CLAIM HE HAS NO WEAKNESSES.
Why is it so hard to follow this rule? Name 5 characters that have broken the rule and have been successful (by successful I mean well received, not giant moneymakers. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE).
Tick-tock, Tick-tock…DING! Got any? 'Cause I got two, Superman and Doc Manhattan. There are more, but I feel that these are the one's that stand out above the rest.
Now let's see Superman. He started as a flying brick, unbeatable and just a tad bit dickish (if certain covers are to be believed), then writers realized something veryyyy important. People were getting bored with his stories. They were becoming too predictable. Conflict drives the plot of any and every story, but if Superman couldn't be beaten then what was the point? Now it's obvious to see where this is going. The writers had to create a weakness for him, and so came a plot device so notorious that it has been deeply ingrained in comic book history.
It’s Lois Lane.
As much as everyone would probably like to "correct" me about that previous statement. Lois is Superman's greatest weakness, NOT the shiny green rock with a level of scarcity on par with that the Blue Boy Scout's race. Look back on most Superman stories(Sans silver age ), notice how stories involving Lois tend to invoke more out of him than when generic mook #46 waves a piece of Kryptonite at him? You're not just getting outer conflict, you're also getting inner conflict. You have something that could provide you dozens of stories that could derive from that moment. And People HaveNeed I remind you... |
at least not a 100% anyway... |
Batman is without a doubt one of the coolest non-superpowered heroes EVER. He is also incredibly weak to disease, lead poisoning, alcohol poisoning, regular poisoning, bludgeoning, flaying, magic, spearing, stabbing, frying, irritable bowel syndrome, trepanning, massive blood loss…
…and hugs |
Meh... |
AWESOME. |
STILL AWESOME. |
I mean what's the point of a story when you can just end it right then and there?This is where the first mistake was made. Not because people are discriminating, not because people are stupid, and not because it wasn't given a chance. It was primarily because it was a shitty,boring, invincible character that no one could relate to, much less care about.
Instead of griping about how unfair the industry is, take the damn criticism and use it to improve.
PREACH!!
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