Are careers just outdated?

[PCN24454]

It seems as though 90% of superheroes are “adventurers”.

It honestly feels cheap and convenient that all the heroes have rich friends to mooch off of.

[Flash Gordon]

100% cheap.

Seems like most superheroes are military or extremely wealthy. Boring and uninspiring.

[CrimsonEchidna]

I don't think it's that so much as it is secret identities have become less common place to the point where less attention is spent developing a hero's "civilian life."

[Crimz]

Sue Storm should be a doctor that's all I'm saying.

[CaptCleghorn]

If we go through Marvel's early heroes, very few of them really had civilian careers. The FF were 100% heroes after their origin. Spidey had his camera and school and still maintains a civilian life. Dr Strande was 100% hero after origin. Thor had Dr Blake until he didn't and poof. Tony Stark's hero life and civilian life blended. Steve Rogers' civilian life was a real confusing mess. Matt Murdock is still a lawyer. Bruce Banner's scientific career kind of fell apart when it was discovered he could get big and green. Namor and Nick Fury's jobs were their heroic roles.

Taking a look at the heroes who had series in the sixties, only Spidey and DD really had civilian jobs. That was 50 years ago.

[Frontier]

Even Peter Parker hasn't really had a real consistent and long-lived career since Brand New Day (the closest was Horizon, but that didn't stick long).

[WebLurker]

I think it depends on the character and the needs of that character's story. Spider-Man needs a career (much like how he's an example of a superhero who needs a secret identity), because his story revolves around the duality of his civilian and superhero lives. Captain America doesn't, since his story is about his mission as the man with the shield. Most of the X-Men characters don't, since their stories are about the team stuff (and even those that aren't regular teammates, like X-23, have their stories on other stuff then civilian things). So, no size fits all.

[Digifiend]

Yeah, Laura's pretty lucky. She doesn't have to pay rent, as the citizens of Roosevelt Island gifted her a home after she saved them in the Immune arc of All-New Wolverine. Her previous home was inherited from Logan. So she just needs money for food and clothes. I bet the X-Men give her a stipend.

Captain America used to be paid by SHIELD. I don't know where he gets his money from since Secret Empire.

[Killerbee911]

100% cheap.

Seems like most superheroes are military or extremely wealthy. Boring and uninspiring.

Because those are what makes sense

1. Military/ Government supported/ Corporation supported hero

2. Extremely wealthy person

3. Owner of your own business (reasonable wealthy)

4. Independent contractor or freelancer-You work for someone but you have extreme control over your hours

If a job doesn't fall into one of these categories it really doesn't make any sense for superheroes . It is almost impossible for a hero to have 9 to 5 job with a boss and most jobs fall into this area. The creativity jobs in the past was kinda bad writing and most writer today take craft a little bit more seriously. Everyone loves Superman/Clark Kent as reporter but he disappears so much that Perry would have fired him long time ago and that is just bad writing. Superman as Freelancer reporter makes sense,He controls his hours,him disappearing isn't a issue ,etc but that doesn't put him in the office.

And the office is actually important part not the job .The office created a supporting cast of characters and ways to interact with people. And that is what the writers today have learn to do better which is create supporting cast without using traditional jobs. The other part of the trope was as people mention to was emphasize the secret identity but just think about how many times can you "disappear" from a job without a excuse and not get fired?

I am not saying that genre should get rid all heroes who have secret identities and normal jobs but the genre makes more sense when it is the rare thing

[Hypestyle]

more diverse careers need representation at Marvel (and elsewhere). It just takes people to write it, regardless of the consequences.

[SuperiorIronman]

On the lower end of the job spectrum, a 9-5 job is totally doable in a superhero book. Especially accounting for the supporting cast whom might look the other way on things if the situation is dire enough or if the character happens to be good enough at their job. If you set the hero up in the right location it means that you can do anything you want, it's just that writers don't really want to put in the effort (and despite my suggestion that does take effort in establishing it) and so daily lives just don't come up as much anymore because we normally see only snippets anyways.

[Michael Watkins]

Scott Lang's a security contractor. he saves money by wearing his costume everyday.

[Lee Stone]

It seems as though 90% of superheroes are “adventurers”.

It honestly feels cheap and convenient that all the heroes have rich friends to mooch off of.

I think the lack of real jobs limits their supporting cast to being just other supers and puts them in a bubble where readers can no longer relate to them.
At least give them a circle of normal folks to keep them grounded.

[ed2962]

I think a lot of that goes back to writers not wanting to give up good ideas to the corporations when they can keep them for themselves.

[Killerbee911]

Overall instead of going through writing gymnastics to make certain jobs sort of believable just use things that make more sense and that is what they are doing in general. Look at CW shows see how long they stick with the tropes not very long, Supergirl and Flash have compelling cast in Star labs and DEO, they don't really have to use CSI or Reporter angles that much that is not by accident. People seem to think it is easy to write these stories and stay in the basic realm of logical. Do you know that some schools send a text when your kid misses a class? In the world with a million cameras, You think it is easy to sneak out of a job? A comic in past stretch believability pretty thin back then and it is even worse in the modern era There is a reason why comics moved away from certain tropes.

Once again if 90% of heroes running around with working for the government or independently wealthy person and a smaller tiny percent with a unique different job that seems about right. It is not writers being lazy it is just that old tropes don't work. Does any one believe that a man consistenly climbing out a widow in New York today isn't going to be seen?