Quote Originally Posted by DrNewGod View Post
We disagree on this. I'm not saying it should be impossible for Spider-Man to whomp The Thing, but he shouldn't be able to do it thru a straight-up punch-fest. Acknowledging one character's limits relative to another's forces a writer to craft events in a story in a way that flow for reasons other than "I need this plot element to hold my tale together."
I'm with you on this. Far too often characters are written punching -- and taking punches -- far beyond their weight class metaphorically speaking. Frankly, I feel cheated by the writers when that happens. They are ducking the challenge to build a credible outcome. More importantly, it robs everyone of seeing how the main character handles situations where their abilities alone are insufficient to the task. The key to a great hero isn't winning every fight, or triumphing over every impossible/insurmountable threat. Some of the best of them take an "L", but keep fighting the good fight. But no, some writers would rather see Spider-Man fistfight the sun...and win.