Most Overused Comic Plot lines

[babyblob]

I have been reading a lot of comics over the last couple of years and am noticing that a lot of plots are over used. I was wondering what you think are the most overused ones. Here are a couple I have noticed.

I am reading golden age Dc right now and it seems every hero bakc then had a story where they are breaking up a gambling den or stopping thugs from blackmailing a sports star into throwing a fight.

I have also noticed a lot of this over the years. Crime is on the rise. A reform candidate runs with the promise of stopping the mobs. And shocker it turns out that he is in the pockets of the mobs after all.

The protection racket also gets a lot of play.

So what are some of yours.

[Captain Smith]

Hero loses his or her powers. Boring.
Hero becomes bad for awhile.
Hero 'dies' - surprise, they are back.
Lately, hero and sexual orientation
Plague hits their universe

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Hero goes back in time, either to prevent a war, save a loved one or some other reason.

[Tami]

My Family (Parents, spouse, children, siblings, dog, etc.) were killed (or otherwise injured, assaulted, kidnapped, etc.) by so-and-so. Now I will seek my revenge on them, and everyone like them, for the rest of my life. Even if my bestest friend is a police officer and is very competent, doesn't matter. Even if I have never killed anyone in my life, doesn't matter. Even if I am incompetent and have no idea what I am doing, it doesn't matter. I will stil take my revenge.

Variation

Person who's family was killed just happened to be either a. secretly superpowered, b. ex-(marine, cop, mercenary, spy, assassin, etc.), c. super wealthy, d. scientist with access to futuristic tech, e. student of magic.

[Captain Smith]

My home planet blew up or was destroyed and I am an orphan or sole survivor until 1000 other folks show up, surprise.

Of course, I will stand there and chat until the bad person unleashes whatever the plan was to unleash while I was talking.

I just don't kill the SOB in a way that is untraceable (like a trip to the sun) because I have scruples about doing so to a mass murderer.

I invent something like antigravity and instead of selling it to Boeing or inventing clone tech and selling it to big Pharma - I make a floating clone to rob a bank for few thousand or even a million.

[Riv86672]

I quit....!

[Jack Dracula]

The only way to avert disaster is to split up into teams and seek out the separate pieces of some miracle solution which have been scattered all over the place.

[Riv86672]

Two heroes meet for the first time. They fight.

[K7P5V]

Boy meets girl. Boy & girl fall in love. Another boy shows up and falls in love with the same girl, while becoming an enemy/rival of the first boy.

[mathew101281]

Two heroes meet for the first time. They fight.

I use to think the same thing, but then I realized we are talking about superheroes here. These are people whose first reaction to stress, righteous indignation, or perceived evil is to put on a bright costume and start punching things. Impulsiveness seems to be a natural impulse for superheroes especially young heroes. Older heroes can be more reserved, but it's usually because they've had way to many "meet fights" in their earlier adventures and it has mellowed them out.

[Speed Force League Unlimited]

Origin story of a close person/relative getting killed.


Stan Lee's love soap operas:
Girl: "How can I.. tell colorful hero's secret identity... that I love him?"
Boy: "With my secret... how can I endanger girl I have a crush on... and tell her I love her?"


Hero committed crime has/she no reason to engage in. GET HIM/HER.


Public: "Villain is a true hero, hero is a true villain, although we witnessed atrocities committed by villain and were terrorized by them for years. Cheers for heroic hero villain."

[DanMad1977]

Everything with Aunt May...let her die already

[Agent Z]

The universe or multiverse being destroyed, reset and/or merged together.

Superheroes clashing with the government.

"If you kill him, you will be just like him".

"My secret identity which I have no reason to keep a secret is causing me problems in my personal life".

.
Lately, hero and sexual orientation

We would need, at least, twenty more years of this before it we could even argue it is overused given dearth of LGBT content in superhero comics history.

[DrNewGod]

With my vast genius, I've invented a device that manipulates gravity (or reads minds, etc.)! I'll use it to make the world better by beating up bank robbers!

[ed2962]

Everything with Aunt May...let her die already

They did! Then they brought her back in order to "fix" the Spiderman comics.