Why is Doug portrayed as weak non combatant?

[emfrst]

Not long ago, Zeb Wells has Doug beating Dani, Karma, Amara, Sam, and Sunspot during XNecrosha. Hickman is a big fan ofDoug, he should know that he is more than capable of handling himself. Heck, Wells is writing Hellion right now, he should be able to help. I am just so confused right now.

[Rnap22]

Not long ago, Zeb Wells has Doug beating Dani, Karma, Amara, Sam, and Sunspot during XNecrosha. Hickman is a big fan ofDoug, he should know that he is more than capable of handling himself. Heck, Wells is writing Hellion right now, he should be able to help. I am just so confused right now.

He was also brought back with the TO Virus and was being controlled. That wasn’t 100% Doug.

[sunofdarkchild]

He was also brought back with the TO Virus and was being controlled. That wasn’t 100% Doug.

This. Doug has no feats that approach what he did while under the control of Selene's magic and the transmode virus. Once he was freed of her control that was it for him being much of a combatant even under Wells. During Second Coming, which was soon after Necrosha the X-Men were warning against sending him on dangerous missions because of what Wolverine called his "weakness" to bullets.

[loke13]

Not long ago, Zeb Wells has Doug beating Dani, Karma, Amara, Sam, and Sunspot during XNecrosha. Hickman is a big fan ofDoug, he should know that he is more than capable of handling himself. Heck, Wells is writing Hellion right now, he should be able to help. I am just so confused right now.

Because he is a weak noncombatant.

[Askani's Flame]

Because he is a weak noncombatant.

Exactly. He does not have any real combat training outside of limited Danger Room from the past and Magik. His ability to read combatant moves is purely a defensive capability to ensure his survival and parry properly.

[shooshoomanjoe]

He's always been weak and useless, which is why the writers killed him off on Fall of the Mutants.

[OopsIdiditagain]

Exactly. He does not have any real combat training outside of limited Danger Room from the past and Magik. His ability to read combatant moves is purely a defensive capability to ensure his survival and parry properly.

Reading combatant moves and predicting what will happen doesn't matter when you don't have the skill/talent to react to it. A person can know when someone's about to shoot or punch them but that doesn't mean they can react to it properly.

He needs training to get the muscle memory needed for combat.

[Askani5]

Because he is a weak noncombatant.

He is at the mercy of the writer and whether they choose to honor continuity. In theory, he would be able to read body language and react appropriately to his advantage. Who knows maybe he’ll pull a dimitri at the end like cobra Kai lol

[loke13]

He is at the mercy of the writer and whether they choose to honor continuity. In theory, he would be able to read body language and react appropriately to his advantage. Who knows maybe he’ll pull a dimitri at the end like cobra Kai lol

No one is denying that he's got an ability that allows him to read people's body language but that ability isn't going to suddenly make him some top-class fighter capable of going up against the children of Apocalypse who are thousands of years old and have been waging a war against the demon Army for thousands of years.

If you are gathering a team of 10 of your best warriors to fight against that, Doug Ramsey isn't going to be anybody's top pick.

[ericng]

No one is denying that he's got an ability that allows him to read people's body language but that ability isn't going to suddenly make him some top-class fighter capable of going up against the children of Apocalypse who are thousands of years old and have been waging a war against the demon Army for thousands of years.

If you are gathering a team of 10 of your best warriors to fight against that, Doug Ramsey isn't going to be anybody's top pick.

Which begs the question, why did Hickman chose him as one of the sword-bearers when there are many other more capable fighters around.

Basically, my guess is that not all the combatants need raw power, some combatants need the brains to win the tournament.

[lefthanded]

Doug's role in Hickman's X-men has been great. One of the importance of establishing Krakoa as a true nation is language and connection, which really highlights his importance, not as a fighter but to mutants overall. He has never been a fighter. Theoretically, if he trained at it, he could become the best martial artist.

But reading body language would be the same as telepathy, essentially. Charles Xavier (or any telepath) should theoretically be able read the mind of the enemy and then counter even before changes to body language takes effect. There was one villain in the Thunderbolts (Mister something), that had some type of psychic ability, and he was a great martial artist. So in essence, it highlights the potential for those who can read minds/body language to be great martial artists, but its not something that is automatic.

X of Swords needs to establish stakes. We already expect most of the X-men to win their fights - Wolverine, Magik, Gorgon, etc. We haven't really been shown any of the enemy combatants, aside from Wolverine's foe. But by using the doubt of Doug's ability to win/survive his fight, it makes the oncoming tournament less of a steamroll. And, it also highlights the risk, not just of death due to the effect on the Resurrection protocols, but of the nation's ability to communicate with Krakoa of Doug doesn't survive. These help establish stakes.

[Glio]

Which begs the question, why did Hickman chose him as one of the sword-bearers when there are many other more capable fighters around.

Basically, my guess is that not all the combatants need raw power, some combatants need the brains to win the tournament.

The thing is: Saturnyne has chosen the champions of each side with an ulterior motive.

Maybe there are people she wants to die, maybe there are pieces that she wants to put in motion, like Cable in SWORD.

[RamaBird]

He is at the mercy of the writer and whether they choose to honor continuity. In theory, he would be able to read body language and react appropriately to his advantage. Who knows maybe he’ll pull a dimitri at the end like cobra Kai lol

Maybe it's not about outright dismissing continuity and more about establishing Doug in this new era?

Kid doesn't have a big fanbase, and most readers will not know or expect to know about his combat training. If he did bring up his combat training, most new fans would prob dismiss him as OP. Whereas this way, it's allowing new fans to root for the underdog.

[Kisinith]

They acknowledged his ability to read body language in the issue and its when he started to show promise. Thing is, Doug doesn't practice fighting and doesn't want to be in the fighting so he isn't that good at it. My interpretation (and I acknowledge that weakness in the argument) is that Necrosha showed his potential not his reality. Its sort of like the analogy of reading a book about bike riding and actually riding a bike. With Necrosha he provided the raw talent but someone else provided the reflexes and killer instinct.

[Rev9]

I loved Age of X Doug, that guy made a blink and you miss it 'cameo' but dude was gangsta.