I think restorative nostalgia is the number one issue with comic book fans.
A fine distinction between two types of Nostalgia:
Reflective Nostalgia allows us to savor our memories but accepts that they are in the past
Restorative Nostalgia pushes back against the here and now, keeping us stuck trying to relive our glory days.
Cyborg - Am I more man or machine?
EASILY.
The character is full of vast potential and writers (save David Walker) keep saddling him with this tired BS.
It's 2020.
Real people are happily volunteering to have damaged hands and feet removed for superior A.I. supported prosthetics that work as well or better than the original body part. If that's where we are as a species in real life what about the fictional character that can grow laser based weapons from his arms, replace body parts at a whim and fly?
Don't complain. Create.
I agree the storyline is overdone and needs to never be done again. I don't agree that Vic should be happy about being a cyborg from day one or that there should be no drawbacks or that he shouldn't actually look like a cyborg (at least a first - enhancements later maybe to have different "modes"). Those are foundational aspects of the character and taking them away makes him a very different character. It's like making Ben Grimm be like "what downside? - this is awesome." Remember, too, that Vic didn't choose this. It was done to him without his input. Hell, I can also point to people have had mental health issues involving transplants. Sense of self is just a complicated and variable thing.
And, really, what percentage of people want undamaged body parts replaced with cybetnetic ones, especially when no one else is doing it (making them stand out). It's certainly not zero, but it's not the majority, either. Right now, at least, most people want their own functional body parts more than cybernetic enhancements. That may change with time, of course. And Vic's were damaged, so he couldn't have that, anyway. But he can still be angry/upset that he can't have that, in the early days. Which are long past.
So, I think it was a great storyline and remains a great storyline as something that happened in his past, not something that he's still dealing with. Though dealing with how others treat him would sometimes still be a thing.
Last edited by Tzigone; 12-02-2020 at 02:58 PM.
Previously unrevealed event, person, etc. from a character’s past.
Wow. I mean, I don't really disagree, but it's just so very broad that I would not have thought about it. I don't really mind casual friends we haven't seen before, but deep, meaningful relationships or a child someone knew they had (hey, can we toss in previously unknown-to-the-audience-and-maybe-to-the-hero kids as a repeated story trope?) or deeply traumatic past events that we knew nothing of don't really work well for me with characters that have had their own titles for decades. Whereas with new heroes, or those that have never had their personal lives explored (never had own title, not featured much in team stuff, etc.), it's more reasonable and easily understood as part of building a character.
Who gets to sleep with Wonder Woman
New abilities and upgrades for Aquaman to try to counter his Superfriends and Robot Chicken joke status
Government conspiracies against a bunch of superpowered loonies in underpants
Escaping from Arkham
Made up little Middle Eastern or Eastern European countries that manage to threaten everyone.
Earth being the center of the game for a universe of one trillion galaxies.
Brand new villains having some fundamental tie to the heroes backstory or origin in a previously unrevealed way or in a way that retcons previous continuity. It's just a lazy way to generate interest in the villain without earning it.
I absolutely agree. I actually hate it even more when retconned history is added to a villain that's already existed for years to further tie them to the hero. Then it's even more characters' histories getting screwed over for the sake of adding some emotional connection (typically used either for angst for the hero or trying to add more sympathy to a villain - and I'm kinda tired of both of those).
Resets akin to New 52 and Rebirth.
Pointless future stories. (Looking at you Future State and Marvel 2099)
Superman turning evil.
The current trend of dark and edgy stories.
Protagonist losing their powers.
Any Jason Todd story line featuring the CrowbarTM.
"I swear to god, if I get banned..."
By now it feels like every 2nd Batman story needs to validate Batmans greatness by having him blowing Supes lights out while wielding a pair of kryptonite <random weapon>.
Urgh. Yeah. Like Whathisname with a big axe in Bendis Man Of Steel who is the 2198438th reason why Krypton got destroyed. 4 realz this time I swear!!11
Last edited by The_Lurk; 12-03-2020 at 10:45 PM.
Another Lantern Corps based on total ignorance of the Electromagnetic spectrum and primate vision.
Shock and kill storylines with "Crisis" in the title. "You won't believe what and who and"...Because why build up characters when you can just put them through the wood chipper and pretend it's part of some larger point with depth?