Uber powerful heroes with limited weaknesses are harder to keep interesting.

[mathew101281]

I’ve noticed that the more powerful a superhero comes the more limited his story space (the types of stories told with the hero) becomes.

A great writer can make any character interesting. But when you are talking about corporate comics(marvel/DC) you are talking about writers of various levels writing over decades. I find that the more powerful a character is the more the level of writing has to be incredibly high to keep them interesting. That’s why I feel Batman has dominated the way he does. Even an average or inexperienced writer can turn out an interesting Batman story.

I think it stems from the fact that weaknesses (what a character cant do) is just as pivotal to a story then powers (what a character can do). With a lot of Uber powerful superheroes, their is very little they cant do so the list of potential obstacles and challenges is a lot shorter for them.

This explains why Batman, Spider-Man, Daredevil, and even Green Arrow(to a lesser degree), seem to be able to turn out somewhat memorable stories at a rather consistent pace, while characters like Superman, Silver surfer, Green Lantern, and Thor often require spectacular runs by the top tier creators in the industry in order to get the same level of buzz.

[matt levin]

I've always felt that "power levels" and "abilities" have far less to do with my enjoyment and interest in a character than that character's personality strengths and weaknesses. An all-powerful Super-man who is kind and gentle facing this current world would prove endlessly interesting to me--would he ever lose his temper no matter what? et al. The "oh it's kryptonite that holds him back" ploy gets boring pretty quickly. (Please, from this extrapolate "spider-sense," "super-speed," "talks to fishes..." and all the other 'power sets' around.)

"
A great writer can make any character interesting. But when you are talking about corporate comics(marvel/DC) you are talking about writers of various levels writing over decades. I find that the more powerful a character is the more the level of writing has to be incredibly high to keep them interesting." So true for me, too.

[Timothy Hunter]

Magic is everywhere in the DC Universe, it shouldn't be that hard to prevent Superman from being too powerful.

[lemonpeace]

Magic is everywhere in the DC Universe, it shouldn't be that hard to prevent Superman from being too powerful.

Superman has a lot of built in weaknesses that SHOULD reel them in powerwise. the issue is too many writers (lookin at you Morrison and Johns) get carried away with the idea of Superman the ubermensch that he regularly just functions as if his reasonable limitations don't exist.

[starduck]

I’ve noticed that the more powerful a superhero comes the more limited his story space (the types of stories told with the hero) becomes.

A great writer can make any character interesting. But when you are talking about corporate comics(marvel/DC) you are talking about writers of various levels writing over decades. I find that the more powerful a character is the more the level of writing has to be incredibly high to keep them interesting. That’s why I feel Batman has dominated the way he does. Even an average or inexperienced writer can turn out an interesting Batman story.

I think it stems from the fact that weaknesses (what a character cant do) is just as pivotal to a story then powers (what a character can do). With a lot of Uber powerful superheroes, their is very little they cant do so the list of potential obstacles and challenges is a lot shorter for them.

This explains why Batman, Spider-Man, Daredevil, and even Green Arrow(to a lesser degree), seem to be able to turn out somewhat memorable stories at a rather consistent pace, while characters like Superman, Silver surfer, Green Lantern, and Thor often require spectacular runs by the top tier creators in the industry in order to get the same level of buzz.

Idk, something like Dragon Ball Z is very popular and I wouldn't say it has some amazing god level writing. I think comics with powerful characters just need better fighting scenes and visuals

[NaVi]

the problem is not that the characters are powerful, the problem is the shared universe. A clear example is the JL, for Batman to be important the rest of the characters have to be minimized in every way, the story has to have flaws for Batman to survive, that way all the JL including the comic suffer but Batman benefits . Being in a shared universe, the most powerful characters even in their own comics are limited, because a great event would affect other comics. In the Manga they have no problem, the stories unfold as they should, but imagine that Dragon Ball and One Piece were part of the same universe, Ace must die because of that Goku and his friends would have been defeated by the navy, in the DB tournament Luffy and friends fighting against beings 1000 times stronger, it would not be the same.

[Zero Hunter]

The problem comes with the villains. When you have a uber powerful character you have to come up with threats that equal them. This leads to less talented writers just creating more and more powerful villains which makes them hero have to keep becoming more powerful until it is basically so ridiculous people stop caring.

[Gaius]

The people who say are this are the same sorts who say Batman is the most interesting character because he's "human/relatable" and in the same breath talk about how awesome it was that one time he took on capital-G God with both hands tied behind his back.

[LifeIsILL]

I don't think there are any comic book readers out there who thinks Green Arrow has better stories than Thor/Superman, I mean what the hell??

Even in the last 20 years Thor/Superman has much better stories overall than Spider-Man and Wolverine.

Whenever someone brings up this topic I would just bring up Wolverine's solo comics. You would think Wolverine would be the easiest character to write, but a lot of his stories are ridiculously stupid and pointless.

And also the non-MAX Punisher stories....sometimes I'm scratching my head after reading some of that stuff.

[Jim Kelly]

The power level is only a problem because mainstream comics are locked into a certain plot structure, so some external challenge that has to be fought with powers is the basic plot and the writers can't find a way to do that without using a physical weakness. Yet when writers don't have to conform to these plot expectations, there's a lot they can do with powerful characters. How many years did SANDMAN go for and it only stopped because the writer wanted it to end. Alan Moore never ran out of ideas for SUPREME and other titles featuring characters with big powers. The reason those writers could do that is because they could invent all different kinds of plots that didn't depend on the typical formula. They got inside the heads of the characters and their own self-imposed rules. But this is not the kind of plotting you get in mainstream comics.

[I'm a Fish]

Superman dominated longer than Batman for decades in the sales department.

Preferences for characters can change and I don't think it's because (or just because) of power levels.

[Lee Stone]

I think it really depends on the writer and if the character and his/her world interests them enough to play in it.

Sandman was a monumental success.
Silver Surfer and Doctor Strange both had strong runs before the 2000s.

I think the main problem is that most writers today want to write Batman or realistic street-level grittiness. Even superheroes with superpowers that could never exist in the real world get put under a realism microscope.

I like Thor, when he's on Asgard. I like Namor and Aquaman, when they're in Atlantis.
Dr. Strange when he's bouncing around dimensions.
Silver Surfer when confronted with the vastness of space.
The New Gods with all the Apokolips/New Genesis drama.
Those places have the appropriate level of challenges for them.
I could care less about them chasing crooks and having to be 'power nerfed' to keep them 'interesting' and/or relevant' to fans of Batman.

[Ra-El]

I think it really depends on the writer and if the character and his/her world interests them enough to play in it.

Sandman was a monumental success.
Silver Surfer and Doctor Strange both had strong runs before the 2000s.

I think the main problem is that most writers today want to write Batman or realistic street-level grittiness. Even superheroes with superpowers that could never exist in the real world get put under a realism microscope.

I like Thor, when he's on Asgard. I like Namor and Aquaman, when they're in Atlantis.
Dr. Strange when he's bouncing around dimensions.
Silver Surfer when confronted with the vastness of space.
The New Gods with all the Apokolips/New Genesis drama.
Those places have the appropriate level of challenges for them.
I could care less about them chasing crooks and having to be 'power nerfed' to keep them 'interesting' and/or relevant' to fans of Batman.

It's why I'm so optimistic about Phillip Kennedy Johnson's run on Action Comics, he is taking Superman out of Earth and throwing him in Warworld where most beings are more or less on the same power level as Superman.

No Lex Luthor or kryptonite ****.

[Stanlos]

I think Wonder Woman Superman and Captain Marvel are interesting and do not want to see their uberness compromised

[SiegePerilous02]

Superman has a lot of built in weaknesses that SHOULD reel them in powerwise. the issue is too many writers (lookin at you Morrison and Johns) get carried away with the idea of Superman the ubermensch that he regularly just functions as if his reasonable limitations don't exist.

If a writer has to reel in Superman to make their story work, they probably shouldn't be writing Superman in the first place and would be better suited to a mid-tier or street level character.

Morrison employs weaknesses like Kryptonite and red sun energy to depower Superman at various points in their stories, in both All-Star and Actionc Comics. Otherwise, they are only guilty of having Superman win at the end of the day against all odds which is....pretty much superhero writing 101. Across the boards, the superheroes always win. Morrison writes Superman as the most powerful hero ever, but they raise the threats to his level instead of nerfing him to fit their story. Bizarroworld, Solaris, Vyndktvx and even Lex are all presented as valid threats in those stories that are worthy of a character of Superman's level. Which is how you should be approaching characters like Superman, Wonder Woman or Captain Marvel.