Unpopular/Controversial Opinions

[JudicatorPrime]

Does Black Panther have superpowers ?

Yes. His senses, if nothing else, have been enhanced to superhuman levels. Everything else about him physically reads as "peak human" except, even if an Olympic level athlete trained throughout their entire prime, they'd never be able to do half the stuff that Cap and BP can do. Calling them peak human is really just a wink and a nod to the fact that writers want to portray them at the apex of what a human being can be without actually being superhuman.

[Tiamatty]

Does Black Panther have superpowers ?.

And there is also Post-Serum Mockingbird and Hunter.

Black Panther sure as hell isn't normal, though. He's a superhero and a king. So when he dates powered women, the power dynamics are still more-or-less equal.

Bobbi and Hunter was barely shown.

[BlackClaw]

Moon Girl > Moon Boy. Yeah I said it, Moon Girl is just more relatable to me and I never really cared for Moon Boy anyway.

[krazijoe]

Nothing to see here.

[Sharkerbob]

There does seem to be a bit of a revival for digging up long-forgotten supporting characters like Jane Foster, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, etc. Even Rick Jones has bubbled up from whatever abyss he'd sunk in to, briefly. (Which, granted, didn't turn out too well in his case...)

Others, like Moira McTaggart or Candy Southern have an unfortunate case of the deads going on, and, not being superheroes, are less likely to get arbitrarily resurrected.

Will we see Stevie Hunter or Wyatt Wingfoot or Betty Ross again or Trish Tilby again? Could be interesting.

And gosh, why is it all boy superheroes and their girlfriends. Have any superheroines had serious relationships with 'normal dudes,' or is it only the super-dudes who 'date down?'

I think the trend towards doing team books is partially at fault for support characters vanishing. Especially as all the stories forcibly crossover every title, solo-book support characters start being redundant when a hero has a whole team of other heroes to bounce off of. How often did Lois Lane ever appear in the Justice League cartoon? I can think of only one episode where she even had a scene. If she wasn't such an iconic character, one could almost have forgotten she existed, despite her being a major character in the Superman series that came before.

Meanwhile, the movies popularity has probably brought back the interest in these side characters, since they started off in the solo hero sensibilities of needing lots of "normies" around, or the one hero wouldn't have anyone to talk to other than maybe their sidekick.

And yeah, I can only think of two examples of heroines "dating down", one of which is a very recent and obscure book, despite the attempted sales push.

[Techno_Knight]

Doom's origin is rooted in a backwards worldview and does nothing but portray one camp as flandersized villains from a 30s cartoon, and the other as angelic beings. Generally Marvel's tendency to portray the Balkans as a region filled with angry villagers and persecuted Romas is rather gross, all things considered. The countries themselves look like somebody just opened a bunch of Grimm Fairy tales and just said "eh, those folks there won't even read it, better go with some caricatures and shite". And then bam, hey presto! Magic gypsies and villagers out of Universal's Frankenstein! And after all these years, they haven't even attempted to correct it. We're still portrayed as backwards superstitious village idiots who "pray to Zeus". Just look at this page from Deadpool:




"Harr Harr, denbts! DENBTS!"



"Heh heh, so poor they can't even afford cars! CARS! LOLXDSORANDOM"



>inb4 it's just comedy bro

Yeah, would you feel the same if that was all the representation you got? If the only Indian character was there to be "le poor english speaking tech support" or the only Mexican character was "le ebin chilli cook". No, because it'd be using stereotypes and nothing else. Same goes here. Sure, Greeks have two villains and a Demigod, but what do the restof the Balkans have? Angry villagers who persecuted Victor, Wanda, Pietro, etc, etc. Even the High Evolutionary, whose base is in yet another fictional Balkan country is British. Oh yeah, I forgot. There's Silver Sable and Dracula. Oh, and Baron Mordo. So it boils down to villains with no redeeming qualities, gypsies, and one merc. Wee...

Even if you disregard all that, the countries themselves are still portrayed as backwards nations. It's as if somebody stole them from medieval Europe, put some people form the early 1900s and then called it a day. It's disheartening, and Marvel needs to step up their game. Doom's origin especially is like having a white guy crashland in Wakanda, defeat T'Challa and then turn Wakanda from a backwards nation into a prosperous empire (ie Priest's White Wolf/Hunter is the "actual hero"). Naturally that would've been pretty offensive, so why isn't the same being said for Doom? I'm not saying retcon it, but at least confirm Werner as a native Latverian and say Doom's clan were natives at this point, and were working as a travelling theatre of sorts. In Doom 2099 there is a comment by Doom about watching the local puppeteer play with the marrionettes. Give them some proper connection to the land and flesh them out a bit.

I'm not expecting any foreigners to completely understand where I'm coming from, but in this day and age where diversity and proper represenation are at the forefront, why do we get the short end of the stick?

>they're American comics addressed to an American audience

Sure, but if you're going to botch something this badly, at least don't attempt to tackled it.

>Kirbys experiences

Sure, but times have changed. Google exists. Books exist. Do some research for a couple of hours.

[Michael Watkins]

Doom's origin is rooted in a backwards worldview and does nothing but portray one camp as flandersized villains from a 30s cartoon, and the other as angelic beings. Generally Marvel's tendency to portray the Balkans as a region filled with angry villagers and persecuted Romas is rather gross, all things considered. The countries themselves look like somebody just opened a bunch of Grimm Fairy tales and just said "eh, those folks there won't even read it, better go with some caricatures and shite". And then bam, hey presto! Magic gypsies and villagers out of Universal's Frankenstein! And after all these years, they haven't even attempted to correct it. We're still portrayed as backwards superstitious village idiots who "pray to Zeus". Just look at this page from Deadpool:

wasn't it Doom's choice to have the people of Latveria stay backwards village idiots? I always got the impression that he was single-handedly keeping them in the dark ages; so as to make an uprising less likely.

[Michael Watkins]

most of the x-characters created after the year 2000 (or post Lobdell Generation X, really) were lazily created and really shouldn't still be around.

[Techno_Knight]

wasn't it Doom's choice to have the people of Latveria stay backwards village idiots? I always got the impression that he was single-handedly keeping them in the dark ages; so as to make an uprising less likely.

They're not village idiots Post-Doom's reign. There's even a mutant school, universities, automated farming robots, etc, etc. Doom just likes the aesthetic. Which clashes with the retcons of him building Mosques and all that, but that's a touchy subject so I'll leave it as is. The problem is the origin, which portrays Latveria as a land ruled by a Baron, and the locals as completely idiotic villagers with no redeeming qualities. Sure, we're not the smartest, bestest, most good looking folks on average, but we deserve more than "evil Balkans persecuting poor gypsies".

[Michael Watkins]

They're not village idiots Post-Doom's reign. There's even a mutant school,

you mean that school of supervillains?

universities,

who besides Doom has graduated from there? are you sure that it's not a secret prison? from what I've read, the place descends into chaos when he leaves. what kind of university falls apart just because of an administration shift?

automated farming robots

the latverian villagers didn't make those. like you said, they are automated. why do you think that is?

etc, etc. Doom just likes the aesthetic.

exactly. it's like that Twilight Zone episode where the little reality-changing brat keeps everything from changing in his small corner of the world.

[Vault]

The problem is the origin, which portrays Latveria as a land ruled by a Baron, and the locals as completely idiotic villagers with no redeeming qualities. Sure, we're not the smartest, bestest, most good looking folks on average, but we deserve more than "evil Balkans persecuting poor gypsies".

Latveria isn't a stand-in for all of the Balkans so even if the Latverians were being oppressive to the Roma, that's Latverian prejudice and not Balkan prejudice.

All that said, would be nice to flesh out that country, give it and its people more depth. Maybe a Latverian hero? Does that exist? Not Kristoff. Maybe a Dreadknight solo...

[Techno_Knight]

you mean that school of supervillains?

Not, it was from an X-Men book (or an Avengers one? The "Gauntlet" or something). Just a school for giftedkids and whatnot.

who besides Doom has graduated from there? are you sure that it's not a secret prison? from what I've read, the place descends into chaos when he leaves. what kind of university falls apart just because of an administration shift?

Most of Latveria is on a "tell, don't show" basis. Even the Marvel Wikia doesn't have citations (the fan-made one, which is uber-detailed). Just take Doom's word...

the latverian villagers didn't make those. like you said, they are automated. why do you think that is?

Well, Doom does have Latverian Scientists, and over at Ewing's Loki we saw construction workers. So they're just average folks.

exactly. it's like that Twilight Zone episode where the little reality-changing brat keeps everything from changing in his small corner of the world.

Latveria isn't a stand-in for all of the Balkans so even if the Latverians were being oppressive to the Roma, that's Latverian prejudice and not Balkan prejudice.

Eh, it's the most fleshed out. Sure, Symkaria fares better, but the most famous Balkan-related characters have their origins rooted in the same trope. People aren't going to know about Silver Sable and Symkaria or catch that one-panel appearance of Serbia. It's Latveria and Transia, both of which featured mobs attacking the heroes. And considering we're not seeing the other side of the helpful people, the only impression that's left is "evil villagers".

Besides, look at those panels up there. Greece is part of the Balkans as well. A bit tongue-in-cheek humor is fine and all, but those were just not in good taste.

All that said, would be nice to flesh out that country, give it and its people more depth. Maybe a Latverian hero? Does that exist? Not Kristoff. Maybe a Dreadknight solo...

Dreadknight and Blade are the only "named" Latverians. Yeah, that Blade. His father was revealed as being Latverian in that 2004 Blade series. Either way, just fix the Doom thing and follow from there. We never learned exactly what his clan did for a living. So just go ahead and make Werner a proper Latverian, and the Clan pretty much natives at this point, due to the years they've stayed there, and the populace they've mixed with. Make them a "travelling theatre" (circus is overplayed) and there you have it. Doom gets a proper connection to the land, and the villagers aren't portrayed as evil,merely scared after Cynthia gets into occult things.

[Sharkerbob]

There's some interesting discussions to be had about that, how it ties into gender power dynamics, reluctance against the idea of men dating women more powerful than they are. Of course, changes in superhero story conventions also come into play with it. The short answer to why female heroes don't date normal guys is "patriarchy," the long answer is . . . long.

While it is true that plenty of men are uncomfortable being with women who are more powerful than them (translated to real life, this usually means more financially successful and better educated), it is also equally true that women by and large do not prefer to go for men who are less powerful than them. This is a more well-rounded metaphor going on here than it may at first appear.

Believe me, lots and lots of men would kill to have a superhero girlfriend/wife, or in real world terms, a sugar momma. Of course, 99% of such relationships would probably quickly sour when she ends up feeling like a mom to a slacker teenager. :P

Yeah, she showed up. She's apparently a Congresswoman now. Doesn't look like she'll be a recurring supporting character, though, because the X-Men aren't actually allowed to associate with humans on any sort of regular basis any more.

They probably cause the humans to feel microaggressions whenever they go out in public.

Does Black Panther have superpowers ?.

And there is also Post-Serum Mockingbird and Hunter.

BP ingested special herbs that are essentially the equivalent of Captain America's serum. He's also one of the universe's best martial artists, one of the 8 most intelligent minds, and a total prep beast equal to Stark and Richards. He also has lots of tech at his disposal that's let him knock down and draw blood from the likes of Namor, who himself has taken on class 100 fighters. That's not even touching on his King of the Dead powers that are being explored, but have allowed him to manifest soul weapons and warriors. So while he doesn't have traditional superpowers, he's extremely dangerous. But a full powered Storm could probably beat him without prep, so that's one relationship where the female is more powerful than the male.

The situation being referenced here is not strictly about whether the woman has super powers and the man doesn't, but whether or not the man is a superhero. Plenty of non-powered or low-powered male heroes have had girlfriends/wives who are much more powerful than them. In some cases, the man compensates due to genius and supertech, or being a magician, in other cases, he's just a normal guy with some martial arts skills, whom his wife could vaporize with a flick of her finger or liquify with a half-hearted slap.

However, just by being a superhero, a non-powered person, male or female, often has a general boost in capability that allows people like Batman and Black Widow to somehow not die and mow down tons of enemies, in huge scale battles against super powered aliens, and be the one to wield the fight-ending plot devices that defeat the team-wreaking main villain. So in that case, sure, the woman may be phenomenally more powerful than her male partner, but he's still a superhero, so he's still able to hold his own in most ridiculous superhero situations.

The situation being discussed is how many, many male superheroes have a perfectly normal civilian girlfriend/wife as one of their main supporting characters, one who at some point will likely need rescuing one or a hundred times throughout the series, while the reverse of a superheroine dating a normal civilian man who will inevitably need to be rescued at some point is extremely rare.

[Marvell2100]

Iron Fist and Black Bolt are very underrated. Both are good reads.

[Sutekh]

I think the trend towards doing team books is partially at fault for support characters vanishing.

Very true. In Iron Man's own book, there's plenty of room for Pepper, Happy, Mrs. Arbogast, etc. while, in an Avengers book, there's less room for his gaggle of non-super-friends (except for Jarvis, who sort of replaces everyone's non-super-friends).

The situation being discussed is how many, many male superheroes have a perfectly normal civilian girlfriend/wife as one of their main supporting characters, one who at some point will likely need rescuing one or a hundred times throughout the series, while the reverse of a superheroine dating a normal civilian man who will inevitably need to be rescued at some point is extremely rare.

Yeah, there's not a lot of Steve Trevors in comic books. Some female heroes have had brief flings with non-super-dudes (She-Hulk and Crystal being two examples), but none of them have had the same sort of lasting relationship as Spider-Man and Mary-Jane or Superman and Lois Lane or even Bruce Banner and Betsy Ross (who have been over for at least a decade).