Current Events > Martian Manhunter is clearly the most broken superhero right?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Seaman_Prime posted...

I like how Batmans contingency plan to deal with Manhunter is to set him on fire lol

The overpoweredness of Batman is overdone, but it does lead to great moments.

"I have a 50 thousand dollar piece of rock to deal with the other alien. All I need for you is a penny for a book of matches."

lightwarrior78 posted...

The overpoweredness of Batman is overdone, but it does lead to great moments.

"I have a 50 thousand dollar piece of rock to deal with the other alien. All I need for you is a penny for a book of matches."

Even better is Green Lantern where he literally just broke his hand or something.

To be fair, most people are weak when you set them on fire too.

saspa posted...

Super Strength, super speed, super flight... he has all the powers of Superman, plus telekinesis, telepathy and phase shifting and invisibility? Come on

He can't beat Wally West in Rock'em Sock'em Robots though.

saspa posted...

Super Strength, super speed, super flight... he has all the powers of Superman, plus telekinesis, telepathy and phase shifting and invisibility? Come on

Joker solos Jonn Jonzz.

KamenRiderBlade posted...

But the best stories are the ones that don't give too many powers to one person.

Really depends. The benefit of god-like characters like Superman is that you can tell crazy, off-the-wall stories that really wouldn't work with anyone else. And beyond that, narrative tension doesn't only come from "is the hero strong enough to punch the conflict away?"

But with that said, I've always had a soft-spot for the golden age style Superman, who is still cleanly leagues above most street-level stuff, but is vulnerable enough that a decently motivated non-powered villain doesn't need to resort to magic rocks to take care of him.

Magic?

You mean poisonous.

UhHunnitKay posted...

Magic?

You mean poisonous.

Kryptonite is like the Speed Force. It just sort of does/enables whatever the writer wants it to do. There's power-sapping kryptonite, rage kryptonite, amnesia kryptonite, gay kryptonite...

Kim_Seong-a posted...

Kryptonite is like the Speed Force. It just sort of does/enables whatever the writer wants it to do. There's power-sapping kryptonite, rage kryptonite, amnesia kryptonite, gay kryptonite...

99% of the time, Kryptonite is a poisonous and radioactive mineral.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfOxaZ3mrVs

Oh someone posted that quote already. Well here's the video of it I guess.

TheSavageDragon posted...

It depends. Sometimes it's a physical weakness. Other times it's psychological. And sometimes it's not a weakness at all.

I like how this is literally how all superhero weaknesses work.

coolguyjimmy posted...

DC is a weird comic-verse anyway, like why does Superman not do something more useful, he could end world hunger, the energy crisis and other global problems, and save way more people than being a crime-fighter.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/5/3/AAGadeAADWMp.jpg

God, fuck GameFAQs' image compression.
https://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20110713.gif

He so broken https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/5/7/AAfRsCAADWMt.jpg

The Hulk, Superman and Franklin Richards are more broken

coolguyjimmy posted...

That's why he does nothing but stay in his tower.

DC is a weird comic-verse anyway, like why does Superman not do something more useful, he could end world hunger, the energy crisis and other global problems, and save way more people than being a crime-fighter.

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20110713.gif

TC, how dare you

Seaman_Prime posted...

I like how Batmans contingency plan to deal with Manhunter is to set him on fire lol

In the animated movie it was ensure a particular chemical got into his body that once on fire is extremely difficult to extinguish.

But yeah i Wanna say supes said in the comics manhunt was the one man on earth more powerful than himself. Supes would still win cause heat vision though.

But reality benders are always the most op in my book provided they don't have things limiting them like the dude from the authority where he's got a drug problem and it causes him to not be able to focus enough to use his powers all the time

Sufferedphoneix posted...

In the animated movie it was ensure a particular chemical got into his body that once on fire is extremely difficult to extinguish.

I'm still annoyed by that.

"oh no I'm in the ocean and the fire is still going"

BITCH YOU LIVE IN SPACE

YOU FUCKING FLEW HERE FROM SPACE

What does "to job" mean?

A5modeu5 posted...

What does "to job" mean?

When someone in a fictional fight loses to help make the winner look better.

I believe it's pro wrestling terminoligy

Indeed it is. In pro wrestling, someone is going to be scripted to lose. If you're that person, you have to go "do your job." Jobbers are wrestlers who primarily lose to make other wrestlers look better.

Captain_Qwark posted...

The justice league cartoons made him seem pretty weak. I remember him getting his ass kicked more than anybody

Joker could stop Flash with marbles... that was pretty funny.

I like that in Young Justice, the same trick was used but the speedster goes "lol marbles? I'll just run up the ceiling to avoid those"

The cartoon made everyone job when really half the time anyone could solo, especially superman. But when it was essentially a cartoon for kids it's difficult to write stakes without making them a jobber.

At least we got superman's world of cardboard speech. That does help a little

I feel like Flash is def the biggest jobber in Justice League. Though Jonn Jonz is a close second. They both constantly forget what powers they even have.
Though the bit where Flash steals Batmans gimmick to get information out of a goon is great, because he drops the dude off a building and then catches him.
Hawk Girl best girl fight me.

Flash has been jobbing since his introduction. His first story was trying to catch "the slowest man alive".

The dude literally had *no* powers except being an arthritic old man and Barry Allen kept fucking up somehow.

saspa posted...

At least we got superman's world of cardboard speech. That does help a little

He jobs immediately after that speech lol

Doctor Manhattan may have a word or two here.

saspa posted...

Joker could stop Flash with marbles... that was pretty funny.

I like that in Young Justice, the same trick was used but the speedster goes "lol marbles? I'll just run up the ceiling to avoid those"

The cartoon made everyone job when really half the time anyone could solo, especially superman. But when it was essentially a cartoon for kids it's difficult to write stakes without making them a jobber.

At least we got superman's world of cardboard speech. That does help a little

The flash should be fast enough to step on qnd off each marble in his way quicker than it can start to roll under his feet.

Yeah I Liked the cardboard speech. He just couldn't handle someone that was both stronger than him and smarter. Usually it's just one or the other

ElatedVenusaur posted...

I feel like Flash is def the biggest jobber in Justice League. Though Jonn Jonz is a close second. They both constantly forget what powers they even have.
Though the bit where Flash steals Batmans gimmick to get information out of a goon is great, because he drops the dude off a building and then catches him.
Hawk Girl best girl fight me.

Superman always seems to forget his speed in a fight. Which is why I always scoff at people saying so and so can't beat him cause all superman would need to do is speed blitz them.

That's what I made fun of the flash show too for. Most of his fights coulda been ended in a instant with him just running up and punching them in the face.

Sufferedphoneix posted...

That's what I made fun of the flash show too for. Most of his fights coulda been ended in a instant with him just running up and punching them in the face.

*Flash is chasing the villain*
*villain goes off-screen for .0004 seconds*

"I've lost him!"

*commercial break*

coolguyjimmy posted...

That's why he does nothing but stay in his tower.

DC is a weird comic-verse anyway, like why does Superman not do something more useful, he could end world hunger, the energy crisis and other global problems, and save way more people than being a crime-fighter.

Superman has tried this and it never ends well.

Hell in Superman 4 he ended the cold war by destroying all Nukes on the planet and the result was terrorists with WMDs beat him up and nearly took over.

How does he "solve world hunger" he tried to protect Tibet from China and China viewed it as an act of military aggression from the US.

Superman is just 1 dude, he can't really do anything unless the world agrees to it and he helps us achieve it.

And the concept of Superman going "Oh fuck the government" and taking over as a "Benevolent Dictator" to "fix the world's problems" has been done so many times it's completely stale.

UnfairRepresent posted...

Superman has tried this and it never ends well.

Hell in Superman 4 he ended the cold war by destroying all Nukes on the planet and the result was terrorists with WMDs beat him up and nearly took over.

How does he "solve world hunger" he tried to protect Tibet from China and China viewed it as an act of military aggression from the US.

Superman is just 1 dude, he can't really do anything unless the world agrees to it and he helps us achieve it.

And the concept of Superman going "Oh fuck the government" and taking over as a "Benevolent Dictator" to "fix the world's problems" has been done so many times it's completely stale.

Yeah regular superman stays out of world politics too doesn't he? Cause he thinks it would be him overstepping some boundaries?

Sufferedphoneix posted...

The flash should be fast enough to step on qnd off each marble in his way quicker than it can start to roll under his feet.

The Flash should be quick enough to literally place every marble on top of the other until he has a perfectly straight tower one marble thick and then start going fast.

Sufferedphoneix posted...

Yeah I Liked the cardboard speech. He just couldn't handle someone that was both stronger than him and smarter. Usually it's just one or the other

I felt the agonizer (or whatever) was a bit.. forced? I'm sure Darkside would have something like that, but plotwise it just felt jammed in.. though it did lead to the great ending with Lex

Sufferedphoneix posted...

The flash should be fast enough to step on qnd off each marble in his way quicker than it can start to roll under his feet.

Yeah I Liked the cardboard speech. He just couldn't handle someone that was both stronger than him and smarter. Usually it's just one or the other

One thing I notice speedsters don't talk about is how, being super fast, they view the world as so much slower than they are? I mean would it be like how a fly views human movement, being suuupper slow compared to the fly itself?

So there should never be a situation where someone gets the drop on them or sucker punches them because they'd see it coming from a mile away.

Speedster power is unclear sometimes

saspa posted...

One thing I notice speedsters don't talk about is how, being super fast, they view the world as so much slower than they are? I mean would it be like how a fly views human movement, being suuupper slow compared to the fly itself?

So there should never be a situation where someone gets the drop on them or sucker punches them because they'd see it coming from a mile away.

Speedster power is unclear sometimes

Seems like a matter of focus. Youd have to be not only comfortable with just constantly scanning something thats not changing but doing so for literally everything around you.

How far can you do that before you end up with a sniper situation that makes it unfeasible?

The whole concept is pretty unworkable and just reduces the power to an odious chore.

saspa posted...

One thing I notice speedsters don't talk about is how, being super fast, they view the world as so much slower than they are? I mean would it be like how a fly views human movement, being suuupper slow compared to the fly itself?

So there should never be a situation where someone gets the drop on them or sucker punches them because they'd see it coming from a mile away.

Speedster power is unclear sometimes

I always assumed they had to think about using it since it comes from the speed force and they can move at normal speeds easily enough

This is why I love the idea of Young Justice (and before it, Justice League Unlimited) where the focus is not on the core 7 founding members of the league, but rather the less powerful heroes. I love the idea of them looking up to the main members who we imagine are very powerful, but the focus is on the lesser powerful heroes so there's actual stakes

saspa posted...

This is why I love the idea of Young Justice (and before it, Justice League Unlimited) where the focus is not on the core 7 founding members of the league, but rather the less powerful heroes. I love the idea of them looking up to the main members who we imagine are very powerful, but the focus is on the lesser powerful heroes so there's actual stakes

I did love the Justice League cartoon, because it has some genuinely great character writing IMO especially with Shayera and John Stewart. And not just their relationship either.

I just started Season 3 of JLU and the Cadmus arc was genuinely gripping.

ElatedVenusaur posted...

I did love the Justice League cartoon, because it has some genuinely great character writing IMO especially with Shayera and John Stewart. And not just their relationship either.

I just started Season 3 of JLU and the Cadmus arc was genuinely gripping.

For the first time? Coincidentally enough, I was just rewatching JLU season 1 myself, and noticing more characters and references than I did previously.

That was such a brilliant arc. It really was ahead of its time and should have gotten more seasons with all the possible stories it could provide for all the many characters, from booster gold to blue beetle and beyond

ElatedVenusaur posted...

I did love the Justice League cartoon, because it has some genuinely great character writing IMO especially with Shayera and John Stewart. And not just their relationship either.

I just started Season 3 of JLU and the Cadmus arc was genuinely gripping.

I didn't like JLU as much as JL at first.. the whole Justice League becoming an organization with support staff, shift work, multiple watchtowers, etc felt a bit over the top.

But when Waller fired the missle and started the Cadmus arc.... Panic in the Sky and Divided we fall hit it out of the park, especially with Flash's crowning moment...