Mangled Remains The Rest Stealing From The Best

Anonymous asked: "Because a power set is only the slightest thing there is to a character. " No Tom, it's THE thing. It defines a character whether you like to admit it or not. Kids reading the comics don't run around as Superman because he is in a relationship with Lois. They run (fly) around with a cape on because they want to have that power set, and through that power set take-on what it is to be Superman etc. You try and diminish powers as though they are insignificant, but they make the characters.

brevoortformspring:

What that kid cares about is that Superman can fly, is beaucoup strong and bulletproof.

He does not care what the specific tonnage Superman can lift (press) is, or what is top flight speed might be, or whether his power is “on a planetary level” or what-have-you.

It’s totally fine to care about these things, mind you–everybody enjoys different aspects of these stories. But I tend to think that, for Superman, it’s more important and more relevant that he fights for Truth, Justice and the American Way, that he’s got a strong moral compass and a line he will not cross, and that he stands up for the weak and the defenseless. (And that he’s secretly Clark Kent.) These are the attributes that make even kids connect with Superman and with the other characters beyond just the fact that he’s strong and he flies. Lots of guys are strong and can fly; only Superman is Superman.

Also, the idea that powers define a character just doesn’t hold up to even vague scrutiny.

Thor and Superman have essentially similar power sets (flying around with a cape projecting energy and hitting things with their super-strength). But the relationship between Thor and Loki is so fundamentally different between that of Clark and Lex, that you don’t get the same stories.

The same is true for, for example, Batman and Iron Man. Bruce Wayne in a bat mech suit is not Tony Stark. Heck, Dick Grayson is not Tim Drake. Who they are is way more important than what they do.