This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Martello: Made some changes. The old quotes were perfect and didn't need to be changed. "They ain't looking at her face" makes sense because part of Most Common Super Power is that Most Comic Book Artists are Male and that roles up into Male Gaze. The "lung power" quote makes sense too, but it's too corny for me. The page quote is quite possibly one of the best Calvin & Hobbes quotes ever, and it also pretty much names the trope.
I added some of the fighting game examples back in, because arguably all characters in fighting games have superpowers. The DOA girls can do things like disappear in a swirl of leaves, for example.
I also cleaned up some of the natter and other bullshit. At what point are people going to realize how annoying it is to write, "I can't believe nobody mentioned," or "no mention of such and such yet?"
somebody who forgot to put in their username: Definitley prefered the old picture. The current one is just wierd and a little disturbing.
endlessnostalgia I agree. I can understand that this pic makes more sense in a way (the other seemed more like a case of Distracted by the Sexy), but it seems to be fanart (there are big breasted versions of almost any character you can imagine if you look into fanart), doesn't seem to reflect the actual proportions of Power Girl (which should be enough for the example), and the nipples showing through the suit are just too much. —-
This Article has it all wrong (in my humble opinion of course) The "Superpower" is not the fact that they have ridiculously huge breasts, it is the fact that many female characters can hypnotize, manipulate & seduce other characters into doing stuff for them. This of course frequently does involve gargantuan gravity-defying mammaries. But it's hardly ever portrayed as something supernatural. BTW: This is Truth in Television. While men are pretty much super-strong, have super-vitality, super-stamina, are made of iron and...much more when compared to women, women do have this unholy power of compelling others (men and women) to do their bidding in real life.
As a curious perv, I'd like to know the source for the main image on the page.
- I, too, would like to know. Haha, pervs on the internet—WHAT A CONCEPT
Marionette: The Wally Wood/Power Girl story has been effectively discredited. Ragnell's essay http://ragnell.blogspot.com/2006/05/power-girl-you-be-judge.html
compares images of the character over the course of Wood's run and there is no noticeable change in size.
Minor correction: Cassandra Cain was actually Batgirl III, not II. Helena Bertinelli (Huntress) was briefly Batgirl II during the first half of "No Man's Land".
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Ununnilium: Not sure what you mean by The Clark Kent Effect in this sense.
RedBeardSean: the ability to go unrecognised in street clothes; after all, when you normally go out dressed in something skin-tight, and what with the trope of men rarely making eye-contact with busty women, it seems to me that these ladies would be fairly anonymous in anything at all billowy. Eh, maybe it sounded better in my head than on paper. Not the first time.
BT The P: I think the problem here is that The Clark Kent Effect doesn't mean, entry-wise, what it intuitively should mean . Its definition is "heroes take off their glasses to be heroic", while Red Beard Sean probably intended it to mean "unrecogizable in simple disguise", which needs to be a trope separate from Wig, Dress, Accent.
Gus: I believe Paper-Thin Disguise touches on this.
RedBeardSean: Ah! That's the one. I'll edit the entry. Thanks, guys.
Ununnilium: Ah, I see. It's still kind of confusingly put, though; are you saying that they'd be disguised if they were wearing something where their breasts were less... perky?
RedBeardSean: At least, less visibly perky, yes.
YYZ: Miss Deep and Yomiko from Read Or Die seem to be relevant here. They both have - there's really no way to say this politely - bodacious tatas, but one rarely realizes this because of the galumphy suit and coat that Yomiko usually wears. Just making the entry in the article a little more detailed.
someone: If you start considering anime, the trope falls apart. Flat chests are very common over there. I think this should be considered a superhero comics trope, and anime references should not be added.
Moved to link
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Jack Cain: What's wrong with this picture?
Seth: A little too big but i think one of those fantasy pictures where the woman literaly has a toothpick for a waist would fit better.
((Jack Cain)) She's hanging upside down, but not entirely.
Kendra Kirai: That is one HECK of a bra she's got on. I wonder who makes it.
Ununnilium: Needs Liefeld. (I swear this is the first time I've ever said that.)
Kendra Kirai: You mean like this?
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HeartBurn Kid: ... Dear "Bob". How that man keeps getting work in comics, I'll never know.
BT The P: Does he? I haven't seen his grotesque mutated fashion plates on a comics cover for a while, I thought he'd retired. Or died, that'd work too.
Ununnilium: Sadly, no; he did a couple issues of Teen Titans earlier this year, and is now doing the miniseries Onslaught Reborn.
Dark Sasami: Wow, hadn't seen that before! Most Common Super Power and Ye Olde Butcherede English all in one!
Looney Toons: (notes history entry "01/08/07 at 07:23 PM by SABERinBLUE") Priss, is that you? <grin>
Licky Lindsay: In the very first X-Men story, the first time Jean Grey puts on her brand-new superhero uniform, the other X-Men make remark behind her back "she looks like she was poured into that suit", and she herself says "whoever designed this uniform could have given Christian Dior a run for his money". Is this an early lampshade-hanging of this trope? (Note that the costume (and Jean's appearance in it) is tame compared to things she would wear in later ages of comics. [1]
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Ununnilium: Nah; that actually predates the trope.
Kizor: Pulled a couple of quotes because they and the image were taking up far more space than the trope description.
Murphy: D-cups... full of JUSTICE!
Some superfolk have powers that can be summed up in a single word. Fire. Ice. Light. Breasts.
Filby: Took out the Simpsons, Spongebob, and "wheel-chair bound mentalist" examples, since they're not actually examples of this trope.
Trogga: How are they not?
Starscream: *looks at herself in the mirror* Oh wow, I think I fit this trope perfectly >_>
KJMackley: Here's something I am wondering... exactly what is this trope trying to define? From the description I'd say that this is mostly about the exaggeration of the female body (specifically breasts, obviously) in almost every anime, cartoon, manga and comic book. But what exactly qualifies as an example? From the title I would think that it has to be a common trait you see in the female designs of a given series (complete with costumes that ensure the Male Gaze), but the examples seem to be about any person who is considered to be somewhat busty. Like I'm not really sure that Ty Lee or even Jin really qualify. Fanservice outfits and angles aside
◊, Ty Lee is more pronounced then the others
◊, but I wouldn't say it was awkwardly exaggerated. And the image posted for Jin did show her to be quite large, but she was also wearing a loose fitting (non-fanservice-ey) robe. Avatar is the only example I know about and somewhat disagree with, only because I think the trope is supposed to be common with nearly all female designs, not just one or two. If this trope is about any women with unusual size, then I'm okay with it.
- Yeah, I believe it's supposed to be "any woman with large breasts", though I'm not too sure. The example reads like it's more a case of Square Peg Round Trope.
Rebochan: I replaced the kind of disturbing non-superhero image with an image of Power Girl's...girls. From a panel where they actually had her saying that she never worried about wearing a mask because "most of the time...they ain't looking at my face." It just seemed more appropriate to the trope.
BobII: I removed this bit:
It should be noted that this is Truth in Television, and that busty women (both naturally and otherwise) do exist in the real world; however, they're not quite as common as the examples on this page would have you believe. As such, a better term of description for these ladies would probably be 'uncommon' as opposed to 'unrealistic' (although that said, it also depends on how the artist is drawing the woman's figure as well - some of them are not quite as good at drawing the female figure as you'd hope or expect, given their fascination with it).
Because it missed the whole point of the article. Name one REAL SUPERHERO, with this "power", and I'll call it "truth in television".
It just doesn't fit in this article.
Doctor Nemesis: I think the point is more that women possessing this kind of physique exist in the real world more than 'superheroes' per say. There seems to be a tendency when providing examples here for people to describe the women with the Most Common Super Power as being 'unrealistic' when that simply isn't true; women with large breasts and slim waists do exist (naturally or otherwise) in the real world, but not to the extent that you'd find in the comic books. I think it's a point worth making, although I do agree that it could be reworded.
Doctor Nemesis: I've made an edited version which I think addresses the point trying to be made, but in a fashion which addresses the concerns above.
Austin: Why does hovering over the image on the article link you to Supergirl? That's quite clearly Power Girl.
Binaroid: Because Power Girl was originally the Earth-2 counterpart of Supergirl, and is prominently mentioned in the "Supergirl" article alongside the other parts of the Continuity Snarl that is both of their histories.
Austin: Removed natter
- "Unrealistic" is a misnomer, as women with large breasts and small waists do actually exist in reality (a few are even natural). "Uncommon" would be a more accurate description.
- This Troper is proof positive that such women do exist in nature. She also does not hesitate to inform her fellow tropers that finding dresses that fit her is damn near impossible in the real world.
- There's a reason that Mary Jane is able to make her living as a very well-paid fashion model.
- Here in Europe well/paid fashion-models tend to thin as sticks. Remember Twiggy? (I am old enough to do so.)
- This Troper would point out that Mary Jane isn't bloody well in Europe, now is she?
- "Unrealistic" is a misnomer, as women with large breasts and small waists do actually exist in reality (a few are even natural). "Uncommon" would be a more accurate description.
I also removed the strike out text, and in a couple of cases I refused to use the more neutral term. Even if real life examples exist, some bust sizes are still ridiculous.
Some Sort Of Troper: the point of the trope is the association of huge breasts with superpower. Just huge breasts is fanservice. So these were removed:
Count Dorku: I have a special message for whoever gave that example of Power Girl using her own breasts for exercise. I didn't need that mental image.
- Martello: That was me. Please explain to me how it is that a gorgeous woman moving her own large breasts up and down is something that you find disturbing. Thank you.
- I Win The Internets: Indeed. God, there are so many moral fags on TV Tropes.
C Banana: Please use an image that is safe for work!
alliterator: How is the current one NSFW more than the other one? Both show ridiculous amounts of cleavage.
I Win The Internets: The current picture caption is not funny. It is retarded. I would not be surprised if I were to discover that a mentally disabled child with a passing knowledge of pop culture had written that moronic caption. Please find a funnier one.
Insanity Prelude: Removing a few (probably) non-superpowered examples, although I left most of it alone because I have neither familiarity with the canons, or with the definition of "superpowered" we're using.
- The cancelled Peter Molyneux game B.C featured NPC Cavewomen with huge, gravity defying boobage. This is made either better or worse by the fact that the player could choose who in the tribe mates with whom, essentially deciding the physical attributes of each generatation. So whereas the first gen tribes are quite small, by the time you've reached Gen6 it's welcome to booby town.
- Tifa Lockhart in Final Fantasy VII probably qualifies, although Boobs Of Steel is more on the mark. Tifa was actually supposed to be less endowed, but the limitations of the graphics engine caused her expansion.
- All female cast of Gundam 00 except for Soma Peries, Mileina Vashti and Hilling Care. It's best to suggest they should also have a list. Heck, even Tieria Erde has them in his Wholesome Crossdresser episode!
