This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Ununnilium: Characters as Device probably isn't right, but I'm not sure where to put it.
Tanto: Applied Phlebotinum, maybe? That's not quite right either, but it seems to be the current dumping grounds for all the weird supernatural stuff.
[[Clipped to Stock Superpowers Discussion]]
Cassius335: Erm, what? Am I the only one who REALLY doesn't get this section? Surely traction plays a good part in how shovable something is (whether or not the train has the brakes on, for that matter).
Lale: Was the entry always so thoroughly-bashing? Come on, it's fiction. We know Super-Strength isn't realistic. Why all the whining about how the results don't make sense? I think we need a rewrite with a little more imagination.
Ununnilium: Seriously. Looks like that whole paragraph was added by a single editor; let's modify a bit...
Cassius335: Thanks. Still not sure about the Ghost Rider example, though. How can pulling in one direction launch you in another?
Firedraconian: Are you kidding? I don't know about you, but when I pull on a rope attached to the ceiling, I pull myself upward, I don't pull the ceiling down.
Cassius335: True, but a rope attached to a celing is a whole different ball game to a chain attached to a helicopter (the latter not being attached to rather a lot of building). As is lifting yourself up as opposed to yanking.
And with enough strength, you can pull that rope off the celing, possibly (depending on the exact materials/construction involved) pulling a chunk of celing down with it. It's certainly not going to propel you upwards with great force.
Firedraconian: That's not strength, it's weight. If a weakling who happens to be obese grabs that rope and just sags, you can yank off chunks of the ceiling. If a five-year old girl who can out-punch Mike Tyson grabs it, all she's gonna do is pull herself up. There's no resistance. It's not like tugging something horizontally, where friction might be on your side.
Lale: That last one is a very good point, but I feel I must point out that debating the Laws Of Physics in fiction is going to go nowhere fast. Super strength itself is impossible; if we can accept that, why not anything else that happens that's impossible?
Ununnilium: Because realism doesn't matter; consistency matters. You can make any rules you like, but the more you make, the closer you have to follow 'em.
Anyway, Super Strength is going to help you brace yourself on things, thus allowing you to pull stuff down if you do it right. And note that you don't have to exert more force than the weight of the helicopter; you just have to exert more force than the rotor that's keeping the helicopter aloft.
BT The P: Which, assuming the helicopter is flying, is greater than or equal to its weight. My favorite statement on super-strength and structural integrity is at PartiallyClips
.
Cassius335: Heh. Nice strip.
Anyway, a metal chain is still not going to do a strange imitation of an elastic band.
Lale: I still think these are moot "discrepancies." Are you strong enough to crush a stone that you're strong enough to pick up?
Morgan Wick: During the Silver Age, he regularly juggled planets. I know we like to say that Silver Age Superman juggled planets, but considering how rarely it would be relevant to a plot, did he really do it "regularly"? Or even twice?
Bluetooth The Pirate: Fixed the bit about the heavy. His minigun taunt is a loving hug between man and weapon, itself a pretty good example, as hugging a 300-pound gun can't be easy. The gun he twirls is the shotgun.
Gentlemens Dame 883: My bad. I fell victim to the Who Touched My Gun Sparta Remix, where the vidmaker had convincingly 'shooped the vid to make it seem like Heavy was spinning Sasha. At 0:51 if you want to look out for the bit.
BrightBlueInk: Curious question—would examples about anime characters fit under this trope? What about characters that aren't human? (Aliens, robots...)
Haven: If they're super-strong anime characters or robots or aliens, then yes.
Haven: Removed the Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged quote, because, I don't think we should have quotes that just say the words "super strength" in them.
