History Analysis / BoxingLessonsForSuperman

In the west, however, superheroes are basically extensions of a capitalist/freedom-based culture. Rather than being focused on conforming, American superheroes are focused on the idea that superpowers grant characters some level of autonomy or individuality. {{Superman}}, the Trope Namer, has an identical power set to his fellow Kryptonians, but rarely do any of them create forms, techniques or moves with these abilities. Sure, every individual ''power'' has a name (such as [[EyeBeams Heat Vision]]), but that's about it.

Using "Grace" as a theory for this trope, it stands to reason that Western media thus treats superpowers as a "gift" from some sort of higher power and thus training is unnecessary. After all, it would be considered bad form if [[Literature/TheBible Moses]] looked up to {{God}} and said, "Thanks, Lord, but the ability to part the sea isn't enough. I'm gonna go train to make these powers even better."

In the west, however, superheroes are basically extensions of a capitalist/freedom-based culture. Rather than being focused on conforming, American superheroes are focused on the idea that superpowers grant characters some level of autonomy or individuality. {{Superman}}, the Trope Namer, has an identical power set to his fellow Kryptonians, but rarely do any of them create forms, techniques or moves with these abilities. Sure, every power has a name, but that's about it.

It's possible that this stems from the old Western value of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_in_Christianity "Grace"]], that is gifts or blessings bestowed by {{God}} upon people simply because GodIsGood, not because those people particularly deserve it. As we said before, Eastern culture tends to be based on a hierarchy, and thus that hierarchy is [[JapaneseSpirit enforced/earned in some manner]]. Western culture, on the other hand, usually considers hierarchy a "bad" thing; for instance, Franchise/{{Batman}} may be a less powerful character than Superman, but stories will often go out of their way to demonstrate that he is still no less "equal". Compare this to Japanese stories, where even after going through several {{Next Tier Power Up}}s, most characters still adhere to a FixedRelativeStrength.

It's possible that this stems from the old Western value of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_in_Christianity "Grace"]], that is gifts or blessings bestowed by {{God}} upon people simply because GodIsGood, not because those people particularly deserve it. As we said before, Eastern culture tends to be based on a hierarchy, and thus that hierarchy is [[JapaneseSpirit enforced/earned in some manner]]. Western culture, on the other hand, usually considers hierarchy a "bad" thing; for instance, Franchise/{{Batman}} may be a less powerful character than Superman, but stories will often go out of their way to demonstrate that he is still no less "equal". Compare this to Japanese stories, where even after going through several {{Next Tier Power Up}}s, most characters still adhere to a FixedRelativeStrenth.

Using "Grace" as a theory for this trope, it stands to reason that Western media thus treats superpowers as a "gift" from some sort of higher power and thus training is unnecessary. After all, it would be considered bad form if {{Moses}} looked up to God and said, "Thanks, Lord, but the ability to part the sea isn't enouugh. I'm gonna go train to make these powers even better."

while by no means exclusive to either Eastern (namely Japanese) or Western (namely American and European) fiction, this trope is almost a ''given'' in Japanese media. Indeed, it's actually rarer to find Aversions of this trope than instances of it being played straight. In Western works, particularly ComicBooks, it's played far straighter.

Japan, being a collectivist society, places a higher priority on proper methodology and work ethic than the west. Shonen characters and superheroes, while similar on many levels, are fundamentally different. Shonen heroes are usually throwbacks to old {{Samurai}} concepts, like Bushido, as well as Buddhist and Shinto values. The combination of these ideals typically creates stories about a hero who has to raise themselves in some type of rank or hierarchy through hard work and training. Shonen characters place a greater value on creating techniques or fighting moves with their powers, which is essentially a way of creating something to train for. In short, training is ''essential'' to the usual Shonen story structure.