History SoYouWantTo / WriteASuperheroComic

Be wary when writing such a threat, though, for a couple of reasons. First, [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed if you have too many epic threats]], you dilute their meaning. They ought to be more rare than they've been in comics recently, and most certainly ought to come in more varieties than yet ANOTHER AlienInvasion. Secondly, there ought to be villains specific to this epic threat, not just an average enemy with high ambitions. Darkseid, for example, is inherently epic - whatever he does threatens the entire Earth. But what if the Joker decided to try and take over the planet? Forget it. Keep epic threats in the hands of epic characters. There are plenty to go around, too: Darkseid, Apocalypse, Thanos, Dark Phoenix, you name it. Even Batman has a relatively epic threat in the form of R'as Al Ghul, someone who consistently schemes to wreak havoc on the planet.

Sounds generic, but it's a classical archetype -- the grim doppelganger who shows the dark side of our hero. This doesn't have to mean a literal EvilTwin, just [[EvilCounterpart some character who is extremely similar to our hero, only evil]]. Superman, for example, has Bizarro. Though he began as a comedic figure, ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' showed how he can be PlayedForDrama: He has all of Superman's powers and memories, only twisted.

Spider-Man faced this kind of antagonist in the form of Venom and then Carnage. Hulk has an even better example in Maestro, a future incarnation of himself. And most of Batman's antagonists can be read as mild variations on himself, as if to show that a mere hairs breadth separates him from a villain like the Joker (which was Moore's point in ''Comicbook/TheKillingJoke'').

While the Dark Half resembles the hero a great deal, the Antithesis is [[{{Foil}} the hero's opposite in some regard]]. What makes them opposite can be concept or scope, an exception to the "stay in concept" advice earlier. For example, who is Superman's foremost foe? Lex Luthor, a mere mortal. Luthor's savvy cunning contradicts Clark Kent's farmboy ethics, Luthor's worldly wealth counters Superman's otherworldly might. And consider the Hulk again. What is Hulk's primary power? Strength. What is the antithesis of strength? Intelligence. Enter the Leader, someone who was also bombarded with Gamma Radiation. Sometimes the antithesis is even more straightforward - Captain America defends the United States and liberal-democratic values, so naturally a Nazi like Red Skull or a Fascist like Baron Zemo are decent archenemies. Sounds simplistic, but it's a way of challenging our hero's concept, of testing its mettle with a direct contradictory force.

Also consider the nature of the character; is your superhero going to be TheCape, the traditional upstanding and noble ideal of a superhero, or are you going with a more cynical AntiHero? Be warned, however, that if you go down the latter route, you can end up running into the highly discredited NinetiesAntiHero.

Superheroes also generally require the SecretIdentity - a public superhero identity and a private civilian identity. This is not uniform, however, and there's many superheroes who only have one (and even for those who have both, sometimes it's the ''[[SecretIdentityIdentity civilian identity]]'' that's the mask, and the Superhero form is the real "them")[[note]]Superman arguably being the most well-known example of this[[/note]].

What ''sort'' of powers do you characters have? Are they active all the time, or is there a sort of [[HenshinHero on/off switch between their regular persona and their hero one, with only the hero one superpowered]]? And where do these powers come from? Magic is certainly a possibility, but may turn away a good chunk of your audience for various reasons (religion, sci-fi leanings, etc.). ComicBook/XMen managed to HandWave it as science, letting us get past the initial hurdle of ''why'' they had powers (let alone how the powers managed to work... Seriously, genetic ability to ''[[ComicBook/{{Storm}} control the wind]]''!? Enlighten us, [[Creator/StanLee o wise one]]; [[RuleOfCool how the hell does that work?]]) and just move on to the storytelling.

The other genre-defining team was DC's response to Claremont's X-Men - Marv Wolfman and George Perez's ''[[TeenTitans New Teen Titans]]''. Once again, the basic premise sounds as cheesy as the X-Men's seemed - it's just a team of sidekicks and adolescent neophytes. And hey, there's a reason the Silver Age Teen Titans isn't generally regarded as one of DC's greatest books. But here, Wolfman makes a wonderful new team of his own that works due to great character creation and interaction. Dick Grayson as Robin, and eventually Nightwing (a change in name and costume that was badly needed) is Batman's estranged sidekick, still living in Batman's shadow and dealing with his drive to do too much. He's involved with Starfire, an alien beauty who is simultaneously socially naive and a trained warrior. Cyborg is best friends with Changeling, though they're almost complete opposites; a tough-minded, working-class hero befriending a young, obnoxious prankster. Raven is your angst-ridden heroine taking on others' pains, while Wally West is secretly infatuated with her. Even Kid Flash and Wonder Girl are treated wonderfully - both are more solid and experienced heroes, but cope with relationships and identity ("Who is Donna Troy?", for example, is a fabulous issue, showcasing her and Dick Grayson's deep friendship)

In the latter 90s, the idea of a team being an assembly of heroes rather than really interdependent got revived with GrantMorrison's {{JLA}}. Especially considering the themes of ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'', this team is more like a pantheon of gods than heroes who need each other, but that in itself is an interesting idea to explore, with Morrisson pitting them against huge, epic threats and having characters like the less-experienced Kyle Rayner self-reflect on the awe of being in such a force.

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Now, my minions! You have what you need, now go to the studios of DC and Marvel and take over the writing staff! Make Franchise/{{Superman}} as weak as a baby! Make Franchise/{{Batman}} afraid to leave his home! Force the ComicBook/XMen to go back into hiding! Force {{Spider-Man}} to make a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with Mephisto]] to undo everything that has been done since the Silver Age! (What do you mean, [[Creator/JoeQuesada they]] [[WriterOnBoard already]] [[ComicBook/OneMoreDay did that?]])

Now, my minions! You have what you need, now go to the studios of DC and Marvel and take over the writing staff! Make Franchise/{{Superman}} as weak as a baby! Make Franchise/{{Batman}} afraid to leave his home! Force the ComicBook/{{X-Men}} to go back into hiding! Force {{Spider-Man}} to make a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with Mephisto]] to undo everything that has been done since the Silver Age! (What do you mean, [[Creator/JoeQuesada they]] [[WriterOnBoard already]] [[ComicBook/OneMoreDay did that?]])

Another subversion would be to focus on non-heroic characters. For example, a comic about the trials of a sidekick, or a VillainProtagonist -- the webcomic ''{{Webcomic/Narbonic}}'' did both (at the same time!) to great success. Changing the focus from Heroes to Heroes-in-Training, such as in the webfiction [[Literature/WhateleyUniverse Whateley Academy]] and the webcomic ''ComicBook/{{PS238}}'', is also an option. Or even a character who isn't a hero or a villain at all, but just happens to live in a world with them (like Creator/KurtBusiek and Creator/AlexRoss' ''{{Marvels}}''); how might the InnocentBystander feel about living in a world of superheroes?

What is the scope of your hero's powers? Franchise/{{Superman}}, for example, is your typical hero-god type, who seems to have it all. Then you have your human hero, your Franchise/{{Batman}}, ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}, etc. In between the hero-god type and the human hero are a wide variety of options. You could have your power specialist, like TheFlash or TheHulk, or your all purpose type who is not exactly a powerhouse in and of himself, but is able to make a wide variety of powerful things happen, like ComicBook/DoctorStrange and his spells, or ComicBook/GreenLantern and his ring.

Now, my minions! You have what you need, now go to the studios of DC and Marvel and take over the writing staff! Make Franchise/{{Superman}} as weak as a baby! Make Franchise/{{Batman}} afraid to leave his home! Force the ComicBook/{{X-Men}} to go back into hiding! Force {{Spider-Man}} to make a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with Mephisto]] to undo everything that has been done since the Silver Age! (What do you mean, [[JoeQuesada they]] [[WriterOnBoard already]] [[ComicBook/OneMoreDay did that?]])

Another subversion would be to focus on non-heroic characters. For example, a comic about the trials of a sidekick, or a VillainProtagonist -- the webcomic ''{{Webcomic/Narbonic}}'' did both (at the same time!) to great success. Changing the focus from Heroes to Heroes-in-Training, such as in the webfiction [[WhateleyUniverse Whateley Academy]] and the webcomic ''ComicBook/{{PS238}}'', is also an option. Or even a character who isn't a hero or a villain at all, but just happens to live in a world with them (like Creator/KurtBusiek and Creator/AlexRoss' ''{{Marvels}}''); how might the InnocentBystander feel about living in a world of superheroes?

''Creator/{{Marvel}}'' and ''Creator/{{DC}}'' have spent decades doing a great job of holding our attention. Study them well.

Another subversion would be to focus on non-heroic characters. For example, a comic about the trials of a sidekick, or a VillainProtagonist -- the webcomic ''{{Narbonic}}'' did both (at the same time!) to great success. Changing the focus from Heroes to Heroes-in-Training, such as in the webfiction [[WhateleyUniverse Whateley Academy]] and the webcomic ''ComicBook/{{PS238}}'', is also an option. Or even a character who isn't a hero or a villain at all, but just happens to live in a world with them (like Creator/KurtBusiek and Creator/AlexRoss' ''{{Marvels}}''); how might the InnocentBystander feel about living in a world of superheroes?

!!'''Online Resources'''

* Creator/GailSimone's [[http://comicssurvivalkit.tumblr.com/ Comics Survival Kit]] offers advice from comics industry pros.

You may also want to avoid most of Jeph Loeb's later work, particularly ''TheUltimates 3,'' unless you have an obsession with death and/or women being eaten. His earlier work, in particular those that involve Batman, Tim Sale or both, are safe for consumption, however.

Speaking of new media, the {{Franchise/DCAU}} as a whole is an excellent job of transporting comic book characters into WesternAnimation while ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' is the best example of how the Marvel characters get such treatment. In addition, Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', created by GregWeisman, is a superb original creation that can show you how Shakespearean literature and medieval history can provide a wealth of material when use in conjunction with the conventions of the genre. Just remember to confine yourself to the first two seasons that were first-run syndication, avoid ''The Goliath Chronicles'' episodes and read Weisman's SLG comics that replaced them as canon.

* GailSimone's [[http://comicssurvivalkit.tumblr.com/ Comics Survival Kit]] offers advice from comics industry pros.

In particular, the work of Creator/StanLee and his collaborators at Marvel, especially Creator/JackKirby and Creator/SteveDitko, in the 1960s is widely credited for creating the ideas of superheroes (and villains) with more than one dimension, and for spearheading a lot of what we take for granted in modern superhero comics. Twenty years later, ''ComicBook/TheNewTeenTitans'' proved DC's earliest really successful emulation of style with a youth oriented style that proved so influential that DC decided to revise all of TheDCU towards it in ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''.

'''Personality Specific Enemies''' may seem even more rare, but can be the most useful of all and actually happen all the time. Again, contrast is the key; the beauty of Joker facing Batman is to see someone so light-hearted contrasting with the mirthless Dark Knight (not to mention the fact that the [[LightIsNotGood light-hearted mirthful clown is a]] [[MonsterClown psychopathic murderer]] while [[DarkIsNotBad the grim, black-clad avenger is a hero]]. These personality traits can also challenge the hero to play a different game than they're used to. For example, what if you placed Green Lantern Kyle Rayner against someone older, wiser and no nonsense, countering his youthful creativity? How about Flash against someone ultra-patient, extremely careful and low-key? Spider-Man against someone completely cold, completely unaffected by his humor and taunts?

'''Personality Specific Enemies''' may seem even more rare, but can be the most useful of all and actually happen all the time. Again, contrast is the key; the beauty of Joker facing Batman is to see someone so light-hearted contrasting with the mirthless Dark Knight. These personality traits can also challenge the hero to play a different game than they're used to. For example, what if you placed Green Lantern Kyle Rayner against someone older, wiser and no nonsense, countering his youthful creativity? How about Flash against someone ultra-patient, extremely careful and low-key? Spider-Man against someone completely cold, completely unaffected by his humor and taunts?

Superheroes also generally require the SecretIdentity - a public superhero identity and a private civilian identity. This is not uniform, however, and there's many superheroes who only have one (and even for those who have both, sometimes it's the ''[[SecretIdentityIdentity civilian identity]]'' that's the mask, and the Superhero form is the real "them")[[note]]Superman being arguably the most well-known example of this[[/note]].

Superheroes also generally require the SecretIdentity - a public superhero identity and a private civilian identity. This is not uniform, however, and there's many superheroes who only have one (and even for those who have both, sometimes it's the ''[[SecretIdentityIdentity civilian identity]]'' that's the mask, and the Superhero form is the real "them")[[note]]Superman is arguably the most known example of this[[/note]].

Superheroes also generally require the SecretIdentity - a public superhero identity and a private civilian identity. This is not uniform, however, and there's many superheroes who only have one (and even for those who have both, sometimes it's the ''[[SecretIdentityIdentity civilian identity]]'' that's the mask, and the Superhero form is the real "them" [[note]]Superman is probably the most known example of this, though arguably Clark Kent is just as much "him" as Superman is[[/note]]).

Superheroes also generally require the SecretIdentity - a public superhero identity and a private civilian identity. This is not uniform, however, and there's many superheroes who only have one (and even for those who have both, sometimes it's the ''[[SecretIdentityIdentity civilian identity]]'' that's the mask, and the Superhero form is the real "them").

Introduce PsychicPowers such as telepathy into the mix and you have the potential to do JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind and other related plots.

A hero needs a suppourting cast, as well. Even if his parents are dead, an older mentor figure is often around (Ma and Pa Kent, Alfred, Aunt May...). Add a love interest, but make it filled with personality sparks and friction, nothing too smooth or easy. A hero's alter ego usually involves work -- you get your boss (Thunderbolt Ross, Perry White, J. Jonah Jameson), and minor characters like Jimmy Olsen or Rick Jones that can be good foils for our hero.

And, of course, there's your rogues' gallery...

Sounds generic, but it's a classical archetype -- the grim doppleganger who shows the dark side of our hero. This doesn't have to mean a literal EvilTwin, just some character who is extremely similar to our hero, only evil. Superman, for example, has Bizarro. Though he began as a comedic figure, ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' showed how he can be PlayedForDrama: He has all of Superman's powers an memories, only twisted.

Spider-Man faced this kind of antagonist in the form of Venom and then Carnage. Hulk has an even better example in Maestro, a future incarnation of himself. And most of Batman's antagonists can be read as mild variations on himself, as if to show that a mere hairs breadth seperates him from a villain like the Joker (which was Moore's point in ''Comicbook/TheKillingJoke'').

While the Dark Half resembles the hero a great deal, the Antithesis is the hero's opposite in some regard. What makes them oppisite can be concept or scope, an exception to the "stay in concept" advice earlier. For example, who is Superman's foremost foe? Lex Luthor, a mere mortal. Luthor's savvy cunning contradicts Clark Kent's farmboy ethics, Luthor's worldy wealth counters Superman's otherworldly might. And consider the Hulk again. What is Hulk's primary power? Strength. What is the antithesis of strength? Intelligence. Enter the Leader, someone who was also bombarded with Gamma Radiation. Sometimes the antithesis is even more straightforward - Captain America defends the United States and liberal-democratic values, so naturally a Nazi like Red Skull or a Fascist like Baron Zemo are decent archenemies. Sounds simplistic, but it's a way of challenging our hero's concept, of testing its mettle with a direct contradictory force.

Be wary when writing such a threat, though, for a couple of reasons. Forst, if you have too many epic threats, you dilute their meaning. They ought to be more rare than they've been in comics recently, and most certainly ought to come in more varieties than yet ANOTHER AlienInvasion. Secondly, there ought to be villains specific to this epic threat, not just an average enemy with high ambitions. Darkseid, for example, is inherently epic - whatever he does threatens the entire Earth. But what if the Joker decided to try and take over the planet? Forget it. Keep epic threats in the hands of epic characters. There are plenty to go around, too: Darkseid, Apocalypse, Thanos, Dark Phoenix, you name it. Even Batman has a relatively epic threat in the form of R'as Al Ghul, someone who consistently scheams to wreak havoc on the planet.

'''Power Specific Enemies''' are the easiest and most common. If, for example, you have someone super strong like the Hulk, pitting other strongmen against him will only be interesting for so long. It helps to work off Hulk's weaknesses, or work around his powers to make strength less of an advantage for him. Hulk can't exactly connect a blow with Zzzax, for example, since he's pure electricity, and pitting him against someone oltra fast, who doesn't stand still long enough to get punched, throws someone like Hulk off. Similarly, Superman is extremely powerful, but that's why Parasite poses such a threat - he can take that power away, even use it against him.

'''Concept Specific Enemies''' are a bit more valueable, though. For example, Batman resides in an urban environment. His enemy Killer Croc represents the dark underbelly of the streets and sewer ststems, the infamous crocodiles running around the drainage system which forms a well-known urban myth. Part of Hulks concept is the fact he's an outcast, so a writer could emphasise that by pitting him against a VillainWithGoodPublicity. Superman benefits from enemies related to Krypton.

But everybody seems to love seeing some new, kick-ass villain step up to the plate and wreak irreperable havoc on a hero's life, like a Doomsday or a Bane. The question is, why do these foes stay on the backburner while classic foes like Lex Luthor, Joker and Green Goblin return again and again? Because the latter aren't here-goes-everything, "let's throw caution to the wind!" destroyers. Like the heroes they fight, they too are complex characters with ambitions and schemes. Pitting heroes against these [[GenericDoomsdayVillain fly-by-night anarchist destroyers]] is cheap entertainment upon which comics with inferior writing (like early Image titles) rely too much. Let villains be part of the cast, steadier personalities with whom a reader can identify. Who knows? If they're interesting enough, they may, like ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} and ComicBook/{{Venom}} and ComicBook/ThePunisher, be worth showcasing in their own title.

The best series about solo heroes usually include a lovable, interesting cast of suppourting characters, but this can overly elevate the hero in their midst. Regardless of the fact that characters like Lois Lane are rather likeable, for instance, at some point you'll probably get tired of Superman always being the one who saves Metropolis.

Though the earliest superhero teams, like the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica and the AllStarSquadron were simply single heroes assembling together, newer groups have more interdependent team members who rely upon each other. The first great team in this sense has to be the ComicBook/FantasticFour, which remains one of the deeper, more fascinating teams out there. First of all, have you noticed how rarely they've been seperate from one another? There's a reason for this - they need each other to work. The most isolated character of the bunch is the Thing -- who, sure enough, had his own title for many years, probably because his m.o. is the most self-contained: he must tragically cope with the physical deformity his great power has cursed him with, forever isolating him from humanity.

Regardless, many series have attempted to recreate the chemistry of these teams, some with more success than others. One of the biggest facters in some teams' flatness is their creators trying too hard to make the personalities clash too much, ether too extremely or too simplisticly. The examples above all include heavy doses of friendship, comradery, even a few relationships - the tension they contain is balanced by cooperation. Hopefully, new teams to come our way will reflect complexity, depth, and the full range of human emotions (not just egotism, confrontation, and tension) that made classic superhero teams so spectacular.