Poor Image: Flying Brick

That is not what I mean. The Superman images are like a picture of a dog on an article about having four legs.

It could be a picture of someone talking about how he has a generic set of powers, or something. I dunno, it's hard. So it has a Visual Pun instead.

edited 15th Mar '12 9:16:54 PM by rodneyAnonymous

Which would be better as a quote.

If there's one thing I've learned from trawling this subforum, it's that showing is valued more highly than telling when we're looking for a page image.

As such, a picture of a superhero demonstrating the powerset (of which, I admittedly have only two in the helicopter pic) is better than one with him talking about his powers. Or a visual pun that otherwise has nothing to do with the trope.

edited 15th Mar '12 9:18:10 PM by Enlong

A freakin flying freaking headbutt demonstrating super strength, invulnerability, flight, and the metaphorical qualities of a dense object [1]◊

It is not a question of demonstrating those powers more.

Eh, I'm not all that sold on that one. Maybe it's the downward angle of his flight.

Then what is it a question of? If it's a question of helping people understand the trope at a glance, then it's better than the visual pun, isn't it?

The trope is about the set of powers, not the person who has them. That is hard to picture.

Technically, it's about a guy who has all three powers at once, rather than being about either one individually. If a guy just flies, it's not this trope, for example. So, I think it's better to show a guy demonstrating the three powers, because how else does one picture a superpower? (hint, two of those three tropes linked demonstrate it by showing a guy using the power.)

edited 15th Mar '12 9:34:07 PM by Enlong

Worse than nothing IMO. Visual Pun > no image > Superman. Something like this maybe, but that isn't very good I don't think. Current is fine.

I still don't get why you think it's worse than nothing. Maybe I just missed the explanation, but all I've been seeing is "it doesn't fit because this isn't about a person". When it really is about superheroes who have those three powers. Is the problem that it's Superman? Shall I find a less mainstream superhero that will be less likely to misguide people seeing the image?

And I would say that a Visual Pun that doesn't actually have anything to do with the trope is much worse for info than no image.

edited 15th Mar '12 9:40:53 PM by Enlong

I am just going to say the same thing again: because those images look like they're about Superman. They don't look like they're about the trope. That is the part to understand. (Not necessarily agree with.)

Sure, maybe pictures of Generic Man would be great. No idea.

edited 16th Mar '12 9:27:13 PM by rodneyAnonymous

But he was fine for Super-Strength, why not here?

"Very strong" is a much simpler idea.

If Superman is shown flying, carrying something ridiculously strong, and shrugging off an impact that would kill most people (the latter two are shown in that train-stopping example), then why does it matter that it's Superman doing it?

If it's really "about the powers," and not portraying a character, we should use crappy headbutt picture. If that's what it is about, then it wins because it demonstrates the trope, and according to that position, none of the other pictures do. Clearly, that picture demonstrates all of the signature powers. I would actually like to see that position abandoned. The name of the trope is Flying Brick, so to me it seems like a picture of the trope would be the character type described by the trope. I think any image that sufficiently depicts such a character would qualify. But if my counterposition is not accepted, then I maintain that I have posted a picture that qualifies under the "about the powers" criterion and it must be accepted as the superior image.

edited 16th Mar '12 9:42:24 PM by rodneyAnonymous

I like the Visual Pun, myself, and think such things should be encouraged (to a point) rather than eradicated at every opportunity.

But if you must have an illustrative example, I think this one from the previous thread is hard to beat. Flight, super strength, and invulnerability all demonstrated in one panel.

edited 17th Mar '12 9:59:47 AM by suedenim

That's a good one. The tank is flying, and it's built like a brick.

That's pretty good. Now, we have to keep in mind that Eddie might very well object to this change...just saying in case it happens.

*snerk*

edited 17th Mar '12 8:23:55 PM by Willbyr

If the tank image goes up, we should have that as a caption.

I'm for it.

I'm okay with that Superman/Tank image.

If post 42 becomes the caption, please don't pothole it to Comically Missing the Point. Potholes like that violate the principle of not explaining the joke.

Is it a Bait-and-Switch Comparison?

edited 21st Mar '12 1:07:56 AM by Catalogue

Actually, while comical, it's also not missing the point. If a tank is flying, what does that tell you about the guy who seems to be fighting it? It highlights the trope by comparison.

The pic also works as a visual pun much like the current one. The trope could just as well have been named Flying Tank.

I think the pic should the one with superman displaying several powers. Maybe lifting something heavy, while using laser vision (or x-ray vision), while flying, and being shot at (with bullets bouncing off).