History SoYouWantTo / WriteASuperheroComic

Oh, and don't forget weaknesses. Only [[{{Superman}} one superhero]] ever got away with being the best at everything, and even then he had [[SuperDickery trouble]] with the writing. Also, when looking at weaknesses, you don't automatically have to go with a KryptoniteFactor. Many characters do well with a LogicalWeakness or, as mentioned below, the lack of a RequiredSecondaryPower [[note]]Both of which can be great opportunities to show off how clever your villain is when they exploit them.[[/note]]. And many superheroes, though possessing powers, are of a low enough tier or possess obvious enough weaknesses that they don't need special weaknesses. The barely superhuman Captain America is an obvious example, but even powerful characters like Storm, who can call lightning down on you but will still fall to a gunshot, don't need special weaknesses.

While not a comic, Creator/{{Wildbow}}'s Literature/{{Worm}} and its sequel Literature/{{Ward}} are extremely GrimDark [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructions]] of superhero fiction, and are [[DoorStopper DoorStoppers]] like its comic-book counterparts.

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 Franchise/TheFlash or [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk The Hulk]], 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.

The beauty of this X-Men team was how balanced Wolverine was by his teammates. Nightcrawler and Wolverine were best friends, for example, and Nightcrawler was, and continues to be, a real gem of a character. He's a gentle sould trapped in a frightening exterior, yet he accepts his state sadly but optimistically, with none of the "badass" resentment readers choked upon in later X-titles). Nightcrawler's debonair, swashbuckling romanticism was extremely appealing, just as was the clash of Colossus' youthful, artistic sensitivity with his super-strength and drive to fight enemies. The younger-still Kitty Pryde had a crush on him while she was trying to prove herself to the group, and Storm dealt with her love of nature that so sharply contrasted with the technology and violence of the team's opponents. And to balance all these guys were the X-Men staples of Professor X and Cyclops, the perpetual mentor and straight-arrow team leader.

There used to be a time when DeathIsCheap was a daring approach but over time its constant use has made it a punchline to todays comic fanbase. Even character death has been handled as nothing more than a cheap gimmick to boost sales rather than a captivating story plot point.

Well, for superheroes, you generally need [[StockSuperpowers superpowers]] -- although of course Franchise/{{Batman}} [[BadassNormal got around without them]]. But then, some might say that his CrazyPrepared abilities, superhuman level of [[CrimefightingWithCash easily accessible monetary wealth]], and alleged [[AdoredByTheNetwork company favouritism]] are superpowers in and of themselves... At very least, then, we can say that you need characters who have abilities that are above and beyond those of most average people -- even BadassNormal superheroes such as Batman and ComicBook/IronMan still have such abilities as near-genius level deductive insight, martial arts skills and engineering genius that sets them apart from everyday civilians.

As discussed below, an increasing tendency has been to examine the DarkerAndEdgier aspects of the superhero mythos. Whilst it's a valid approach to take, do not make the mistake of assuming that it's automatically more interesting or original than the more traditional approach to the superhero; an entire period of superhero comics is called UsefulNotes/{{the Dark Age|of Comic Books}} precisely ''because'' almost every superhero comic being published had to be DarkerAndEdgier, so a lot of it's been done before. And not necessarily that well; with superhero comics, it's quite easy when shooting for 'adult and mature' to end up in '[[RatedMForMoney adolescent and immature]]' instead. Violence, sex and cursing aren't automatically more grown-up or interesting than the alternatives, so keep this in mind. Also consider that some characters are more suited to being made darker than others; what works for Batman might not necessarily work for Superman. And keep in mind that it doesn't hurt to add a little idealism into a DarkerAndEdgier trope and not make it grim dark for the sake of it or else it could risk having your story reach DarknessInducedAudienceApathy levels.

But, if you do read the deconstruction, be sure to also read the {{Reconstruction}} to avoid setting your story in DarknessInducedAudienceApathy territory. ''ComicBook/AstroCity,'' ''Comicbook/{{Justice}}'', and ''ComicBook/{{Marvels}}'' are good ones.

Something that isn't talked about much is how psychologically superhero concepts tend to be geared, specifically by appealing to adolescent boys, the primary audience who traditionally bought and read the most comic books. Origin stories frequently involve a young man, even a boy, or if full grown, the young man is something of a nerd, just like the kid reading the comic. Bruce Wayne was a boy, for example, during his pivotal incident, and though never a nerd, angry kids can feel his anger, too. But look at the pre-''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfinteEarths'' Superman origin: Clark Kent was a small-town nerd, a nobody, until "son, there's something we need to show you". What a dream! To be suddenly told that you're an alien, that you're special after all, that you have powers beyond your imagination.

Traditionally, superhero comics are set in the modern city. While this affords many classic possibilities, if you want to do something different, consider playing with the timeframe or the population density. How many superheroes are found in suburbia, or protect the wide fields surrounding a farming village? There have been a few superheroes spotted TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture as well as a few further out still, but rarely many modern-style superheroes in places inspired by times prior to the 20th Century.

However, if you're doing something more an older demographic, you ''could'' even make guns the primary "[[BadassNormal superpower]]" of the character. We call this a SuperheroPackingHeat.

Peter Parker, the high school nerd, turned superhero overnight... Bruce Banner, the pencil-necked geek, turned superhero overnight... Billy Batson suddenly finds that wizard who helps him turn into Captain Marvel... Steve Rogers is a young man who is too frail to enlist in the army, but who takes the Super Serum... the list goes on and on. Classic superheroes appeal to their primary audience - children and teenagers - because their origin stories are rooted in some boyhood experience, or if they're adults, they're misunderstood or disenfranchised or simply underestimated.

This is obviously wish fulfillment, where the audience dreams about becoming super someday too, or at least imagines what it would be like. This is the beauty of accidents, of just getting super powers randomly: It could be anybody... specifically, it could be ''you''. This is why the mutant concept of X-Men is so appealing, teenagers learning about their latent genetic powers. It captures age demographic and exciting randomness in one stroke.

While not a comic, {Creator/Wildbow}'s {Literature/Worm} and its sequel {Literature/Ward} are extremely {GrimDark} [[{Deconstruction} deconstructions]] of superhero fiction, and are {DoorStopper}s like its comic-book counterparts.

Superpowers featured in comic books tend to be grand, idealized and desirable - super-strength, for instance, or flight. A possible subversion is to grant your character powers that, on the face of it, [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway do not seem particularly useful]], and then [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower explore how they can nevertheless use them within superhero situations]]. Removing RequiredSecondaryPowers also can add new spice to old cliched power sets -- imagine The Flash [[InertiaIsAHarshMistress unable to slow down]], or Superman actually having to [[ArtMajorPhysics follow the laws of physics]].

In recent years, it has become common to present a [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism more cynical take]] on the superhero, reversing the traditional ComesGreatResponsibility image of the hero to present the opposite; selfish, reckless, irresponsible and egotistical "heroes" who are only considered heroes because they are, on the surface at least, on the side of law and order. See NinetiesAntiHero Alternatively, the hero might be just as well-meaning as the traditional hero, but despite their best efforts usually ends up doing more harm than good. They may also be presented as government, military or corporate stooges who aim only to keep a repressive status quo in place, and have no particular interest in whether the innocent live or die as long as the goals of their organization are met. Any of these can lead to a BewareTheSuperman situation where the world is actually ''worse'', not better, for having superhumans around; the villains would be bad enough, but the heroes are in many cases just as bad. Keep in mind however that this theme, whilst initially a subversion of ComesGreatResponsibility, has been used a lot since the mid-eighties (so much so that the proliferation of these types of stories in the mid-eighties and nineties was common enough to see that era named UsefulNotes/{{the Dark Age|of Comic Books}}), and so isn't necessarily fresh or original by itself; a fresh spin on it couldn't hurt.

Also, a major asset to superhero fantasy is ''[[GenreRoulette subgenre flexibility]]''; most superhero characters can be put into ''any'' subgenre setting and make it work. This arose over the decades with writers, who needed to make the monthly deadlines, have put superheroes in a wide variety of fantasy/science fiction tropes so often that you'd expect them to work. For instance, name another fantasy genre that can shift settings and dramatic tones so completely from story to story that reader would accept. For instance, one publishing year period for the classic 1980s ''[[ComicBook/TeenTitans New Teen Titans]]'' comic book series by MarvWolfman and GeorgePerez had the team fight a supervillain's cult, then go off into outer space for a SpaceOpera story, and then return for a gritty, and relatively down to earth, FilmNoir story about runaways, without having to justify the change.

The costume could also be functional instead of just hiding one's identity and making them recognizable. The costume could be bulletproof, fireproof, or be resistant to any number of other things. A cape could also have these properties, ideal for protecting innocent civilians with it. Costume qualities really depend on the hero: dark and stealthy for the [[TheCowl ninja prowler]] or ultra-resilient for the big brawler. If the costume is a suit of PoweredArmor, there are a number of armaments and upgrades the character could get for it. The costume could also be a ClingyCostume, made up of anything from [[ChromeChampion liquid metal]] to [[SpiderMan an alien symbiote]]; a ClingyCostume might also be useful if [[PowerLimiter it protects others from the effects of the hero's powers.]] CivvieSpandex, especially a CoatHatMask deal, is ideal if the hero wants to be able to blend in a crowd, slipping away after removing anything identifying them as a superhero.

Well, for superheroes, you generally need [[StockSuperpowers superpowers]] -- although of course Franchise/{{Batman}} [[BadassNormal got around without them]]. But then, some might say that his CrazyPrepared abilities, superhuman level of [[CrimefightingWithCash easily accessible monetary wealth]], and alleged [[AdoredByTheNetwork company favouritism]] are superpowers in and of themselves....

The secret identity issue can be effectively used in a scenario where [[BruceWayneHeldHostage the hero is placed into a situation which would be easily solved were they in their superhero persona, but because they are currently in their civilian persona presents the challenge of ensuring that a satisfactory resolution to events can still be achieved without compromising their secret identity]].

I now call this meeting of the [[FunWithAcronyms Terrifying, Villainous, and Truly Reviled Order of Persons Evil and Super]] to order! I'm sure you all know the reason we are here... The Allies of Order have bested us once again! But Fear not! I, [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Marcus Murderous]], The leader of T,V,T.R.O.P.E.S., have formulated the most diabolical plan yet! We shall write SuperHero stories ourselves, thereby gaining power over our hated foes, the Vanguard of Virtue!

Is there any kind of SuperRegistrationAct in effect? How do the heroes feel about it, or the prospect if it happen? While American superheroes have traditionally been individualists opposed to any kind of government regulation, [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2016-04-29/all-might-vs-superman-how-our-heroes-are-different/.101590 this article]] points out that in Japanese superhero series such as ''OnePunchMan'' and ''MyHeroAcademia'', superheroes seem to be in agreement that they should be regulated and anyone opposed to that is crazy.

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 Franchise/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.

Most superhero stories are [[VillainsActHeroesReact reactive]] in nature - the hero is called to action or spurred into action by a villainous threat or some other danger to either themselves or those around them that requires their attention. Sometimes the threat is to the hero themselves, such as in cases involving {{frameup}}s, but more often than not the threat is to one or more innocents that are unfortunate enough to either be caught up in the villain's plans or who the villain's plans will end up hurting in some way. Sometimes the hero acts as the agent of another power who directs them toward threats to deal with, but other times, the hero gets involved in the main plot through taking down an initial threat in the first major scene and discovering that it's part of a greater development that they must address.

Most superhero stories are [[VillainsActHeroesReact reactive]] in nature - the hero is called to action or spurred into action by a villainous threat or some other danger that requires their attention. Sometimes the threat is to the hero themselves, such as in cases involving {{frameup}}s, but more often than not the threat is to one or more innocents that are unfortunate enough to either be caught up in the villain's plans or who the villain's plans will end up hurting in some way. Sometimes the hero acts as the agent of another power who directs them toward threats to deal with, but other times, the hero gets involved in the main plot through taking down an initial threat in the first major scene and discovering that it's part of a greater development that they must address.

'''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 ultra 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.

How willing is your superhero to kill? Are they [[ThouShaltNotKill completely against it]] no matter what (Batman, Superman), do they only resort to it if the situation absolutely calls for it (Wonder Woman, Daredevil), or is killing the primary way that they deal with villains (Punisher, Wolverine at his worst)?

Also consider the nature of the character; is your superhero going to be TheCape, the traditional upstanding and noble ideal of a superhero who most likely has a strict [[ThouShaltNotKill no-killing policy]], or are you going with a more cynical AntiHero who has much fewer qualms about ending villains' lives? Be warned, however, that if you go down the latter route, you can end up running into the highly discredited NinetiesAntiHero.

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 persona, 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.

To those who are tire of the DeathIsCheap approach that the superhero genre usually gets then why not have it that Death Is NOT Cheap? Not just for the villain but for the hero aswell. To really make it that nobody is safe why not take a daring method by killing off your title character just to drive the point home. Especially to showcase that PlotArmor is futile. Just make sure that you have other interesting characters to replace the main character and not have your story become too grim dark in the process. As the old saying goes: "There's always darkness before dawn"

Try averting the StatusQuoIsGod trope by having characters actually age. Maybe showcase how the world will actually change now that you have super beings in it. Also, the older a super hero gets, the greater possibility that the heroe's reflexes might not be as sharp as they once were.

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, a normally street-level hero has a relatively epic threat in the form of Ra's Al Ghul, someone who consistently schemes to wreak havoc on the planet.