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Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM
Guardians of the Galaxy is pretty good for cosmic because their whole concept of being ragtag means that they're punching way above their weight class most of the time and have to come up with weird solutions.
Like punching Thanos in the dick with a cosmic cube.
Forever liveblogging the AvengersTengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
would like to have a word.
Edited by Soble on Oct 18th 2019 at 9:57:51 AM
I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!However, I'll concede that the way I put it was too blanket. It's not a bad way to end a conflict, but a better way to put what I said is that one shouldn't be relying on that as a means of dealing with those kinds of threats, or defaulting to the idea that that's the way they should be resolved, especially in series don't have plans to conclude themselves afterwards.
I think for me I just find the whole "beating a god by exploiting some system" thing to be lame. At least when it's overdone. I'm not so gouache as to say "Never do it." I've enjoyed plenty of stories where a massively powerful being is tricked or undercut by cleverness.
But when every character can feasibly be beaten by every other character depending on the situation, then that character doesn't feel strong. At least, not as strong as the story is building them up to be, because they'll never get to use it.
Though that might just be a me thing. If a god is bound by billions of rules, then it doesn't matter how much you telll me they can blow up the galaxy with a thought, it still doesn't feel like they're "functionally" that strong.
Edited by GNinja on Oct 18th 2019 at 5:28:32 PM
Kaze ni Nare!Strong as They Need to Be is pretty much one of the defining traits of comics, and the MCU is no exception.
Somemtimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% ScandinavianIt's looking like we may hear something Deadpool and MCU related in a few days...
EDIT: Moreover, a lot
of insiders on Twitter
are also teasing something to do with Deadpool...
Edited by TargetmasterJoe on Oct 18th 2019 at 1:54:54 PM
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I feel like certain characters pull off Strong as They Need to Be better than others. Spider-Man for example. He's not particularly ridiculous, so him fluctuating from being able to exist in a fight with the Hulk to being beaten by really skilled humans doesn't feel as preposterous.
When you get into the level of reality warpers and celestial abominations, it sticks out a lot more.
Hell, I still don't know how anyone fights the Flash (I know he's not Cosmic or MC, but he comes to mind as someone so ridiculous that it feels contrived whenever he's defeated)
Kaze ni Nare!I dint think MCU used that trope that much, I mean I dont remenber any other example than Spider beaten Bucky adn Falcon at the same time while tony saying that Cap was going soft on him.
Or Strange being a clumsy to UBER wizard between movies.
"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"There is always the Thanos example.
The human characters in general are subject to this very often, just for the sake of making them appear badass next to all the superpowered folks.
Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% ScandinavianIf you’re talking about Steve grabbing Thanos’ hand I still say that while Steve was straining as hard as he could, Thanos just looked confused
Forever liveblogging the AvengersNot just that, fighting with him in general. I mean, even with Mjolnir, he was still just his regular self. One punch from the guy who beat Hulk and Thor senseless should've exploded the guy.
But like I said, I get the concept and its the same in comics as well. Power Levels are a means to an end, not the end itself.
Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% ScandinavianIn the comic consistenty have die in a hill a long time ago, that is why usually tony, hank and reed are the SUPER SMARTEST MEN OF EARTH or how one super become super powerfull and beat armies by themselves and so on.
Granted, see Thanos beat the hulk in hand to hand combat is clearly something
"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"This is not a Versus debate, this is crafting a narrative. A lot of things go into the art of crafting a narrative. One of those things is tension. Tension us produced by making the audience question how or if the protagonist can achieve their goal.
This is why heroes are usually underdogs. If you can look at a conflict and say, "Oh yeah, hero wins that, easy," then there is no tension. Conflicts in stories are lopsided by design.
Edited by TobiasDrake on Oct 18th 2019 at 4:02:46 AM
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.One Punch Man creates tension by keeping Saitama out of the action until it's time for him to solve the plot.
At no point does the audience ever feel like Saitama is in danger of either harm or failure. But the audience can still fear for the rest of the cast, who often struggle for their lives against the foes Saitama inevitably puts down.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.

Having to find inventive ways to defeat powerful cosmic beings isn't a problem, it's a core conceit of the genre. Stories have been having mortals face threats that are far beyond their ken and understanding for thousands of years - a writer hasn't written themselves into a hole when a mortal being faces what seems like an insurmountable obstacle. They're just telling the story.
Frankly, if you're solving magical battles or cosmic encounters with "get even more powerful than the threat," you're doing it wrong. IIRC, Doctor Strange in the comics has done it, but the writers don't typically do so (the ending of the Dr. Strange movie, with him finding an inventive magical way to outwit a much more powerful threat, is more typical of him), and only ever really do in a "we've done this song and dance before, so lets try it this way" sense.
Edited by KnownUnknown on Oct 18th 2019 at 8:05:47 AM