I remember a Newgrounds video years back that asked the important question: if Spider-Man does everything a spider can, does that mean he has trouble getting out of bathtubs?
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
I know Ant-Man does. The Porcupine, in his first appearance, tossed him into a bathtub as an ultimate death trap.
Maybe Captain Marvel? No one will deny his powerset is awesome, but he's kinda railroaded into public perception (not like he's that popular between non-comics readers anyway) as 'Superman with a child's mind', which most tend to take as 'Superman, but a retard'.
Black Lightning and Luke Cage are generally recognized as badasses, but still, the perception of them tends to be 'angry ghetto black' before people even starts thinking about what their powers are.
edited 29th Aug '13 7:13:32 PM by NapoleonDeCheese
This looks like a job for Batman, the man with the power of throwing bat-shaped objects at you!
You there! Check out my Youtube Channel! The power of Ponies compel you!Hawkeye is a frequent butt of jokes. Even in his own series, Matt Fraction pointed out that badass as he is, there are simply some situations where "being really good at archery" has absolutely no practical use.
I know Zatanna is also a frequent target of mockery if only because of how easily and frequently she's taken out.
You who needs Aquaman syndrome when you have the Sentry?. You know what, I no its bad form to reward mediocrity but maybe I should make an exception in this case and actually buy a Marvel comic to show that I appreciate the Sentry's death?
Namor and The Shark probably have Aquaman syndrome worse than Aquaman anyway. Every other comic book fan insists they are better than Aquaman (myself included) but neither one has the recognition (thus sales). Namor especially, at least the shark was immortalized by the career of John Tenta and Aquaman was okay in Mega Man 8
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While it's not really Aquaman Syndrome, I've met people whose attitudes towards costumed heroes was "If they haven't appeared in a movie or TV show, who cares about 'em?" So best of luck trying to explain characters like Cable, Tom Strong or The Authority.
edited 30th Aug '13 11:01:36 AM by RedneckRocker
Embroiled in slave rebellion, I escaped crucifixion simply by declaring 'I am Vito', everyone else apparently being called 'Spartacus'.Regarding Wolverine, animation series tend to kinda give him this problem, since he can't, you know, actually cut anyone who isn't a robot, invulnerable, or regenerates just as soon. And they can't show him being too injured so you have to agree he NEEDS the rapid regen. It's just viewers tend to overlook that.
Technically, Cable does have several appearances in animation during FOX's X-Men run.
edited 30th Aug '13 11:16:41 AM by NapoleonDeCheese
To be fair, a lot of Aquaman's poor rep came from Superfriends. And Aquaman wasn't the only hero that got the shaft from that...
"I'm Hawkman! I can fly through the air! Like a hawk! And... and... and... hey, what else can I do?"
I'd say Angel also suffers from a poor rep, for the same sorts of reasons as Hawkman...
I did eventually like that they gave Angel's wings some offensive uses. There was a pretty cool issue recently where he basically used them to have a sword fight with Silver Samurai.
If anyone had ever heard of B'wana Beast or Freedom Beast, I'm sure they'd be the butt of frequent jokes. Being able to fuse animals is a really...disturbing power, to say the least.
"Hey look, everybody! It's Ant Man! Save us with your powers of talking to ants and hitting your wife!"
Also, from all the movie buzz it seems like Rocket Raccoon and Groot are drifting into this, at least among non-comic fans. Which is a damn shame.
And I've got gut feeling that people will think Rocket is something Disney made-up.
Rocket Raccoon managed to intimidate a mindless Thanos. Anyone who says he's not made of awesome is wrong.
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.![]()
When I used to have Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, my dad and brothers thought it was absolutely hilarious that Marvel published a book about a gun-toting raccoon.
One of the reasons I think Guardians is such a gamble is precisely because of that. The past Marvel movies took liberties and made changes to avoid some of the campier and sillier stuff that would make audiences wince, but you can't really do that with Rocket or Groot.
On the other hand, have you seen that brief clip of Rocket firing his gun? He looks pretty badass. More to the point, I think Rocket has a chance of being a major draw. I mean, it's a raccoon with a big-ass gun. That's kinda awesome.
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.Is it just me or does anyone else no give a damn about Aquaman because people keep telling me "Aquaman is really awesome and badass and can give people an aneurysm with his MIND !"
A form of hype aversion I suppose. Anyone who needs to be defended this much must actually have something wrong with him.
A lot of it is after Super Friends, a lot of writers tried way too hard to make him Darker and Edgier. Which as you said, reeks of overcompensation.
edited 30th Aug '13 2:18:45 PM by comicwriter
Which is kinda funny. Super Friends was never a thing on my side of the pond. I've never seen it. So Aquaman's portrayal in that had no effect on me. But so many people have had to tell me that Aquaman is viewed as useless in order to tell me why he isn't. The very people who are defending him are, in fact, perpetuating the "Aquaman is lame" concept.
They have to tell people it to deny it.
edited 30th Aug '13 4:26:58 PM by Anteres

Okay, I don't think Aquaman Syndrome is an established term even among those on the internet, but it gets the point across. (I hope.) That being "character with awesome abilities who is thought of as lame by the general public".
I'm wondering how the public could misinterpret other characters if they were done badly enough. Not that it would ever happen.
"Hi, my name is James Logan. I can heal myself. So when I fight alongside you, I'll be worth crap, but if I get shot in the knee, you won't have to call a doctor, bub."
Fear the Green Lantern, who can turn anything green! Traffic lights will never be safe again!
"Oh great! Let's pile up all the useless cats and hope a tree falls on them!"