I've decided to start a cleanup thread for Narm, since it seems to attract a lot of misuse and complaining. Like I said in my ATT post
, "some misuse is easy to catch (e.g. saying a joke is Narm when Narm by definition can't be a joke), a lot of examples fall into grey areas that seem like misuse but it's hard to tell. Like nitpicks that at first glance seem to be valid examples, but feel like stretches the more you think about them."
I think one of the main reasons for misuse is that most people aren't clear on what Narm actually is. To my understanding, it's when a scene is intended to be dramatic, but comes off as cheesy/funny unintentionally. But going by the page description, it's kind of vague what actually qualifies something as Narm. At the top, it says "Narm is a moment that is supposed to be serious, but due to either over-sappiness, poor execution, excessive Melodrama, or the sheer absurdity of the situation, the drama is lost to the point of surpassing "cheesy" and becoming unintentionally funny." But then later on in the same page, it gives a much more vague definition:
In CGI movies or video games unrealistic movements or facial expressions may result in Narm. Dated special effects during dramatic scenes can cause Narm for younger audience members who were raised on nothing less convincing than the Phantom Menace. Totally Radical dialog in cartoons or commercials pandering to children can also be a rich source of Narm. Even a good performance in a bad movie can evoke Narm if the actor's performance isn't enough to save the scene.
That last sentence I feel just confuses the whole thing. It makes it sound like absolutely anything can count as Narm, no matter if it works in context or not.
Most often, Narm is misused to mean "anything I personally don't think worked," whether or not it was intended as dramatic or comes off as funny. And when a work is high-profile enough, hoo boy, pretty much every scene is Narm to somebody. You can look at the Narm subpages for Doctor Who, Star Wars, and Game of Thrones and find tons of examples of people nitpicking the tiniest of details in a scene and blowing whatever it is out of proportion.
Another problem is that since it's such a subjective trope, it's not clear if there's supposed to be any sort of in-fandom consensus on the example in-question, or if every example is valid under the "it's called YMMV for a reason" excuse, even if the only person who thinks the example is Narm is the troper who adds it in.
I think it needs to be clearer whether nitpicks are valid examples of Narm, especially since nitpicking overlaps so often with barely-disguised complaining. The most frequent offenders for Narm entries I see are complaining, nitpicking, adding jokes, and ZeroContextExamples. I'm going to use Venom (2018) as an example, with my comments in bold:
- The scene of Eddie freaking out on the medical table is presented as the teaser's Money-Making Shot. It... doesn't quite work as intended, which isn't helped by it being sped up, making it look like a parody.
- The final trailer features a more complete version of the clip showing Venom's face "shutter" over Eddie. Whether or not this works or if it looks like a cheap special effect depends on who you ask.
- What makes the freakout even more narmful is that Eddie's screams are different screams playing on top of each other. The actual film lacks this strange effect. This example seems fine to me, but falls into the "The trailer is Narmy but the finished product isn't" doublespeak.
- The leaked trailer revealed some pretty terrible lines (“The guy you work for is an evil person.”). Tom Hardy's horrible New York...ish(?) accent isn't doing the delivery any favors either. And it really does not help that his voice cracks on the reading of "evil person". Thankfully, that line is not in the film proper. Do we keep examples that are purely in the trailers? Also an example of "thing falls flat" instead of "thing is funny."
- Hardy's line reading of "You're not real, you are just in my head." sounds like he's suffering from Elmuh Fudd Syndwome. At worst, he sounds like Adam Sandler's signature Manchild babbling. However there's some speculation that, based on the context of the scene and Eddie's stumbling movements, he's actually drunk, or perhaps even overdosed on medication (considering he was seen taking a bunch of pills, thinking he's sick). That and it could be a case of Reality Ensues, as it's unlikely anyone would keep the mental clarity to speak normally as an alien parasite is slowly bonding with their body. Natter. Goes back and forth between snarky complaints and defending the moment. Also nitpicking.
- Movie trailers cutting quotes out of context to form a new sentence is nothing new, but the editing on the line "you will only hurt bad people" is particularly poor, and it's very easy to hear that the line has been cut together out of separate pieces of dialogue. Not really a dramatic thing, so I don't think it counts as Narm. And it definitely isn't funny, it just falls flat.
- How Jenny Slate's character pronounces "symbiote" note . Plus, her giving firm, equal stress to all three syllables like she's speaking some foreign language. Luckily, this was cut from the theatrical release. Nitpicking and not funny.
- The shot of Eddie crashing straight through a half-fallen tree in the forest that he could just as easily have ducked under comes across as more comedic than cool, as if they just needed an additional gratuitous shot of something breaking. Especially if your mind goes to Victor from Wet Hot American Summer and his inexplicable refusal to jump over anything. It really does not help that the evil bad-guy vehicle chasing him looks like a slightly modified golf cart. The context for this one in the movie is that Venom is taking control of his body and forcing him to blindly flee through the woods to escape the Life Foundation. Context makes it not-Narm. Cut?
- Although it may look better in the context of the full scene, Eddie flying 50 feet into the air on his motorcycle off a slightly steep hill seems to rather severely break the laws of physics. Clearly written before the movie came out. Cut?
- The Jump Scare (on both sides of the fourth wall) where Venom suddenly shouts Eddie's name as he brushed his teeth would have been much more scary if not for the fact that the latter Screams Like a Little Girl. There's also the fact that he somehow throws himself backwards so hard that he crashes into the bathroom wall. Intended as comedic, so it isn't Narm.
- Remember how creepy and awesome that shot from the second trailer of the symbiote forming around Eddie's face in order to eat a guy was? In the third trailer, the potential Nightmare Fuel of that moment is significantly undercut by Venom slobbering all over the man's face with its tongue in an amusingly over-the-top manner. One is reminded of the scene with Patrick licking the yellow popsicle, or perhaps "This is the taste of a liar".... This seems pretty in-character for Venom. I'm not sure with this one.
- The guy who Carlton Drake subjects to Orifice Invasion in the third trailer would have been disturbing, if not for the victim's bland expression. Moment that falls flat; not funny. Cut.
- The symbiote's Venom-face forming on the end of Eddie's arm to talk to him strongly resembles a deranged hand puppet rather than a vicious alien parasite. There's also the fact that they can communicate telepathically, making that sequence unnecessary. Seems fine.
- Venom's violent threats to his enemies are this if they're not aggressively tasteless Black Comedy. His threat to mutilate a man until he's "like a turd on the wind" is particularly groan-inducing, especially coming after a genuinely frightening threat. How It Should Have Ended was even driven by this to make a video on just the trailer for the very first time, in which he mangles a bunch of other sayings. Pretty sure they are intended as comedy, so it's not Narm. Cut.
- The animation of the yellow symbiote just looks like mozzarella cheese come to life. Nitpick. Also... inaccurate? It's more of a mucus yellow.
- After Venom heals Eddie's broken legs, he flatly states "My legs! They were broken... and now they're not broken..."
- "My leg!" Seems fine to me.
- "HOSPITAL!!!! (extremely long pause) Now!" Zero-Context Example.
- Eddie and Anne quite casually discussing cannibalism as one of the symbiote's favorite activities. It's something that would probably sincerely shock and disgust the average person and likely require therapy, and yet it's bandied about like it's a pretty normal occurrence. These kinds of entries are tricky to me. They seem valid at first glance, but there's something off about them. I don't think this one counts if the work itself is treating the moment lightly.
- Any menace from Cletus Kasady is completely undercut by Woody Harrelson's truly ridiculous wig. A common comparison is that it causes him to look like a live-action Sideshow Bob, or a make-up-less Pennywise. Uses complainy word-choice. Otherwise fine.
- Kasady promising that there will be "carnage" after he gets out is so on-the-nose that it feels like it's straight out of a parody. First off, that's not an example of Anvilicious. Secondly, this verges on a nitpick to me. I'm not sure. It's not really funny, just lame.
- The final trade of words between Venom and Riot before the final battle is nothing but total Ham-to-Ham Combat - that and the two symbiotes happen to be Perpetual Smilers, which just gives off the feeling that they don't really give that much of a damn about their goals.
- Towards the end of the film, it's revealed that Venom used to be something of a loser on his home planet, like Eddie. This is his entire reason for wanting to save the Earth. Moment played as a joke, so it isn't Narm.
- Despite angrily forcing Eddie to spit out cooked meats because they're no longer living animals, the symbiote develops a taste for tater tots, and it practically demands that Eddie buy some during a conversation in the ending. The director admitted in an interview that the writers just thought it was funny and put it in the script. It unfortunately invites comparisons to a similar tots-focused scene in Napoleon Dynamite as a result. Entry admits it's a joke. So it isn't Narm.
- Drake having bonded with Riot is treated as a huge shocking twist going into the final battle... except for the fact that the audience was already well aware of it and saw the whole process. It feels very much like a consequence of Executive Meddling to give Riot more screentime. Another tricky example. Seems to fall under "scene doesn't work" instead of "scene is funny."
- Right after Eddie is separated from the symbiote, a rather obvious ADR overdub replaces the intended "fuck you" with the much less vicious "we're done". Not really funny, just falls flat.
- Eddie's "DRAKE! STOP!" sounds less like he's in pain and more like a little kid telling his Big Brother Bully to stop giving him a wedgie. Nitpicking. Most people wouldn't even pay this sequence any mind.
Another issue with Narm is the distinction between moments that are unintentionally funny on their own, and moments that are only unintentionally funny after Memetic Mutation or similar feat. Does the latter truly count as Narm? Because you can make the case that everything that has ever been made can fall under that.
Edited by MisterApes-a-lot on Mar 31st 2019 at 7:06:31 AM
Anddrix
Since: Oct, 2014
#952: Oct 27th 2021 at 5:54:43 PM
Bringing up the following example from Power Rangers Dino Fury:
- Narm: Zedd's costume and voice, for some. While his new design is beefy, the metal frame on his arms and legs look like they are always about to fall off, and though the voice acting change was necessary, his new voice sounds absolutely nothing like Robert Axelrod. The flashback clips, much like "Making Bad" in Beast Morphers gets this even more because the replacements are awful. And to make matters worse, one of the clips recycled is the infamously awful "Dark Rangers" episodes from Season 2.
MisterApes-a-lot
Since: Mar, 2018
#953: Oct 27th 2021 at 7:11:02 PM
Just reads as a list of flaws/other tropes (like WTH, Costuming Department? and WTH, Casting Agency?). Also it's general and uses the words "for some", which are signs it's not valid. I say cut.
Anddrix
Since: Oct, 2014
#954: Oct 28th 2021 at 8:01:12 AM
Bringing up the following examples from The Handmaid's Tale:
- Narm:
- Season 2 features several jarring close-ups of signs for Boston locations, giving the impression that for some reason the crew suddenly lost all confidence in our ability to believe the Canada-filmed show is set there, and are now on their hands and knees begging for it.
- Also in Season 2, June's grunting in "Holly" when she is in labor. On the one hand, it is a powerful moment where she can hold her baby and not have it undergo the ritual of Birth Day, and a serious one, but Elisabeth Moss's grunting sounds more like she's trying to imitate a caveman than a woman in labor.
- The steadily increasing number of scenes contrived around having a close-up of June giving a Death Glare directly to the camera.
- "Household" features several shots where June, and even Fred once, appear to be wearing the giant angel wing sculpture behind them. The shots are clearly set up to make this effect, but to no apparent purpose, and it just comes off like the director really loved a similar shot in the final episode of Game of Thrones and wanted to copy it somehow even if there was no reason for it.
- "Under His Eye" has June use Mrs. Lawrence to try and smuggle her into Hannah's school and escape Gilead... somehow. Mrs. Lawrence suffers from some early form of dementia or bipolar disorder. Cut to her arguing with one of the guards "I want to see the children! I want to see the children!" over and over again while June realizes she just drafted a deranged woman into helping her half-baked scheme. You would feel sorry for Mrs. Lawrence if June's plan didn't come off as comically stupid.
- Ofmatthew's circle of punishment, where apparently having people point at you and shout "Crybaby!" like it's second grade is on par with the worst tortures Gilead has come up with.
- Ofmatthew's later rampage is nothing short of horrifying, but just before she starts beating Janine, she makes a very odd, strange growl clearly held for the camera.
- The absurdly on-the-nose Christ imagery for June in the final scene of Season 3, complete with her narrating a quote from him.
- Narm Charm: The slow-motion walk of Offred and the other Handmaids at the end of "Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum" as Offred internally declares, "We are handmaids". Self-affirming while also cheesy.
MisterApes-a-lot
Since: Mar, 2018
#955: Oct 28th 2021 at 12:06:31 PM
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Narm:
- Misuse
- Reads as a flimsy nitpick. Maybe it's fine.
- Low context
- Just complaining. Cut.
- Just reads as a Fridge complaint.
- Ditto.
- Just a complaint.
Narm Charm: I don't really get what this is trying to say.
#956: Oct 28th 2021 at 8:02:13 PM
From YMMV.Twenty Four
- Narm:
- The infamous setting up of perimeters. Across eight seasons there was almost never a time when this actually worked, and yet CTU still kept trying (humorously enough, Season 7 did feature somewhat effective perimeters that required the suspects to try a little harder to escape, but those were set up by the FBI, not CTU).
- "Day 4: 11pm - 12am" involves the hunt for a briefcase containing the US government's nuclear launch codes, known as the "Nuclear Football". This actually is what the briefcase is called in real life, but that didn't keep the dialogue from sounding extremely silly, nor did it stop fans from making endless football jokes.
- Jack's first seizure in Season 7 (Episode 17) comes off comical due to the way his eyes bug out.
- Alamanoooooooooooo!!!
- Not in the show itself, but the promos for Live Another Day featured a rather over-the-top shot of Jack in Shouting Shooter mode. It even made its way into the poster.◊
- Also from Live Another Day, Chloe's sudden resemblance to Lisbeth Salander.
- The real time format doesn't do any favors for the sequence where a torturer simply stares at Kate while threateningly revving a drill without actually doing anything with it for at least ten minutes. This includes a commercial break.
- When Ian Al-Harazi blows up the vehicle he thinks Jack, Kate, and his sister Simone are in, he immediately jabs the air and screams "YEAH!", almost as if he just beat a frustrating level in a video game.
- At one point in Live Another Day, Margot Al-Harazi talks to Simone about whether her loyalties lie with her husband or her mother and gives off a Death Glare. Kind of hard to take her seriously when the tea kettle in the background starts whistling shrilly.
- Live Another Day features what was perhaps always the inevitable end of the "perimeter" motif, as Erik describes the terrorists as making one of their own. They're finished a few moments later.
- The protagonist of 24: Legacy is named Eric Carter. Hopefully the terrorists respect his authoritah.
- The subplot in Legacy with Amira Dudayev and her chemistry teacher making a bomb. Both of them are so incompetent at covering their tracks that half the time it honestly feels like it's deliberately being played for wacky slapstick, except the music never stops being deadly serious.
- Towards the end of Day 2, the U.S. gears up for war with the three countries supposedly responsible for acquiring the nuke for Second Wave. And that's how they are always referred to, "the three countries". The writers obviously didn't want to piss off three real-life countries, especially given the real life rising tensions in the Middle East at the time, but it's just hard to take seriously.
Definitely cut the South Park joke
Edited by randomtroper89 on Oct 28th 2021 at 10:02:46 AM
MisterApes-a-lot
Since: Mar, 2018
#957: Oct 28th 2021 at 8:52:47 PM
- Low context. Just reads as a Fridge flaw.
- Might be fine
- Low on context, but might be fine
- ZCE. Weblinks Are Not Examples
- Low context.
- Zero Context
- Fridge flaw
- Reads as just a nitpick
- Not sure I follow, but maybe it's fine
- Doesn't say what's funny
- Like you said, definite cut
- Reads as just a flaw
- I don't think this counts as a valid example
Anddrix
Since: Oct, 2014
#958: Oct 29th 2021 at 1:01:04 AM
Bringing up the following examples from The Social Network:
- Narm: As universally acclaimed as the screenplay is, it would be remiss to claim there aren't a handful of lines that left some scratching their heads.
- One line commonly regarded as weirdly written came when Cameron finally got on board with Tyler and Divya's plans to pursue Mark. Of all the declarative statements in the world to show them that he's finally switched sides, he chooses "Let's gut the friggin' nerd," which sounds far more appropriate for a bully on a kids show to say with genuine conviction than a Harvard student.
- During the scene in which Eduardo is explaining how Mark first approached him with the idea for Facebook, there's a close-up on his face as he utters the very strange line: "In a World… where social structure was everything, that was the thing." In context, it sounds incredibly bizarre and out of place, almost as though someone accidentally included a page from the script for the trailer voiceover in the screenplay itself.
- The incredibly intense, brilliantly acted confrontation between Eduardo and Mark is undone slightly by mentioning the chicken when it could have easily just used "the Crimson article". They at least lampshade it and it doesn't throw things off course, but it is still odd to see a powerhouse actor on the verge of tears, fully committing to dialogue about a chicken while sorrowful music plays. It doesn't help that Sean keeps interjecting to sincerely ask what the hell they're talking about.
Eduardo: Tell me this isn't about me getting into the Phoenix. (Dramatic Pause) You...you did it, I knew you did it! You planted that story about the chicken!
- Narm Charm: Eduardo has this famous line when he's ripping into Mark after having his shares reduced to a mere 0.03% while the other top dogs of Facebook get to keep theirs. While it might seem out of place in the midst of a very dramatic scene about betrayal, it also encapsulates just how done he is with the way Mark is running the company and leaving him for Sean.
Sean: You think we were gonna let you parade around in those ridiculous suits, pretending you were running the company—
Eduardo: SORRY! MY PRADA'S AT THE CLEANERS! ALONG WITH MY HOODIE AND MY FUCK-YOU FLIP-FLOPS! YOU PRETENTIOUS DOUCHEBAG!
MisterApes-a-lot
Since: Mar, 2018
#959: Oct 29th 2021 at 12:06:55 PM
- Narm: Intro line is unnecessary.
- Just a flaw.
- Just a flaw. Not funny.
- Probably intentionally humorous.
- Narm Charm: May be fine? (Narm Charm probably needs TRS, because I don't think anyone really knows what the guidelines are.)
Anddrix
Since: Oct, 2014
#960: Oct 31st 2021 at 1:47:49 AM
Bringing up the following examples from Batman Forever:
- Narm:
- The security guard's Captain Obvious yelling like "IT'S BOILING ACID!" "MY HEARING AID!" makes you wish he'd be boiled alive in that acid.
- Fred Stickley's reaction upon discovering Nygma working at night: "What the HELL is going on here?!?"
- Bruce seeing a bat in Dr. Meridian's ink blot is played as a devastating stab into his psyche... except the thing is so clearly shaped like a bat and you just wonder how anyone could possibly see it as anything else.
- The bystander next to Chase when Batman breaks into Nygma's party who points at him while yelling: "BATMAN! EEEEEEEEH!"
- Dr. Meridian's office in itself is a sight to be believed. Good luck paying attention to any of the dramatic dialogue between Bruce and Chase happening in this room when all you can focus on is the bizarre painting of a shirtless man adorning not just her walls, but the wallpaper itself. That, or the obvious cityscape backdrop outside her window.
- Apparently, the Batcave's security alarm will just activate all of the gadgets and vehicles in a dramatic fashion when it senses an intruder. It says a lot when a simple note saying "please do not steal" would be a more effective security system.
- Narm Charm: This is a very silly film, but it's acted and directed well enough that you can't watch it without at least one cheesy grin.
#961: Oct 31st 2021 at 1:50:26 AM
Not sure if Narm Charm should be considered related to this trope. The name comes from a misunderstanding of what Narm is.
"Listen up, Marina, because this is SUPER important. Whatever you do, don't eat th“ “DON'T EAT WHAT?! Your text box ran out of space!”
mightymewtron
Angry babby
from New New York
Since: Oct, 2012
Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Angry babby
#962: Oct 31st 2021 at 8:40:42 AM
I think the description does a decent job of connecting the two items.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
MisterApes-a-lot
Since: Mar, 2018
#963: Oct 31st 2021 at 11:50:15 AM
x3
- Narm:
- ZCE. And actor bashing.
- ZCE
- Fridge complaint
- ZCE
- The city backdrop is Special Effect Failure. The rest is misuse.
- Fridge Logic flaw
- Narm Charm: ZCE and general.
Anddrix
Since: Oct, 2014
#964: Nov 2nd 2021 at 2:41:33 AM
Bringing up the following examples from I Know Who Killed Me:
He/Him
#965: Nov 2nd 2021 at 3:03:47 AM
- Zce
- The linked video is private, plus the description is lacking
Edited by Acebrock on Nov 2nd 2021 at 3:04:07 AM
My troper wall
Anddrix
Since: Oct, 2014
#966: Nov 2nd 2021 at 3:08:13 PM
Bringing up the following examples from The Snowman (2017):
- Narm:
- The film takes a novel in a popular book series known for being darkly humorous in a Martin Scorsese style (Scorsese was originally going to direct this) and insists on playing everything dead seriously. This is especially bad with the main character's name, which the author specifically designed to be awkward in English. And rather amusingly, the film doesn't pronounce Harry's name as it would be in Norwegian, but rather as in English.
- The infamous snowman drawing◊ on the main poster is supposed to come across as the drawings of a disturbing Psychopathic Manchild, but the total lack of any other menacing elements and the snowman's dopey, wall-eyed stare just makes it hilarious. The fact that it's an element original to the film doesn't help.
- Katrine is found dead in Harry's car, but before then, she was merely injected with a tranquiliser and had her finger cut off. It comes off so abrupt it becomes amusing.
- It can be difficult to take Gert Rafto's scenes seriously due to the poor over-dubbing of Val Kilmer's dialogue.
- The sheer amount of times Michael Fassbender pops a cigarette into his mouth, only to not really smoke it and then the cigarettes just magically disappears - he's barely ever seen throwing them away or stubbing them out. There's also his blank confusion when his ex-wife starts straddling him half-naked, as if he doesn't know what's happening.
MisterApes-a-lot
Since: Mar, 2018
#967: Nov 2nd 2021 at 3:20:08 PM
- General
- I guess fine
- Reads as a Fridge nitpick, but I could see keeping it if given more context
- That's not Narm. Maybe Special Effect Failure, but I'm not sure that covers obvious dubbing.
- Reads as a Fridge flaw.
Anddrix
Since: Oct, 2014
#968: Nov 3rd 2021 at 7:29:18 AM
Bringing up the following examples from United Passions:
- Narm:
- Jules Rimet is rightly regarded as one of the most important figures in footballing history, but the characters fawn over him to such a ridiculous extent that it verges on self-parody.
- The scene where Brazil loses the World Cup is totally ridiculous. It's the combination of the slow-motion shots of people crying, Rimet looking on in shock, and the announcer making a hilariously melodramatic speech about how Brazil has forever lost its pride, as if this is a Despair Event Horizon for the entire country. It's unclear why we're supposed to root for Brazil over Uruguay, and yet their loss is being painted as some horrific tragedy. The Guardian's review even jokingly suggested that Uruguay's check to FIFA hadn't cleared when the script was written.
- The film's painful attempts to present Sepp Blatter as a heroic character when his corruption was known by virtually everyone by the time of the film's release. The line "Sepp Blatter is apparently good at finding money." is also particularly hilarious for all the wrong reasons.
MisterApes-a-lot
Since: Mar, 2018
#969: Nov 3rd 2021 at 10:00:33 AM
- Not played for drama & reads as a Fridge flaw.
- Maybe fine, but could stand to cut the complaining down
- Misuse, just flat-out complaining.
Anddrix
Since: Oct, 2014
#970: Nov 4th 2021 at 1:24:01 AM
Bringing up the following example from Child 44:
- Narm: The cast's Fake Russian accents are a widely criticized aspect among reviews, and one reviewer even argued that the accents turned what is otherwise a serious murder mystery under a totalitarian dictatorship into a Soviet version of 'Allo 'Allo!.
MisterApes-a-lot
Since: Mar, 2018
#971: Nov 4th 2021 at 1:59:06 AM
Just reads as a flaw to me, not a funny thing. Also it's general.
Anddrix
Since: Oct, 2014
#972: Nov 4th 2021 at 8:39:52 PM
Bringing up this example from Doctor Who S24 E3 "Delta and the Bannermen":
- Narm: Even by the standards of season 24, the comic and childish tone of this serial is too ridiculous.
MisterApes-a-lot
Since: Mar, 2018
#973: Nov 4th 2021 at 9:48:29 PM
General, not funny, and a ZCE.
Anddrix
Since: Oct, 2014
#974: Nov 8th 2021 at 3:21:35 PM
Bringing up the following example from The Dark Phoenix Saga:
- Narm: This arc introduced some of the X-Men's most popular characters, including fan-favorite Kitty Pryde... and then there's the Dazzler, introduced in all her disco-ball necklaced, roller-skating, glitter-and-spandex-leotard wearing glory, in a time when disco was already rotting in its grave, performing at a punk venue that would have made the real-world Los Angeles late-'70s punk hangout the Masque look like Disney Hall in comparison. A product of a failed attempt at creating a superheroine with both a comic book and a disco LP in '77, the writing and editorial staff at the time decided to play Dazzler's schtick completely straight for reasons known only to them, resulting in a hilariously outdated Fad Super heroine that couldn't feel more out-of-place if they'd done it on purpose.
#975: Nov 8th 2021 at 5:19:10 PM
performing at a punk venue that would have made the real-world Los Angeles late-'70s punk hangout the Masque look like Disney Hall in comparison.
holy shit this phrasing is so tortured, someone put this poor simile out of its misery for God's sake
(PS:cut.)
Edited by ChloeJessica on Nov 8th 2021 at 7:19:35 AM
Total posts: 2,639
Maybe the bit with Ultraman's parents (both sets) counts, but the others don't.
The Johnny Quick line isn't an attempt at drama, it's clearly meant to be an insulting quip. All the rest just seem like "I didn't like this particular plot point."
Edited by ArthurEld on Oct 24th 2021 at 1:37:25 AM