Superhero Categories

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Kommander
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Re: Superhero Categories

Post by Kommander »

Dredd really is not really a superhero anyway but rather just a cop who is really good at his job. Sort of an overtly facist Dirty Harry of the future. The only hero with any powers in Watchmen is Dr. Manhattan. The rest are all a combination of tech, physical conditioning, and insanity.
Greg
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Re: Superhero Categories

Post by Greg »

Kommander wrote:Dredd really is not really a superhero anyway but rather just a cop who is really good at his job. Sort of an overtly facist Dirty Harry of the future. The only hero with any powers in Watchmen is Dr. Manhattan. The rest are all a combination of tech, physical conditioning, and insanity.
Ozymandias is peak human. He's clearly superior to the others, except Dr Manhattan.
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Jericho941
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Re: Does not follow...

Post by Jericho941 »

evan price wrote:
Jericho941 wrote:
evan price wrote:I just had a thought during a long drive into work that we can divide "superheroes" into 3 distinct categories:

1. Beings with an intrinsic natural ability- Superman, Aquaman, The X-Men, Thor, Hellboy

2. Beings with a gadget or suit that gives them special abilities- Iron Man, Ant-Man, The Falcon, Batman

3. Beings that have had some change that makes them special- Spiderman, The Flash, The Hulk, Wolverine, Green Lantern, Captain America

In the case of Batman and Iron Man, starting out as #1 is why they act as #2.
Well, no, y'see. Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne are rich geniuses but without their gear they are just normal people.
"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" as Stark says in The Avengers.
Normal people can't build miniaturized reactors in caves.

What I'm getting at is that in the case of Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark, their absurd genius is a superpower by itself, among other things. These are the kinds of guys you could never say "just take away their money and-" because they gain doctorates overnight and invent game changing wonders on their way to the bathroom in the morning. They will never be less than ridiculously wealthy. Ultimately they rely on their gear in a straight up fight, but every time they're cut off from it, they basically just "genius" their way out of it.
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evan price
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Re: Superhero Categories

Post by evan price »

Denis wrote:So where do Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper fit in, not to mention the Watchmen?
The original Watchmen were all normal types- Night Owl was basically Batman- nothing without gadgets. Ozymandious obviously was a supergenius sort of like a Lawful Evil version of Tony Stark.

As mentioned above, Dr. Manhattan was the only "Super" and he was technically a created Super, he was a normal guy until the accident. That puts him in the same category as The Incredible Hulk and Spiderman.

How about Doctor Strange? Did he just learn to be the most badass sorcerer of the black arts or did he have some sort of Midichlorian-like predisposition for magic?
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evan price
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Re: Superhero Categories

Post by evan price »

The AD&D alignment system can be confusing, I was sitting here after I typed "Lawful Evil Tony Stark" and thought about alignments.

Superman & Capt. America = Lawful Good
Rorschach & Judge Dredd = Lawful Neutral
Batman = Neutral Good
Iron Man = Chaotic Good
Hulk = Chaotic Neutral
Doc Manhattan = True Neutral

What say you, fellow gamer geeks?
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Kommander
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Re: Superhero Categories

Post by Kommander »

I think that Alan Moore would be unhappy that your trying to stuff his characters into convienent moral cubbyholes.
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Jericho941
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Re: Superhero Categories

Post by Jericho941 »

Alan Moore strikes me as the sort of person who's happiest when they're unhappy.
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MiddleAgedKen
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Re: Superhero Categories

Post by MiddleAgedKen »

Not to jack the thread, but I just realized that it really makes sense that my favorite superheroes Captain America (Steve Rogers incarnation) and The Flash (Barry Allen incarnation).

They don't come any more noble than those two.
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Weetabix
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Re: Superhero Categories

Post by Weetabix »

Captain America makes me feel hopeful when I watch him. I'll have to check out the Flash, too.
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HTRN
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Re: Does not follow...

Post by HTRN »

Dinochrome One wrote:
dfwmtx wrote:Where does the Punisher fit into your taxonomy?
Looks like #6 to me; he's just heavily-armed-and-cruel Batman.
Frank Castle isn't a "hero'. He's a "garbageman". :ugeek:
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