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Characters are overpowered for all kinds of reasons, but the effect is always the same. Either the character overcomes challenges way too easily or the author has to insert a massive contrivance to keep the conflict going. Neither outcome is satisfying, so if you ever … read more »
We’ve only got two hosts today, but which of them is the hero and which is the sidekick? While we’re figuring that out, we might as well talk about sidekicks and their role in the story. What is a sidekick? How do they work? And … read more »
Hi, I’d like to know what your take is on the Badass Normal trope. Is it realistic to have a non-powered hero in a super-powered setting be able to kick just as much ass as their super-powered compatriots or even able to take down a … read more »
Mythcreants veterans can tell you that I talk about the dynamics of power and privilege a lot. It’s important that real people understand these dynamics, because if they don’t, they end up blaming problems on the oppressed instead of the oppressor. People operating under this misapprehension … read more »
While Marvel’s films have become a juggernaut of critical and financial success, DC’s films have been … less so. But live action isn’t the only way to watch DC characters save the day. This week we invite Ari back to discuss the high bar set … read more »
I’ve written about injustice in speculative fiction before, but this week I want to focus on the superhero genre. For superheroes, justice is a particularly important topic. A huge number of superhero origin stories focus on a person seeing some kind of injustice and deciding … read more »
There were so many superheroes that we barely got through half of them last week, so we’re taking another crack at it. This time Chris busts out Gotham to show how a story can avoid the problems of characters being too powerful or too moral. … read more »
What’s that on your TV screen? Is it a bird or plane? Nope, it’s three podcast hosts talking about superheroes on television. Capes and spandex work differently on the small screen than in movies or comic books, and we’re here to discuss why. Although mostly … read more »
Costume-clad or not, many speculative fiction characters have a superpower of some kind. Maybe they can levitate, shoot lightning out of their hands, or read long blog posts in a single glance. Whenever you give your character an ability that people in real life don’t … read more »
I outlined the Heroine’s Journey last week, but it’s more fun to watch it in action. Because this structure is about a character who’s out of balance and makes a course correction, it’s often used for villains who take a heel-face turn. Here’s five villains … read more »