Heroes, for whatever reason, tend to punch each other in the face when they meet for the first time. It’s only have beating each other to a pulp that they realize they should be working together for the greater good, and the story wraps a page later when the heroes punch the big bad in the kisser. But do they have to fight? Can’t they all just get along?
Stephen Schleicher
Stephen Schleicher began his career writing for the Digital Media Online community of sites, including Digital Producer and Creative Mac covering all aspects of the digital content creation industry. He then moved on to consumer technology, and began the Coolness Roundup podcast. A writing fool, Stephen has freelanced for Sci-Fi Channel's Technology Blog, and Gizmodo. Still longing for the good ol' days, Stephen launched Major Spoilers in July 2006, because he is a glutton for punishment. You can follow him on Twitter @MajorSpoilers and tell him your darkest secrets...
7 Comments
If the old Superdickery website taught me anything, it is that superheroes fighting can be hilarious.
But I’d like to see more superhero contests rather than fights, like when Superman and Flash raced around the world. So instead of a slugfest, why not “Who would win at chess?”, “Who would have the worst golf score?” or “Who could withstand the torture of watching Spice World the longest?” and stuff like that.
I wish these comic writers would listen to you.
I find “Let them Fight” can be a useful backdrop for telling important stories about “Important Issues” like the role of the State, discrimination, and identity.
I admit that these sorts of stories have descended into “trope-itude”, but it doesn’t negate the raw potential power that a storyteller can tap.
They simply need a good reason to fight for the trope to work. The justice league unlimited episode Clash demonstrated that when Captain Marvel & Superman fought due to Superman playing into Luthor’s plans.
Superheros are supposed to be protectors. Their first response shouldn’t be to punch another superhero.
I think they shouldn’t outright fight each other unless they’re doing so in sport. Superhero MMA would be quite the pay per view event, I imagine.
I’ve always hated the Hero Fight cliche – it seemed that the comic writers fall back on this as a substitute for – say -actual good writing. The only times I actually saw it done right were the Superman – Batman fight in The Dark Knight Returns comics and the Thor – IronMan fight in the first Avengers movie. Just about every thing else that used this trope was pure garbage, in my opinion.