ScotchRobbins wrote:Superman does seem too powerful, but that is occasionally the beauty of it. Read the graphic novel "All-Star Superman" sometime, and you may change your mind. Fantastic book.
I may have to do that. Thanks for the recommendation!
I see on the occasional list that Batman is more popular than Superman, and I think that Superman's powers and backstory are a big part of that. Superman is an alien, which supposedly explains his powers. But Batman is just an ordinary guy with a ton of money, a scary suit and "all those wonderful toys." In some respects, Batman could be any of us, given the right circumstances and proper training. We can never be aliens from another planet, so that dream is unrealistic and unobtainable.
I think that this is the strength of Marvel's characters, too. With a few exceptions, the mainstream heroes are normal humans who have been thrust into extraordinary circumstances (e.g. bitten by a radioactive spider, doused with gamma radiation, guy talented with electromagnets builds an extreme pacemaker...). By their very nature, it's easier for us to relate to these characters because their origins are things we can relate to as well. Most of us have been that geeky high school or college student. We've been those shunned "freaks" because we like or think or look something different from the norm. And I would imagine that most of us are driven by a desire to do something right or heroic, just to help our fellow humans. I don't think any of us have been kicked off our home planet because it was about to explode. Speaking of which....
ScotchRobbins wrote:Sailing the cosmos?
I would love to! It's been one of my longest dreams to be able to fly through space, exploring distant galaxies and nebulas, discovering new planets, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go... well, you get the idea. One of my favorite games while growing up - even with its terrible flaws (every time you changed the hardware in your computer, you would have to start the game over from the beginning!) was
Starflight II: Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula because there were so many elements of exploring, discovering new planets, negotiating and trading with alien races, and a pretty good storyline tying everything together, too. I haven't found another game quite like it, especially nowadays (I've looked - a lot of games emphasize more of the combat aspects any more, rather than the exploration and trading aspects). If anyone has recommendations, I'd love to hear them, though!
