Ironic that I write a post about comic book character "Achilles heels" that I find charming... but STILL ridiculous... on a day where I, myself, am starting to feel a bit off. OPTIMISTICALLY, it's just a case of my girlfriend's soup not agreeing with me. (It was FAR from bad, but sometimes my belly finds arguments in odd places.) But I begin to dread that maybe one of my former coworkers left me with a delightful "parting gift" of a stomach virus. Sigh... Well, we'll see what we'll see, tonight and tomorrow! The furthest I've gone for discomfort is some cases of reflux, and minor chills. So, former workplace, you managed to gain a MEASURE of revenge for my transitioning! Next time, Inspector Gadget, next time...
One needs look at Superman to find a PRIMARY source of comic book character weakness packaging. Be it physical, in terms of exposure to Kryptonite, spiritual, in terms of magical influence, or even emotional, where he feels overly responsible for those he cares for and loves. It was the Last Son of Krypton that proved that even the BEST of heroes can have chinks in their crime-fighting armor. Now, I do admit that today's article is more heavily weighed towards DC discussion, because Marvel GENERALLY has the cross-character weakness of "human hubris" for their ENTIRE universe. But I still did pry one Marvel example of character weakness that, while an established trait, still makes me roll my eyes a BIT in good-natured annoyed amusement. Hey, sometimes the source of weakness in potential greatness can be kind of laughable, at times!
Green Arrow (Runaway Mouth)- I can't be sure if this particular trait carried over into the New-52 DC Universe, but one KEY weakness that Oliver Queen possessed during a majority of the Bronze Age was his instinct to put his foot in his mouth... OFTEN. It's kind of weird that he would make odd transitions from Liberal political stances, to engaging in hardline Conservative views. All the while, he STILL managed to make time to say things that would make Dinah "Black Canary" Lance stare DAGGERS at the Arrow slinger. Let's just say... diplomatically... that Ollie did not truly have the "sensitive man's" instinct for romance and female relations. If it wasn't for his personality quirks, it was his inability to keep his mouth SHUT that also contributed to his weakness. I can't count how many times I've wondered how that stick-in-the-mud Hawkman hesitated in shoving Ollie out of a random Justice League Satellite headquarters airlock, due to something he uttered in a given issue.
Green Lantern (Yellow Weakness)- Each generation's Green Lantern had some TRULY unusual quirks. Alan Scott, with his MYSTIC power ring, could be taken out by a weakness for anything wood-based. But you know, at least a weapon of magical origins could FEASIBLY be tuned out by a natural element. And the "necessary imperfection" that so plagued the Green Lantern rings is mostly a thing of the past, there's no denying that Hal Jordan and his fellow Green Lantern Corps members got the weakness short-end of the stick. Anything... ANYTHING... that was yellow, was impervious to being damaged by ring constructs, and they could not be defended against. Geoff Johns could say ALL he wants that it was due to a power-battery-based parasitic being called Parallax that was CONVIENENTLY yellow, but there's no denying that for 30+ years of Green Lantern history, you could technically assault a Green Lantern Corps member with a package of unwrapped Twinkees, and not be completely defenseless. Criminals could paint bullets yellow, start developing lasers that would project yellow light, heck... a yellow CROWBAR would still be a fatal development!
Red Tornado (Crippling Self-Doubt)- We've seen how difficult it is for super-heroic androids to transition from questioning their "humanity", to melding fully with their team. The Vision had those issues. The original Human Torch had those issues. But Red Tornado took such self-identity doubts to NEW extremes! Sure, he audibly bemoaned the lot of life he had as an "unfeeling machine", while VERY OFTEN disproving that to be the case. But his self-doubt also caused Reddy to risk his life... MANY TIMES... to prove by stupidity-based action that he was TRULY human... and often putting his teammates in the Bronze Age Justice League at risk. He also made sure that he was injured and blown up as OFTEN as possible, just to prove how "human" and "noble" his true nature was. Listen, Reddy... You sacrificed yourself in the "Seven Soldiers of Victory" storyline. That helped cement your "humanity" in the eyes of your fellow heroes. STOP. WORRYING. SO. MUCH!
Wonder Woman (Bracelets of "Submission")- I know... It's a long-established lore piece for Diana Prince. I know many writers have taken proper advantage of the effects of what happens when Wonder Woman loses her bracelets. It's not simply her lacking the ability to play "Bullets and Bracelets". Y'see, according to comic book Amazonian myth, those very bracelets help to keep Amazon women from going completely BER-SERK. Reasonable, right? Well... I still can't shake the feeling that, in the particular run of "Wonder Woman" I am currently reading, the bracelet stabilizing nature isn't so much part of the mythology, as it is almost a reaction of a woman going MENTAL over losing a prize possession. But then again, as I may eventually write about, ole' Diana Prince had MANY rough years prior to her being reformed after the first "Crisis", and it wasn't just because of her doofy Rogues' Gallery. Just make sure not to make her remove her earrings, or her bracelets, because buddy... Hell hath no fury equal to a woman scorned... or deprived of her décor!
May Parker (Seemingly WEEKLY Heart Attacks)- I've written, before, about how truly sinister I consider Aunt May's nature! So wicked that not even DEATH wants her in that afterlife domain! Still, that doesn't mean there's lack of forces that bring Aunt May to Death's door, at the very least. I would imagine that you couldn't even count on both your fingers AND toes the number of times May has suffered from cardiac arrest. It's like the very devious nature of her soul forces her heart to want to just SHUT DOWN. And all of this medical trauma causes Peter Parker to overly stress, and put him in dire straights from any given super-hero battle. Y'know, there MAY be something to Aunt May having known for YEARS that Peter was Spider-Man, and to show her loathing for her nephew's selfless actions in the cause of crime fighting, she figured out a way to SHUT HER OWN HEART DOWN to derail his crusading ways. So it could be argued this infarction tendency is less of a weakness, but a potential STRENGTH. Oh May... Your evilness knows no depths...
Batman (No REAL Weaknesses)- There is much vocalized hullabaloo about how Batman is the BEST SUPERHERO, because he has no "super powers", and therefore is more noble for fighting crime, and using his physical and mental prowess to put him on equal footing with individuals FAR out of his power league. But... it's because of some writers' emphasis on this self-made SUPERIORITY that makes him weak, to my reading eyes. I've mentioned, in the past, that Batman is smack-dab in the middle of my top 5 comic book heroes listing. I appreciate his legacy, and enjoy his adventures, but there are times where I feel some creators make him TOO "superior" to his general human standards. Whether it's inexplicably being able to plan ahead for any conflict, despite having NO previous experience with that given threat. Or maybe it's because he still manages to face overwhelming physical odds, being bloodied and bruised, only to show up in the next story arc with a physical rebound that would make most Warner Bros. cartoon characters BLUSH with envy! Sometimes, I think, Batman's primary weakness is his overemphasized strengths, which make him VERY difficult to identify with as the exemplar of the "human" Super-Hero.
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