The Comic Book Cliches
Comic ClichesMy favorites:Whenever heroes meet for the first time they MUST fight.Any character can be thrown through a brick wall and get back up.Shooting energy from hands: especially when it's non-descript generic energy that can knock down a wall but doesn't kill anyone or electrocute anyone or start any fires in-and-of itself. Or give people cancer.Making jokes while fighting.
Only good with spiderman and deadpool.All teams have a strong guy.See The Body: The law that says that a character is never dead unless you saw the body, took it home, inspected it, did an autopsy, burned it, scattered the ashes from a plane, and even then you can be only about 89 percent sure.The Woman/Girl in the Shower for No Reason: soap/steam/water always cover the naughty bits, but it's still soft core porn, if one's honest about it. Originally posted by Spideys SisterChics with huge chests.Now thats a bit too far leave my comic knocker alone!How about characters who die only to show up next year.' Ted Korr-Blue Beetle' we will miss you, because you are one character who will 'NEVER' return.How Martial Artists manage to put Spidey on his ass.Superman period. What?lol.How long Batman has managed to survive in the JL this long without dying.Black Heroes coming off all hood n shit sometimes'We all dont sucumb to talking all ghetto'In Marvel 616 Earth Only Important heirarchy make kids 2gther, like Magento's family tree spreads crazy, so does Reed Richard's family. Not to mention Scott Summers's kids.How DC depends on a 'crisis' to keep ideas fresh.Hulk getting slaped aroundPhoenix. Dont tell GS, but seriously live or die damnit.FF is basically Reed with the UN on KMC.lolThe Wolverine jokes.we can still run with batkick thoughMemo just came, and we cant use batkick nemore lol. Thats actually kind of funny, i laffed out loud a little bit about the flag how about the beginning of the story arc everyone is playing baseball or having snowball fights until their HQ comes under attack, and you see different panel shots of some working in a lab, or on a car or those who are lovers making out.which leads to the second.
Originally posted by manjaroyou hear that one of your super hero buddies has a personal score to settle with someone from thier past, but instead of minding your own business you rush after them to 'stop' them from doing something 'stupid', and to also remind them that is their family now, and if you kill you are no better than the bad guys are, and there is always another wayWell, THAT'S not eerily specific.Anyways, I think the most pertinent comics cliche to take all cakes is this:No one in comics ever stays dead. Except Uncle Ben. And even he pushes it sometimes. Official taker of all cakes:some bad ass uber villain who's normally known for his prowess as a mighty tactician spends weeks, months, somtimes years, concocting the most diabolical plots in the history of the lot, planning for every outcome, and calculating every contingency to the 5th decimal point. Starts out well with the execution, but have it all go to shit in one afternoon cuz he cant resist the urge to make a grand announcement to the hero community, and blab to the heroes as they battle. Originally posted by manjaroofficial taker of all cakes:some bad ass uber villain who's normally known for his prowess as a mighty tactician spends weeks, months, somtimes years, concocting the most diabolical plots in the history of the lot, planning for every outcome, and calculating every contingency to the 5th decimal point. Starts out well with the execution, but have it all go to shit in one afternoon cuz he cant resist the urge to make a grand announcement to the hero community, and blab to the heroes as they battlewouldnt it be funny that if a villain spends years plotting for a hero, the day before he starts his master plan, the hero is hit by a bus or something and killed?villain: 'all those years.
My God, I've wasted my life'. Originally posted by leonidas'beyond time and space'.' Destroyed all of reality/creation/universe'.any other soft/ambiguous modifier that describes universe/reality/multiverse and sounds 'cool' but really says nothing at all.Those do seem pretty grand and ambiguous. I'd like to think my my creations are bit more centered on whats going on in the world and use what little bit of extraordinary power they have to try and make a difference. Heroes HAVE to struggle and villians need to have more layers, especially behind their motivation unless of course they've just gone insane or really high or stoned! Originally posted by VimIs a guy with liquid metal mouth (with the ability to control it of course), a girl who can heal everyone but herself, a guy who eats meat and gets strong, a girl who can manipulate the surface so it will 'carry' her wherever she wants, a guy who 'static cling' to any surface from any part of his body, a guy who can transform into a black dragon, can project black fire from his hands, is an incredible marksman, martial arts and weapon expert? Are those cliched ideas??As stated in your thread the characters powers themselves are not THAT cliched (Minus the last one) just the way you implemented them.
I mean Aliens? Okay, okay I admit the aliens have been overused in the past, but what else is there? I can't use radiation, can't use mutants, can't use 'cosmic rays', can't use aliens, that's supposedly how the Marvel heroes were created in the first place huh? Accoring to the Earth X, Universe X stuff? Anyway, what I'm saying is, what ISN'T cliched?
The Comic Book Cliches And Sayings
Is there anything original in comic books at all anymore?? Maybe I could say its like a ripple of time effect, where its like since this one particular guy was going to get his braces off at certain time and since it was met, then the power activated itself? Then because his power was activated then the others were too??So what ISN'T cliched? Originally posted by VimI think a cliched hero is one like Spawn, the kind of anti-hero, dark, mopey, devil-dealing. Let's see there's Ghost Rider (probably most original, I know he came out before Spawn), Batman (not devil-dealing but similar). Okay well you get the idea.
Those kind of heroes. I was just reading an article about the GR movie in Empire the other and day and they were positively salivating aout how original he is. And I managed to make a list of 5 or 10 people who are very similar concepts. Originally posted by Dynamic OneI wasn't beinq racist, I was beinq discriminatory. I have leqitimate beef with britain anyway, for that matter any descendant of europe. Black and sioux here.
But hey whatever its peace.you can't think of a more appropriate place to vent your grieviences than on a comic book forum in a thread talking about cliches?there are THOUSANDS of political message boards with lots of people who will be happy to engage you in that discussion.That being said, this post is itself hypocritical, so I will bow out now and read more of the funny cliches.flying horizontally, HAHAHA, that one still gets me. I would have to say prep or 'battle prep' like thats the end all of a battle or fight the guy with prep time wins I know its comics but come on what a joke its impossible to figure out every move have timing down perfect anything can happen stuff gos wrong and everything changes when you get hit in the mouth. Preps not a bad thing fighters go into the ring with a gameplan or if you fight you know what I'm talkin about 99% percent of the time that game plan changes rather fast or goes out the window in laymans terms shit happens. Originally posted by superbatman86Brains overcoming brawn every time.Well of course, what kind of lesson would the comic books be sending the kiddies if they figured out they didn't have to study to the point of exhaustion or make really high on their ACTs or SATs, instead they could just go the gym work out to the point of exhaustion and still succeed? Just look at Ahnuld.
Perfect example of Brawn over brains and still succeeding! Amazing I tell you, simply amazing. Of course he had to have a little bit of brains to become as successful as he has become. But you get my point. Course that's the real world and were talking comics here sooooo. Yeah Brains will win over Brawn everytime! Cuz nothing is the same in comics as it is in real life.
The villan who has commited despicably evil acts, including large amounts of murder, and will kill others if he/she isn't stopped permantely, is at the mercy of the heroes - and they don't finish him there and then. And he/she mocks the heroes for having no guts.Then, quite often, a third party comes out of nowhere and does the deed, so the heroes image isn't sullied. (Such an example I recently saw in back issues of Ultimate X-Men.)Meanwhile, Wonder Woman does a completely justified killing of Maxwell Lord, to save the lives of Batman and Superman, and they shun her. Originally posted by VimIs a guy with liquid metal mouth (with the ability to control it of course), a girl who can heal everyone but herself, a guy who eats meat and gets strong, a girl who can manipulate the surface so it will 'carry' her wherever she wants, a guy who 'static cling' to any surface from any part of his body, a guy who can transform into a black dragon, can project black fire from his hands, is an incredible marksman, martial arts and weapon expert? Are those cliched ideas??Are you trying to shill your own character ideas? Originally posted by roughriderThe villan who has commited despicably evil acts, including large amounts of murder, and will kill others if he/she isn't stopped permantely, is at the mercy of the heroes - and they don't finish him there and then. And he/she mocks the heroes for having no guts.Then, quite often, a third party comes out of nowhere and does the deed, so the heroes image isn't sullied.
(Such an example I recently saw in back issues of Ultimate X-Men.).But it's Professor X for Christs sake, what the hell do you expect!!! Originally posted by Swanky-TunaAre you trying to shill your own character ideas?Yes as a matter of fact I am!
If you browse through the 'Metal Mouth' thread you'll see lots of original ideas for powers and characters. Unless of coruse I have searched hard enough through the comic book worlds, which I'll admit I haven't. But I still feel like they are some of the most uncliched things I've seen in a long time. Also just as a side note, I would like to take a moment to explain what I'm trying to do with Metal Mouth series, its an take on the Golden (or was it Silver?:erm Age of Heroes when they had corny names, wicked, weird powers, funky costumes, and still kicked ass and took names, but yet I'm trying to put a modern spin on it.
I'm still working on the origin stories of most, and have moved on from the aliens thing. I'm working on updating it soon!! Take a look and tell me what you think! Yeah that makes sense if they have the time but lets just pick on batman for one.in hush he fell in the gotham harbor, and all of a sudden mini propellers come whirrrrling out of his boot heels, so he doesnt have to waste energy diving, he just shoots thru the water.or when he's in gotham searching for the joker buts runs into clayface, he jus so happen to have freeze pellets in his belt for that ass.or when spiderman used to whip up a special batch of web fluid, just for morbious, b4 he even suspects him in an attackText-only Version.
The dead parentsI wouldn't say I want this to banish. Usually this will igntite a rampageous amount of arrogance in me when I'm trying to get around a story in order to take it as a serious one.
As a person who lost his loving father at a very mature age I know of the emotional implications that comes with such event. That being said, just because your mommy and/or daddy are gone doesn't particularly mean you know about the ugly side of life. When I notice this element in a story I don't necesarily see it as a self-indulgent creative act but more like an emotional hiccup that, unfortunately, sets me off. As if you where watching a film and all of the sudden the boom mic can accidentaly be seen on screen. Then the story no longer is that magical crystal ball it should be.
I hate the 'we caught the murderer and now he is going to confess exactly why he killed so-and-so' ending. Why can't we have a book that ends with the crime unsolved, or the killer refusing to explain why he killed the person? Most real life criminals do not confess or give a detailed explaination as to why they did something. I read a lot of murder mysteries and always figure them out before the end. Then I sit and roll my eyes as the killer gives a full account of the crime and his motives. Ugh.Have to admit that I'm guilty of 2 of the above. XX @ 'Magical Negro.'
Classic trope! The white man has everything in the world he could ever want. Except a soul.
Enter fill in ethnic 'minority' here. They're poor/ ignorant/ naked/ uninterested in owning things, but have they got soul!
Usually the white man is stuck with them and over time comes to hate his own kind. 'cause of the guilt and shit. My personal favorite is 'The Last Samurai.' To quote Paul Mooney: 'I'm gonna make a film called 'The Last Nigga on Earth,' starring Tom Hanks.'
Adventure only happens when at least one parent is dead, enchanted or emotionally unavailable. That describes just about every Disney movie ever written even if the characters are not even human.Love the magical people of color. Yes because the only way for white people to have authentic relationships with non-white people is for them to possess other-worldly knowledge.
Because ordinary folks are just plain useless (and a tad resentful). And people of color are just waiting around to lead white people to the promise land. Why else would they exist? #10 - Harry Potter gets knocked out in just about every book. BUT, he always wakes up in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. Just sayin'.In that same vein, these people who get knocked out and lose consciousness also seem to magically remember every single thing that happened up to the point of impact, including the impact itself. Doesn't work that way.
Then there's the fact that they get up and are perfectly fine. Hey, there are people who can get knocked unconscious briefly and not have cranial bleeding (happened to my husband while skiing). But the vast majority, even if they don't get knocked unconscious, are going to be disoriented, not think clearly, and (at the very least) dizzy. Not to mention that Post Concussion Syndrom is a real thing, and can EASILY last for upwards of a year after the initial injury. Brilliant, and thank you! A writer could do much worse than to construct a story using only this list as a guide.
I think I'll pin it to my wall in case temptation strikes.However, I do disagree with you philosophically about 'The Dark Knight Rises.' I think a suspense story always needs a ticking clock; yes, a non-literal one is best. But to pull off that sense of impending disaster over a long period of time (as in, say, Koontz's Lightning) demonstrates a singular skill in the craft, don't you think?
Great article. Stephen King has magical negros in Shawshank, The Stand, and a whole bunch of others.
Orson Scott Card, though, takes the magical and divine child to its height-which is just his way of injecting the young Joseph Smith/Jesus Christ story into his science fiction and fantasy.One other No-No is this: A lot of first person narratives are told by characters who really don't seem to be the kind of people who would, when the adventure is over, take the time to write down what they've just gone through. Think about Huck Finn. Think about Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye. Particularly the latter. In fact, most Americans today don't write anything longer than an e-mail, a Twitter post, or Facebook post-with an attachment. Who's going to write an 800 page narrative about a vampire biting them or an alien taking over their body (I'm talking to you, Stephanie Meyer)? Complaints about poor grammar carry more weight when they're written in complete sentences, tslug.Somewhat related to the harmlessly disabling thump on the head is the trivial shoulder wound.
When a character in a movie (it seems less common in books, fortuantely, though maybe I'm just reading the wrong ones) needs to be dramatically but not critically injured, someone shoots him in the shoulder. This causes pain and perhaps brief incapacitation but usually little more, because apparently the joints and rather large arteries that most humans keep in that region are being stored elsewhere. Stupidity as a plot driver. Never, ever do this, even when your characters are stupid. If your story requires someone to do something incredibly stupid in order to advance the plot, just scrap the project altogether. It's just bad and annoying and insulting. And it's usually something not even a total idiot would do, only done because the writer needed someone killed.Examples include.Falling in love with the wrong person because you 'just couldn't help it'.
Going back to get your purse when there's a huge volcano, tidalwave, or zombie horde on the way, and getting half the cast killed. Going out of the 'safe zone' when there's a killer/monster on the loose because you just have to find out what they noise was, or why Billy isn't back yet.If you resort to stupidity as a plot driver, you've you made your story itself stupid, and opened yourself up to mockery for all time. Solid list.Regarding #1, I've never actually read a story where this was done-but the notion is unrealistic enough that 'done to death' isn't really needed for me.
I can see the mirror device working well, though, if coupled appropriately. Not listing every detail of the character's appearance, mind, but talking about something they legitimately would describe while looking into a mirror and using that as a path to discussing other features. For example, introing a character who's looking at their busted lip in the mirror would give a good chance to detail features on the sly, provide a device to justify high detail, and introduce a plot element;Regarding #3, I used to know a woman who emphasized and re-emphasized that 'We're all products of our environments.' Which is true, but it irked me the way she talked about it. It wasn't until much later that I figured out why it was that I was so miffed.
It's the way she went on about being products of environments and never once acknowledge that we also produce those environments. It's that production that gives a person power, and a character without power is. Well, pretty damn boring.Regarding #5, it's been interesting for me to see how much (in fantasy work especially) the 'Chosen One' trope seems to work for readers. Despite having been done since well before the era of Arthur and Excalibur, people seem to dig the idea of someone being 'chosen.' These days, I believe it's a response to the anonymity of modern life, a desire to be different, distinguished somehow-and fiction (esp. Fantasy) can appeal to a mystical authority that legitimizes that elevation.I feel okay about people using the trope, but my favorite uses are the subversions. Even Harry Potter gets to find out that he was 'chosen' only because of Voldy's actions.
But stronger subversions-characters refusing their chosen destiny, characters finding out that which 'chose' them is not a benevolent force, etc.-is far more appealing to me. The let-down of the 'chosen one' trope is devastating, and with how much being 'chosen' removes agency it's easy to see why this let-down is so common. This list is a good start.When it comes to stories with supernatural characters in them, just adding new ones each time you make a sequel just shows your lack of writing ability.
The same goes for not even using the powers that a character has. Yeah, it can get redundant if a character constantly uses the same trick, but it's just as redundant if they don't even think to use their one trick to get them out of bad situations.Or automatically having the new characters in the book fall into one of two types: The killer and the victim.Hmm, I'm already writing a story about a telepath who falls in love with vampires, and I spend a third of every book reinforcing that it's so hard for her to block out the thoughts of others and that she likes the vampires because she can't (for the most part, but don't tell them) read their thoughts.
Then, when there's a problem that could be easily solved by her not blocking the thoughts of the people around her, to include the new guy who, since we can't vouch for him anyways, we should be more than a little suspicious that the other new character died, but let's not even think to scan his mind. Oh, did I mention the new guy is a werewolf witch who is evil and another character already told me so?Yeah, I'm bagging hard on Charlaine Harris, but she's just one symptom of the overall genre going this way.
Great article and I agree with everything except.' .no one looks in a mirror and takes stock of all their features in severe detail.' There is a large population of people who do just that. They are called women. They wouldn't describe themselves quite so kindly though.
'Was that a wrinkle she saw under her blue eyes? She looked at the pantyline left on her buttock that once was high and taught but now sagged and might have had a little cellulite, damn her dislike of the gym.' There is another group that does similarly. They are called performers.Being both, I spend alot of time taking very severe stock of myself in mirrors. Like bjlangley brings up, another big one is communication. Characters just don't communicate. A problem arises that could probably be talked out, but instead, it snowballs into such unbelievable drama because they don't even try.Let's take the show Legend of the Seeker.
An evil witch with powers of prophecy shows these visions to our good wizard about what our sword-wielding hero is going to do. These are the three signs that will point to what she says is going to come true. Sure the events may happen, but, our good wizard doesn't even ask our hero why he's doing what he's doing, or think that maybe the evil witch might be manipulating the wizard to her own ends. She is evil and he knows it.In the show Weeds ( not exactly a masterpiece but I digress), if our pot-dealing mommy would maybe tell her kids what's going on, at least from the point that they all know she's dealing, then maybe they could avoid some trouble.
If she'd narc out the man she knows will surely kill her, then maybe she wouldn't have to go on the run. Great article and I agree with everything except.'
.no one looks in a mirror and takes stock of all their features in severe detail.' There is a large population of people who do just that. They are called women. They wouldn't describe themselves quite so kindly though. 'Was that a wrinkle she saw under her blue eyes? She looked at the pantyline left on her buttock that once was high and taught but now sagged and might have had a little cellulite, damn her dislike of the gym.'
There is another group that does similarly. They are called performers.Being both, I spend alot of time taking very severe stock of myself in mirrors. Great article and I agree with everything except.' .no one looks in a mirror and takes stock of all their features in severe detail.' There is a large population of people who do just that.
They are called women. They wouldn't describe themselves quite so kindly though. 'Was that a wrinkle she saw under her blue eyes? She looked at the pantyline left on her buttock that once was high and taught but now sagged and might have had a little cellulite, damn her dislike of the gym.' There is another group that does similarly.
They are called performers.Being both, I spend alot of time taking very severe stock of myself in mirrors.Does this make it a good plot device? That has yet to be seen. My top pet peeve is when the story revolves around someone in a relationship having a new potential love interest. Usually their current partner is boring and maybe kind of a jerk, but the main character can never just be sort of a jerk themself and break up.instead, the partner has to sudenly do something terrible like cheat so the main character can be free to pursue the new interest with no moral quandaries.I also get really sick of women finding out they're pregnant because they're throwing up.