Why does every human love interest or best friend to a hero need to be a hero themselves now?I feel like a pivotal part of a hero is their human friend group.
>>152566456Because modern writers don’t know how to write normal casts of characters.
>>152566507This, but I would also add modern editors to that as well
DecompressionTo extrapolate on this. Heavy decompression factors into the lives of the heroes and their civilian lives. 60's-90's you could show both sides of their lives and see how the drama interweaves. The aughts brought in decompression which led to less of these lives having focus. A great example is Spider-Man. Peter had a massive cast of supporting characters with The Daily Bugle, College and his home life with Aunt May and her old folks home. Now in walks decompression. Peter's life starts taking more and more of a backseat as Spider-Man needs to be out on the streets fighting crime and saving lives. It becomes a constant battle of how much panel time these things are allowed to have to the point that Peter pretty much has no life outside of Spider-Man and to compensate his supporting cast now needs to be elevated to the status of hero or villain to keep them in a constant alongside the hero because it's far easier to show them fighting alongside each other than to script a scenario in which both characters interact in his civilian life.
>>152566507>>152566570This and this, but also we cant have "dansels in distress"
Felicia Hardy is someone who is publicly known as Black Cat. That means people she knows are at risk of being identified as a super-type to begin with. Better to protect yourself with powers than to get killed from a false positive.
>>152566456I hate jimmy olsen
>>152566582I would also add >>152566578But in the case of Spider-Man I would also say bad decisions stemming from One More Day has kneecapped how they handle Peter's non-superhero life
Because Spider-man is shit
>>152566456Because Marvel needs "empowered" women, so instead of having MJ be a caring spouse to Spider Man that lived her own life and carved her own trail, they railroaded her into following Spidey's footsteps and made her act like a man.
>>152566578Now that I think about it, yeah, Bruce Wayne has been a lot less present in a lot of Batman stuff outside of interacting with people who already know the secret identity
>>152566578>>152566776Secret identities in general are a lot less common now too.
>>152566588>That means people she knows are at risk of being identified as a super-type to begin with.As she is currently written she's a massive whore that puts out for anyone so it really doesn't matter.
>>152566456Because people in the industry are only friends with people in the industry and they can't comprehend superheroes dating or just being friends with people who aren't in the exact same line of work.
>>152566582Despite what the movies would lead you to believe there are shockingly few adventures where Marry Jane hangs off a cliff for her life.
>>152566456First off Foggy Nelson has never gotten the superhero treatment. Second off, people in constant contact with people who acquired superpowers, increases your percentage to either be killed off or acquire powers yourself, than any background character.
Modern writers only understand one kind of strength. And that's who can kick the most ass. If someone's not beating someone else up then they're a weak character. They don't understand just how important and impactful a supporting character is for their respective hero so they feel the need to force them to become their own hero as if correcting some grievous sin. Marry Jane was a thousand and one times stronger when she was Peter's anchor and rock than she was in some generic getup socking dull villains.
The biggest victim of this is Rick Jones. Hulk's "human" buddy. Throughout the years he's been:>Hulk (Gamma Bomb detonated near him and he gained his own Hulk form but it was only temporary as the radiation wore off as their excuse to make him a human sidekick agan)>Bucky (Was the new Bucky for Steve for a while until Steve told him he didn't wanna lose another companion and had him give it up)>The Whisperer (They tried to make him a "guy behind the computer" type for various heroes, basically their version of Oracle)>A-Bomb (Mutated by MODOK into a Blue Hulk basically. Lost his powers when Hulk in his Doc Green persona decided to elimate all other Hulks by curing them)>Abomination (Experimented on and became the new Abomination to attack Hulk)>Subject B (Was freed from the mind control of The Leader, joined Gamma Flight as Subject B until Absorbing Man absorbed his powers and made him human again)>Sleeper Agent (Bonded with the symbiote known as Sleeper for a while)>Is currently Captain Spider (Currently bonded with the symbiote known as Toxin)
"They're popular and well known by the general public. But a solo run won't sell if there's no action... Lets give them superpowers and a superhero mantle!"
>>152567030Maybe. But I feel like the intent with Rick was a lot different than the attempt with MJ. With Rick it really just does come off as kooky comic and sci fi shit.
>>152566745Marvel and DC only know one method of female empowerment and that's "obnoxious girlboss">>152567001This is especially the case for women characters. They believe if a woman isn't doing things physically better than a man and also obnoxiously stating so with shit like "Hehe keep up you silly boys" then she is weak. They don't understand emotional strength, mental strength, a mother's strength, supportive strength etc. Only physical.
>>152567059That they think these characters need a solo run is part of the problem. Even a lot of team characters, with powers, can't carry a solo book and that's fine. But a love interest? That's too much it seems.
>>152567030So body sharing with a couple Captain Marvels doesn't count because those aren't "his" powers?"Destiny Force" at least is allegedly a thing common to all humans and usually unusable.
>>152566456>ANVShould've been Carol
>>152567234Carol would effortlessly solo every single opponent VenoMJ had even if they all worked together to fight her, especially since MODOK stopped being Superior years ago. There is no point to being Venom.
>>152567088I think the reason this has happened to Rick and for decades is that he was created in an era where every hero had to have a plucky teen sidekick or human best friend. Robin and Jimmy Olsen are to thank for that. And a plucky young handsome human best friend just doesn't suit the Hulk at all. So after a while, its like "Well shit what do we do with him?" Hence why he got bounced around to Captain America as the next Bucky. "Young enthusiastic sidekicks have worked for Cap before" but it didn't work, then in the 90s he became the human besty for Captain Marvel for a while then Gennis-Vel retired in that role leaving him directionless so he went back to Hulk and by the 2000s, a young human sidekick DEFINITELY didn't work so the only thing to do was superpower him.
>>152567290Rick is probably the 4th place for someone who can claim to be the main character of the Marvel Universe.
>>152566456Miles did it and it was cute.They wanted to do the same for Peter except no one gave a shit about any LI not called MJ so they gave her powers.
>>152567290The less said about Snapper Carr the better
>>152567393Do you mean Mockingbird because that shit was fucking stupid. They literally have nothing in common and 0 chemistry.Don't even bother bringing up Slott's Ex-Hentai tags masquerading as a character.
>>152567393Agent Venom predates Miles's existence by a few months, Rhodey becoming Iron Man predates them both, and Rick Jones predates him even further
>>152567436They both are science-types and mouth off their opponents in fights. Like it was shit, but nothing in common is wrong.
>>152567393How many of Miles' friends are superheroes compared to civilians?
>>152567436Carol DanversJessica Drew was teasedTandi when the entire point of her existence was to cuck Ty.Jessica JonesSue StormJean GrayThat Space chick from Kelly's run.She-Hulk.Always goes back to MJ.
>>152567523Has Janet been able to shut off her instincts enough to date a spider?
>>152566456Someone without powers gaining powers is a popular and old story idea.
>>152567523>Carol Danvers0 chemistry until a decade later then she came back for Rhodey>Jessica Drew was teasedHates him>Tandi when the entire point of her existence was to cuck Ty.You already said why>Jessica Joneslol >Sue StormFeels like trolling>Jean GrayYeah, definitely trolling>That Space chick from Kelly's run.Was never going to last. She was just with him for a good fuck.Even Kelly said she was only going to be around a bit longer then leave.>She-Hulk.She finds him incredibly annoying which makes me confused at all the fanart of them together
>>152567393I feel like a current tactic by writers is rather than attempt to change the status quo of the love interest or human best friend by giving them powers, knowing that it'll never stick and they'll go back to being human, is just to introduce a multiverse version of that character that has superpowers. That way you get both!
>>152567584>SueParker literally dusts her cobwebs and takes over as leader of the F4 when Reed bites it. Spider's Shadow I think it was.>JonesBangs her and crashes at her house during the separation decade of Life Story.>JeanPretty sure in their first meeting he steals a kiss and gets her flustered.Can't forget Photon either.
>>152566888Outside of the various Spiders and Kamala Khan, I can't recall any Marvel hero who bothers with a secret identity anymore.
>>152566456yandere she-venom
>>152568000Which is another problem. Writers just can't write characters as humans anymore.
>>152566456I'm so happy that after riding the Paul cock carousel MJ is now pretending to be a big buff man monster. Totally not trans coded.
>>152566456Cultural drift from>the hero of the people vs individualist spiritto>self-actualization vs obligation to the publicIn the old comics, the City was its hero's host and halo, inseparable from their ideals and the conflicts that define them. Support characters existed to lend context to the mythic battles being fought. New comics don't have a clear equivalent to this, their version of heroism is antisocial and transformative, meant to paint the hero as superior to their circumstances so the audience won't balk when they cash out and 'move up in the world'.tl;dr why have friends when you can be rich and famous instead?
>>152567393Yeah. That's why nobody gives a shit about that vulture granddaughter I can't even be bothered to rmemeber her name her name or kate bishop Who the fuck are you kiddin'?.
>>152567393All they did was give Miles his own version of black cat in starling.
>>152566456>every human love interest or best friend to a hero need to be a hero themselvesIt's called nepotism buddy. It's how the world works. If you're friends with the right people, they get you to spots that you'd never be with a normal person.
>>152566949Thats because shes got an IQ higher then room temperature and has spent a good chunk of her youth on the streets of New York clubbing and managed to stay out of trouble.One of the things people liked MJ is that shes a smart strong woman who knows how to pick her battles and has teeth.Now shes just some random super powered skank.
>>152566507>>152566570I think the bigger issue is cape comics are running on sensitization and not much else. New OCs are hardly welcomed no matter how forced so it leads to these Frankenstein monster projects where you take Flash Gorden and make him Venom or alt reality Gwen Stacey as Spider Woman because ultimately the 40 something year old readers they have will read that. to be free of any of this we need to see an era of breakthrough new heroes that sell better that legacy castThat will never happen because number must always go up.
>>152569432Anon. It will never happen because the old fucks in charge refuse to change.Spiderman marriage sold to satan remember?They will betray new fans to go back to their status quo no matter how unpopular it was.Comics are for comic fans from years ago. Not new people. Not attempting to meet the audience half way. This would be okay if they allowed actual talent to create new characters and allow it to organically grow. But they all have to stay in the super hero ghetto. Now...characters are at best empty icons that can be used as talking points not characters. Great ideas and talent all crushed into a mold to learn how to make fanfiction fir corporate product while indie comics are openly shit on for not being real comics.
>>152569630Fair point. I recall how dead set readers were to deleting the marriage and how much it hit sales in spite of their BS lies that rage bait helps said sales.
>>152566507>>152566456Because classic archetypes have been largely forgotten in favor of shifting expectations. The problem is that when most media from the last 15 years has had this priority, then removing damsels and fools in favor of everyone being on par with the main character is no longer novel, and so the appeal is lost.
>>152568330Such wasted potential. And they gave her a fucking golden design instead of some cool goth/punk/emo look. I dunno something that matched her with the symbiote's aesthetic. They had no problem with Gwen going that way. Guess they really are petty faggots. MJ would have gone the goth way where it is more serene/refined like a more otherworldly beauty. Like a supermodel goth that then goes unkempt and berserk when the symbiote enhances her rage. Then she could have large 80's hair that is made of tendrils and mouths.
>>152570018Well they (editorial) at least all fit the snivelling coward cuck or the pathetic, power hungry ugly bastard archetypes.
>>152566507That's a shame
