Super hero power progression

[WinterNights]

Hello! This is my first post as I am new to the Chronicles forum. I am currently writing a novel containing superheroes and was wanting to get people's thoughts on superpower progression. What do you feel is the best way to do it? What do you think should be avoided? What are you sick of seeing?

 

[tobl]

Hello! This is my first post as I am new to the Chronicles forum. I am currently writing a novel containing superheroes and was wanting to get people's thoughts on superpower progression. What do you feel is the best way to do it? What do you think should be avoided? What are you sick of seeing?

i don't understand what you mean by superpower progression... every superhero already has the powers when he turns super hero. he might not know the bestway to use them but he has it. if you wnat progression, then it's more like cultivation and not superpowers... avoid cliches,you know, supervillain, superorganization, conquering the world, females in distress

 

[.matthew.]

I'd just make sure they have their vulnerabilities and never exceed their limitations. Of course, you can push them to the limit when it counts but keep it tied to the reality you've already established and don't just invent new stuff for the situation.

Also, write all these down separate and if you write a sequel, don't just powercreep, that annoys the hell out of me personally.

 

[WinterNights]

I'd just make sure they have their vulnerabilities and never exceed their limitations. Of course, you can push them to the limit when it counts but keep it tied to the reality you've already established and don't just invent new stuff for the situation.

Also, write all these down separate and if you write a sequel, don't just powercreep, that annoys the hell out of me personally.

What is a powercreep?

 

[Mark_Harbinger]

Hello! This is my first post as I am new to the Chronicles forum. I am currently writing a novel containing superheroes and was wanting to get people's thoughts on superpower progression. What do you feel is the best way to do it? What do you think should be avoided? What are you sick of seeing?

Welcome, Winter! Far from being a newcomer, I am a wiley Chrons veteran of nearly three weeks. My debut novel was last September and it was a Occult, Superhero Urban Fantasy—so I'm interested in your process. Feel free to contact me for an offline discussion.

I'm not entirely sure if you're question was micro or macro-progression. But, personally, I am a fan of works that both i) deal with the internal stakes of the characters and how they may or may not be dealing with their abilities and ii) demonstrate the ramifications on a society that had powered beings (vigilantes?) running around like that.

For me, my novel hints at an entire backstory going back hundreds of thousands of years, in terms how the "powers" (really my magic system) originated, and how societies had to deal with it over time. Now that wasn't all in the novel, but I think those references added some flavor that I had thought it all through. It's giving me a lot to work with in the sequel that I'm currently writing, also.

Good Luck and Happy Writing.

 

[hitmouse]

The thing that gets forgotten is the costume. You can get away with an awful lot if you wear red chuddies on the outside, even if going to the toilet is problematic.

Realistically, where did you get lycra 100,000 years ago? A basic plot point that is routinely ignored. You don’t see The Eternals wandering around in goat skins, do you? These days, of course, you can search for “Superhero costumes” on Amazon and get next day delivery if you are on Prime.

 

[WinterNights]

The thing that gets forgotten is the costume. You can get away with an awful lot if you wear red chuddies on the outside, even if going to the toilet is problematic.

Realistically, where did you get lycra 100,000 years ago? A basic plot point that is routinely ignored. You don’t see The Eternals wandering around in goat skins, do you? These days, of course, you can search for “Superhero costumes” on Amazon and get next day delivery if you are on Prime.

Yeah, that's a great point! It feels hard to balance the exposition sometimes XD Like explaining how they got the stuff they have without turning the book into a historical document XDXD

 

[.matthew.]

What is a powercreep?

It just means the escalation of power. So say the first fight or villain is tough and the hero just about wins, but the next has to be tougher so the hero has to become tougher, and then the next more so leading to the hero more so, and on and on.

Normally this would happen book to book and not within a single one, but it could still apply. Have them learn how to use their powers and maybe grow into them if they're young, but if they always seem to end up with the exact right amount needed to beat the bad guy, to me at least, it comes across as artificial. Especially so when they develop new abilities instead of just strengthening their old ones.

You could instead have them use their power in weird ways, outthink their opponents, team up with others after being smacked down by the bad guy, stuff like that. Things like martial arts are often neglected in superhero lore as well, with the good guy having a bar brawl with their equal... imagine they knew how to use the bad guy's strength against them...