Let's Talk About Superheroes

I am making me a BIG cup of coffee, which is so very cliche of me (keep reading you will get it later.) And drumroll please, it is actually morning! Four a.m. to be precise. I haven't written a blog in a while and honestly, it's mostly because 1. I am and have been beyond busy, 2. I have had terrible writers block, and 3. I guess I will go ahead and let the cat out of the bag... I have started to write a book (a big cup of joe seems very appropriate and cliche for a future author of a novel, am I right?

Let me break it down without sharing too much. It's a superhero book, two heroes who have been lifelong friends. One with the power of super-speed, super strength and flight. The other with supernatural ability to control the elements and creation of elements, but she doesn't know how to control her powers. Enough. You can hear no more. I don't want to spoil the story. Let's get back on track.

So this is a brainstorming session, and a well needed one at that. This may be my most interesting or my least entertaining blog I have ever put out but nevertheless, I am more writing for me than you. Please read if you want.

Let's dive in, shall we? I want to talk about superpowers.

Origin stories is where we will start. I think there are definitely some that are BORING. Hate to say it but the experimental, mutant turned into hero narrative stinks. It is very hollow to me, and an easy way out.

And I am talking experimental accident of, "I was dropped in a vat of yuck and came out with the radioactive yuck and now I have the power of..." YUCK.

Theoretically, do y'all think if I play with the idea that we can't naturally use our entire brain at the same time, that would be interesting or too over used? I am not gonna do this Lucy style but I like that idea. Let me lay it out for you. We have two hero's that are a manifestation, if you will, of a memory. Or their souls are linked. I haven't quite decided yet. And of course this is something they may not realize. Good start, right? How are the memories physically preserved? Stem cells. Doesn't make sense yet? Good. You will have to read my book still.

I have been quite inspired by the presentation of WandaVision though and the idea that someone could create something through a part of their soul or a memory. That is an origin story that I could stick by. Not an accident by anyone's carelessness or control. Not creation in a lab on accident. Instead, a creation from raw, powerful, and intentional emotion. Even more, I can play with the science side of the science fiction world and talk about stem cells and regeneration... I am getting tingles just thinking about it. Amazing, right? Stop me if you have a better idea but I think that's what I am going to stick with.

Origin story; Intentional preservation of a memory, by way of supernatural manipulation.

Okay, next, use of super natural powers.

Here is my humble opinion, I don't think people with the same exact powers should even be able to use them in the same way. Here is what I mean. Back to referencing Marvel, we have got to look at Wanda and Doctor Strange. Not exactly the same powers, but both are technically mages or wizards. And the way that they access their magical powers is totally different. Dr. Strange uses his in a much more cold, calculating and controlled way, than Wanda's chaos and out bursts of extremely passionate powers.

Or if you want to talk Wanda vs Captain Marvel, both exposed to infinity stones, both express that power through different supernatural abilities and fighting styles.

One could argue this could all be a manifestation of different types of training but it also could be a view into that character's psyche. What better way to express yourself than kicking butt and taking names, and there are so many ways to do it.

Here is some examples:

Bruce Banner's smooth transition into rage caused by him releasing the anger he had been controlling. ("That's my secret Cap")

Wanda's classic emotional breakdown takedown.

Green Lantern's ability to sassily accessorize is how he uses a ring contains his powers, and allows him to pinpoint his focus through them. So chic.

And of course, we have the heroes like Superman who spend more time hiding their powers than actually actively using them. They are super, and that is just what makes them who they are, so their usage of their abilities is very natural.

So why do I say all that?

My story, this book, is about learning to be completely yourself, including the bad parts of who you are. Although I think that hero's who are just unhuman or have effortless control of their powers definitely can struggle with identity and other problems, I would love to use this as a metaphor for something more than just a surface level psychological question. So if the scale goes from Wanda to Superman I want my two characters to be on opposites sides of the spectrum.

The main thing I want to portray through the way my characters express and control their powers is the elemental hero has a hard time being wholly herself at all times. She sees herself in a fragmented way, and she finds it hard to control more than one element at once. This is bad for fighting because some moves and elements are better for defense and some are better for offense. This can leave her open for attack. As she gets stronger, she can easily control multiple elements. She learns her own weaknesses as she accepts herself and opens up to her friend, and he helps her to learn to use everything as an advantage. Cute, right? Well don't get any ideas, these heroes have a terribly platonic relationship and could never imagine dating.

For everyone who was skipping ahead to see if I was going to talk about anything cool, this is where you are gonna want to start reading. 

Finally, lets talk about some cool fight scene ideas. Ok so talking about the two main characters and how their powers can combine.

First off: Wind sling shot...

Oh you want to hear more? Thought that was cool enough, but yea, I can explain. Picture this, my character with the ability to fly will be fast. But at times, he will be flying against the wind. To enhance his speed, the two main characters could work together: the elemental control character can alter the direction of the wind and push the main character faster. Once they have straight line move perfected they can start using it as a sling shot, so that it becomes a quick long distance defensive move for the elemental hero and she can quickly transition to up close attacks while our other hero focuses on the farther away foes.

Another move: Elemental combinations.

Water and Air is a great example. Water and air, what does that make? Clouds. I think this move will first happen on accident but if anyone knows anything about weather, clouds, especially as the storm gets stronger, create more and more friction. Friction = Static electricity. So the first time our elemental hero uses these two together, I think she will accidentally charge a storm and cause lightning. As she gets stronger and under more control, she will learn to guide those lightning bolts but obviously this move will leave her momentarily open to attack, and require a lot of focus. This means it will be best for long distance foes or an attack that used at the very beginning or end of a fight.

Another attack that will better as a trump card than anything to use too often will be a complete combustion of the surrounding area. This will 1. be very exhausting, 2. very hard to control, 3. very damaging. Also we have to take into account we are not trying to burn the other hero to a crisp, so we will have to protect them at the same time. But once I have figured out how I am going to write that, I want it to be used as sort of a defensive bubble so that my flying hero can fight one on one and finish the fight with no interruptions.

Some more elemental combination ideas, but we are gonna do a speed round: flight above the ground and cause an earthquake (earth and air), fire balls (fire and air), air pocket and dam breaking (can be earth, air, and water), earth shield (earth and air), and mud slides (earth and water). Don't have many details with that last one but I think it could be a good low grade defense. (Please if you are reading this, give me more ideas.)

Thank you for reading this brainstorming session and please feel free to give me any ideas or ask any questions. I plan to write as much as I can this summer and will keep y'all updated.

How should I end this? "Up, up, and away"?