Don't read superhero comics? Give me reasons why. And what you think needs improvement

[powerplantanimations]

Don't mind me, just preparing myself for a future project. Just give me your honest opinion since I love the medium. I'll be writing them all down for when I tackle it.

[authorvicomara]

I'm tired of stereotypes and superhero comics are packed with them (not that other genres aren't, but other genres off-topic for your question ).

In no particular order what annoys me:

• Lack of reality and consistency in every freaking superhero comic. People/beings can have superpowers, that's the reality in the comic's world setting and that's perfectly fine. But other real parts shouldn't be ignored when it is convenient. Practical superhero attire, people sustaining realistic injuries during fights, explosions, falls, etc. (including superheroes! unless their superpowers relate to lightning healing, bone/body toughness, etc), things 'miraculously' falling apart or working out/etc just because the simplistic plot demands it (i.e. completely ignoring more realistic and plausible options/solutions).

• Cliché superhero looks. Men looking as if they were over pumped with steroids, and slim women with big breasts threatening to spill over their skimpy dresses any second now. Women - nearly half naked with plenty of naked skin, long loose hair and always perfect evening make-up, men - big, high cheekbones, strong jawbones and perfectly slicked hair (even in the midst of the fight). And everyone dressed in tightest and most revealing clothes possible.

• Villains. Always evil, always one-dimensional, and always ugly/evil looking. God forbid a villain has a loving family, genuinely cares about some part of society, nature, etc, or shows honest empathy and love towards someone.

• Superheroes being good and unselfish, and always doing the right thing. Usually, they're not allowed to feel apathy, depression, PTSD or other emotional or physical problems, they cannot feel genuine hate, do shady/bad things for their personal gain, etc.

I'm aware the above is what defines the standard superhero comic, but this constant repetitiveness is why I stopped giving this genre attention. It's not my cup of tea anymore.
I do give a superhero comic a try once every couple of years, and while I have witnessed some attempts of incorporating more realistic aspects into such comics, they still have a long way to go.

[DualDragons]

It's just not my cup of tea. I think @authorvicomara really jotted down everything I would have to say about the genre in general.

[aqua03]

Me, who wrote an entire one shot parodying silver age comics starring a talking alpaca....

[Lensing]

i never understood why it´s so popular but
I would read a well made superhero parody.

[Noorie]

I just don't like the idea of human superpowers. I prefer stories where people achieve something with intelligence, interest in specific things and effort. Of course, people are different, with different goals and abilities, but we all are on approximately the same level theoretically. Maybe I just like realism more

[Awesomeness_Studios]

I just wish more superhero comics were more creative. Now, I know quite a number of superhero WEBcomics that are very unique and I love them so much. I'd be willing to recommend them if you're interested.

However, a couple of weeks ago I went to a comic convention for indie creators. It was neat and I had a nice time, but damn every superhero comic just looked like another classic Marvel/DC series. And these were still indie comics lemme tell you. I guess it appeals to the hardcore Marvel/DC fans, but as someone like me who wants a lil more creative range, they weren't all that interesting to me.

And what specifically made these look unappealing to me? Well, there was nothing that really stood out. They all were realistic humans in the same semi-realism art style wearing typical superhero spandex suits. Now, there is nothing wrong about comics with characters that look like this. What was wrong is that the comics at the convention failed to tell me if there was something more. What is their relationship with their arch nemesis like? What do they do to keep their alter ego secret? Do they actually dislike being a hero??? I always like stories that start off typical but then say "BUT WAIT HERE'S A SPIN!" Maybe at least one of the comics at the con was like that, but none of the creators told me that when they were trying to sell it to me so

(and that is why I always introduce my comic has "the hero hates the princess" . People always remember that)

Anyway, webcomics seem to do better at print comics than this. Maybe cuz the internet is for weird people who wanna try weird things without sticking to the status quo. At least that's what I do on the internet. I just hope next time I go to that con I see more interesting stories.

[Kuma]

I do share some of your points (I'm an avid comic book reader so I see the tropes turn into cliches and the cliches turn into absolutely overused garbage) but I'll play devil's advocate here.

You're mostly describing the deep 90's when it comes to superhero looks and villains. For example Huntress (Part of the Batfamily) has changed some since the 90's

Or Spiderwoman from Marvel, who also had a shift in her suits across the years.

Superheroes being good and selfless is almost an undercurrent know, most had anti-hero stints and there have been many many antiheroes. PTSD, Depression and emotional problems have been part of modern comics for a while.

For example: "Heroes in Crisis" is a recent event of DC Comics, involving an isolated facility were superheroes go for psych help and just to unwind talking about their issues and their problems.

When it comes to the villains they have been deeper for a while. Magneto has been a hero, a villain and a neutral force across the publishing history of marvel, he shows love for his daughters and son (Even if Wanda and Pietro were retconned) He isn't ugly and is passionate about his cause.

Kingpin, Loki, Joker, Lex Luthor and many more villains have complex motivations, traumas and inner lives.

Still, like I mentioned at the start comics do have a lot of issues, like continuity, editorial mandates, over-reliance on "BIG EVENTS" and all that jazz, but you're being a bit reductive about the state of comics right now.

Like Ms. Marvel, who has a full cover suit, isn't perfect all of the time and most of her villains are less evil and more physical manifestations of social and cultural issues, who were created or born from trauma and failures.

[Awesomeness_Studios]

I know this reply was for someone else but reading it over reminds me that another reason why I don't read these comics is just that I don't know enough about them. Like all that stuff you mentioned I went "huh that's neat I wish someone literally told me this lol" (though I'm not in the fandoms so I feel like I would be rarely exposed to this anyway)

I guess this further strengthens my point about the indie comic con I went to: they should've told me there was something more to their comics.

Remember my fellow Tapas creators: always tell people what makes your story unique

[NickRowler]

I am not a fan of 99% of superhero stuff mostly due to how cliche it is and I just find action as a genre to be so boring. I also feel like DC and Marvel stories rely heavily of self insert kind of characters. People want to be strong like Superman or rich like Batman, etc. And I don’t really buy into this fantasy.

Superhero stuff I tend to enjoy is stuff like Watchmen and Umbrella Academy which breaks down the psychological side of things. I also love Big Hero Six mostly due to Hiro’s emotional journey and the themes of handling depression. I do like the concept of Dr. Strange and how it’s his journey to overcome his grief, tho I feel like Disney sort of botched his film.

I guess I just prefer less action and more interpersonal stuff.

[TheLemmaLlama]

I guess for me I enjoy media more where very powerful magic and superpowers are treated like a big deal, something the protagonist has limited access to (unless the protagonist is framed as mysterious and inaccessible themselves). So I kind of have trouble getting into series where the premise is the protagonist(s) have powerful abilities, and similarly, I also kind of fall off the hype train when a series undergoes power creep and hugely destructive battles become just another Tuesday. It loses that sense of awe, I guess.

Also I guess I'm just not a fan of them for aesthetic reasons. Despite focusing on a modern comic myself at the moment, I'm more drawn to fantasy aesthetics (which might explain why I found Ys IX: Monstrum Nox oddly charming ...)

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Okay, I'mma be the weird one here, I guess: I don't read superhero comics, but it's not because I have a problem with superheroes themselves (or their cliches). It's because the execution is often just so...boring.

You open your average everyday issue of a hero comic and it's like:

1) OooooOOOOooo foreboding mysterious scene of mystery-thing occurring...! A weird asteroid falls to earth, or a villain does a little monologue in their little lair, oooooooo. What are they planning, ooooo....?
2) Next scene! Here's a casual scenario. Casual casual casual. Alter-ego of hero is chatting with friends and family. This is obvious setup for the civilian B-plot, because alter-ego of hero is a hero, too!
3) UH OH THE PROBLEM IS HERE! TIME TO PUT ON THE HERO COSTUME!
4) FIGHTS! MONOLOGUES! THINGS! Will the hero be able to win?! (Of course they will, they're the title character!)
5) The day is saved~. Alter-ego of hero learns a lesson from the thematically similar fight they just had with supervillain, and resolves the civilian B-plot. Hooray; the end~

...Now is there anything inherently wrong with this plot structure? No...but when you refuse to do anything even remotely creative with it, it gets old fast.
And it starts to feel like many writers don't really care about making any of the characters engaging or entertaining, because it's assumed that we're already supposed to care about them because...genre.

Why should I like superhero? Because...is superhero. Cool costume. Name is on cover.
Why should I worry about superhero's secret identity? Because...is secret. Secret stressful and scary.
Why should I care about superhero's family and friends? Because...is emotional support characters.
Why should I be afraid of the villain? Because...is villain. Bad guy do bad things.

And so on and so forth. Personal details about the characters that would actually make us enjoy them are treated like lore; things to be spelled out as clearly and quickly as possible so we can hurry up and get to the action. The precious action, valued so highly that nothing else matters...and thus, it has ZERO weight. =/ I like explosions and pretty pictures as much as the next guy, but it takes more than that to get me to stick with a comic.

This is why the only mainstream superhero I've ever really taken a liking to is Spider-Man. He isn't immune to the formulaic plot structure by any means, but...at least he's funny. ^^; He doesn't just occasionally spout a snarky one-liner; he's truly a wiseacre who makes actual jokes and doesn't know when to shut up.
His personality is on full display all the time...and if you just skip over that part of his character or try to rush through it, it's not really him anymore. He's not just a problem-solver with super-powers, he's also a character who is meant to be fun.

And I think better-written superhero stories usually benefit from that-- identifying what a character's trademark is (or, y'know, giving them one...plenty of heroes don't really have noticeable personality traits) and making sure their stories spotlight it.

We want to see the angry heroes use their rage; we want to see the analytical heroes use their intelligence. We want to see the kind heroes show their kindness...not just for a panel or two, but as a recurring element of the story that we can look forward to, a way to always showcase who they are, rather than just what they are.

[Questionable_Liquid]

I don't read superhero comics just to simply prevent any plagiarism when creating my story or characters, lol. There are other reasons, but people here already said them

[Awesomeness_Studios]

I don't read superhero comics just to simply prevent any plagiarism

Huh? Naturally I would do the opposite and read as much as I can to get inspiration.

[TheLemmaLlama]

I would do the opposite and read as much as I can to get inspiration.

I do this too, but it does make me scared of whether or not I'm doing something too similar to what I've read. Plagiarism phobia is real :c

(EDIT: 'replying' to @Awesomeness_Studios' reply to this comment here because I feel like I'm clogging up this thread with unrelated discussion :'D)

I don't think parody counts as inspiration, since you're explicitly acknowledging the existence of the work you're parodying as something that someone else came up with. However, if you're making something that you intend to be seen as your own, there's not really a strict line between 'much of the content' and 'just some of the content you were inspired by'.

Taking inspiration is an intentional act, so one can imagine why someone would feel better about not having plagiarized if they never read the material they might take inspiration from, because then they know for certain they didn't intentionally copy much of the content and playing it off as their own :]

[Mallory]

Honestly for me it's less the genre and more the publishing practices. Places like DC and Marvel will accept pitches for 6-12 issue runs slotting into a character that goes on forever, expecting them to cover Big Exciting Events, AND they can just cancel a run before it's completion if it's not selling well. This + ridiculous timelines results in stunted, rushed, disjointed writing. I've tried many times to read superhero comics, even had a pull list at a local comic shop for a while, but it was just so bland and boring (despite supposedly being about Big Exciting Events) that I just couldn't be bothered to return every month. There's a few talented writers who have the clout and the writing prowess to work within that setting (the clout being necessary to complete a storyline and take more risks), but it just results in an inferior product for most writers. The art being very safe and bland (and rushed - again, see "timelines") doesn't help either.

I've enjoyed superhero stories that were made with one team that wrote one story that was meant to be one book.

[Awesomeness_Studios]

Inspiration doesn't count as plagiarism. Otherwise, all parody content would be illegal (and I would be the biggest criminal lol). A good rule of thumb is that as long as you're not intentionally copying much of the content and playing it off as your own, you should be fine.

[goatbat]

I do read some supehero comics, hope you don't mind me giving my two cents here, regardless! I think you have a good start if you like the genre because (in my opinion) the best parodies and deconstructions come from a love of the genre.

One thing I really appreciated about comics was the theme of duality in the characters; Bruce Wayne isn't just Batman, nor is he just a playboy- he's both and neither at the same time. Same thing with Superman or Supergirl. You have to understand both sides to understand either. But that seems to be less 'in vogue' now, so some characters don't really have that gap between their superhero life and 'normal' life anymore. Peter Parker being a CEO being the biggest one for me, of course. Perhaps it's influence of the MCU- changing a very relatable, 'normal person' character into an idealized escapist fantasy.

I also don't really like how a lot of writers treat mental illness in their stories . . . Batman and Iron Man get very respectful depictions of PTSD most of the time, but otherwise a lot of villains, mostly Batman villains, often has poor depictions of mental illness. Additionally sometimes with characters like Deadpool, I often feel like the way he's written comes uncomfortably close to making fun of men who are like him in different ways.

(Honesly I love Deadpool, but if I had to describe all of the issues with the way he's written in his comics, I'd be here all day lol. It's a love-hate relationship.)

Basically tl;dr: comic writers are kinda weird about mental illness and often prioritize escapism over more nuanced themes and storytelling. I also agree with other people here that mainstream superhero comics are really inaccessible and most people wouldn't know what characters/storylines to follow. You really do have to follow so many storylines if you want to have any idea what's going on.

[Questionable_Liquid]

There is a reason behind it, but it is a bit stupid to explain in full detail.

[Swamp]

My biggest issue is IP transfer. I occasionally enjoy a superhero comic, but I know 10 issues later, the series will be passed to a new writer who will burn down everything I loved about the story. The constant reboots and deaths and multiverses means it's almost impossible to get up to date, and, when I do, the thing I liked it for is already doomed.

Also, I don't like the costumes...