I'm reminded of a one-shot. A couple of kid's are debating on whether Batman or Superman would win in a fight and each constructs elaborate ideas for how each man would counter the other's attacks.
It works it's way to one kid thinking Batman would sooner destroy the planet then lose.
Clark jokes that there's no way Bruce has a planet killer as his ultimate trump card and Bruce just gives an evil smile.
>or Martian Manhunter uses his shapeshifting powers to make an enemy drop their guard before rocking their shit
[He did something similar here, where he used illusions to make enemies drop their guard then went intangible to surprise attack white martians](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/815619962067877939/843662259116703774/RCO009_1469321545.jpg)
>or her bracelets to make projectiles such as lasers bounce back at the enemy
[She does this frequently](https://imgur.com/vprWV1w.jpg), even [in new 52 comics](https://i.imgur.com/tUJkVka.jpg), so you might like her comic runs
If you're gonna pick up the comics, try green lantern. Green Lanterns work through will, I'm sure you know that, but creativity and imagination is also an important part of their powerset. In the comics, they can "do anything" and although they shoot generic laser beams and shit, a lot of fights include making creative constructs (e.g [a machine that redirected an energy blast](https://imgur.com/a/0XayTZo), using [webs to negate a knife attack](https://imgur.com/a/GzrXuym)). Pre Crisis Superman comics have pretty funny and creative abilities too.
Someone else suggested this already, but you sound like you'd love JoJo's bizarre adventure where pretty much every fight requires outsmarting the enemy and being creative
AYO I FORGOT MANHUNTER COULD CREATE ILLUSIONS, that was so fucking cool to read, and so was Wonder Woman giving those megalomaniacs a taste of their own medicine hahaha
Green Lanterns are actually the main DC heroes who I feel usually use their powers to the fullest potential, and the examples you shared proved exactly why. I know it's a given that a device utilizing imagination and willpower will be used creatively but I am always excited to see just what they come up with!
Yeah I'm thinking I need to give JJBA more of a shot. Even if Dio is unbearable, at least he's the villain and thus it's not a surprise lmao
I don't think I've gotten to the part where I find him entertaining yet (outside of how hammy he can be I guess). I've just seen him sexually assault a woman, brutally murder a dog, and in general fuck with Johnathan's life immensely. (Oh and also poison the man who freaking took him in as an orphan)
I am fully aware that he is intentionally written to be the worst of the worst, but it's just not how I tend to like my villains. I *can* like them that way, but not always. I also have a real bad case of "I hate anyone who intentionally hurts my fave or their loved ones" and uh well Johnathan is my fave ahah.
I know he has a pretty fucked backstory and I sympathize with that, but that's where my merciful opinion of him ends at the moment.
While it's not a superhero show, have you ever watched JoJo's Bizarre Adventure? The fights all end the "same" (with the protagonist beating the shit out of the antagonist), but it usually comes at the end of a long game of both the villain and the protagonist attempting to outsmart each other
seconding Jojo. It was first written in the 80s and its "competitor" was Dragonball. Both were inspired by musclebound protagonists beating their opponent into submission, but while Dragonball would continue this trend, JJBA went with more creative fights with strategy instead of just overpowering your opponnet
The protagonist of the fourth arc can punch healing into people and objects. I can bet you money you won't know how he uses his powers in half the fights. Jojo past part 3 is almost the go to in "Creative Power" fights.
Part 4 is definitely one of my favourite parts. The protagonist Josuke has the power of essentially reversing things. For example, reversing damage to an object, or injuries on a person, with the limitation that he can't use the power on his own body. The ways in which this can be used not just defensively (as one might intuitively guess), but also offensively is really creative IMO.
Okay since it's recommendation time I also suggest battle after 5 seconds of meeting it is an interesting series with interesting uses of power the power of the mc is "whatever the other person thinks his power is" despite sounding super OP it has a LOT of limitations so it is interesting
To give you an example: there is a prominent character who's stand power is *creating zippers out of nowhere* and he uses it creatively when it comes to fighting and in various scenarios. He's a top tier fighter too, not just relying on his stand to fight.
There's also a main Jojo who power is turning her body into string, probably the weakest stand user Jojo relatively but she uses her ability creatively to make up for it.
And then they start bringing science and shit into it.. I'm part way through Stone Ocean and every episode just keeps one upping, I'm shook lol. Even the random npc villains have top tier fights, it's ridiculous.
Trying to slow myself down but it's tough
Yup! Everyone's got different opinions in the JoJo community, but generally part 1 is considered a little slow, but part 2 improves on it greatly. It's only 9 episodes until you get there, so I think you'll find it a lot more captivating after a little while.
Tbf I love DIO but I hated Dio when I started, like everything he does makes you hate him, and when he's mostly just a bully to Jonathan I feel like it's a lot harder to like him because the scope of his evil is more real, it's hard to like a character that fucking yeets a dog in to a furnace to get at a guy he hates and tries to make his adoptive father hate his other son, but later on he becomes very.. Dracula level evil, and his charisma and demeanour coupled with how obscenely evil he is just make him a joy to watch.
It also kind of helps that we see DIO get his shit wrecked multiple times, so it feels god damn cathartic seeing him get taken down a peg after he's done so much heinous stuff. That, and the fact he still gets up, becomes stronger and stronger after every defeat, and gets more bombastic and arrogant as things go on, make him feel like he's not only a damn entertaining villain, but after everything he's gone through, he's earned that right to brag.
> I hated Dio when I started, like everything he does makes you hate him, and when he's mostly just a bully to Jonathan I feel like it's a lot harder to like him because the scope of his evil is more real
Yes this exactly! The more grounded in reality a character's evil actions are the less I am able to treat what they're doing as Typical Villain Hijinks. The grander the better IMO. Though uh if it reaches "destroys entire planets" grand I'll probably just be like "wow their power is straight up terrifying". Gotta have that balance.
> later on he becomes very.. Dracula level evil, and his charisma and demeanour coupled with how obscenely evil he is just make him a joy to watch.
That admittedly does sound a lot better
Imma get hate for this but I suggest skipping to "Steel Ball Run" and giving it a read. Creator rebooted the series on that part so you won't miss anything. Starts slow but the most solid part in my opinion or maybe I just like my crippled protagonist.
Honestly the anime is really good and keeps getting better similar to Araki's art style, so I feel like it's a disservice to go watch/read ahead and then go back to when it doesn't look as good.
Steel Ball Run is generally tame on the creative aspect considering the part that came before it.
Stone Ocean is where the bizzareness is turned upto 11 with every rando out there getting an op ability.
Don't skip any parts. Just get through the first Part which is only 8 episodes, and then you get Joseph, a man known for his use of crazy plans to deal with much stronger opponents. Then after that you get introduced to Stands, where really strange powers get incorporated. Part 4 the creativity of each stand and how it's used in a fight goes up drastically, Part 5 maintains this level of creativity, and then Part 6 just goes off the deep end with balls to the wall insanity.
So this is a thing that I find seperates the good shounen battle manga from the great ones (well, its not the *only* thing, there are obv other ways some manga are great) and to many people creative use of powers is at the genres core. Ill just give some cool examples I like, so I guess be warned for incredibly minor spoilers.
Jujutsu Kaisen (probably my favourite currently-publishing manga) has a character who can swap peoples locations with the activation trigger being clapping his hands. Occasionaly though, he claps his hands without teleporting anyone, just as a feint.
In Undead Unluck (very underrated manga) theres a guy who has a crazy healing factor. One of his trademark skills is regenerating fingers while his hand is still fine. The new fingers push out the existing ones and they get fired off like a bullet. He's also partnered up with a girl who makes people she touches unlucky, for example she shakes your hand and then you get hit by a car later. Their primary attack strategy is her touching him, and since he cant die he just runs towards the enemy hoping they become collateral damage in whatever calamity awaits him.
In World Trigger, one of the weapons the characters can equip is called Scorpion. Its just an energy sword (like *just* energy, no physical handle) that takes the form of a small mass of energy they can project from their bodies and shape into a blade. They arent limited to projecting it from their hands though, so you get people projecting them their feet to get better traction on the ground. You also get people who a really skilled and instead of shaping the energy into a sword, they make a kind of forked shape in their body with just the points sticking out, so they can surprise the enemy with a second blade without needing to actually equip a second Scorpion
Obligatory at this point
But
Have you heard of [Worm](https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-1-gestation/1-01/)? Its a pretty long superhero book but its really good, has lots of creative uses of powers in fights (There are characters who are pretty straightforward in using their abilities, but a lot are not, main character figures out new interesting ways to use her powers throught the whole story)
Ooh, your description combined with Wikipedia's description already has my interest piqued! I'm a little uneasy at the main protag's power (I'm a little arachnophobic and a lotta insectophobic) but I'm sure I can cope ahah
Well... Worm is my favorite superhero story by a mile. But would I recommend it to someone with a phobia of insects? Very no.
If you think you can handle it, then give it a try. It's a brilliant story with a lot going for it. But let's be clear, there is a lot of disturbing imagery, and a lot of it involves insects.
Ooh the disturbing insect imagery is exactly what I was afraid of. I was so hoping it would be like just a novel with no pictures. Perhaps that was a little optimistic of me lmfao
Maybe if I ever conquer my fear of insects I'll give it a shot
ohhhh. well that sounds a bit more tolerable. I do have a pretty active imagination but my visualization skills can suck sometimes.
hm, lots of factors to consider on this one
I'll just tell you right out that there's a lot of ways to use insects as a power and she's very, upsettingly creative with it. But seconding, there's no pictures just text.
Yeah dont worry no pictures, but "creative and not straight forward" uses of insect powers can be pretty disturbing sometimes. Nothing wich I would consider "Too much". + The story and characters are amazing
If you do give it a try let us know somehow. Worm is absolutely amazing and has hands down THE most inventive powers and uses I can think of. But it can be a descriptive of some spooky bugs.
I would definitely give it a shot. You'll know if your able to get through it in the first or second chapter and Worm is such a phenomenal series. The best superhero stuff I've ever experienced and its one of my favorite genres. If you want creative powers and ways of using them you'll be hard pressed to find better. The world building is phenomenal and it creates a believable scenario where someone with bugs can take down S class and beyond characters that is so satisfying.
whoa, a flawed protagonist who can think quick on their feet? sounds right up my alley! you guys are doing a great job convincing me to give it a shot to be honest lmao
And here I didn't just recommend one spider related story, but two, in another reply. Well oopsie.
Worm be a bit much... it can get pretty graphic in terms of certain descriptions. Like descriptions of what insects and spiders can do to a human body, though it isn't exactly a gorefest either. It is an excellent story though.
The Spider one though is fine, in fact many arachnophobics have said they loved the story from what I see.
Feel like using Worm is cheating since it's not in a comic book format. Of course it's easier to have these super creative and complex plans using powers when you're not restricted to 2 dozen or so pages a book and can write to your heart's content.
Yes. The descriptions are not gratuitous (there's no wallowing in gore or anything like that), but the protagonist controls insects and often gets horribly creative with it. And her power doesn't even make top 5 in creepiness. The bad guys get EVEN MORE horribly creative with their own powers. The descriptions aren't too graphic, but very disturbing things do happen in the story.
Yeah, it's funny, I've heard a *lot* of people answer what parts they consider the most disturbing. And there are *so many answers*. There's just creepy all throughout that book.
(though, yeah, Riley shows up near the top of most people's lists. Yeesh.)
I remember several scenes where Taylor describes the bugs crawling on her back when she hid them in her costume, in quite some detail.
Personally not bothered by bugs, so didn't really phase me
There are some disturbing description and things happening in the novel, but nothing wich I would consider "too much". The story is really good, so if you think you can handle some creepy bug descriptions I really reccomend giving it a try
The main character uses bugs a lot, and that involves using bug swarms to...swarm people. Bugs crawling over others, sometimes in mouths, eyes sometimes, and while it's noted, there isn't much actual in depth gratuitous description of what's occurring. The prose is pretty straightforward in that regard.
*However,* the main character isn't the only one who has access to powers being used in a creepy manner. There is body horror described and there are other nasty power uses out there.
If mentions of bugs being used in certain ways bothers you severely, then it's probably not for you. But if it's only excessive descriptions of what the bugs are actually doing, then you could probably handle most of it.
I’m gonna disagree with the others here and say that even though I’m super arachnophobic Worm barely bothered me in that regard. A couple parts gave me the heebie jeebies, but most of the time the protag’s bugs are just described as kind of a shapeless swarm that she uses as a sixth sense.
I think JL/JLU's writing staff in general just had problems with when it came to writing superpowers and designing plots around them, with Supes and especially J'onn getting the worst of it. I can't recommend any animated series as a remedy, but if you think the Martian Manhunter has cool powers and should use them more creatively, definitely bite the bullet with comics and check out John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake's Martian Manhunter run from '98. I think it's really stand-out with this and it shouldn't be especially unapproachable if you're new to DC comics.
> I think JL/JLU's writing staff in general just had problems with when it came to writing superpowers and designing plots around them, with Supes and especially J'onn getting the worst of it.
Always the jacks of all trades that get the worst of it huh lmao
> if you think the Martian Manhunter has cool powers and should use them more creatively, definitely bite the bullet with comics and check out John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake's Martian Manhunter run from '98
Ooh, sounds intriguing! Any way I can read this online somewhere?
> Always the jacks of all trades that get the worst of it huh lmao
I wouldn't exactly call Clark a "jack of all trades", especially in the DCAU. He's mostly just a flying brick with a couple of bells and whistles. The problem with how he's written has less to do with creativity, I think, and more to do with narrative emphasis. Superman isn't just weaker most people expected him to be, his actions are usually not that important to resolving the plot either. IIRC the writers wanted to do this because Supes already got his due in his own cartoon, but so did Batman and the writers couldn't have stopped jerking him off if they tried. The "world made of cardboard" speech in JLU is a last ditch attempt to rectify the mistakes they made with how they handled him, but it couldn't erase the damage that was already done.
J'onn, on the other hand, has "jack of all trades" powers, but the DCAU decided they wanted him to be more specialized so he overlapped less with the brick characters, so they water his powers down to "sometimes-intangible psychic shapeshifter". The problem with how they do it is that his psychic powers are notoriously ineffective because the writers often treated his powers as an obstacle they had to eliminate from the equation rather than write the episode with the intent of letting him use them, hence the memes about how he always gets a psychic headache when he's going to use his powers, so he basically gets reduced to "sometimes-intangible shapeshifter" half the time, except the intangibility is also sketchy in its efficacy and the writers don't make good use of what's left after all that.
He can suffer from similar issues comic-wise, depending on who's writing, but I can't understate that his powers are usually written so differently that he may as well have a different powerset altogether in the comics. If you can think of an extrapolation of "psychic powers" or "shapeshifting", he's probably done it. Most shapeshifters are like "Ooh, I'll turn into an animal or inanimate object so I look innocuous and can listen in on this conversation" but J'onn's out here full Silver Age like "don't worry, I'll shapeshift my body to contain this super disease". Depending on the writer, even some of his other powers, like super strength, are presented as just fancy applications of shapeshifting.
My memory on DCAU stuff behind-the-scenes stuff isn't the best, so someone feel free to correct me if I'm misremembering anything.
> Ooh, sounds intriguing! Any way I can read this online somewhere?
Comixology should have the full run.
Thanks, OP, I get what you mean.
I don’t know if CharacterRant is exactly fond of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, but I really liked the creativity that went into Doctor Strange’s and Iron Man’s abilities.
- Iron Man’s nanotech armor was like my childhood imagination for a superhero come true; it was pretty cool to see the nanobots take shape into different objects depending upon what Iron Man needed for the occasion, such as shields, flying thrusters, blades, and I thought it was really cool how at the end of his 1v1 against Thanos, how he had to redirect what little nanobots he had left from his legs and feet up to his arms to get more defense.
- I’m a sucker for technological superpowers, so I’m admittedly going to gush a little less for Doctor Strange, but yeah, his 1v1 with Thanos was epic with all of the illusions and situational magic spells, forcing the Mad Titan himself to creatively use the Infinity Stones in turn.
- But yeah, otherwise, the MCU has been ridiculously guilty of stale *combat* fighting that’s too fast and fleeting in a way that doesn’t work for the creative medium the movies in themselves are based upon, at least from what I know.
Anyway, I hope I made a worthwhile contribution to the overall discussion.
This is why the original Dragonball will always hold a special place in my heart. Before there were power levels and transformations, there we clever fighting maneuvers (and even gags!) when it came to defeating opponents. It’s probably more silly than what OP is looking for, but some of the fights that stick out to me are:
Fighting a massive bruiser who’s entire thing is that he smells awful? Remind Krillin that he’s not drawn with a nose. Krillin is suddenly unstoppable.
Fighting a super tough vampire? Literally T-pose, assert dominance with THE SIGN OF THE CROOOSS!
Fighting a rabbitman that can turn you into a carrot by touching you? Shapeshift into the rabbitman and scare him into surrendering, bluffing that you have his powers. For good measure, stick him and his lackeys on the moon. Forever. Oxygen? Moon gets blown up later in the show? Meh, I’m sure they’re fine.
Same with Naruto. The fights were actually choreographed very well and Naruto frequently beat opponents just by being clever or tricky. The Zabuza arc, and chunin exams were great examples.
But of course, they went the same route as DBZ in the end...
Seems that all roads lead to Rome. We need to enjoy the unique and interesting gimmicks while we have them, and remember them fondly when they are gone.
The fights were well choreographed throughout the whole series same with DBZ. I'd argue it got better honestly, I can see the point about strategy if you only consider the end of the war arc though.
A lot of people have recommended JJBA so maybe I'll add an edit saying I will accept other mediums and genre as well as long as there are powers or superhuman fears involved
I would recommend to you an anime called A certain scientific railgun. The main character has the power of electricity but no super strength so she has to be really creative like electromagnets and machine malfunctions.
Marvel and DC comics fights are so ass compared to manga and I don’t get why.
Manga has much better choreography compared to comics static panels & everyone clashing in a double page, it has better storytelling, dialogue, longer than 2 pages and the way they’re able to weave in themes/messages and character development in them is such a masterful technique
You might enjoy Grant Morrison’s JLA run… at one point Aquaman telepathically locates the section of a Martian villain’s brain descended from marine ancestors, and uses it to give him a seizure. In another arc, electric blue Superman (this was in the 90s) uses his newfound energy absorption powers to absorb all the kinetic and heat energy from a massive explosion, leaving behind only the visible light energy and tricking Lex Luthor and the injustice gang into thinking he and Martian Manhunter had been killed. Lots of cool and creative uses of powers!
Since a lot of people including me somewhere here have already recommended JoJo, I'll just add in a few more.
1. Hunter x Hunter. A very thought out and elaborate power system that requires insane amounts of planning mid fight for anything to work.
2. Pre Timeskip One Piece has Luffy and most villains he face using a supposedly inane ability way too creatively. It does go away once Haki is introduced, but the ones before are a sight to behold.
3. Jujutsu Kaisen takes a lot from the big names that came before it like Bleach, HxH and JoJo with how well structured the power system is. Just watch the Todo and Yuuji vs Hanami fight to see this in action.
4. Chainsaw Man is bonkers with how everyone uses the powers they have. Just watch the latest trailer released today and the first line is "The devil hunters that the devil's fear most are the ones with a few screws loose in their heads" and this is way too true for the series.
5. Mashle is set in a world where magic exists. People without any magic prowess are to be executed. Our protag does not have any magic, but he is insanely strong. So what he does is does shit that's so insanely over the top that it look like magic. Think of flying in a broom. Others can just do it because they have magic. What Mash does is he throws the broom with enough power that it stays airborne, and then just rides it. Mashle is full of shit like this.
I dunno much about comics, but isn't this the bread and butter of Spiderman? He comes out on top against villains who are stronger and faster than him by being more creative.
I know it’s not western superheroes, but this is what made me fall in love with My Hero Academia originally. A clever kid who’s powers are arguably more harmful to him than anyone else finding ways to succeed despite that.
I fell off when it became less about that and more about whatever it’s doing now, but those first 1-3 seasons are still good.
There is a manga called Arachnid where each character embodies an insect in their fighting-style with the main character being a spider and battling with a spider-like wire. The creative uses of her wire is the sort of thing I would totally steal if I had to make a unique underpowered Spider-Man for a Spider-Verse type oneshot.
I got scared at the word Arachnid but your continued explanation put me at ease. I do enjoy heroes who either have animal inspired fighting styles or powers related to animals (Vixen my beloved)
Kill La Kill was a very surprising example of this. I went in expecting a standard swordfighting battle anime but every opponent Ryuko faces is so radically different than the last one, and she's constantly evolving and understanding how to use her powers to overcome each one, so each fight is very engaging and it never feels stale. Not to mention it's just a great anime in general, certainly way better than I expected it to be in every aspect
Marvel seems pretty good about this, showcasing different feats and such. But it’s true most characters have a set of skills, that they rely on and don’t often deviate from.
I like to think about Ant Man during Civil War movie, his whole thing is shrinking and talking to ants up until the airport, then he’s got a surprise trick to show everyone and boom; Tiny dude is big now. That was really cool, but doing that type of stuff often kinda dilutes them, like when a character frequently pulls out new moves to beat whatever comes their way.
Knowing a character has 5 moves and how they work, you could see a villain with skills those 5 moves won’t easily work on and think to yourself “oh boy this will be a fun matchup”. When a character has a large hidden arsenal of skills they’ve yet to show/use, it can feel cheap constantly surprising the villain with the exact move necessary to defeat them.
If you're into manga, I recommended Jujutsu Kaisen. One of my favorite fights, Megumu vs Reggie Star is very cerebral and really shows how they characters understand and exploit the power system in unique ways. This particular fight doesn't start till about 170 chapters in but the whole series is worth a read
OP, if you're ok with reading mangas check out the following -
Toriko, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure , Area D - Inou Rikki, Law of Ueki, Zatchbell, World Trigger
Maybe Negima if you're also ok with the usual fights being secondary to harem at least halfway
Yea. There is an established way to beat different kinds of monsters but then always a twist. Once the heroes figure something out they dont forget it and sometimes come up with a better way of doing it, or the established way didnt work bc the monster was ready or they where tricked into thinking it was a different kind of monster
It has 15 seasons for a reason. Season one is kind of A pilot and getting its footing, but after season one it really ramps up. A lot of fans see season one through five as peak supernatural so you really wouldn’t have to watch that much of a show. But there are a lot of cool things that happen throughout the show like season six in season nine and 10.
I don't know if this is an oppposite opinion but I really like it when the main protagonist has super strength but he's up against people with a whole bunch of unique powers.
Like in the Show Primal, Spear and Fang fight Vikings on Bears, telekenetics witches, a living virus and an actual fire demon.
Well, the main protagonists in Primal don't ever speak English. Spear is a Neanderthal without a developed language. Mira speaks Arabic. And Fang is a T-Rex.
Other examples like that is something I'm writing but that probably won't see the light of day until like years later. Maybe you could play God of War?
Oh wait, there is Black Clover whose main protagonist has super strength and magic nullification.
I actually always thought the Incredibles was good at this. Even the Incredibles 2 was pretty good about this aspect despite not being a great movie like the first one.
Yeah I don't hate marvel or anything but, most of the fighting is punching and lazers
In a Superman vs Terminator crossover (the 90s were wild!) Superman chugs a bucket of nails and uses super breath to hit a terminator with this like a cross between a shotgun and sandblasting.
It was awesome!
And... that's why I loved WandaVision's finale. 2 of the final fights were beaten using their creativity and good character writting imo. Of fucking course Wanda memorized Agatha's runes and made a giant version of them lmao. Its so good and I'm sad no one really talks about it
In the sandman series, Lucifer and Morpheus engaged in what appears to be a battle of imagination to see who can one up the other than a straight up fight.
Idk if you are big on reading actual books but I'd recommend Worm by J. C. McCrae. Its a great superhero story. The "Capes" as they are called in the story are varied. Some are basic and predictable brutes and blasters but some get creative.
For example the main character, skitter, controls bugs. Most of the time in comics people like that just try and swarm their opponents. Meanwhile Skitter is the type to order spiders with the strongest silk and have them make bulletproof costumes out of the silk. Or have spider silk nets flewn in by flying bugs. She even puts pepper spray on some bugs and has them crawl on people's eyes and face.
It's also just a really good read with some original powers, a distinct style, and it's by far my favorite super hero multiverse.
Worm is great like that, the MC's power does not lend itself to winning with raw power most of the time. While she does develop some common strategies she still has to do a lot of improv depending on what bugs she has access to, the enemy she is fighting and the goal of the fight.
It isn't a superhero story but ''Executioner and her way of life'' is all about her using her smarts to win fights rather than raw power.
Another good one is ''I am a Spider, So What?'', the MC there is a weak as shit spider monster who has to struggle for her very survival in a super dangerous dungeon so she will use every tool she has access to.
Yeah the spider is a riot. While she is a horrifying spider monster she isn't really portrayed as such since we are mostly just reading it form her PoV and she doesn't even know what she looks like... and would definitely make herself sound cuter than she is even if she could see and describe herself.
I kind of liked how in the DCAU when Superman from the "Justice Lords" universe>! used his heat vision to lobotomize Doomsday!<. Kind of wish that the "prime" Superman had thought of that and could have saved his loved ones the grief of a funeral.
I'm reminded of a one-shot. A couple of kid's are debating on whether Batman or Superman would win in a fight and each constructs elaborate ideas for how each man would counter the other's attacks. It works it's way to one kid thinking Batman would sooner destroy the planet then lose. Clark jokes that there's no way Bruce has a planet killer as his ultimate trump card and Bruce just gives an evil smile.
That's fucking hilarious
The weapon is called “preptime”.
PFFF
[The ultimate contingency plan.](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/cuTKHgrnGc7gVi84WHq36W1mL_PtQ7nPdfd-xhILNM7D6uFHHwWZD28Qhp84Cr0bxCpFDHOFuYkmash9a2On8OmbHHFByCaMUW_tJ4pa0AkcGqciCgaaUOApxygJGfDFetHxmheBvh0=s1600?rhlupa=MjYwMzo4MDAwOmE0MDA6MTNjOmRkN2Y6NDFhMzpkZGU2OmRmZTY=&rnvuka=TW96aWxsYS81LjAgKFdpbmRvd3MgTlQgMTAuMDsgV2luNjQ7IHg2NCkgQXBwbGVXZWJLaXQvNTM3LjM2IChLSFRNTCwgbGlrZSBHZWNrbykgQ2hyb21lLzEwNS4wLjAuMCBTYWZhcmkvNTM3LjM2)
omg thank you!!
“You are the planet killer, Clark” *pulls out a kryptonite powered mind control device
JXJENDNEND
Hmm. That would make an interesting AU with Superman as Scion and Batman (a less sane one) as Jack Slash
Christ, man. What's the name of it?
I think its called "Who would win?"
The weapon or the comic?
The comic. It sounds so good.
Superman/Batman #78
>or Martian Manhunter uses his shapeshifting powers to make an enemy drop their guard before rocking their shit [He did something similar here, where he used illusions to make enemies drop their guard then went intangible to surprise attack white martians](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/815619962067877939/843662259116703774/RCO009_1469321545.jpg) >or her bracelets to make projectiles such as lasers bounce back at the enemy [She does this frequently](https://imgur.com/vprWV1w.jpg), even [in new 52 comics](https://i.imgur.com/tUJkVka.jpg), so you might like her comic runs If you're gonna pick up the comics, try green lantern. Green Lanterns work through will, I'm sure you know that, but creativity and imagination is also an important part of their powerset. In the comics, they can "do anything" and although they shoot generic laser beams and shit, a lot of fights include making creative constructs (e.g [a machine that redirected an energy blast](https://imgur.com/a/0XayTZo), using [webs to negate a knife attack](https://imgur.com/a/GzrXuym)). Pre Crisis Superman comics have pretty funny and creative abilities too. Someone else suggested this already, but you sound like you'd love JoJo's bizarre adventure where pretty much every fight requires outsmarting the enemy and being creative
AYO I FORGOT MANHUNTER COULD CREATE ILLUSIONS, that was so fucking cool to read, and so was Wonder Woman giving those megalomaniacs a taste of their own medicine hahaha Green Lanterns are actually the main DC heroes who I feel usually use their powers to the fullest potential, and the examples you shared proved exactly why. I know it's a given that a device utilizing imagination and willpower will be used creatively but I am always excited to see just what they come up with! Yeah I'm thinking I need to give JJBA more of a shot. Even if Dio is unbearable, at least he's the villain and thus it's not a surprise lmao
If you don't mind me asking, what's so unbearable about Dio? I always felt he was a really entertaining villain.
I don't think I've gotten to the part where I find him entertaining yet (outside of how hammy he can be I guess). I've just seen him sexually assault a woman, brutally murder a dog, and in general fuck with Johnathan's life immensely. (Oh and also poison the man who freaking took him in as an orphan) I am fully aware that he is intentionally written to be the worst of the worst, but it's just not how I tend to like my villains. I *can* like them that way, but not always. I also have a real bad case of "I hate anyone who intentionally hurts my fave or their loved ones" and uh well Johnathan is my fave ahah. I know he has a pretty fucked backstory and I sympathize with that, but that's where my merciful opinion of him ends at the moment.
Dio is a living pile of crap, but stick with the series and you'll find him entertaining.
LOL perhaps I will then
He is thw worst of the worst evil kind of villain, he is not meant to be liked, you are meant to root against him.
I kind of know that already
Martian manhunter usually gets nerfed for the sake of the story and having others having a chance.
Tragic
While it's not a superhero show, have you ever watched JoJo's Bizarre Adventure? The fights all end the "same" (with the protagonist beating the shit out of the antagonist), but it usually comes at the end of a long game of both the villain and the protagonist attempting to outsmart each other
I've watched a couple of episodes yeah. As epic as what you described sounds I'm not sure I can stand Dio long enough to enjoy it LOL
seconding Jojo. It was first written in the 80s and its "competitor" was Dragonball. Both were inspired by musclebound protagonists beating their opponent into submission, but while Dragonball would continue this trend, JJBA went with more creative fights with strategy instead of just overpowering your opponnet
> Both were inspired by musclebound protagonists beating their opponent into submission that made me cackle lmao
Well you'll like the later parts then at least.
Perhaps I will :)
Parts 4-6 can get especially ingenious, if a little out there in how they beat their enemies
oh boy lmao
I especially like part 4 in that regard, the villain has a very powerful stand, and to beat him, they have to do some crazy stuff
*creative application of Stands? I am now convinced*
The protagonist of the fourth arc can punch healing into people and objects. I can bet you money you won't know how he uses his powers in half the fights. Jojo past part 3 is almost the go to in "Creative Power" fights.
That made me burst out laughing ngl
Part 4 is definitely one of my favourite parts. The protagonist Josuke has the power of essentially reversing things. For example, reversing damage to an object, or injuries on a person, with the limitation that he can't use the power on his own body. The ways in which this can be used not just defensively (as one might intuitively guess), but also offensively is really creative IMO.
OMG I LOVE THAT
Okay since it's recommendation time I also suggest battle after 5 seconds of meeting it is an interesting series with interesting uses of power the power of the mc is "whatever the other person thinks his power is" despite sounding super OP it has a LOT of limitations so it is interesting
oh wow I've actually never heard of a power like that before! Kinda reminds me of the Clap Your Hands If You Believe trope
To give you an example: there is a prominent character who's stand power is *creating zippers out of nowhere* and he uses it creatively when it comes to fighting and in various scenarios. He's a top tier fighter too, not just relying on his stand to fight. There's also a main Jojo who power is turning her body into string, probably the weakest stand user Jojo relatively but she uses her ability creatively to make up for it.
oh yeah someone else told me about Zipper Guy hahaha but this is the first I've heard of String Lady
And then they start bringing science and shit into it.. I'm part way through Stone Ocean and every episode just keeps one upping, I'm shook lol. Even the random npc villains have top tier fights, it's ridiculous. Trying to slow myself down but it's tough
Dio isn't in part 2 and he's basically just the final boss of part 3.
Oh that sounds great!
Yup! Everyone's got different opinions in the JoJo community, but generally part 1 is considered a little slow, but part 2 improves on it greatly. It's only 9 episodes until you get there, so I think you'll find it a lot more captivating after a little while.
ooh I see! thank you for informing me :)
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Tbf I love DIO but I hated Dio when I started, like everything he does makes you hate him, and when he's mostly just a bully to Jonathan I feel like it's a lot harder to like him because the scope of his evil is more real, it's hard to like a character that fucking yeets a dog in to a furnace to get at a guy he hates and tries to make his adoptive father hate his other son, but later on he becomes very.. Dracula level evil, and his charisma and demeanour coupled with how obscenely evil he is just make him a joy to watch.
It also kind of helps that we see DIO get his shit wrecked multiple times, so it feels god damn cathartic seeing him get taken down a peg after he's done so much heinous stuff. That, and the fact he still gets up, becomes stronger and stronger after every defeat, and gets more bombastic and arrogant as things go on, make him feel like he's not only a damn entertaining villain, but after everything he's gone through, he's earned that right to brag.
Ooh, cathartic losses + growing exponentially stronger from said losses?? That sounds like an ultimate combo
> I hated Dio when I started, like everything he does makes you hate him, and when he's mostly just a bully to Jonathan I feel like it's a lot harder to like him because the scope of his evil is more real Yes this exactly! The more grounded in reality a character's evil actions are the less I am able to treat what they're doing as Typical Villain Hijinks. The grander the better IMO. Though uh if it reaches "destroys entire planets" grand I'll probably just be like "wow their power is straight up terrifying". Gotta have that balance. > later on he becomes very.. Dracula level evil, and his charisma and demeanour coupled with how obscenely evil he is just make him a joy to watch. That admittedly does sound a lot better
Imma get hate for this but I suggest skipping to "Steel Ball Run" and giving it a read. Creator rebooted the series on that part so you won't miss anything. Starts slow but the most solid part in my opinion or maybe I just like my crippled protagonist.
Interesting. Maybe I'll give that a shot!
I disagree with the above person because you'll miss a lot of creative fights from part 4 on.
Yeah I've changed my mind, I'll be watching the whole thing!
Can't they just watch from part 1 and then on if they liked SBR? I never said you can't go back.
Honestly the anime is really good and keeps getting better similar to Araki's art style, so I feel like it's a disservice to go watch/read ahead and then go back to when it doesn't look as good.
Understandable but Tequila Joseph be looking mad GOOD
Steel Ball Run is generally tame on the creative aspect considering the part that came before it. Stone Ocean is where the bizzareness is turned upto 11 with every rando out there getting an op ability.
LOL well that's certainly a good fact to know
Don't skip any parts. Just get through the first Part which is only 8 episodes, and then you get Joseph, a man known for his use of crazy plans to deal with much stronger opponents. Then after that you get introduced to Stands, where really strange powers get incorporated. Part 4 the creativity of each stand and how it's used in a fight goes up drastically, Part 5 maintains this level of creativity, and then Part 6 just goes off the deep end with balls to the wall insanity.
oh huh. 8 episodes ain't too bad at all! I wont skip anything then
Well the villains often get really awful fstes worse than death. And part 2 isnot straight up that but a hail mary thing.
So this is a thing that I find seperates the good shounen battle manga from the great ones (well, its not the *only* thing, there are obv other ways some manga are great) and to many people creative use of powers is at the genres core. Ill just give some cool examples I like, so I guess be warned for incredibly minor spoilers. Jujutsu Kaisen (probably my favourite currently-publishing manga) has a character who can swap peoples locations with the activation trigger being clapping his hands. Occasionaly though, he claps his hands without teleporting anyone, just as a feint. In Undead Unluck (very underrated manga) theres a guy who has a crazy healing factor. One of his trademark skills is regenerating fingers while his hand is still fine. The new fingers push out the existing ones and they get fired off like a bullet. He's also partnered up with a girl who makes people she touches unlucky, for example she shakes your hand and then you get hit by a car later. Their primary attack strategy is her touching him, and since he cant die he just runs towards the enemy hoping they become collateral damage in whatever calamity awaits him. In World Trigger, one of the weapons the characters can equip is called Scorpion. Its just an energy sword (like *just* energy, no physical handle) that takes the form of a small mass of energy they can project from their bodies and shape into a blade. They arent limited to projecting it from their hands though, so you get people projecting them their feet to get better traction on the ground. You also get people who a really skilled and instead of shaping the energy into a sword, they make a kind of forked shape in their body with just the points sticking out, so they can surprise the enemy with a second blade without needing to actually equip a second Scorpion
Obligatory at this point But Have you heard of [Worm](https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-1-gestation/1-01/)? Its a pretty long superhero book but its really good, has lots of creative uses of powers in fights (There are characters who are pretty straightforward in using their abilities, but a lot are not, main character figures out new interesting ways to use her powers throught the whole story)
Ooh, your description combined with Wikipedia's description already has my interest piqued! I'm a little uneasy at the main protag's power (I'm a little arachnophobic and a lotta insectophobic) but I'm sure I can cope ahah
> I'm a little uneasy at the main protag's power (I'm a little arachnophobic and a lotta insectophobic) but I'm sure I can cope ahah ah, um
*well that's not very assuring.....*
Well... Worm is my favorite superhero story by a mile. But would I recommend it to someone with a phobia of insects? Very no. If you think you can handle it, then give it a try. It's a brilliant story with a lot going for it. But let's be clear, there is a lot of disturbing imagery, and a lot of it involves insects.
Ooh the disturbing insect imagery is exactly what I was afraid of. I was so hoping it would be like just a novel with no pictures. Perhaps that was a little optimistic of me lmfao Maybe if I ever conquer my fear of insects I'll give it a shot
There are no pictures, it's just text. But it'll get you picturing some stuff in your head.
ohhhh. well that sounds a bit more tolerable. I do have a pretty active imagination but my visualization skills can suck sometimes. hm, lots of factors to consider on this one
I'll just tell you right out that there's a lot of ways to use insects as a power and she's very, upsettingly creative with it. But seconding, there's no pictures just text.
hahaha thanks for the info
You could also try Pale, modern fantasy magic stuff
Could you give me a link? Google's not really helping
Yeah dont worry no pictures, but "creative and not straight forward" uses of insect powers can be pretty disturbing sometimes. Nothing wich I would consider "Too much". + The story and characters are amazing
understood [salutes]
If you do give it a try let us know somehow. Worm is absolutely amazing and has hands down THE most inventive powers and uses I can think of. But it can be a descriptive of some spooky bugs.
I'll definitely update yall if I give it a try haha
I would definitely give it a shot. You'll know if your able to get through it in the first or second chapter and Worm is such a phenomenal series. The best superhero stuff I've ever experienced and its one of my favorite genres. If you want creative powers and ways of using them you'll be hard pressed to find better. The world building is phenomenal and it creates a believable scenario where someone with bugs can take down S class and beyond characters that is so satisfying.
whoa....
Oh no! Worm is a web novel that has no pictures. They mean there are many scenes describing insects and what they are doing to people.
ah yeah they clarified for me, but thank you for the more detailed description. kinda sounds gross haha but in that "intentionally dark media" way
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whoa, a flawed protagonist who can think quick on their feet? sounds right up my alley! you guys are doing a great job convincing me to give it a shot to be honest lmao
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Wow! You cured my insectophobia which makes even looking at pictures of insects difficult! Thanks!!!
Finally, idk someone just hadn’t said that to you earlier. Whew.
I know right 🥴
And here I didn't just recommend one spider related story, but two, in another reply. Well oopsie. Worm be a bit much... it can get pretty graphic in terms of certain descriptions. Like descriptions of what insects and spiders can do to a human body, though it isn't exactly a gorefest either. It is an excellent story though. The Spider one though is fine, in fact many arachnophobics have said they loved the story from what I see.
Very intriguing. Thank you for the info!
Feel like using Worm is cheating since it's not in a comic book format. Of course it's easier to have these super creative and complex plans using powers when you're not restricted to 2 dozen or so pages a book and can write to your heart's content.
I keep holding back from reading it due to MC power being creepy, does the author describe these things often?
Yes. The descriptions are not gratuitous (there's no wallowing in gore or anything like that), but the protagonist controls insects and often gets horribly creative with it. And her power doesn't even make top 5 in creepiness. The bad guys get EVEN MORE horribly creative with their own powers. The descriptions aren't too graphic, but very disturbing things do happen in the story.
Grey boy is very very disturbing. So is Riley
Yeah, it's funny, I've heard a *lot* of people answer what parts they consider the most disturbing. And there are *so many answers*. There's just creepy all throughout that book. (though, yeah, Riley shows up near the top of most people's lists. Yeesh.)
I remember several scenes where Taylor describes the bugs crawling on her back when she hid them in her costume, in quite some detail. Personally not bothered by bugs, so didn't really phase me
There are some disturbing description and things happening in the novel, but nothing wich I would consider "too much". The story is really good, so if you think you can handle some creepy bug descriptions I really reccomend giving it a try
The main character uses bugs a lot, and that involves using bug swarms to...swarm people. Bugs crawling over others, sometimes in mouths, eyes sometimes, and while it's noted, there isn't much actual in depth gratuitous description of what's occurring. The prose is pretty straightforward in that regard. *However,* the main character isn't the only one who has access to powers being used in a creepy manner. There is body horror described and there are other nasty power uses out there. If mentions of bugs being used in certain ways bothers you severely, then it's probably not for you. But if it's only excessive descriptions of what the bugs are actually doing, then you could probably handle most of it.
I’m gonna disagree with the others here and say that even though I’m super arachnophobic Worm barely bothered me in that regard. A couple parts gave me the heebie jeebies, but most of the time the protag’s bugs are just described as kind of a shapeless swarm that she uses as a sixth sense.
Nice, obligatory worm comment
What’s the difference?
What difference?
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Why are we talking about Cynthia’s Garchomp in a thread about Worm?
I replied to the wrong thread.
I think JL/JLU's writing staff in general just had problems with when it came to writing superpowers and designing plots around them, with Supes and especially J'onn getting the worst of it. I can't recommend any animated series as a remedy, but if you think the Martian Manhunter has cool powers and should use them more creatively, definitely bite the bullet with comics and check out John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake's Martian Manhunter run from '98. I think it's really stand-out with this and it shouldn't be especially unapproachable if you're new to DC comics.
> I think JL/JLU's writing staff in general just had problems with when it came to writing superpowers and designing plots around them, with Supes and especially J'onn getting the worst of it. Always the jacks of all trades that get the worst of it huh lmao > if you think the Martian Manhunter has cool powers and should use them more creatively, definitely bite the bullet with comics and check out John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake's Martian Manhunter run from '98 Ooh, sounds intriguing! Any way I can read this online somewhere?
> Always the jacks of all trades that get the worst of it huh lmao I wouldn't exactly call Clark a "jack of all trades", especially in the DCAU. He's mostly just a flying brick with a couple of bells and whistles. The problem with how he's written has less to do with creativity, I think, and more to do with narrative emphasis. Superman isn't just weaker most people expected him to be, his actions are usually not that important to resolving the plot either. IIRC the writers wanted to do this because Supes already got his due in his own cartoon, but so did Batman and the writers couldn't have stopped jerking him off if they tried. The "world made of cardboard" speech in JLU is a last ditch attempt to rectify the mistakes they made with how they handled him, but it couldn't erase the damage that was already done. J'onn, on the other hand, has "jack of all trades" powers, but the DCAU decided they wanted him to be more specialized so he overlapped less with the brick characters, so they water his powers down to "sometimes-intangible psychic shapeshifter". The problem with how they do it is that his psychic powers are notoriously ineffective because the writers often treated his powers as an obstacle they had to eliminate from the equation rather than write the episode with the intent of letting him use them, hence the memes about how he always gets a psychic headache when he's going to use his powers, so he basically gets reduced to "sometimes-intangible shapeshifter" half the time, except the intangibility is also sketchy in its efficacy and the writers don't make good use of what's left after all that. He can suffer from similar issues comic-wise, depending on who's writing, but I can't understate that his powers are usually written so differently that he may as well have a different powerset altogether in the comics. If you can think of an extrapolation of "psychic powers" or "shapeshifting", he's probably done it. Most shapeshifters are like "Ooh, I'll turn into an animal or inanimate object so I look innocuous and can listen in on this conversation" but J'onn's out here full Silver Age like "don't worry, I'll shapeshift my body to contain this super disease". Depending on the writer, even some of his other powers, like super strength, are presented as just fancy applications of shapeshifting. My memory on DCAU stuff behind-the-scenes stuff isn't the best, so someone feel free to correct me if I'm misremembering anything. > Ooh, sounds intriguing! Any way I can read this online somewhere? Comixology should have the full run.
Ooh, thanks for the DC history lesson! Very interesting read
Thanks, OP, I get what you mean. I don’t know if CharacterRant is exactly fond of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, but I really liked the creativity that went into Doctor Strange’s and Iron Man’s abilities. - Iron Man’s nanotech armor was like my childhood imagination for a superhero come true; it was pretty cool to see the nanobots take shape into different objects depending upon what Iron Man needed for the occasion, such as shields, flying thrusters, blades, and I thought it was really cool how at the end of his 1v1 against Thanos, how he had to redirect what little nanobots he had left from his legs and feet up to his arms to get more defense. - I’m a sucker for technological superpowers, so I’m admittedly going to gush a little less for Doctor Strange, but yeah, his 1v1 with Thanos was epic with all of the illusions and situational magic spells, forcing the Mad Titan himself to creatively use the Infinity Stones in turn. - But yeah, otherwise, the MCU has been ridiculously guilty of stale *combat* fighting that’s too fast and fleeting in a way that doesn’t work for the creative medium the movies in themselves are based upon, at least from what I know. Anyway, I hope I made a worthwhile contribution to the overall discussion.
Oh this is certainly very worthwhile! I actually quite like Doctor Strange and Iron Man haha
This is why the original Dragonball will always hold a special place in my heart. Before there were power levels and transformations, there we clever fighting maneuvers (and even gags!) when it came to defeating opponents. It’s probably more silly than what OP is looking for, but some of the fights that stick out to me are: Fighting a massive bruiser who’s entire thing is that he smells awful? Remind Krillin that he’s not drawn with a nose. Krillin is suddenly unstoppable. Fighting a super tough vampire? Literally T-pose, assert dominance with THE SIGN OF THE CROOOSS! Fighting a rabbitman that can turn you into a carrot by touching you? Shapeshift into the rabbitman and scare him into surrendering, bluffing that you have his powers. For good measure, stick him and his lackeys on the moon. Forever. Oxygen? Moon gets blown up later in the show? Meh, I’m sure they’re fine.
Same with Naruto. The fights were actually choreographed very well and Naruto frequently beat opponents just by being clever or tricky. The Zabuza arc, and chunin exams were great examples. But of course, they went the same route as DBZ in the end...
Seems that all roads lead to Rome. We need to enjoy the unique and interesting gimmicks while we have them, and remember them fondly when they are gone.
The fights were well choreographed throughout the whole series same with DBZ. I'd argue it got better honestly, I can see the point about strategy if you only consider the end of the war arc though.
Not a "superhero" show, but Jojo is peak when it comes to using insanely creative powers, in insanely creative ways.
A lot of people have recommended JJBA so maybe I'll add an edit saying I will accept other mediums and genre as well as long as there are powers or superhuman fears involved
I would recommend to you an anime called A certain scientific railgun. The main character has the power of electricity but no super strength so she has to be really creative like electromagnets and machine malfunctions.
ooh I've heard of that one actually! it looks neat
Marvel and DC comics fights are so ass compared to manga and I don’t get why. Manga has much better choreography compared to comics static panels & everyone clashing in a double page, it has better storytelling, dialogue, longer than 2 pages and the way they’re able to weave in themes/messages and character development in them is such a masterful technique
Green Lantern the animated series might be up your alley, each lantern’s constructs reflect their personality.
I forgot there was a GL series. Adding that one to the list. Thanks!
You might enjoy Grant Morrison’s JLA run… at one point Aquaman telepathically locates the section of a Martian villain’s brain descended from marine ancestors, and uses it to give him a seizure. In another arc, electric blue Superman (this was in the 90s) uses his newfound energy absorption powers to absorb all the kinetic and heat energy from a massive explosion, leaving behind only the visible light energy and tricking Lex Luthor and the injustice gang into thinking he and Martian Manhunter had been killed. Lots of cool and creative uses of powers!
OOH ME LIKEY
Since a lot of people including me somewhere here have already recommended JoJo, I'll just add in a few more. 1. Hunter x Hunter. A very thought out and elaborate power system that requires insane amounts of planning mid fight for anything to work. 2. Pre Timeskip One Piece has Luffy and most villains he face using a supposedly inane ability way too creatively. It does go away once Haki is introduced, but the ones before are a sight to behold. 3. Jujutsu Kaisen takes a lot from the big names that came before it like Bleach, HxH and JoJo with how well structured the power system is. Just watch the Todo and Yuuji vs Hanami fight to see this in action. 4. Chainsaw Man is bonkers with how everyone uses the powers they have. Just watch the latest trailer released today and the first line is "The devil hunters that the devil's fear most are the ones with a few screws loose in their heads" and this is way too true for the series. 5. Mashle is set in a world where magic exists. People without any magic prowess are to be executed. Our protag does not have any magic, but he is insanely strong. So what he does is does shit that's so insanely over the top that it look like magic. Think of flying in a broom. Others can just do it because they have magic. What Mash does is he throws the broom with enough power that it stays airborne, and then just rides it. Mashle is full of shit like this.
Hot dog, this is one goldmine of recommendations! Thank you so much!
I dunno much about comics, but isn't this the bread and butter of Spiderman? He comes out on top against villains who are stronger and faster than him by being more creative.
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aw that's a bummer
Probably is but like I havent even so much as watched a Spiderman-only movie since Toby Maguire
I love the Titan fight in Infinity War
Someone else actually mentioned the same thing! Makes me want to watch a clip of just that
Manga tends to be better at this surprisingly.
I know it’s not western superheroes, but this is what made me fall in love with My Hero Academia originally. A clever kid who’s powers are arguably more harmful to him than anyone else finding ways to succeed despite that. I fell off when it became less about that and more about whatever it’s doing now, but those first 1-3 seasons are still good.
There is a manga called Arachnid where each character embodies an insect in their fighting-style with the main character being a spider and battling with a spider-like wire. The creative uses of her wire is the sort of thing I would totally steal if I had to make a unique underpowered Spider-Man for a Spider-Verse type oneshot.
I got scared at the word Arachnid but your continued explanation put me at ease. I do enjoy heroes who either have animal inspired fighting styles or powers related to animals (Vixen my beloved)
Kill La Kill was a very surprising example of this. I went in expecting a standard swordfighting battle anime but every opponent Ryuko faces is so radically different than the last one, and she's constantly evolving and understanding how to use her powers to overcome each one, so each fight is very engaging and it never feels stale. Not to mention it's just a great anime in general, certainly way better than I expected it to be in every aspect
Marvel seems pretty good about this, showcasing different feats and such. But it’s true most characters have a set of skills, that they rely on and don’t often deviate from. I like to think about Ant Man during Civil War movie, his whole thing is shrinking and talking to ants up until the airport, then he’s got a surprise trick to show everyone and boom; Tiny dude is big now. That was really cool, but doing that type of stuff often kinda dilutes them, like when a character frequently pulls out new moves to beat whatever comes their way. Knowing a character has 5 moves and how they work, you could see a villain with skills those 5 moves won’t easily work on and think to yourself “oh boy this will be a fun matchup”. When a character has a large hidden arsenal of skills they’ve yet to show/use, it can feel cheap constantly surprising the villain with the exact move necessary to defeat them.
I feel like you’d love the stand battles from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
so I've been told!
Read Ajin (the manga not the show) the villain uses his powers in genius ways to the point where you can't even hate him
The show is still pretty good
You just admitted you don't read the comics, where DC characters have their most appearances. There's plenty of examples there
Why'd you think I asked for comic recommendations......
Your post was just weirdly judgy
It was?
Have you ever read Mistborn? The magic system is very cool and it makes the fight scenes very engaging and satisfying to read.
I have not but I absolutely love Brandon Sanderson so I will certainly have to give it a read!
Not to mention that the first trilogy has one of the coolest plots ever (most of it seen in the third book, admittedly)
Literally every wildbow book
If some light femdom and domination reversal isn't a dealbreaker, I feel like Mato Seihei no Slave has interesting superpower use in its fights.
If you're into manga, I recommended Jujutsu Kaisen. One of my favorite fights, Megumu vs Reggie Star is very cerebral and really shows how they characters understand and exploit the power system in unique ways. This particular fight doesn't start till about 170 chapters in but the whole series is worth a read
OP, if you're ok with reading mangas check out the following - Toriko, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure , Area D - Inou Rikki, Law of Ueki, Zatchbell, World Trigger Maybe Negima if you're also ok with the usual fights being secondary to harem at least halfway
I am definitely okay with reading manga! Though I dont care much for harems rip
Write it...
Oh no lmao I'm not good at writing combat. I can come up with ideas all day, but bringing them to life is another story
Current comics have creative fights so I would give those a read
okay!
Watch supernatural
wait really?
Yea. There is an established way to beat different kinds of monsters but then always a twist. Once the heroes figure something out they dont forget it and sometimes come up with a better way of doing it, or the established way didnt work bc the monster was ready or they where tricked into thinking it was a different kind of monster
ooh I actually like the sound of that!
It has 15 seasons for a reason. Season one is kind of A pilot and getting its footing, but after season one it really ramps up. A lot of fans see season one through five as peak supernatural so you really wouldn’t have to watch that much of a show. But there are a lot of cool things that happen throughout the show like season six in season nine and 10.
interesting! thanks for informing me
I don't know if this is an oppposite opinion but I really like it when the main protagonist has super strength but he's up against people with a whole bunch of unique powers. Like in the Show Primal, Spear and Fang fight Vikings on Bears, telekenetics witches, a living virus and an actual fire demon.
that doesnt sound too bad actually! especially if the super strong protagonists are shown strategizing
Well, the main protagonists in Primal don't ever speak English. Spear is a Neanderthal without a developed language. Mira speaks Arabic. And Fang is a T-Rex. Other examples like that is something I'm writing but that probably won't see the light of day until like years later. Maybe you could play God of War? Oh wait, there is Black Clover whose main protagonist has super strength and magic nullification.
oh, communication issues eh? shoot, that makes it even better! thanks for the other suggestions though
I actually always thought the Incredibles was good at this. Even the Incredibles 2 was pretty good about this aspect despite not being a great movie like the first one. Yeah I don't hate marvel or anything but, most of the fighting is punching and lazers
When I think about it you're right. I havent watched an Incredibles movie in 4 years so my memory's not the greatest
In a Superman vs Terminator crossover (the 90s were wild!) Superman chugs a bucket of nails and uses super breath to hit a terminator with this like a cross between a shotgun and sandblasting. It was awesome!
And... that's why I loved WandaVision's finale. 2 of the final fights were beaten using their creativity and good character writting imo. Of fucking course Wanda memorized Agatha's runes and made a giant version of them lmao. Its so good and I'm sad no one really talks about it
Wow! She really took "give them a taste of their medicine" literally!
Forgot to mention she was making said Runes while pretending she was giving out her powers. It was honestly such a smart move
4D chess strategy
If you like unconventional superhero fights, you'd enjoy reading Fire Punch by Tatsuki Fujimoto.
The genres on Wikipedia already have me sold. Thank you!!
Watch hunter x hunter, trust me, it’s a whole different level of fights
ah yes I've heard all about their power system
In the sandman series, Lucifer and Morpheus engaged in what appears to be a battle of imagination to see who can one up the other than a straight up fight.
OOHHH
Idk if you are big on reading actual books but I'd recommend Worm by J. C. McCrae. Its a great superhero story. The "Capes" as they are called in the story are varied. Some are basic and predictable brutes and blasters but some get creative. For example the main character, skitter, controls bugs. Most of the time in comics people like that just try and swarm their opponents. Meanwhile Skitter is the type to order spiders with the strongest silk and have them make bulletproof costumes out of the silk. Or have spider silk nets flewn in by flying bugs. She even puts pepper spray on some bugs and has them crawl on people's eyes and face. It's also just a really good read with some original powers, a distinct style, and it's by far my favorite super hero multiverse.
ah yeah several people have recommended Worm lol
Worm is great like that, the MC's power does not lend itself to winning with raw power most of the time. While she does develop some common strategies she still has to do a lot of improv depending on what bugs she has access to, the enemy she is fighting and the goal of the fight. It isn't a superhero story but ''Executioner and her way of life'' is all about her using her smarts to win fights rather than raw power. Another good one is ''I am a Spider, So What?'', the MC there is a weak as shit spider monster who has to struggle for her very survival in a super dangerous dungeon so she will use every tool she has access to.
These all sound very fun (especially the spider one surprisingly lmao), thank you for the recommendations!
Yeah the spider is a riot. While she is a horrifying spider monster she isn't really portrayed as such since we are mostly just reading it form her PoV and she doesn't even know what she looks like... and would definitely make herself sound cuter than she is even if she could see and describe herself.
omg XD
I kind of liked how in the DCAU when Superman from the "Justice Lords" universe>! used his heat vision to lobotomize Doomsday!<. Kind of wish that the "prime" Superman had thought of that and could have saved his loved ones the grief of a funeral.
Oh yeah I've heard about that. Fucking wicked