Comments on: Creating Weaknesses for Your Superheroes

By: legolosarrow

legolosarrow — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:13:30 +0000

This was a good article…Anyways, I have a couple characters I’m still trying to find weakness for, though I do have a few ideas, and I’m wondering what you think.

FrenzyFire(Super Strength,Fire)~When he gets angry, his powers get stronger, and stronger, then after being angry for rougly 30 minutes, his powers start getting weaker, and weaker, and weaker, until he’s a regular guy.(From regular guy, his powers take an hour and a half to recharge)

Sonicboom(Speed, sound)~Hard to find footing on certian substances(sand,liquid etc.)his soles get worn out after about two, maybe three runs(This will be fixed once he meets my super-intelligent charcter).Kind of an idiot…(Will be fixed as he meets other heroes and starts hanging out with them.)

Shadow Assasin(Shadows, various types of weapons)~He doesn’t socialize well(He’s from Midevil times)he always kills those who work for the ‘Order of Light’(Order of Light=Very, very bad people)

So, good, bad, or ok? If bad or ok, what can I do to make it better?

By: Paper~Cranes

Paper~Cranes — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 22:17:22 +0000

Thanks, guys! I always have a problem getting the right weaknesses for superpowered characters. And I’m still deciding where his powers should exactly come from without seeming to cliche. (Like from radiation or another planet) And since he’s not insane, it would definately contrast with his normal personality. And I really like the idea of only being able to control shadows and not darkness in general. That would make a really good weakness. Like I said, I’m not so good with brainstorming. xD I’m really glad I found a site like this that can actually answer my questions as they come up. I’m really grateful for the help, seen as how my usual writing related website lacks superhero awesomeness. I haven’t seen much superhero stories on it. :’(

By: Myna

Myna — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 15:44:59 +0000

I agree, the losing-his-sanity thing sounds like it could be very fitting (especially with the nature of his power) and it would serve as a nice contrast to his personality. Unless he’s naturally insane. xD

I also like the idea that he’s less powerful in the day, but more powerful in the night, it’s very good I think and it’s easy for readers to understand and connect with his power.

By: Wings

Wings — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 15:33:27 +0000

I like the sanity loss as a weakness for an umbrakinetic. What do his powers come from: magic, mutation, aliens, etc.?

- Wings

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 15:09:45 +0000

“Ah, so let’s say that controlling shadows means that his sanity could slowly be eaten away by something inside of him. Like, the thing that enables him to use his powers could kill him if he uses too much?” Yeah, that sounds like it could be effective.

“And put that with my previous limitation thing.” Well, like Myna mentioned, there are shadows pretty much everywhere, so I’m not sure how easy it’d be to work that into the story. (The only scenario I can think of is that a villain well-prepared for this particular protagonist might have a room that’s well-lit at every angle). Alternately, maybe his powers would be less effective outside when the shadows tend to be smallest (around noon). Alternately, if his powers are tied only to shadows and not to darkness in general, maybe he can’t use his powers in a completely dark room.

By: Paper~Cranes

Paper~Cranes — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 14:25:45 +0000

Ah, so let’s say that controlling shadows means that his sanity could slowly be eaten away by something inside of him. Like, the thing that enables him to use his powers could kill him if he uses too much? And put that with my previous limitation thing. So would that be a more plausible solution? Since shadows are generally considered evil and maybe he only got his powers from evil or something. *flails* I’m not really good at brainstorming.

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:19:54 +0000

I agree with Myna that you could probably come up with a more interesting limitation. This article might help, particularly #2.

By: Myna

Myna — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 15:09:43 +0000

That weakness makes sense, but considering that there are shadows EVERYWHERE there is light, there is no limit to the shadows he could use anyway…

By: Paper~Cranes

Paper~Cranes — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 15:07:55 +0000

I have a question! I’m currently trying (but failing) to write a superhero novel. My hero can manipulate and distort shadows as he pleases. The catch is- he can only use his powers when shadows are present and they are only as strong as how much shadows he actually has to use. Does that sound like a good weakness?

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Sun, 22 May 2011 08:20:34 +0000

It sounds interesting. I think #1 is a really useful limitation, so I would recommend against letting him get TOO proficient at the ability. (Maybe he gets capped around 5 minutes or 10?) I think #4 is a really helpful way to keep the stakes high.

By: Tempo

Tempo — Sat, 21 May 2011 18:40:29 +0000

Hello!

I’ve been toying with the idea of writing a superhero story for a while now, more for my personal enjoyment and writing practice than anything. My character Tempo’s power is time manipulation, and I fully realize that if left unchecked, that would get VERY boring. My ideas for limitations:

1. It only lasts a short while, comparable to how long you can hold your breath.

2. It requires some concentration to get going, so it won’t lead to super-reflexes very easily.

3. Just because he’s moving faster than everything else does not mean that light touches feel like punches.

4. No time travel, no rewind.

1 and 2 would probably start to fall away a bit as my character gets better at using it. Any thoughts?

By: Comicbookguy117

Comicbookguy117 — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 23:54:49 +0000

I know this thread is for discussing the weaknesses of our characters, but I have a quesation about a recent chaaracter’s strength/motive for fighting crime. Ok, so we all have heard our parents say that they’d do anything for us, but they don’t normally get a chance to prove it. So I’m thinking that after this character gets powered, they come to the conclusion that the world is just too dangerous a place. They decide to fight crime and other forms of evil in order to raise their child in a worthwhile environment. I realise this motive may be cliched but I really do think it fits with the character. So what do you guys think? I mean in regards to becoming a superhero, how extreme does a motive have to be?

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 04:11:25 +0000

I like the idea of using Mexico DF. I think it’s more plausible as a recurring scene for block-to-block superbrawls than New York City.

Also, it reminds me of the scene in Super Troopers where the cop screams “You boys like Mexico?”

…

Sniper mooks sound fun, too. I hate using video games for writing inspiration, but snipers made for surprisingly nasty foes in Arkham Asylum.

By: Lt. Hang

Lt. Hang — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 00:29:06 +0000

Hmmmm. Guns are a good idea… He wouldn’t be able to do anything if shot. I guess a sharpshooter mook, or several mooks with common guns, would be enough to get enough time for the villains to carry out their plans.

Bludgeoning weapons would be quite useful in those “a hundred mooks versus one hero” fights, or even “gang versus hero”. He’d have to think much more before engaging in any fight, and would have to plan his actions a lot better than just “walk in there, kick evil guys and get out”.

Point taken on the air quality topic. I guess Dax wouldn’t be able to do much in these situations, or even if one villain started smoking… The Evil Headquarters will definitely be in Ciudad de México (yay for high altitude and highly polluted air).

Thanks for the help!

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 21:39:58 +0000

I feel like guns would be pretty effective (if conventional). Getting shot HURTS. If he’d scream due to a small bump, I’m thinking anything ranging from an actual bullet to a blank to “nonlethal” bullets for riot police would pose a major problem for him.

Depending on the level of brutality you’re comfortable with, you could use a bludgeoning weapon. Baseball bats and other bludgeoning weapons would almost certainly not feel silly.

It seems like his breathing situation is sketchy, so another approach would be using gas and/or staging a fight in an area where the quality of air is pretty poor (mountains/high altitude, industrial wastelands, using explosions and/or fire and/or incinerators to cloud the air with ash, etc).