May 05 2009
How to Do Superhero Gadgets Well
1. A hero’s gadgets are only interesting when he uses them in an exciting and/or unexpected way. No one will say “Wow, he had shark repellent!” But they will be impressed if your hero comes up with a clever way to apply a general tool. Versatile, general tools tend to be more interesting than gadgets that are only useful in a particular situation.
2. Narrow tools may force you to write an Eigen plot. Eigen plots are contrived set-ups where the superhero gets opportunities to use gadgets and/or superpowers that are typically useless. Eigen plots typically come off as cheesy. When the hero catches a golden opportunity to use his shark repellent, it won’t make him look good… it will probably just make you look bad.
3. Tools tend to be more creative and versatile when they draw on the scenery. For example, a grappling device lets the hero use the setting and scenery in ways he couldn’t before. He can set ambushes, try alternate entrances and exits, etc. A cutting tool can do many things depending on the situation. The hero may be able to cut through doors and other hard obstacles, or fashion bandages out of a shirt, or maybe even knock a streetlamp onto an enemy.
4. I recommend sticking with gadgets that are easy to understand. Gadgets that are really high-tech may require more explanation.
Finally, the magnum-opus post is here. Thanks, B. Mac! Include this under Superhero Writing Advice in the sidebar.
I find this post useful, but I wouldn’t say it’s my magnum opus.
Your Latin confuddles me.
I’ve always liked gadgets that worked with a hero’s powers, like Spiderman’s homing devices.
“Magnum opus” is someone’s greatest or largest work.
Yeah, I’m including a few scenes where the usual methods don’t work. Like, there’s an ambush/invasion, so a character has to fight in the kitchen unarmed, so she grabs the meat tenderizer laying on the counter and swings it into the side of the intruder’s head.
Umm, hmm. Remind me not to startle you when you’re cooking.
I don’t cook. I burn water. Smoke alarm and everything.
The trick is to leave the lid slightly ajar. Otherwise it will boil over.
It took me three months to figure that out, and another six months to discover that pasta should be put in the water AFTER the water is boiling, not before. Perhaps that is why I do a superhero writing advice site and not a cooking advice site.
I have been declared a lost cause. People say that if I don’t find and marry a guy who can cook, I might starve.
I can cook.
I can’t cook. Did you know that dried scrambled eggs don’t taste as bad as you think they would?
- Wings
They would if I got ahold of them. >_>;
Oh Rorsach from Watchmen can use household items in many ways! Some people with good gadgets are Batman(Bruce Wayne) and Ironman(Athonry “Tony” Stark)
I’m not so sure about Ironman for good gadgets. In my opinion, his suit isn’t really a gadget, its more of a mode of operation. Batman would be Batman without his gadgets, but I don’t think Ironman would be Ironman without his suit.
Well his suit has different gadgets such as uni beams,repulsor beams. energy shields, anti gravity beam, different suits. Also his suit is in his bones he can mentally summon it around him so he’s not going to be loosing it anytime soon. Tony has lots of suits anyway batman would be batman without his suits.
I understand this is for and from a writing perspective.
From a visual perspective, I would add some other points:
Visual plausibility: it should look like it could actually work.
Useful to the character : why would Batman (who has a code against killing) carry swords or guns? He would have a less lethal weapons arsenal instead.
Unique design and use: Spiderman’s bracelet design forces him to do those trademark hand positions. It’s very iconic. The gadget it self can become a representation of the character if it has something unique to it.
“Well, his suit has different gadgets such as uni beams, repulsor beams, energy shields, anti gravity beam.
I don’t think those count as gadgets, though. I think they’re functions.
What would be some interesting non-lethal gadgets for a clown themed vigilante? I was thinking something along the lines of razor sharp playing cards, and maybe a rubber sledgehammer.
How about a red nose that is actually a smoke bomb and a cork gun (like from funfairs where you get to shoot a prize)?
The flower on the lapel that squirts some kind of acid/liquid would be good for clownish vigilante.
JOKER.
Yeah, I think that a clown-themed vigilante will probably feel a lot like Joker (even though Joker is a villain). He’s sort of got that niche locked up.
What about Jack-in-the-Box from Astro City?
Not sure how well-known Astro City is. I suspect that the typical reader is likely to know of Joker but not JITB.
One of the characters in my novel has super intellect as her power, and I’m trying to consider how to work that in.
My current idea is that at first, she lugs around a huge bag stuffed with all sorts of tech. First mission? “I have just the thing! A (insert something that could only be used in this situation)”
And then she spends the entire fight trying to find it. Its not until its over, and the bad guy is gone, that she pulls it out.
After thinking it through back at the base, she decides to swap in 1001 useless gizmos for a smaller, but more useful repetoire.
So what would these be? I’ll probably make one of them a tazer, to give her some self defence, and some sort of computer link, but what else could I use?
Maybe something like a souped-up smart phone with a bajillion apps. I don’t know what would be applicable in your story, but at one point I have a protagonist search for a nuclear radiation leak using a smart-phone as a Geiger counter. The phone also serves as an all-purpose hacking device, a GPS locator, a decrypter, a remote detonator, a ballistics calculator, a bomb defuser, a remote control for a boat, and a hilariously unreliable medical diagnostic device.
Later, he tries to rig up a portable electromagnetic pulse generator, but instead of creating a device that would be able to fry all circuits within a mile for days at a time, he gets a super-weak pulse that can only turn off the lights in a room for three seconds. Disgusted, he gives the pulse generator to Agent Orange, and by the end of the story the protagonists agree that the apparently pathetic device is actually the most dangerous thing he’s ever created.
What are some good gadgets and weaknesses for a character that can turn invisible.
Generally the only thing for a gadget is some laser. But maybe the invisibility turns off at random, or the character can only use if if their happy. Or maybe at the least cliche, they can only use it if no one is watching, it’s pitch black, ect.
The more usless the powers are, the more interesting it is-unless it is so pointless they might as well not have it.
For limitations on an invisible hero, some options include…
–The character can still be discovered with other senses. (For example, he still makes sounds, he’d leave tracks if he walked through rain or snow or mud, etc). A resourceful enemy could use infrared cameras (because he’d still have a heat signature) or dogs (because he’d still give off his usual smells).
–It’d be challenging (but not impossible) for him to get into fortified facilities with well-guarded gates. The best he might be able to do is wait around for the gate to open for an authorized visitor and then follow the visitor as closely as possible without bumping into him.
–In a tight space like a corridor, it’d be harder for an invisible character to avoid a collision with somebody.
–An invisible character would probably have an easier time sneaking into a facility, but actually doing anything at the facility would still be highly difficult. For example, if his mission were to break someone out of a prison or something, he could get in pretty easily, but how’s he gonna get the prisoner out?
–He’d probably be less useful in a straight-up fight, particularly a fight with heavy firepower. If hundreds of rifle rounds have been fired off, it’s possible he’ll get hit by a blind shot, particularly if the battle is taking place in a confined area.
–A fire-themed adversary could probably smoke him out. Fire spreads very quickly and the smoke itself is highly dangerous. Also, the outline of the character’s body might show up in the smoke (a la Hollow Man).
–There may be a time limit on how long his invisibility lasts. Maybe 15 minutes with a 2 hour cooldown? Ideally, long enough to do stuff, but short enough that it might peter out in a tense situation. (I would err on the side of overchallenging the character rather than underchallenging him).
–Under certain circumstances, the invisibility might not function properly. For example, in a rainstorm, you’d be able to make out the impression of his body because the rain starts hitting something transparent.
–He’d be just as vulnerable to booby traps (like tripped alarms or landmines) as anyone else.
What gadgets would be good for a stealthy hero?
WELL…an invisibility cloak, a silent gun, sprinkling dust to reveal hidden alarm trips (Like those read beams in the movies), artificial eye with a bomb concealed within, ect.
“What gadgets would be good for a stealthy hero?” I think it depends on what you plan on having the hero do. What’s a typical job for him like? (For example, is he sneaking into buildings to steal things and/or download plans, or is he more of a saboteur or assassin?)
Yeah, B.Mac’s right. Your question was a bit vague. Specify a little more and we’ll be happy to help you.
My character needs to sneak into places and obtain information or objects. He knows some martial arts. He prefers to use gadgets and techniques that don’t kill. I am considering if I should give him a regeneration ability or superhuman agility/reflexes as well to supplement his combat/stealth skills.
Well generally, if this is a human, regeneration wouldn’t make sense. Unless this is the future I would recommend against it unless they (at minimum) are a descendant of an alien race. A hybrid would be better, or a mutant. But it depends on what time it is. If it is in the distant future, go ahead. If it’s in the past or present then don’t do it. It wouldn’t make sense to have high-tech technology in a modern setting. One possibility is that someone from the future travels back in time and deliver the gadgets. Anyways I named a couple of spy weapons and gadgets up there. Hope it helps! Ask me if you need anything else!
I think agility would fit the character concept more smoothly than regeneration.*
I’m getting the impression that a stun-gadget like a taser might not fit the story (because it would be too loud), so something like a tranquilizer might work better. (Depending on your preference, it could be administered with a syringe and/or a dart-gun and/or a gas canister thrown like a grenade, etc).
Although stealthy, tranquilizers would still have a few challenges you could use for dramatic effect. For example, they’d have considerably less range than a standard firearm (particularly if he were using syringes). Also, once he has tranquilized someone, you could force him to pick between disposing of the body somewhere or letting another guard stumble across it later.
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One potential concern I’d have is that I think it’d be tricky to come up with a stealth/gadgets/martial arts character without a lot of overlap on Batman. One way to differentiate your character would be to change the character’s personality and/or voice considerably. Another approach would be to significantly change the plot’s tone. For example, Dr. McNinja’s capabilities are pretty similar to Batman’s, but his stories feel totally different than Batman’s because he’s in a straight-up comedy and because he’s dealing with threats as wacky as raptor-riding banditos, Dracula’s secret moon base and Aztec tennis temples of doom.
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*One concern I’d have with regeneration is that it could seriously reduce the dramatic potential of the character trying to sneak in places. I think the most gripping part about a stealth operation is how quickly a single mistake can blow up in the character’s face. If the character can regenerate, I think it will be much harder to challenge him.
The character’s personality is going to be the complete opposite of Batman. Thanks for the help. It really gave me a lot of ideas. Now on to his origin.
Didn’t think of the versitality issue before now. Reminds me of Rorschach shooting a cop with a harpoon grapple gun.
In my superhero world, gadgets usually aren’t given (superheroes are heavily regulated and restricted) unless they can complement the superpower in some way. For example, one guy can secrete acid from his hands, and has a squirt gun that attached to one of his hands and can spray the acid.