tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post6830715768943321864..comments2024-03-29T02:36:26.151-07:00Comments on TalkToYoUniverse: Educational Backstory: avoiding arbitrary superpowersJuliette Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-49795525091661678062009-04-20T07:48:00.000-07:002009-04-20T07:48:00.000-07:00The superhero stuff is by necessity a bit far-fetc...The superhero stuff is by necessity a bit far-fetched. I think it's interesting that they go to the trouble to explain it at all. With characters in other stories, especially non-superheroes, it's particularly important to establish which skills are part of basic self-knowledge ( I was born with it), which are learned, and which are unexpected for the character - and what those differences mean.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-74993326544728575002009-04-20T06:56:00.000-07:002009-04-20T06:56:00.000-07:00Ah, so it's a matter of establishing abilities bef...Ah, so it's a matter of establishing abilities before they're needed at crucial moments? I can't argue with that. :)David Steffenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14858597385776615419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-17375149476948606402009-04-19T23:19:00.000-07:002009-04-19T23:19:00.000-07:00David, I have to say I agree with you, but not to ...David, I have to say I agree with you, but not to be contrary, I believe the difference is that you're bringing up the explanation of arbitrary powers versus making them seem natural within the story. The difference, at least to me, is that instead of having a character in the story pull out something extremely usefull at the most opportune time (like being able to see through a wall just when they need to see what's on the other side) that power has always been there, and the reader knows it. It might not be reasonable to think that someone can do whatever the character is doing, but that's what makes it fantasy or scifi. Of course, it always helps to have a reasonable explanation for said power.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05799582651005924816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-83174600876153835962009-04-19T15:59:00.000-07:002009-04-19T15:59:00.000-07:00On the subject of skills that can be learned, I ag...On the subject of skills that can be learned, I agree with you, but with supernatural powers, origin stories can so easily just become corny. Using superheroes as an example, so many superheroes gained their powers from radiation--radioactive spiders, being caught in a gamma bomb explosion, and being barraged with cosmic rays. When was the last time you heard of someone having positive effects from radiation exposure? I think the likelihood of that is pretty much zero. Even if you didn't die from the initial event you would probably die a slow and very unpleasant death as your teeth and hair fell out and your cells degenerated.<br /><br />X-Men is better than most, suggesting a jump in evolution. It has its flaws too, of course--how does the entire race know that it's time to evolve? It's not like there's inter-organism cellular communication (that is biological cells, not cell phones). But at least if you buy that basic premise, it explains why there are so many mutants running around, instead of assuming that all these people have survived radioactive accidents.<br /><br />Some stories at least verge on the believable. The new Spiderman movies explain it with a genetically engineered spider instead of a radioactive spider. That I can at least find plausible on some level if the spider's DNA has been altered with an engineered retrovirus, the virus could theoretically be transferred to another organism to cause alterations there.<br /><br />For supernatural powers, I think it can be perfectly acceptable to have no origin explanation of a power. For instance, I have a story where a man can talk to machines. It's never explained because he's just always been like that as long as he can remember. His ability has shaped his character but the origin of the ability remains a mystery. Maybe he could have an origin story someday to find out where his ability came from, but that's not what this particular story is about.David Steffenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14858597385776615419noreply@blogger.com