Super Hero stuff that portrays human vulnerabilities

[KauaiJim]

So this is a weird subject (I think).  Over the last few month/years I have seen some really good 'super hero' themed stuff that actually includes the 'dark side' of humanity pretty well.  I just tonight discovered a series on Netflix called 'Jupiter's Legacy'.  This is on the tail of me watching season 1 & 2 of "The Boys" and the movie 'Brightburn" = all of which made me feel a bit 'sick' inside but also made me realize the crazy 'truth' of anyone actually trying to be a 'super hero' - it's not all rainbows and unicorns.  For some reason I really connect all of this with City of Heroes, because in some odd way it seems to really try to portray both the good and bad sides as flawed - which is true.

 

Anyhow, while I watch 'Jupiter's Legacy' I was wondering if any of this stuff has had any impact on anyone else?  I find it very interesting to take the 'Heroes' tv show theme and make it believably real.

 

Have any of you watched any of these same shows (or others) recently and felt a whole new 'connection' to the humanity of being a super hero?

I'm logging off right now to finish watching the first episode of Jupiter's Legacy' before calling it a night.  Curious to see if tomorrow morning any of you were 'impacted' by these latest super hero tv dramas.  G'nite all!  😘

[KauaiJim]

Holy bleep - never mind. This show is awesome.  Just curious if any of you are fascinated with the heroes among humans concept.  I am.   

 

Okay wow - what a show,  I find it nutso that something so well done can be overlooked.  

Edited May 20, 2021 by KauaiJim

[TemporalVileTerror]

The majority of my characters are Natural Origin for exactly this reason.  I am fascinated with the human element in a setting which others often take for granted as being divorced from reality.  Often times they'll call it "depressing," and I find that such an odd way to view one of the most hopeful and inspiring perspectives on the genre, themes, and setting.

Similarly, I roleplay characters as existing all across the socio-economic spectrum with various cultural and political beliefs, physical and mental health conditions, and personal identities.  I find having the myriad angles to explore the City universe to be deeply compelling.   Then again, it's already a lens with which I've professionally operated in real life in a variety of careers, so I suppose it's not much of a leap for me.

I just think it would be nice if more (role)players took the time to scratch the surface of it too.  Especially the ones who are also Devs.

There's a LOT of room to explore the themes inherent to "City," and not just "Heroes" in the title City of Heroes.

[Luminara]

Hancock.  You can't talk about flawed superhero interpretations without including Hancock.  It's a great portrayal of a flawed superhero and how he relates to and interacts with people.  There's a surprising degree of character development, considering that it's a comedy.

[Mr. Vee]

Jupiter's Legacy was pretty good but is in the unfortunate position of being about as good as invincible but coming right on its heels. Also it was probably hurt by how terrible its first episode was. Neither of them is as good as the Boys. JL does seem to be the most like CoH though as there's definitely a States/Recluse thing going with two of them and the power source is about as Well of Furies-esque as you can get...

Spoiler

while on a moon. But really the should superheroes kill theme has been done to death at this point. It just doesn't do very much to set itself apart. I wonder if the comic is better. Millar's other similar not-justice-league book Wanted was completely gutted in adaptation so it wouldn't be surprising.

 

[Techwright]

A few years back there was Alphas, which had quite a human side to their characters.  I was a bit disappointed when it was cancelled.  I felt it had just started a story that would really move the series forward.

[Haijinx]

This was something that the Netflix Marvel series did well.