Short Cuts: Hard to Believe! Successful Comic Concepts that Challenged Your Acceptance!









Martinex1: Recently we have talked about our appreciated seriousness of comic book concepts (as well as the opposite lack thereof).  Today let's consider characters, situations, powers, gadgets, and predicaments that challenged your personal level of acceptance.   The suspension of disbelief is an important aspect of enjoying comic books, but what particularly successful concepts really were on the edge for you?  What "strange" things became relatively accepted in comic books, but you personally never really liked or struggled to appreciate fully.


I want to stick with successful and repeated particulars if possible (because there are just so many weird one-offs), but let's discuss and create a list of the things that just about annoy you enough to make you not buy a comic.


To get us started, here are an array of those types of things that give me pause.


CHARACTERS:   I always marveled that Fin Fang Foom was an accepted and acceptable archenemy of Iron Man.  The dragon always seemed like a stretch for me.  I don't particularly dislike the character, but he does make me scratch my head.   From his name to his pants, the villain is one that when I step back and look at it, he doesn't make a lot of sense.

Similarly, I have really come to enjoy the new Guardians of the Galaxy and the whacky team members.   But there is still something about Groot and Rocket Raccoon that screams "Silver Age Madness!" to me (even through Rocket is from the Bronze Age).   I have to give credit to the modern creators for making this work.  That is good writing and characterization if you can make me care about these characters.   But I still hesitate a bit.

GADGETS AND DEVICES:  I will probably generate a lot of debate and derision in the comments with this one, but I've always thought the Batmobile is just silly.

For some reason, I just cannot put it into the proper perspective.   How does it get built?  Can't it be tracked?   It is something that is so much a part of the Batman mythos, and because of that it actually had slowed my liking of the character.  Again, it seems like a very dated concept to me.

But if you think I am ripping on DC only, I will add that Reed Richard's Ultimate Nullifier is a complete contrivance.  And even certain uses of Spider-Man's webs leave me less than impressed.  

 

POWERS: Superman's X-Ray and Heat Vision! Ugh! Wonder Woman's Magical Lasso! Huh!

 

So what do you have to say?  Are there comic book concepts that challenge your acceptance?  And maybe you love them anyway?   Let's get the conversation started! Cheers!