lemming Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 Originally posted by Battlestaff In an issue of Superman, I don't remember which one, it was shown that Superman vibrates his face in a very subtle way so that while he looks normal when people look at him, his features are softened a bit, and he's ever-so-slightly out of focus when people take pictures of him. Nah, that's just from all the coffee he drinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckg Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 Superman also deliberately screws up his posture as Clark Kent -- slumping, different body language, and so forth -- and then deliberately stands very erect and forthright when as Superman. This helps people think that Superman's taller than he is, even if they've met both of them. In a classic example of art imitating life imitating art, I think the Superman writers got this from what Christopher Reeve did in "Superman II", as mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yogzilla Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 Actually, just the scene in "Superman: The Motion Picture" where Clark shows up just after Lois & Supes have gone flying is what made me a believer. Lois goes to get her purse, and as she disappears to her bedroom, Clark removes his glasses, stands up straight, and makes this perfectly all-confidence smile. Then, as he realizes he should tell her, he speaks with such conviction in his voice... until he chickens out. :-) Then he slumps, puts back on glasses, and his voice is all nasally. For the first time, I truly believed that one person could pretend to be two with just a pair of glasses. -Yogzilla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterdeath Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 Originally posted by Allensh THE dumbest Superman story ever written, came out in 1979. "The Secret of Clark Kent's Glasses". I wish I could find a back issue of this, just to show people how bad it was Rumor has it the story was so bad they were forced to retract it... Allen At one time there was a short lived DC Heroes newsletter that Mayfair produced. It has some sort of "featured gadget" section. One day, it had "Clark Kent's Glasses" as a Gadget. Using a rough approximation, there's a 5 to 1 correlation between Hero Active Points and DC Hero points. The glasses had "Illusion:186" with a limit of "Can only make Superman look like Clark Kent" or somesuch. Apparently, nobody told the DC Heroes people that they retracted it... D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 Originally posted by FenrisUlf One thing I'd like to know is, why is it that PG wears that outfit of hers, obviously designed to display her charms to best effect -- and then goes berserk whenever some guy points as much out? Just seems kind of dumb to me. Because she doesn't dress herself - she's outfitted by comic artists and editors who know how large a fraction of their readership is made up of pubescent males. Frustrates the heck out of me, frankly. I hate pointless cheesecake costumes. Power Girl and Black Canary had both gotten relatively practical full-body outfits just pre- and post-Crisis, and now they're back in bodice-busters, bare legs and fishnets again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckg Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 That's hardly the worst of it. You should hear Chuck Dixon's rants about how much "fan" mail he got during his run on BIRDS OF PREY, asking for some quote, hot girl-on-girl action, end quote. *retch emoticon* Sheesh. Somedays the fanboys make me ashamed to have the same hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 LL-I like Powergirl, and yes, I do enjoy cheesecake, but I've got to agree that it makes no sense to me when they don't have costumes that fit their personality (ditching practicality out of the way entirely for a moment, but normally that would be a major factor as well). Chuck- Oy... poor Dixon. Clearly some of the 'fans' have confused the genre for something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 Originally posted by Trebuchet Maybe now we've finally found a rationale for those plunging necklines and skin tight bodices on superheroines' costumes: "That was Powergirl? Gosh, what did she look like? I never got around to looking at her face." Investigator (hands headshot to witness): Is this her? Witness (scratches head): I don't know, do you have any shots that are... you know... lower? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSword Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 Originally posted by Lord Liaden Frustrates the heck out of me, frankly. I hate pointless cheesecake costumes. Power Girl and Black Canary had both gotten relatively practical full-body outfits just pre- and post-Crisis, and now they're back in bodice-busters, bare legs and fishnets again. Huntress' outfit made quite a change from being a full body leotard type get-up to being shorts and a sports bra. Great get-up if you are bullet proof, but me personally would want something a little more kevlar-y like the rest of the Bat-team wears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckg Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 The most practical -- if really un-stylish (no color sense, that girl) -- costume I ever saw on a superheroine was the Spoiler's original costume. Full body stocking -- snug but not skin-tight -- long cape, mask, and hood. If it weren't for the fact that Nature had blessed her with a very generous figure, you couldn't even have told what /gender/ she was in that outfit, much less seen anything you could recognize later. It wasn't until about fifty issues later that she even started showing her ponytail. Then again, she was a Chuck Dixon character too, and he's /always/ hated cheesecake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebuchet Posted January 28, 2004 Report Share Posted January 28, 2004 Chuck, I went ahead and read that fanfic story. It was pretty good, although the idea of Princess Diana of Themyscera dressed only in high heels, mesh stockings, and a smile was a bit hard to wrap my mind around. Not that it wasn't fun to try, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebuchet Posted January 28, 2004 Report Share Posted January 28, 2004 Originally posted by Chuckg The most practical -- if really un-stylish (no color sense, that girl) -- costume I ever saw on a superheroine was the Spoiler's original costume. Full body stocking -- snug but not skin-tight -- long cape, mask, and hood. If it weren't for the fact that Nature had blessed her with a very generous figure, you couldn't even have told what /gender/ she was in that outfit, much less seen anything you could recognize later. It wasn't until about fifty issues later that she even started showing her ponytail. Then again, she was a Chuck Dixon character too, and he's /always/ hated cheesecake. Cheesecake has its place, but it's often impractical for a girl of action. Here's the costume I came up with for my female ninja back in 1987, Spirit Ninja. I later redesigned her for a 5e as Blood Orchid: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakboy6117 Posted January 28, 2004 Report Share Posted January 28, 2004 those skimpy cpostumes have got to be a tactical advantage that split second while the guys eyes are slowly traveling up your legs or locked on your clevage are just enough to clock him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WhammeWhamme Posted January 28, 2004 Report Share Posted January 28, 2004 Originally posted by Trebuchet Cheesecake has its place, but it's often impractical for a girl of action. Here's the costume I came up with for my female ninja back in 1987, Spirit Ninja. I later redesigned her for a 5e as Blood Orchid: Wow. Pose well chosen to demonstrate ninja powers... makes my muscles twitch to view... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebuchet Posted January 28, 2004 Report Share Posted January 28, 2004 Originally posted by WhammeWhamme Wow. Pose well chosen to demonstrate ninja powers... makes my muscles twitch to view... It was adopted from a pose in one of the old Champions books or supplements, and required a gallon of whiteout and literally dozens of sequentially slightly altered photocopies to achieve. I'm no artist. Fortunately I worked in a photocopy center at the time, or I never could have afforded to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlSagan Posted January 28, 2004 Report Share Posted January 28, 2004 Cheesecake Originally posted by Hermit LL-I like Powergirl, and yes, I do enjoy cheesecake, but I've got to agree that it makes no sense to me when they don't have costumes that fit their personality (ditching practicality out of the way entirely for a moment, but normally that would be a major factor as well). Who says the outfit doesn't match her personality? Maybe she wears something revealing because she WANTS to go beserk when men react. (I'm sure you could work that into a Psych Lim somehow.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted January 28, 2004 Report Share Posted January 28, 2004 Re: Cheesecake Originally posted by CarlSagan Who says the outfit doesn't match her personality? Maybe she wears something revealing because she WANTS to go beserk when men react. (I'm sure you could work that into a Psych Lim somehow.) Did you see the JSA when the super strong convict had developed a "Bulldozer" style obssession with her? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yogzilla Posted January 28, 2004 Report Share Posted January 28, 2004 Originally posted by Lord Liaden Frustrates the heck out of me, frankly. I hate pointless cheesecake costumes. Power Girl and Black Canary had both gotten relatively practical full-body outfits just pre- and post-Crisis, and now they're back in bodice-busters, bare legs and fishnets again. Don't diss the fishnets - - BC and Zatanna are simply upholding a proud tradition... -Yogzilla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allandrel Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Originally posted by Chuckg Trebuchet -- "An Unusual Mission", chapters 1-3, is here http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=30117 Chapter 4 is here http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=216028 Note -- it's a 'shippy romance fanfic, PG-rated romantic comedy, between Batman and Wonder Woman. You don't want to read that kinda thing, don't go there. However, Adrian Tullberg is a /fantastic/ fanfic author, so I'd suggest going. Isn't "fantastic fanfiction author" an oxymoron? Patrick J McGraw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allandrel Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Originally posted by misterdeath At one time there was a short lived DC Heroes newsletter that Mayfair produced. It has some sort of "featured gadget" section. One day, it had "Clark Kent's Glasses" as a Gadget. Using a rough approximation, there's a 5 to 1 correlation between Hero Active Points and DC Hero points. The glasses had "Illusion:186" with a limit of "Can only make Superman look like Clark Kent" or somesuch. Apparently, nobody told the DC Heroes people that they retracted it... D Waittaminute - 186 DC Heroes Attribute Points? That's ridiculous. Beings on the power level of the Endless top out at 40-50 in their best abilities. Patrick J McGraw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korvar Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Originally posted by Allandrel Isn't "fantastic fanfiction author" an oxymoron? Patrick J McGraw Not at all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allandrel Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Originally posted by Korvar Not at all... Really? Because I've yet to see a piece of fanfiction that isn't full of grammatical errors. Patrick J McGraw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korvar Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Well, if that's your only criterion... Bearing in mind, most professional authors have editors and paid proofreaders to check that stuff; do we know that Stephen King, say, can actually put a sentence together without help? But obviously fanfic written by amateur authors isn't everyone's cup of tea. Different strokes, and all. But sometimes it's about the ideas and how they're presented rather than the technical quality of the writing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korvar Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Of course, the most annoying things about fanfic authors isn't their grammatical failings but their habit of getting 1/2 way through a story then stopping... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allandrel Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Originally posted by Korvar Well, if that's your only criterion... Bearing in mind, most professional authors have editors and paid proofreaders to check that stuff; do we know that Stephen King, say, can actually put a sentence together without help? But obviously fanfic written by amateur authors isn't everyone's cup of tea. Different strokes, and all. But sometimes it's about the ideas and how they're presented rather than the technical quality of the writing... It's not my only criterion, but it's one of the early ones. There is no excuse for a writer using poor grammar. Personal proofreading won't find everything, of course, but if you proffread something and still get one or more grammatical errors in every paragraph, you need to go back and re-learn grammar before you start writing again. Technical quality is very important, if someone wants their work to look like anything other than amatuer hackwork. Furthermore, bad grammar interferes with the writer's ideas and their presentation. Errors distract the reader from what the author is trying to say. To be taken seriously, an artist needs to understand and properly use the tools of his medium - and in a writer's case this includes grammar. Patrick J McGraw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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