Heroes and their compassion

[Powerhouse]

While not exactly a Hero games post, I thought that this thread would be acceptable for this forum. I was watching one of my favorite animated scenes from an American cartoon- Batman and Ace from the JLU finale.

 

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Ace is a powerful psychic who can reshape reality, but she's dying and may take out the city with her. Batman volunteers to take her out but really goes there to comfort her. There is a level of compassion and concern that you seldom see in Batman but it's there and it's wonderful- it's what makes him more than just some dark being dishing out revenge at night.

 

It's here:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvdUnewMs64&mode=related&search=

 

 

It led me to think about other instances where you see heroes being heroes not from their powers or even courage but from their hearts- it's something I think to remember as we play through Champions. Two other examples:

 

Fantastic Four: Mr. Fantastic confronts a jumper (we're talking the non-Millar/Bendis Reed who can actually relate to a human being). He's dying from cancer, his son is already dead and his wife left him. He has no one so why not just end it now so that he doesn't have to die scared and alone in some hospital bed. Reed gives him a phone number and tells him (paraphrasing):

 

"take this and, when the time comes, call me. No matter what else is happening, I'll be there right away for you."

 

"And you'll be there... and hold me hand until... I ..."

 

"Yes, I promise."

 

That's a hero. And don't get me started on Spiderman revealing his identidy to his biggest fan (a young boy with terminal cancer).

 

Any moments like this (either in comics or from your own characters) that you'd like to share? Or maybe some GM's who have worked these opportunities for more tender moments into their games?

 

Thanks everyone, hoping that I wasn't too rambly.

[Balabanto]

Re: Heroes and their compassion

 

Trust me. Mind Over MAtter is nothing if not a test of the Heroes compassion.

[wylodmayer]

Re: Heroes and their compassion

 

There was a great example in a Daredevil issue. Jon Romita Jr did the art on it, and I think it was back when Ann Nocenti was writing it... anyway, this guy loses his job at, I think, a pharm company, because he can't figure out how to use the computers they installed at his station. So he starts poisoning some of the company's products to ruin them. Anyway, Daredevil tracks the guys down, but so does the Punisher, and DD and Big Pun slug it out over this guy's fate. DD wins, of course, and hauls the guy in, but also defends him, as Murdock. The guy's guilty, no two ways about it, but Murdock promises to help him get psychiatric treatment - basically, the guy is shown to be a bit slow, and deeply troubled, a victim of economic forces beyond his control. It didn't excuse what he did, of course, but Matt recognized that the situation this guy was dealt was far from ideal. He did the right thing for the victims of the guy's crimes by bringing him in, but he also tried to do the right thing for the criminal himself, by trying to see to it that he got the help he needed.

 

Pretty good stuff, if you ask me. Real heroin' is about more than just bustin' heads.

[ParagonAlpha]

Re: Heroes and their compassion

 

Years ago I ran a Champions “one-shot” that I titled ‘Dawn of the Destroyer”. The Basic premise behind the story was that Dr. Destroyer was threatening to release a virus into the Earth’s atmosphere, a virus that would give 90% of the population metahuman abilities, but not necessarily the control over them. Needless to say this caused a major world threat (Dr. Destroyer’s bailiwick).

 

Dr. destroyer planned for all the chaos being caused by his threats and demands would draw all the “big guns” away, leaving at best a rag tag group of heroes to try and stop him. Of course he needed heroes to try otherwise, no one would know of his great plan and the skill he succeeded in using.

 

So left to fight the evil Doctor are a motley crew of heroes.

Darkwing - an insane martial artist who thinks he’s a comic book character.

Vanguard – the son of a human and silicon based alien, with the ability to alter his shape.

Masquerade – a covert operative for some clandestine, quasi-legal US government agency, whose ability to transform herself into any person and limited telepathy make her dangerous.

Mecha X – a mutant boy with the ability to transform into an anime robot as well as create cool illusionary effects usually with an animated theme.

The Altruist – once a powerful metahuman, his abilities had faded away over the years as his self-doubt had increased. (I’ll post his stats and history later all I can say is awesome!!)

Peacekeeper – a police officer who, when danger threatened, could transform into a superhero capable of flight and super strength. He wasn’t aware of his alternate self.

Dragon – An ancient Chinese dragon, that gave up his immortality and power to live life as a mortal. He was one hell of a martial artist and could do some amazing “tricks”.

 

The PC’s have figured things out, located Dr. Destroyer, listened to his plan, attacked him full out, beaten his henchman, and have escaped into his lair.

The Altruist has found out that Dr. Destroyer has planned this attack for over 15 years and calculated that the Altruist would be a threat, so began a campaign to destroy his self-worth and confidence.

 

Angered by all of this Dr. Destroyer began to launch all the virus bombs from his space-based lair (the PC’s were on Destruga Island that had been turned into a space platform). The PC’s go try to stop him.

 

Darkwing distracts Dr. Destroyer and tries to delay the launch sequence. (It hurts him a lot but he does do some damage).

 

Vanguard is shattered into thousands of pieces and is near death.

 

Masquerade, Peacekeeper (still in cop form) and Mecha X make their way to the launch bay and try and disarm the bombs, but there are to many and not enough time.

 

The Altruist went on a rampage, discovered some things that belonged to him and threw down with Dr. Destroyer.

 

Dragon called on his last powers and summoned the spirits of all those slain by Dr. Destroyer, either directly or indirectly, over the years. Ghosts of superheroes and villains appeared and helped to stop the bombs. Vanguards “father” appeared and fixed him by bonding with him making things weird in that whole family.

 

The heroes saved the world, escape the base (without the Altruist who is locked in mortal combat with the Doctor), barely survive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere and watch the island explode as its reactor goes critical. No remains can be found of the Doctor or the Altruist.

 

A memorial service is held for the dead heroes and a special statue is placed to commemorate the Altruists sacrifice. As the people cry and heroes wait in silence, Mecha X unfurls an American flag an holds it in front of the Altruists headstone, so there is a reflection of the red, white, and blue flapping in the wind. He then rolls the flag back up but the flapping flag still remains in the headstone.

 

The player of the Altruist began to cry. I had goose bumps. It is hands down the best game I ever ran, and throughout the day there were moments of “beyond herodom”.

[OzMike]

Re: Heroes and their compassion

 

Rep to that

[Plex]

Re: Heroes and their compassion

 

I don't know if it counts as being super heroic compassionate, but it definitely counts as being human and compassionate. (Something the heroes in comics sometimes overlook.):

 

It's the Fantastic Four 285 issue with Johnny having to deal with a kid who idolized him and wanted to be just like him, tried to, and burnt himself badly/mortally. (Synopsis here: http://jeffords.blogspot.com/2006/06/fantastic-four-285-hero-ernest.html) -- not my website, but a good overview of the comic.

 

This was probably and still is one of the best single issues ever written with a hero having to deal with his heroism. It is what reminds me of why I like superhero comics.

[Squall]

Re: Heroes and their compassion

 

One that always jumps out at me is in Daredevil's Born Again arc. It's not exactly a tear-jerker or anything, but it reminds me that super heroes are good guys for more than their ability to give bad guys a black eye.

 

**POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNING**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every time I read it, I'm surprised at how much Cap and DD want Nuke to survive. There's this guy that's gone nuts in the heart of New York City with a machinegun (complete with grenade launcher, flamethrower, you name it), killed plenty of people, etc, etc -- and both of them realize he's not really sane enough to be held personally accountable for his actions. Cap talks to him in that militant way that makes Nuke feel safe, and they both do everything they can to keep him alive, even in a Frank Miller story.

 

It's not a feel-good moment of the year or anything, but it reminds me what good guys do.

[Comic]

Re: Heroes and their compassion

 

There was an issue of New Mutants were Hercules proved his divinity to Greek-Pantheon-worshipping Amara (after his undignified antics as a B-movie-actor eroded her faith) not by his strength or immortality, but by his compassionate use of his divine ability to speak to the spirit of a hero when it was beyond the reach of mortal contact.

[Hermit]

Re: Heroes and their compassion

 

Hercules also had another good one on a less divine scale. It's been mentioned in other threads before, but there's a storyline where Hercules meets a young boy who is clearly a big fan of Thor. Hercules begins to tell the lad about an encounter he had with the Thundergod. As Hercules' story unfolds, the Lion of Olympus brags about his trouncing the Asgardian. Now bragging is second nature to Hercules, and he and Thor have a long rivalry that, while mostly friendly, is probably a cornerstone of their interaction. However, as more and more of Herc's story comes out, the young boy's face grows longer and longer. Someone (I believe it is Jarvis) points out to Hercules that the lad is miserable hearing that HIS hero, Thor, got stomped so bad.

 

Hercules, seeing this, deftly changes the last part of the story as he gets to it. He tells the lad that Thor then got up, informed Hercules that Thor was merely toying with him, and then REALLY Cut loose, knocking Herc out flat (and possibly in New Jersey) easily! The boy is all smiles at this new version of events, and heads off.

 

There's no life or death here, no big stakes... which is why, I think, it stands out. Hercules sacrifices his own pride to stop a child's tears and keep that lad's image of his hero untarnished.

 

 

Probably one of Herc's best moments ever.

["V"]

Re: Heroes and their compassion

 

That was a good Hercules story - it was indeed Jarvis that put Herc on the right track after seeing all the pics of Thor that the kid had in his sketchbook (that the local bullies had just torn up). Some good comedy in there prior to the good deed at the end too, I seem to remember a panel when Thor throws a tantrum and hits Herc squarely and ineffectually 'bonk' on the head with Mjolnir (in Hercules recollection of course!) and Hercules comments drily that "Being hit on the head with a weapon as ridiculous as the Uru Hammer made me lose my much vaunted calm" (or words to that effect).

[Hermit]

Re: Heroes and their compassion

 

Oh, sidenote: Powerhouse, great idea for a thread. Rep sent.

[Tech]

Re: Heroes and their compassion

 

I had a different version of this scenario with a superheroine of mine. Instead of trying to fight to the bitter end to protect her teammates, she gives herself up to the villains to protect them. Giving of yourself for others makes for wonderful roleplaying!

 

(Reposted from forum 'Let's Talk CVK')

 

I have a female character who's got innate wind powers. Genocide showed up (forgot why) but Genocide was ready for the fellow teammate with powered armor. They used a small robot which started to kill him; this was all-in-all a very energy-laden and emotional episode, particularly because of the next scene:

 

My character flies up to the commander and tells him to call off the attack and she'll willingly go with him, no questions. Now, I actually struggled with her saying that because I knew the consequences but it was in character. It worked at any rate and Genocide started to leave, my character with. I had her say a brief 'Goodbye' to her teammates realizing she was walking towards her death. This left the group in tortured confusion for a few moments. Fortunately, that got my armored teammate to seriously push his attack & vaporize the robot hurting him. They rescued her before she got too far (after all, she gave her word, not them) and managed to beat Genocide. Afterwards, the PC's and characters were emotionally drained but thoroughly enjoyed the episode.

[Susano]

Re: Heroes and their compassion

 

That was a good Hercules story - it was indeed Jarvis that put Herc on the right track after seeing all the pics of Thor that the kid had in his sketchbook (that the local bullies had just torn up). Some good comedy in there prior to the good deed at the end too' date=' I seem to remember a panel when Thor throws a tantrum and hits Herc squarely and ineffectually 'bonk' on the head with Mjolnir (in Hercules recollection of course!) and Hercules comments drily that "Being hit on the head with a weapon as ridiculous as the Uru Hammer made me lose my much vaunted calm" (or words to that effect).[/quote']

 

Yeah, Herc's bragging is doing nothing but make the boy feel miserable and giving the local bullies a chance to laugh at him for idolizing Thor. Once Jarvis sets Herc straight, he changes his tune, ending his story with Thor hitting him so hard he ends up "in that land even the gods have forsaken -- New Jersey!" And when the boy asks "Did Thor really beat you" Herc states "Would I lie?" He also informs the bullies that it doesn't pay to mess around with those the Lion of Olympus counts as friends, and has the boy (and his mother) come to Avengers Mansion for dinner.

[FenrisUlf]

Re: Heroes and their compassion

 

Hercules also had another good one on a less divine scale. It's been mentioned in other threads before, but there's a storyline where Hercules meets a young boy who is clearly a big fan of Thor. Hercules begins to tell the lad about an encounter he had with the Thundergod. As Hercules' story unfolds, the Lion of Olympus brags about his trouncing the Asgardian. Now bragging is second nature to Hercules, and he and Thor have a long rivalry that, while mostly friendly, is probably a cornerstone of their interaction. However, as more and more of Herc's story comes out, the young boy's face grows longer and longer. Someone (I believe it is Jarvis) points out to Hercules that the lad is miserable hearing that HIS hero, Thor, got stomped so bad.

 

Hercules, seeing this, deftly changes the last part of the story as he gets to it. He tells the lad that Thor then got up, informed Hercules that Thor was merely toying with him, and then REALLY Cut loose, knocking Herc out flat (and possibly in New Jersey) easily! The boy is all smiles at this new version of events, and heads off.

 

There's no life or death here, no big stakes... which is why, I think, it stands out. Hercules sacrifices his own pride to stop a child's tears and keep that lad's image of his hero untarnished.

 

 

Probably one of Herc's best moments ever.

 

I loved the story more for the comedy value, but it's a great piece of work.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: Heroes and their compassion

 

My first year at GenCon, I played in a game -- I think named China Doll -- run by Kerry Connell. (Mike / Balabanto, I think you were in that same game with me.) IMO, it was the best game I'd ever played in.

 

The female antagonist (can't really call her a villain) was terrorizing her former business partner in a modeling firm, seriously damaging his business and obviously building up to eventually killing him. The GM did such a great job revealing bits and pieces about the woman's past and the mental distress Mr. Scumbag had done to her (as well as to other models) that, had she had a change of heart and turned herself in to the police, I think we would have kept investigating just to figure out what was really going on.

 

Anyway, when it came time for the big showdown with her and some hired gun-toting thugs, I don't think any shots were fired. She managed to grab Mr. Scumbag and stick her gun to his head, but instead of trying to disarm her or distract her or somehow get the hostage away from her, we simply talked to her. The compassion that all of the heroes (and the players) showed to her managed to get her to put the gun down and let him go. As some of the players made impassioned pleas, I had goosebumps.

 

As I said, it was the best game I'd ever played in.