Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

[Hermit]

I have an idea for a campaign. Nothing is written in concrete but the general idea is this...

 

A superhero team that was big and powerful in the late 80s, and began to dwindle in the late 90s, finds its membership growing older, and in many cases, moving on. Naturally, odds are one or two members may have died. Over the past two decades, for whatever reasons, they've lost more members than they've taken in.

 

So, now, realizing that the team is about to die out, and with few heroes cropping up in the city to replace them, they send out word of a membership drive. They're willing to take in any superhero over 18 that meets their criteria. In exchange, those heroes (The PCs) get to join up in a city that needs them.

They have access and may live at the base.

There is an instant 'team' to support them, the other PCs who have been accepted.

They can get the keys to the team vehicle, and communication wristbands.

and a rogues gallery/enemies not their own.

 

Ok, the last may suck, but there you go.

 

What I need is suggestions on the best reasons for superheroes to retire, quit, move on, or what not. I'd like most of them to be positive or at least not down right ugly... this isn't meant to be iron age per se ("Who knew Captain Courage managed illegal dog fights?") though tragedy is possible.

 

Input and ideas in general are welcome.

[Opale]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

- You quit before with time, your powers are fading or failing to work properly for various reasons

- you retire because you "have seen enough, done enough, and it's not your time, your World anymore. You can feel it in your guts.. "

- You want a normal life after all what you did. you deserve it; You're now cynic and bitter; Let this mad world to the new generation, but if someone try to annoy you when you retire, then the Hero may leave your inner self and let's become a Vigilante instead

- You disappear : by your own choice, to protect someone, by kidnapping, because your power transported you elsewhere, to find a secret.. and so on... You enter the legend and some might investigate on your disappearance..

[Balabanto]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

--You quit because your powers come with a time limit, whatever being has given them to you rescinds the powers after a certain period of time. This gives you the ability to have a new hero with the same powers as the old hero if anyone wants the opportunity to do so.

 

--You quit because it is time for you to go back to your secret island, your time in (Man's world, the world of non-gorillas, the place of no-coffee, whatever) is done.

 

--You quit because of a life-threatening injury you received saving thousands or millions of people. This gives that hero one last hurrah saving the PC's if it's necessary.

 

--You quit because your martial arts school has appointed you it's highest instructor, and the school is in the Himilayas. Your PC's are here.

[The Nexus]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

The entire team went against Time Master and they are all now 90 years old (or the equivalent).

[Karmakaze]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

--You quit because of a life-threatening injury you received saving thousands or millions of people. This gives that hero one last hurrah saving the PC's if it's necessary.

 

For that matter, if you're going for realism, at the edge of 50, you just don't have the reflexes you had as a younger hero, not to mention the accumulated injuries of several decades (look at the sort of things you see in boxers or football players at the end of their careers.) That also allows for the last hurrah.

 

If you're looking at female heroes, there's always pregnancy and the demands of childcare. You could even have a heroine mentoring her own kid.

[csyphrett]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

The time limit on powers is a good one.

 

Maybe the hero just can't handle using the ability anymore.

 

Some might have died from age, disease, old enemies, retgoned from existence.

 

Maybe the power has mutated the hero into something else, and he can no longer interact with humanity.

 

Maybe some sacrificed themselves to stop some cosmic horror.

CES

[Enforcer84]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

your trained normals are going to be getting long in the tooth.

Superpowers fade or in tragic cases, never stop growing til the hero's control begins to slip. They leave to protect all they cared about. (opening the door for them to return eventually)

[Christopher]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

- Legacy Heros: There will always be a Red Ensign/Batman. You are burned out. When you have a sidekick/descendant itching to take on your cape, he can simply start. If not, maybe the next generation has somebody.

- Psychical Complications: Not nessesary burnout, but perhaps you got more and more brutal (like what hapened to Superman and Wonder Woman during JLU) after all these years of crimefighting and you fear to become a "mirror-universe" version of yourself.

- When your familiy knows of your identity, perhaps they want you to no longer risk your life.

- perhaps the crime was relatively silent for years, effectively driving most heros to more "active" cities. Overall low crime rate also means fewer "traumatic childhood experiences" like seeing your parents shoot, ergo fewer new superheroes.

- Something really ruined your reputation and perhaps even the police started hunting you (i.e. accidently killing someone). You can't continue your heroic iddentity anywhere in the land, you don't want to leave it and you can't just "switch" your cape (distinctive power, unwilling).

- your Power has it's own mind and you got less and less able to control it (intelligent weapon; multiform w/ spilt personality)

 

One fitting campaing from herocentral with exactly that theme:

Revival 2

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

In my fanfic I blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

 

Sorry, I just feel like a self-conscious idiot when I even write that.

 

Anyway, the basic idea is that the CU Philadelphia had a Golden Age team called the Liberty Legion that finally closed up shop about 1975 when it was replaced by the Liberty League. Now, I haven't written (much) about that, but I have focussed on Henry Wong, the former Furious Fist, a mid-70s Kung Fu exploitation character who retired because he'd married his sweetheart and former evil nemesis, who wanted kids. (She's spent 1500 years thinking that she would never have them, and maybe she's lost a little perspective along the way.)

 

Who's got the time to raise six children, earn enough money to put them all through college, and still do the whole superhero schtick?

 

But the second (or third or more in some cases) generation of the Liberty Legion does have a secret base. All the little Wongs and their friends: the nerds and the clones and semi-immortal teenagers and time travellers and budding supegeniusses hang out in the rec room in the basement of the Wong's suburban home. There's a big screen TV and shag carpet and beanbag chairs and a pool table that they can throw a dropcloth over when Dad gets pizza --or cooks for the gang. (Mr. Wong is surprisingly good humoured about his earliest days in the superheroing business.) There's at least two groups (because eighteen year-olds would never hang out with sixteen yea-olds!). Older members drop by during college vacations. There'll be a wedding soon....

 

Because what's the point of being a superhero, with all that implies, without becoming a (practically) perfect parent along the way? The last act of a superhero's life should be to raise the next generation properly; to teach them to do what is right, and to carry them insensibly across life's little roadblocks on the way to becoming parents themselves. It's, like, the circle of life, dude. (Plus, if your wife is a former evil mastermind, you can count on her to manipulate the little hellions into doing the right thing if just being a good example isn't enough.)

[Naanomi]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

Your call to duty has also retired... your big name villain has died or otherwise finally been stopped for good; there are no more Nazi super-soldiers to track down, the Red Menace of communism just isn't as menacing anymore. Whatever drew you into the fight, or kept you there, is gone.

 

You might even be embarrassing to modern sensibilities: you helped fight dictators, but inadvertently helped put worse men in power. Or perhaps you fought for the morality of a previous age, would your old battles fighting predominantly black street gangs in your youth seem racist in the modern perspective? Was your championing of the American Way a bit jingoistic in the modern international super-community? Did your fight against 'atheist communist Russia' make modern freedom of religion types uneasy?

 

You are a hero of a past age fighting battles long gone, and you find that either your purpose is gone or you are an outdated relic of a previous age.

[Christopher]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

- you felt it was time to leave the field to "the next generation" of heroes (not nessearily one that follow their legacy)

- you started training new heroes and with time were less and less out there, doing the fight (Black Cat from JLU)

- similar coordinating role

- you wanted to realy "change" the world, and started to go into politics (see Thundrax from Champions Of The North Outtakes). By the time you realised you got even less done this way, your were to old/to long out to just start again.

- you became your "mirror-universe-version" - and you liked it

- perhaps a different (civil) duty called you. You could have found out you rather wanted to be a normal police officer, doctor, psychatrist, etc...

[GoldenAge]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

- Outside pressure from governmental or terrorist organizations could force a hero to retire. "Call it quits Mega-Man, we know where your children live." or "Call it quits Mega-Man or we bring to bear the full force of the judiciary against you and your entire family for the damages you've caused over the last decade."

 

Look to the JSA:

 

History: (All-Star Comics #3) - <1940> President Franklin Roosevelt recruited Atom I, Dr. Fate, Flash I, Green Lantern I, Hourman I, Sandman and Spectre to stop Adolph Hitler's attempt at invading Britain. After successfully completing their mission the heroes decided to form the Justice Society of America.

 

(JSA #68) - The Justice Society appeared before HUAC, where they were accused of having ties to the reds because they’d associated with a communist to bring in saboteurs. HUAC demanded they prove themselves good Americans and reveal their secret identities. They all refused, and Green Lantern teleported them out of Washington. At JSA hq they discussed the fact that they’d be wanted men and women if they didn’t reveal their identities. They decided it was for the best to disband the Society.

[GoldenAge]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

Public opinion can be quite fickle. Pressure from anti-hero groups (or the entire public at large) could result in heroes retiring. (ala The Incredibles):

 

"Unfortunately for Mr. Incredible and his fellow heroes, some members of the public are not too impressed with their feats of bravery, some even going as far as (gasp) suing them for things like “unlawful rescue” and inadvertent side effects from their deeds. It seems that this small group of dissatisfied and ungrateful citizens seem to get their way, as the government decides to ban all super heroic activity. Super heroes, thus, are forced into early retirement into the Federal Government’s Superhero Relocation Program. Mr. Incredible is now forced to live the rest of his life as his alter ego Bob Parr (just not the same ring as Mr. Incredible, eh?) with his wife Helen and their children Violet and Dashiell. What’s even worse, they have to move into the suburbs!"

[dmjalund]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

His powers have always been growing, ever since he had aquired them, but now they are becoming TOO dangerous, he must leave this planet and go find somewhere he can live without fearing what he might do to a loved one.

[Hermit]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

Interesting stuff...

Thanks all. Please feel free to keep em coming

 

One fitting campaing from herocentral with exactly that theme:

Revival 2

 

And I will definitely give that a look over

[Nothere]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

Adventure man- What can I say in my youth I could think of nothing more thrilling than to stay up all night looking to find either a small group of men to beat up, or one really tough one. Course these days it hurts alot worse, and I find I can't stay up all night without falling asleep. Still thats not why I packed it in. After I got married and we had kids I realized something. Rooting for your kid's soccer match, or helping them with their homework, seeing the pride in their eyes when they finally get it. Thats a whole new kind of adventure I like. I don't want to miss it. Course I can still take a group of guys. Smaller than before, but still a group.

 

Techman- It's not that I want to quit. With the economic downturn I can either spend a million keeping 200 people who worked their butts off for me on the job, or replace my toys. Now if you 'd care to loan me an extra million fine.

 

Strongman- Well lets see. Bursitis, a trick knee that can ghve out at anytime, a bad back which I turn wrong will render me imboile for days, a little arthritis. Yeah, I don't think it would be a good idea to rely on me too much.

[Spidey88]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

A few ideas - forgive me if some of these have been covered already...

 

 

1) Perhaps that alien, subterranean, or aquatic race the old guard dealt with all the time are having some serious troubles - their regent died without a clear heir (but endorsed one of the older heroes on his death bed), there's a civil war going on, there was some horrible disaster that nearly destroyed their society, etc. For whatever reason, the older group of heroes has to go away to help, possibly for a pretty long time; and they're recruiting some new blood to watch over their old turf while they're gone.

 

2) The old guard isn't ready to actually give up crimefighting; but they are kind of bored, or feel things have gotten too stale, or there's some other need to shake things up (possibly long-standing interpersonal issues) - so they want to bring in some new blood.

 

3) All of the old guard but one died saving the world from a danger of epic proportions. The remaining member realizes he can't carry on alone, and the team's old enemies are still out there - perhaps even bolder, thinking their main opposition is no more. The last of the old team may even want to keep the new team on the down-low, using the element of surprise to catch the old batch of villains off guard, or do things that the old team couldn't because of their high profile.

 

4) For that matter, the old team may just need a team that can a) act as a covert branch (no rep means the new guys are a lot easier to disguise), or add some much-needed muscle in the wake of some massive recruiting by their enemies.

 

5) The old team needs a specific set of missions performed - missions they aren't cut out for, but the PC team is.

 

6) The old team has been keeping an eye on the PCs, thinks they're a good bunch that would work well together, and want to give them a good head start. The old team isn't necessarily going anywhere - but they want the PCs to learn things by doing them, not by having their hands held - so they'll be giving advice and training, but not calling the shots.

[Christopher]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

- Your powers aren't cut out to fight the crime anymore: Either they have a easily exploitable weakness that got public (Green latern weakness vs. Yellow), or suddenly halfe of the criminals can mostly ignore your attack (a lot guy with flash resistence, you only have weak blasts). Perhaps one of your weaknesses increased or your a new one (Like Suceptibily to "Scenes of active/past Crime") or your weakness became public (Where is all this green Argonite comming from?). Perhaps there is a flaw in your self, that was easily exploitable by half the enemys (Low Mental defense/EGO, when half the villians are suddenly Mentalist). Even if you are in a team, aren't you becomming a limitation to them rather than an advantage?

 

- Crime never was organised and you were very effective, putting many in Jail. But now they are organised(see Grod's Secret Soceiety). Or threre was a really big Jailbreak in Stronghold (Never gets old).

 

Interview with nameless hero:

"I always wanted to save the world/pervent others from loosing their parents/make this town a better place to live. Then I realized: What is this world I helped creating good for, when I can't live in it. There are now enough young heros out there to take my place and it is much better then the first time I put on the cape."

 

"I was out saving the galaxy, when your grandfather was in daipers. Besides, I think the galaxy owes me one."

- James T. Kirk to Picard,

[Lucius]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

If you're looking at female heroes' date=' there's always pregnancy and the demands of childcare. You could even have a heroine mentoring her own kid.[/quote']

 

Not just females; anyone with responsibility for a young child might think twice about risking their own life on a daily basis.

 

And a male could become a father at any point in his life.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary notes that it's hard to think of issues that haven't already been raised.

[rjcurrie]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

It's just not fun anymore.

 

It's getting harder and harder to get up every morning and put on the tights. All those niggling little injuries over the years have taken their toll.

 

While you've always enjoyed being a superhero, you have finally gotten a chance to accomplish some other lifetime goal.

[Christopher]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

And a male could become a father at any point in his life.

Depending on the character, it may be a "child he never knew about".

When you think about it, Son Goku ended his main "run around and kick bad guys"-carreer because he was suddenly married. he continued his training to stay on par with picolo, but he was more or less limited to the area around his house (until radiz showed up).

 

And I agree with the palindromedary, all we can do now are thinking of more specific version of what was already said. That said, lets have some more of them:

"I've become an artist": Especially for Elemental/Force/energy Manipulators, perhaps they realised that they would rather use their power for Art than for battle. You can do exceptional Art with the fine controll of your power or when you can produce self sustaining forces at will.

 

"Ive become a construction worker": Just imagine how usefull a brick or superman is on constrcution site. On the other side, he may take people the job.

[secretID]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

This is outside of genre, but some could just realize how silly and inefficient it is to fight crime as opposed to, say, facilitating the production and delivery of potable water. Similarly, some might decide that it's more important to go after some bad people without powers - say dictators or bankers.

[Lucius]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

Depending on the character, it may be a "child he never knew about".

When you think about it, Son Goku ended his main "run around and kick bad guys"-carreer because he was suddenly married. he continued his training to stay on par with picolo, but he was more or less limited to the area around his house (until radiz showed up).

 

And I agree with the palindromedary, all we can do now are thinking of more specific version of what was already said. That said, lets have some more of them:

"I've become an artist": Especially for Elemental/Force/energy Manipulators, perhaps they realised that they would rather use their power for Art than for battle. You can do exceptional Art with the fine controll of your power or when you can produce self sustaining forces at will.

 

"Ive become a construction worker": Just imagine how usefull a brick or superman is on constrcution site. On the other side, he may take people the job.

 

I think you hit on an idea no one's used yet: we've seen "my powers are fading" and "my powers are getting out of control" but not "I've found something better to do with my powers."

 

In the case of someone who was a Batman or battlesuit type, with powers built or bought, maybe they figure out that there are more effective ways to use the power of technology or of money than by equipping oneself to go beat up bad guys.

 

Someone with weather control powers may have mastered them enough to cover a broad area and now be devoted to things like relieving droughts or preventing tropical storms from becoming full blown hurricanes.

 

Someone with earth control powers may be seeking out faults where the pressure is nearing critical, and trying to releive that pressure without triggering a major earthquake.

 

 

And on a note related back to both "I have a child" and "My people call me home" - in one of the "WWYCD" threads my character Captain Boing (an alien who was more truly alien than he usually appeared to be) discovered that a villainous group had acquired a sample of his cells and cloned an infant from him. Actually, the fact that it was his genetics mattered less than the fact that upon discovering it he and the child formed a biological "bond" that made him responsible for it by the laws of his own culture. He really had little choice but to return to his home planet.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

There is always a palindromedary tagline; but it is not always the same palindromedary

[secretID]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

we've seen "my powers are fading" and "my powers are getting out of control" but not "I've found something better to do with my powers."

Beat you by a hair.

 

I've had these thoughts many times, but they hit me most in a game when I was playing a genius inventor power suit. The GM wanted a long down-time post, and I realized that just about anything my character would be doing in his off time would be far more useful than fighting some bad guy.

 

With some heroes, I could see them worrying that the repercussions of a big good act could be harder to control. The weather control is a good example.

 

With the super-inventor, it's just silly. Why work on making your force field belt a tad better when you could, say invent the greatest imaginable water filter, thereby saving tens of thousands of children every day?

[Orion]

Re: Fading Stars...when and why should superheroes retire?

 

One last adventure - "You know, I always wanted to see the stars, and these guys have an empty seat on their starship..." The hero can later return with lots of new, power gizmos to offset age, or has been rejuvinated through the use of alien technology.

 

Time to end this - "Dr Destroyer has been causing problems for too long. Howsabout we ditch the costumes, go undercover, and overthrow his evil empire. Do one last good thing before we hang it up. Anybody with me on this one?"

 

Secret mission - "I'm going to be away for a while. You may not hear from me. It's important, but I can't tell you what it is."