Christopher R Taylor

Puppy isn't sure about this hugging stuff
 

 
And kitty is certain he doesn't like it.
 

For those who wish to be more cautious
 

For those who were curious
 

For those who wish to be more cautious
 

For those who wish to be more cautious
 

For those who wish to be more cautious
 

I think the image of athletes such as speed skaters, skiiers, cyclists, and so on and the outfits they wear - shiny, very bright colors, stark patterns etc - shows that you can do it and be taken seriously, if the setting simply presumes they are and doesn't question it.  Its when you have some guy sneering at it and acting like its dumb that it tends to fall apart, and in today's culture that's all too common.  Everyone has to be the snarky frat boy instead of just taking things as they are.  Then they come up with other explanations why what they mock is so bad, to justify their behavior.

In my eyes, the costumes in Kick-Ass weren't cool -- they were outright dorky, and were probably meant to be.

For a while there, she did change her costume quite a bit.  For example (very large image):
 

I think teaching people Hero is best done at a minimal level.  They don't need to know very much at all about the rules, just how to interact with the game at the most basic level.  Here's how you roll to hit.  Here's how you do skills.  Here's how you do damage.  Lets play.
 
Using premade characters for newcomers allows them to step into play very quickly, in my experience, and gamers at least are quite familiar with the basic concepts of how rules work so they learn quickly.
 
The absolutely worst thing you can do is have three or four people trying to explain things all at once.  It becomes overwhelming and few things frustrate me as badly as trying to teach some guy how to play with kibbitzers throwing in extra details and anecdotes.  One teacher at a time.

I think that's definitely true. Hollywood studios are notoriously risk-averse. But it only takes one success to show the way. Disney/Marvel is sort of doing this by making huge-budget movies with a bright green monster, a bright blue and red super-patriot, and a flashy red and gold armored hero.
 
The problem is that it isn't easy to make brightly-colored superhero costumes look like serious business. I don't believe superhero movies and shows need to be stuck in a dark, "gritty realism" to work--Marvel is proving that nicely, I think. But unless you're going for comedy, viewers do need to take the characters seriously. I think this is achievable with bright costumes, it's just that it's hard and nobody has really nailed down how to do it with consistency outside of the MCU. The fact that virtually nobody is doing it isn't proof that it can't be done; it is merely proof that nobody is trying very hard (for various reasons: lack of vision, lack of incentive, infection by misguided groupthink, etc.).

Bare midriffs are more of a college cheerleader thing, I'll grant you. But all cheerleaders are in mini-skirts or hotpants. Regardless, this new Supergirl is past college age and is old enough to be on any professional football franchise cheerleader squad where the outfits are right out of the Vegas stripper catalog. Still not child porn.
 
Christopher Reeves wore bright red and blue and nobody I know of thought he looked silly. The Raimi Spiderman costume wasn't nearly so dark and muted either, and I don't recall audiences pointing fingers and laughing at the "ridiculous pajamas". Captain America gets to wear fairly bright blue and red, and Iron Man's armor is a pretty vibrant combination of crimson and gold. The whole "bright colors" will look silly argument doesn't hold water, IMO.

This might be an unfortunate case of the bad sort of groupthink seeping in ("It is ridiculous because others say it is ridiculous, so I will internalize that.")
 
Yes, this thematic aspect of a superhero film can be done poorly (as with anything else), but it is not automatically so. Maybe the majority of filmmakers simply don't want to try and/or rock the boat?
 
(As an aside, since teenagers are, well, teenagers, I don't see how material with them would classify as child porn. Illegal, perhaps, but they ain't kids.)

I'm confident that's what the execs are saying, but then they haven't actually tried anything else.  And like Roter Baron said above, she flies and bounces bullets off her chest for crying out loud.  They don't have to make it look like that, they just prefer avoiding the more specifically superhero comic feel.

A part of me thinks the studio executives for modern superhero cinema are trying to appeal to people that would not glance twice at a film that is unabashedly superheroic in it's overall appearance (especially on a poster).
 
In other words: appealing to the superficial.
 
 
I do wonder if modern comics have been too influenced by the latest film adaptations that were based off of them...

Just like the comics these days, sadly. (IMO, of course)

I agree, they should be more willing to push the boundaries a bit in terms of visuals than going with the "this looks realistic" stuff.  The bright, amazing colors and designs are part of the genre, and they're a uniform of sorts: when you see that costume, and its hard to miss, you know something wonderful is happening.  Its like Mr Incredible picking up his car in front of the little boy on the tricycle.  Don't shy away from that.

I dunno about that. That comic book costume looks no different to me than any high school cheerleader outfit in the country. Add to that the fact that this particular Supergirl is in her mid-20s--it wouldn't be child porn even if she flew around naked.
 
The whole muted color palette for superhero costumes thing has just got to go. It is tedious in its ubiquitousness, disappointing in its creative sterility, and dismissive of its genre roots.

To be fair, there are precious few warriors in there as well - most of the "heroes" are either tricksters or lucky fools. It's certainly not traditional S&S  - it's more fairy-story like: the heroes in the stories are usually underdogs who win through by luck and their wits than through a strong right arm. Even the more active heroes like Sinbad are more like Jack of Jack in the Beanstalk than like Conan.
 
You could - if you want that sort of flavour - get it by starting PCs with relatively low points totals and by making many of the opponents they face powerful enough that a simple sword to the face is not a reasonable approach. This will essentially force them to fall back on their wits - for good or ill.
 
cheers, Mark

That kind of thing probably would go over well with a lot of players, since they've grown up in a sort of multimedia crayons and construction paper sort of world.  The theater of the mind we can teach, but it might require some tools to get them there.

Read a Cracked article some time.  They've perfected the method of discussing actually fairly deep and thoughtful topics in the guise of being goofy and breaking it up regularly with silly images.  That's the template I have in mind for a Champions 101 sort of book.  Its a bit longer that way, but within 3-5 pages you should be able to teach the very basics of the rules and have fun at the same time.

Some other Gurkha stories:
 
I read a story of a Gurkha who's arm was wounded during a battle. The British office who was with him was also wounded and either passed out or fell asleep. When he awoke, the Gurkha was holding a pith helmet over the British officers head to shield him from the hot sun while he repeated over and over, "I am a gurka, I will not cry out." The Gurkha's wound was so bad his arm had to be amputated.
 
According to a Korean War Vet, he had an interesting experience sharing the line with a company of Gurkhas.  According to the vet, the Ghurkas would crawl out of their holes at night to kill Chinese troops. On more than one occasion, Rangers in his company would report feeling a hand reach down into their hole and touch their helmet, then move on.   The Ghurkas would crawl up to the hole and touch the helmet (or headgear) of the occupant. If they found a Chinese soldier, their throat was cut, if they found an American or other ally, they moved on. 

OK the last member of the New Knights of the Round Table, the Gurkha.  A little background for people who don't know what a Gurkha is:
 
 
 
British military history is full of stories about these guys.  Gurkhas are basically superheroes in the real world, and this guy is an especially capable one.   The Gurkha   Characteristics Val Char Cost  15  STR    5          Lift: 200kg, Damage: 3d6  26  DEX   32  20  CON  10  10  BOD   0  13  INT     3          Perception Roll: 12-  18  EGO   8  18  PRE   8           Presence Attack: 3 1/2d6; Defensive Presence: 33  10  PD     8           With Kukri Block: 15 PD, 5 rPD  10  ED     8           With Kukri Block: 15 ED, 5 rED   6   SPD  40  10  REC   6  35  END   3  28  STN   4   OCV:    9 DCV:    9 OMCV: 6 DMCV: 6   18m RUN   6   8m SWIM 2   6m LEAP  1 Characteristics Cost: 226   Cost Power   5     Strong Will: Mental Defense (9 points total) (Base MD)  14    Kukri: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6+1 (2d6+1 w/STR) (20 Active Points); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (STR Mod 5) (-1/4) [Notes: (x2 number of items)]   5     Find Weakness: Armor Piercing (+1/4) for up to 50 Active Points of All attacks up to 8 DCs (10 Active Points); Requires a 13- roll each phase/use (-1/2), Only vs target focused on (-1/2), Extra Time (Delayed Phase, Only to Activate, -1/4)   5     Kukri Block: Resistant Protection (5 PD/5 ED) (15 Active Points); OAF (-1), Requires A Roll (12- roll; Must be made each Phase/use; -3/4), Only vs attacks he's aware of, not AE (-1/2)  15    Throwing Blades: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6 (1 1/2d6 w/STR), Range based on STR (+1/4) (19 Active Points); 6 Recoverable Charges (-1/4)   7     Brave: +15 PRE (15 Active Points); Defensive only (-1) Powers Cost: 50   Cost Kalarapayit Maneuver   4     Block:  1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort   4     Dodge:  1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort    5     Flying Kick:  1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, -2 DCV, 9d6 Strike    3     Joint Lock:  1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, 35 STR for holding on   4     Knifehand Strike:  1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, HKA 1 1/2d6   4     Maman Strike:  1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, 2d6 NND   4     Punch/Elbow Strike:  1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 7d6 Strike   5     Roundhouse/Straight Kick:  1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 9d6 Strike   3     Throw:  1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +1 DCV, 5d6 +v/10, Target Falls   1     Weapon Element:  Empty Hand, Kukri   8     +2 HTH Damage Classes Martial Arts Cost: 45   Cost Skill   3     Acrobatics 14-   3     Breakfall 14-  16    +2 with HTH Combat   9     +3 OCV with deflect and block  10    Defense Maneuver I-IV    3     Demolitions 12-   6     +3 Ego Rolls   2     KS: Kalaripayit 11-   3     Language:  English (native Hindi) (completely fluent)   3     Paramedics 12-   4     PS: Gurkha 13-   5     Rapid Attack    3     Stealth 14-   3     Survival 12-   1     Tactics 8-   3     Teamwork 14- Skills Cost: 77   Cost Perk   2     Positive Reputation:  Gurkha (A medium-sized group) 11-, +2/+2d6 Perks Cost: 2   Cost Talent   3     Bump Of Direction  17    Combat Sense 14-   6     Environmental Movement (no penalties on narrow footing and slick surfaces)   5     Resistance (+5 to roll)  12    Danger Sense (self only, in combat, Function as a Sense, Intuitional) 12-   3     Lightsleep Talents Cost: 46   Total Character Cost: 447   Pts. Complication  20   Dependent NPC:  Other members of the team Very Frequently (As powerful as the PC; Useful Noncombat Position or Skills; Group DNPC: x8 DNPCs)  20   Enraged:  Leader knocked out or killed (Uncommon), go 14-, recover 11-  25   Hunted:  Triad Frequently (Mo Pow; NCI; Harshly Punish)  10   Hunted:  Former Sensei Infrequently (Mo Pow; Limited Geographical Area; Harshly Punish)  20   Psychological Complication:  Very loyal (Common; Total)  15   Psychological Complication:  Never back down or show weakness (Common; Strong)  20   Psychological Complication:  Driven by code of honor and duty (Common; Total)  10 Social Complication:  Public Identity Frequently, Minor Complication Points: 140  
 

The Gurkha.hdc

I think shaking stuff falls into the fairly low budget SFX department.

Well, yes, but culturally acceptable in the wider context of social interaction, for all that lack of attention span.  At least we were
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sorry, I got a FB update of a funny cat.  What were we talking about?