if you read the op, capfan80 was comparing popular DC characters to popular Marvel characters. capfan80 was basically saying Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Martian Manhunter, etc and other of DC's go-to guys (excluding Batman) are overpowered compared to Marvel's Go-to guys like Spider-man, Wolverine, the rest of the x-men, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Iron Man, etc. (excluding Thor and Hulk)
So everyone saying  that DC is not overpowered because all of DC's characters aren't overpowered compared to all of Marvel's characters, go and actually read the op.

another thing I don't understand is when did it become a bad thing for a superhero to have superpowers?

I am primarily a DC reader due to the fact that DC characters are often portrayed as being capable of both Earth-related protection and larger galactic issues, and I really appreciate that this is combined with the gritty noir-realism of the Bat-family, which gives a much needed sense of balance of variety. Too often I will read a Marvel comic and get mildly irritated by the fact that certain characters seem to have fallen out of a Saved by the Bell episode and into some overly-tight spandex. Now, all you haters take note of what I am about to say: I enjoy Marvel, I just don't love it as much as DC.

Comics are appealing to me because of the way they combine neo-mythic stories of conflict with visually stimulating art and often sharp and insightful writing. It is no coincidence that the most worn-out book on my shelves is the Odyssey by Homer (Ares in Dark Avengers is the main reason I got into Marvel in the first place). I do not read comics to follow characters that are stuck in a pubescent rut where they have relationship issues, with a bit of crimefighting in the middle to mix it up. I want to see things I cannot fathom; I want to see insane evil beings threaten a universe; I want to see characters that take human endurance to the limit and defeat Gods (again, back to Homer and Odysseus - a great parallel can be found in Batman VS Darkseid in Final Crisis/Return of Bruce Wayne).

I will continue to read Marvel and enjoy that universe. But give me DC's insane cosmic mess any day of the week.

if you read the op, capfan80 was comparing popular DC characters to popular Marvel characters. capfan80 was basically saying Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Martian Manhunter, etc and other of DC's go-to guys (excluding Batman) are overpowered compared to Marvel's Go-to guys like Spider-man, Wolverine, the rest of the x-men, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Iron Man, etc. (excluding Thor and Hulk)
So everyone saying  that DC is not overpowered because all of DC's characters aren't overpowered compared to all of Marvel's characters, go and actually read the op.

@Deadcool: Using one of DC's most popular stories to prove why people don't like it? Strange.

I think it's how they're written, clearly there are times when Superman is going outclass villains, even when there are a lot of them, but his big baddies are written to be about as strong as him and make him work to win. The same goes for Wonder Woman and more so Green Lantern nowadays, because there are 6 other Corps, all on his level and they don't all love him. Marvel also has it's big hitters, that have villains that are stronger than the usual hero is going to be able to handle. 

I think its how they have been written in the past. When Marvel did the OHMU back in the 80's they kind of set hard limits to characters while DC's characters didnt have such limits. For instance Superman has practically limitless strength as does the Hulk but Superman is written doing more amazing feats of strength such as holding a black hole in his hand, helping tow the earth, powering Me Superman has been chained to the endless wheels of the Mageddon machinery and his strength was used to move the gears of a weapon whose size dwarfed the entire Earth/Moon system itself. DC characters generally have greater on panel feats.

But i have grown bored of seeing the near same template powers of DC..

@castleking said:

But i have grown bored of seeing the near same template powers of DC..

Then try actually reading some DC for a change.

I tend to think any character whose as powerful as Silver Age Superman to be over powered, but thankfully there aren't to many of those running around these days.

 Or any character that couldn't sustain an ongoing series because there are only a few villains that could pose a significant threat to him/her.  

@AtPhantom said:

@castleking said:

But i have grown bored of seeing the near same template powers of DC..

Then try actually reading some DC for a change.

ummm.. actually that was the problem and i tend to stick to Teen Titans anyways....  : /

@azza04 said:

I tend to think any character whose as powerful as Silver Age Superman to be over powered, but thankfully there aren't to many of those running around these days.

Fair enough. But why SA Superman in particular? There are other heroes out there who could wipe the floor with him. Why aren't they considered overpowered?

 Or any character that couldn't sustain an ongoing series because there are only a few villains that could pose a significant threat to him/her.  

See, now this is quite a sensible approach. A hero so powerful that his power strangles story telling capabilities. Okay. The problem is, of course, that villains scale relative to the heroes. It doesn't matter if Hal Jordan can move planets or can't move a car, Sinestro will always be able to fight him in a tight battle. Same with every other villain around. DC heroes aren't anymore powerful relative to their villains than Marvel ones are.

The only reason i said SA Superman was because i had got hold of some of his Silver Age comics recently and some of the storys were just ridiculous (Superman forces Jimmy Olsen to marry a monkey) thats what happens when the character is to powerful and they run out of villians to face him lol

Not overpowered, just on a different level. they usually fight opponents more powerful than themselves. Same with marvel, they have their own opponents for themselves. Both are on different power level. Only overpowered if you can't find adequate villians for them. Besides, both have their fair share of really powerful superheroes.

really they're not over powered Ra's AlGhul defeated the JLA by himself and he's a regular human except being well trained and over 500 years old. I mean everyone sees to have kryptonite and know supes weaknesses so he's fucked most of the time. and there villians are strong and clever look at joker he messed up the league some times and prime beat them all basically they ain't over powered to me.

I have seen many street levelers in DC in my day(batman, wildcat, robin)., but the thing about Marvel is that the most powerful heroes don't get the praise(odin, silversurfer, dr strange, zeus)while its the complete opposite in DC, exception for batman. I just don't see it when people say DC is more powerful than marvel. I personally don't think they are anywhere close to Marvel.

@Petey_is_Spidey said:

I have seen many street levelers in DC in my day(batman, wildcat, robin)., but the thing about Marvel is that the most powerful heroes don't get the praise(odin, silversurfer, dr strange, zeus)while its the complete opposite in DC, exception for batman. I just don't see it when people say DC is more powerful than marvel. I personally don't think they are anywhere close to Marvel.

They aren't. But powers don't wreck characterization. Writers do. And while in some cases writers work beautifully-GL, Aquaman, Animal Man, in others you'll get complete tripe - Superman, Detective Comics, Dark Knight.

No.

Ultimately, quality characterization by the writer is what makes a character interesting, not the degree of their power.  A good writer can create situations that undermine or contest superpowers, and not simply by pitting characters against more powerful foes.
 
The best, and one of the earliest examples I can think of is the first appearance of the Turtle Man.  Turtle Man was an unbelievably slow villain, but his deception techniques were so advanced, he could throw the Flash off of his trail with relative ease.

@AtPhantom said:

Just about every complaint you have against DC is same old stereotypical nonsense that people who read DC know either aren't true, or are certainly not just DC's problem.

Pretty much this.

No, they're not.

DC has more powerhouses i think.

Read any history of any X-Man character in any wiki and just try not to cringe at how unbelievably unstoppable even the most lowest level mutants are. It's as if there's nothing they can't beat. Then the ones with the actually high levels of power, the Omegas are grossly overpowered. Don't even get me started on all the ridiculous overpowering Hulk has just being a guy powered by anger and radiation compared to gods like Thor. Marvel has the overpowered characters not DC, IMO.

I often state it's not power level but placement and opponents that makes DC heroes seem overpowered. If Superman is the best example than actually compare him to someone in Marvel. His closest Marvel counterpart is Thor. While Superman is on Earth mostly, Thor is split between Earth, Asgard, Space, and other dimensions. Superman routinely fights street level villains, while Thor mainly faces off with Asgardians or other enchanted characters. Superman regularly fights and has to hold back against his opponents while Thor is usely tested due to who he is fighting. Example Superman is not going "all out" against Toyman but even low level Thor threats like Absorbing Man require an all out effort. The main point is this; if the "overpowered" DC characters were at Marvel, then they would probably be cosmic characters and would probably face different level characters than their usual DC rogues.

DC or Marvel, I just can't relate to super-powerful characters so I don't usually respond well to them. I think Bruce Banner is incredibly interesting but I hate the Hulk.

Even characters like Batman are sometimes too much for me. He's too "perfect". A super smart Gazillionaire, ninja, detective, tactician who has near unlimited resources? Ugh. Same goes for Iron Man.

I read the types of stories with the types of characters I feel the most connection to. Where their struggles feel grounded and intimate. For example, my favorite Marvel "hero" is the Punisher. The MAX books are amazing. My favorite DC hero is The Question (my detective of choice over Batman)

of course there are some real powerhouse badasses that enjoy regardless. Wonder Woman and Nova for example.

There have several stories ruin by overpowering more on not knowing their abilities. they had several retcons due to it. Yes it happens before, but are they currently over powered. I don’t know I heard Mr Terrific counts as one. One thing I hate is spotlight hogging which results to overpowering. We like ridiculousness but there is a limit and it is best not cross it too many times.

@YoungHellion said:

DC or Marvel, I just can't relate to super-powerful characters so I don't usually respond well to them. I think Bruce Banner is incredibly interesting but I hate the Hulk.

Even characters like Batman are sometimes too much for me. He's too "perfect". A super smart Gazillionaire, ninja, detective, tactician who has near unlimited resources? Ugh. Same goes for Iron Man.

I read the types of stories with the types of characters I feel the most connection to. Where their struggles feel grounded and intimate. For example, my favorite Marvel "hero" is the Punisher. The MAX books are amazing. My favorite DC hero is The Question (my detective of choice over Batman)

of course there are some real powerhouse badasses that enjoy regardless. Wonder Woman and Nova for example.

Intersting Point of view. I know a lot of people want to relate to super heroes. Me, I don't feel the need to relate at all. I just want to enjoy them and their stories and their powers. Thus, I really enjoy Green Lantern stuff or Martian Manhunter or Spawn, etc..etc...the list goes on and on. Comic books with fantasy stories can be a lot of fun. I too enjoy more "grounded" characters, even if they are sometimes perfect..e.g. Batman...it doesn't distract too much for me to enjoy their adventures, problems, etc.

@Caligula Cap isn't super-powered, he is peak human like batman

Marvel is more powerful actually. Marvel has an unlimited amount of universes and dc only has 52.

Marvel has just as many "over powered" characters as DC does, for every Superman, Marvel has a Sentry, or Gladiator. For every Wonder Woman, there's a She Hulk or Thor. For every Green Lantern, there's a Nova, or Silver Surfer. People who say DC characters are overpowered obviously don't read enough DC. To me, the only character that IS  too powerful for his own good is Flash, I mean faster than light speeds is kinda pushing it to me.

@The Stegman said:

Marvel has just as many "over powered" characters as DC does, for every Superman, Marvel has a Sentry, or Gladiator. For every Wonder Woman, there's a She Hulk or Thor. For every Green Lantern, there's a Nova, or Silver Surfer. People who say DC characters are overpowered obviously don't read enough DC. To me, the only character that IS too powerful for his own good is Flash, I mean faster than light speeds is kinda pushing it to me.

Agreed, but it's hard to make him slower when you gotta rival Superman's speed. Flash's whole thing is speed, and Superman kind of just...butts in.

@The Stegman said:

To me, the only character that IS too powerful for his own good is Flash, I mean faster than light speeds is kinda pushing it to me.

He really only moves that fast when the plot calls for it, usually when facing someone else who's also extremely fast. When he's facing enemies like the Rogues, he doesn't move anywhere near those speeds. If he did, I agree that he would be extremely uninteresting.

@The Stegman said:

To me, the only character that IS too powerful for his own good is Flash, I mean faster than light speeds is kinda pushing it to me.

He really only moves that fast when the plot calls for it, usually when facing someone else who's also extremely fast. When he's facing enemies like the Rogues, he doesn't move anywhere near those speeds. If he did, I agree that he would be extremely uninteresting.

@Stegman: I agree so much with your post....Lex Luther and most of superman's rouge gallery shouldn't pose a threat to the man of steel. Not to mention to the all powerful captain Americans shield.

Yes. DC's main and popular characters are built more powerful than Marvel's. That being said, I prefer Marvel's characters more.

You make a good point. A good writer can make a compelling story with a really powerful hero, but it is definitely easier with weaker characters.

I wonder if it really matters whether a hero is powerful, because a story that focuses on whether a hero is strong enough to overcome a given situation is going to be boring regardless. Well, this is just a theory I have.

Superman is point in case. I can't stand to read superman comics any more because I know superman will be fine at the end. No one can really do him any harm because DC went over the top. Makes it boring. I love reading green lantern comics but come on. Gee, I sure hope there is no yellow dopant in the master generator otherwise I am screwed..oh damn there is :/

...and Aquaman will always suck. Period.

@Primmaster64: I don't think Superman was knocked out. It was more like psychic blast, helspont wanted superman to see future.

Depends on the writer, some vertigo and wildstorm characters are strong with people liking their stories

i think DC tends to use the same template for their heroes. flight, super strength, invulnerability and than they add on things like telepathy, superspeed, geo manipulation, shape shifting..
I think they have way to many herald type beings on earth and on a team to make it interesting and the villains they face are very overpowered but at the same time written sub par. the fights things beings are involved in with their enemies should wreck the planet or at least a city i think which is why the cosmic type heroes in marvel fight in space and dont make it a habit to clump together on earth.

But i have grown bored of seeing the near same template powers of DC.

aside from all this writers tend to write the power scale up and down as needed for stories on earth and whatever low meta they are facing.. a slight superhuman will be allowed to hold his own against a herald being and get knocked around to the point that people start to believe a 2 tonner is 50 to 100+ cause DC doesnt ground character powersets.. so yes i think they are often overpowered mostly in strength and durability. But it is a rollercoaster of ups and downs.. one day a hero will reach his limit of power hauling a planet and the next day strain to block a punch from the no name slight superhuman of the week.

if you read the op, capfan80 was comparing popular DC characters to popular Marvel characters. capfan80 was basically saying Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Martian Manhunter, etc and other of DC's go-to guys (excluding Batman) are overpowered compared to Marvel's Go-to guys like Spider-man, Wolverine, the rest of the x-men, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Iron Man, etc. (excluding Thor and Hulk)
So everyone saying  that DC is not overpowered because all of DC's characters aren't overpowered compared to all of Marvel's characters, go and actually read the op.

@jloneblackheart said:

I still don't get why everyone says DC heroes are so much more powerful than Marvel ones. I don't see it.

Check the Comic Vine Battle forum. Superman solos Thor, Hulk, Sentry, Ms Marvel, and the rest of the Avengers. That's popular opinion on the vine.

First off ... wow, this thread has been going for a long time. I was going to respond to some earlier posts until I realized they were over a year old.

Do have to put my two cents in though. Im a DC fanboy, but I have to say that Superman has always been too overpowered to be interesting to me. Which of course means I dont know all that much about the characters actually storyline at this point so it certainly may be a flawed view. But basically, I feel like there is less suspense and intrigue when a character is that powerful. Either he is going to beat the snot out of his opponent or they are going to pull a green rock out of their pocket. Also, it is extremely contradictory to my opinion on Lobo, who is also way overpowered being that he, ya know, cant die. Guess being an antihero and a comedic device makes him more interesting to me.

Also, while I still dont like Superman, having a nemesis that is equally powerful does alleviate some of the boredom. Hi battles with Lobo are always interesting because they bring the suspense back into the equation. How do two basically unkillable super beings settle things in the long run? One of them is going to have to pull something out of their sleeves (like a green rock! Apparently I'm all about contradicting myself today...).

Also, this whole topic is why I dont like the Green Lanterns being purged of their weakness to yellow. Superheroes need a weakness otherwise there is no suspense!!! There has to be some chance they might lose.

Are Marvel's heroes too under-powered to be interesting?