There are a lot of comic book storylines and characters that have the same back ground or role...
Here's a list of them...
The Boy Scout
The Boy-ScoutPerhaps the greatest comic book stereotype is the Boy Scout, The guy who does what he does with his Super-powers for the sake of doing whats right. Or on occasion for America/Patriotism. They are also generally the most highly respected heroes in each own universe.
Below is a list of well known Boy-Scouts.
The list could go on for days....
The Devoutly Religious Demon
Hail MaryComic book authors will try to throw a joke in every now and then of a Devilish character (A demon, Someone who looks like a demon etc etc.)...Being devoutly religious. Generally a Catholic.
The Bad-Boy
I ain't that niceThe bad-boy, the anti-hero, The man/woman who wants to do good but for some reason just can't...Or kills for what is good.
The Demon
The DemonA recurring theme in comic books is the "Demonic Anti-Hero". Much different from the regular anti-hero, The main reason that these particular Anti-Heroes are Anti-Hero's....Is because they are a Demon or have been bonded with something Demonic (A suit, A Spirit etc etc).
The Stereotypical Villain
MwhahahahaThe stereotypical Villain, The guy who wants little more then to completely take over the world for little to no reason. Who almost always capture the good guy, Then start monologuing and telling the hero every last detail of there plan expecting He/She/Them to do anything about it.
The "Gifted" Female
Oh myThis is a "large" (No pun intended) stereotype that keeps appearing in almost every comic. It's the stereotype that Super-Powered Women can't have powers unless there breasts are the size of there head....Or larger. Female superheroes tend to have a harder time then the male superheroes. See Women in Refrigerators for more details.
Again, This list could go on for days.
Hey, Look, I'm Radioactive
Radioactive time!One of the most wildly popular comic book Stereotypes is a character who got his powers from Radiation or anything radioactive or someone who has Radioactive Powers. In fact, All of the members of the Original Fantastic Four got their powers from being exposed to "Space rays"... In other words Radiation.
The Teenager
High school and saving the world? GASPJust your average everyday teen, who happens to get superpowers.
Evil Counterparts
To every superhero, there is a villain who either has similar powers, shares the same origin, or wears the same kind of costume as the heroes. This is very common in all comics.
The CounterpartList of Evil Counterparts:
Beastials
BestialThese are character who are animalistic in appearance. They are either were-animals, or come from a spiritual tribe that can harness the power of animals. Hero Characters are usually conflicted by their animal instincts and their humanity, while the villains are usually savage brutes.
Martians
MartianIn almost every comic, there are different kinds of Martians in the various comic book companies and series'.
Atlanteans
King of the Seas!In almost every comic, there are different kinds of Atlanteans in the various comic book companies and series.
List of Atlanteans in comics:
Up Lifted Animals
Humanoid AnimalsIn comics, they usually have uplifted animals, becoming intelligent and able to walk on two legs. They became this either by advance science or magic. a.k.a. Anthropomorphic Comics.
Comic Book Laws and Logic
All comic titles tend to revolve around logic that can only work in a comic universe.
*Nothing is Constant: DC and Marvel prove this with Jason Todd's death, and Spider-Man's marriage with Mary Jane. Everything at one point or another will be retcon or rebooted in one way or another. Another example would be Professor X who as constantly lost and regain use of his legs throughout the X-Men run.
*Team Crossovers: This happens a lot in comics. When two superhero teams meet up (either being in the same comic universe or not) will needless fight each other, either over a misunderstanding of one another or a trivial dispute, mostly over morals. In some cases, many team members even fight amongst themselves for no real good reason.
*Death has hardly any real power in comics: No matter how long or how brutal a character's death, they can brought back to life by either faking their deaths, magic, time-travel, and even broken reality. A good example how the Titan Traitor, Bombshell, got he throat cut open on panel but still mange to come back to life.
Its just a flesh wound*Just a Flesh Wound. : No matter how fatally injured a main or popular character gets in an issue, with the exception of special events, the character would not only stay alive while others would have died, they are able to walk off the injury shortly after receiving it and be complete over it issues later.
Cliche Stories
In the field of comics, all the companies tend to reuse the same kind of stories again and again, each different but also the same in their own way.
Mad with Power: This is the most cliche story plot is usually when a hero character achieves God-like powers, usually after some disaster or twist of fate happens to him/her in their personal life, and goes mad and goes on a rampage on the planet;leaving the hero's friends having a hard time by choosing either saving their friend from him/herself or just kill him/her. It's very rare that the have to kill the character, but when the character is still alive, the publisher company will released a 'reflection issue' shortly after, showing us what's going on in the character's head, how he/she regretted their rampage and how he/she can ever be good again after what has happen (which they usually find right at the end of the issue).
List of Mad with Power Story Arcs:
Jean Grey: She has so many power trips throughout her time as the Phoenix that it is hard to keep count.
Zero Hour: After the destruction of Coast City, Hal Jordan taps into power of the Main Power battery on Oa to become Parallax and sets out to retcon the DC Universe.
Comic Book promos
In comic books, the publishers tend to use over the top ideas and concepts to sell their comics, this usually comes in conflict with the comics' actual stories. Examples would be holographic foil covers, 'evolving ' certain characters' powers, and killing them.
Cheap Deaths
Rest in peace...kindaIn most comic book stories, the company or writers try to sell stories or start new stories, they kill off minor, yet popular characters in order to grab readers attention or just cause a team breakup or cause a change in characters. Over a course of few years, the characters usually come back to life one way or another that is almost as cheap as their deaths.
List of dead characters and story arcs:
Bart Allen: Died as a promo for Piper's story in Countdown to Final Crisis.
Donna Troy: in Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day: Her death caused the disband of The Titans and Young Justice, but soon lead to a restart of the Teen Titans. Brought back to life due to Superman Prime's punching reality.
Superman in Death and Return of Superman: Promotional stunt for DC.
Captain America: Again a promotional stunt.
Jason Todd in A Death in the Family: Jason died because of lack of fan base. This caused Batman to become more dark and disturbed. He was brought back to life due to Superman Prime's punching reality.
Colossus: in order to stop the Legacy Virus. He was brought back to life by an alien.
Minor Retcons
A Minor RetconUnlike universal retcons, minor retcons usually just happen around certain characters rather than the entire comic book universe. Over the years, some writers attempt to cause an evolution in certain characters in order to refresh them by adding a new concepts or changing the characters. Half the time these changes are reject by the fans, but there is a rare occasion when they accepted.
List of Minor retcons:
One More Day: This is considered to be the most controversial retcons in comic book history. In order to prevent the death of Aunt May, the writers made it so that Spider-Man's marriage to Mary Jane Watson never happened.
Green Lantern: Rebirth: Restarted the entire Green Lantern series, brought back old characters, and brought up a new concept to the Lanterns.
Cir-El: filled the gap of Supergirl between Linda Danvers and the return of Kara. Originally from the future, she was believe to be Superman's and Lois's daughter, but turned out to be a bio-weapon. In order to save the present, Cir-El went to the future and made it so that she never existed, so no one remembers her at all.
Brainiac: It turns out that all the versions of Brainiac that Superman were really probes of his until he actual fought the REAL Brainiac during a story arc by Geoff Johns. This was done already for Toyman shortly before, in which his other incarnations (including the "good" Toyman, Hiro. Apparently).
Going emo...
Comic book writers tend to push many of the up-beat or well balance heroes over the edge with a death of a love-one or guilt-complex on some random movement, they turn them in emotional baggage, being the complete opposite of what they used to be. This is usually a turn-off for many fans, seeing the favorites heroes becoming something totally different that they're known for, but there are some who accept these changes as character evolution. (It should be noted that this is sometimes temporary.)
Mary Marvel, once a sweet older sister character has become evil power-mad. Click to see the difference.
List of heroes going emo.
Tim Drake: Within 5 years, Tim Drake lost both his parents, his girlfriend, and two of his best friends, not to mention his step-mother is in a psychiatric hospital.
Mary Marvel in Countdown to Final Crisis: After losing her powers and was given Black Adam's, Mary became aggressive, ruthless, and power hungry. And even when she recovered her original powers, she made a deal with Darkseid to get back the powers from Black Adam.
Batman: (probably the first example) In early stories, Bruce was a kind friendly fellow, over the years he's become a brooding jerkass.
Superboy: once a goofy kid, now a brooding jock.
Daredevil: once a well adjusted guy, then after "Born again", several dead girl friends, getting his identity outed every once in a while he is now considered the most EMO superhero alive.
Bart Allen: introduced as cheerful little kid then Geoff Johns had him shot in the leg and he's constantly against almost everything. He also became Kid Flash even though he's said several times he never would.
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