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Post by profh0011 on Aug 26, 2021 18:07:36 GMT -5
Heroes immediately accepting that comrades they have known for years have turned evil and immediately attacking them, rather than discussing the situation and finding out what is really going on. That's about the first 50 consecutive issues of MARVEL TEAM-UP.
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Post by profh0011 on Aug 26, 2021 18:16:02 GMT -5
How sick are we of the crack investigator, detective, or cop, who has proved how smart he or she is a thousand times, being dissed, disregarded, mocked, and otherwise told to put it where the sun don't shine by everybody from incompetent peers and supervisors to competent peers and supervisors, all of whom are fully aware of how preternaturally adept this person is at solving mysteries. The classic example for me is "THE SIGN OF FOUR" (1890).
Holmes arrives at a mysterious locked-room murder (which I only recently realized was almost certainly Doyle doing a tribute to Poe's "The Murders In The Rue Morgue"). He quickly investigates before the police arrive and make a mess of things. Here comes "Inspector Jones", an arrogant SOB if there ever was one (my favorite version on film is the one played by John Stratton in 1968). He sees Holmes and immediately begins dismissing him as, "Oh yes, the THEORIST!" Then he makes a big deal about how he deals in hard evidence, not "THEORIES!" But then-- hilariously-- without even bothering to examine the scene-- he begins telling what HIS OWN THEORY is. Talk about "projection"!!
Before he leaves, Holmes points out certain things he should draw his attention to, which Jones immediately ignores.
Then, a day or two later... Jones turns up at Baker Street, and tells Watson that, well, you see... he could REALLY use Holmes help on this case. And that's when some sailor barges in uninvited and makes a nuisance of himself, particularly annoying Watson when he begins EATING Watson's food! As Watson's about to throw the guy out, he suddenly turns around, having pulled off his disguise, revealing it's Holmes, just returned from in-the-field investigating. And then he just DROPS it in Jones' lap, saying, meet me at this part of the riverfront with 2 of your best men and the fastest police launch you can lay your hands on, and we'll HAVE the murderer by tomorrow night!
That was only the 2nd Holmes story Doyle ever wrote.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 26, 2021 18:24:45 GMT -5
Also: "Scientists" who have fully equipped labs in their suburban homes. Or worse yet, doctors. Early Marvel was terrible for this. Don Blake had a better set-up in his office than Dow Chemical. And apparently all scientists, including Hank Pym, work out of their home. Nobody works for the Dept. of Agriculture or for Exxon as a chemist.
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 26, 2021 21:42:44 GMT -5
For me its the "out of control" or "maverick" young hotshot, in an elite military unit. who causes nothing but problems until someone dies, then they grow up. Top Gun, Navy SEALS (don't get me started on the sins of that film), all kinds of films about fighter pilots, etc, etc. You don't get into an elite unit by not being able to work as a team and you don't get to be a fighter pilot without a ton of training and evaluation, starting with the ability to follow the orders of your instructor, squadron leader, whoever.
The secret conspiracy that has been manipulating things for years/decades, generations/centuries, etc. A secret remains a secret with one person. Once it's shared with another, it is no longer secret. The more people in on it, the less secret it is. Small groups of people cannot manipulate whole societies; they are too complex, with too many variables that can undermine their plans at any stage.
The secret agent who is known by seemingly everyone. Granted, that is mostly Bond, with everyone else playing that idea for laughs.
Speaking in absolutes about theoretical concepts, like time travel. "You can't alter the past!" According to what provable fact? Until someone travels in time, anything is possible, in theory. Same applies to supernatural creatures. Who says silver would kill a werewolf? A movie? They're never wrong! That's actually a conceit in Kim Newman's Anno Dracula series, that vampires aren't all vulnerable to the same things, starting with Dracula, who survives Stoker's novel, because of Van Helsing's misconceptions.
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Post by kirby101 on Aug 27, 2021 9:22:15 GMT -5
The biology of Zombies makes no sense.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 27, 2021 9:34:34 GMT -5
The biology of Zombies makes no sense. Not one bit. Which is why I can handle magic zombies but not plague zombies. Magic doesn't have to follow the rules.
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Post by impulse on Aug 27, 2021 9:58:17 GMT -5
Zombies don't hold up to any amount of critical thinking, but I still enjoy them as enemies in video games.
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 27, 2021 10:12:35 GMT -5
Just in case any of you ever gets into a dispute with them:
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Post by String on Aug 27, 2021 11:31:27 GMT -5
I think Scott McCloud pointed this out at some point but it's the rather ubiquitous trope of a random couple/pairing being mugged and/or assaulted usually in a dark alleyway somewhere. Sometimes it's just one or two common criminals, sometimes it's a gang apparently out for kicks late at night.
For example, before the main plot of the issue starts, our stalwart hero will be out on patrol when he (or she) spots the foul deed and swoops in to save the day, thus setting the tone for our hero and the stakes that will soon follow. Judging by how often it's been used though, I should never ever ever visit NYC. For as I soon as I leave the safe confines of JFK airport, I am bound to be mugged and five minutes later, the mugger will probably be mugged.
Thank you Marvel.
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Post by tarkintino on Aug 27, 2021 11:36:06 GMT -5
The biology of Zombies makes no sense. If by "zombie", you mean the word applied to reanimated / flesh-eating types, I do appreciate writers who at least try to explain the cause, instead of being like Robert Kirkman, falling back on the cop-out "its not about that," as if a theory in the fictional realm of zombie stories is going to overtake whatever the story happened to be.
Others have provided explanations--other than traditional voodoo--and no matter how "out there" the theory is, its addressing the "how and why", which is what naturally comes across many readers' / viewers' minds.
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 27, 2021 11:36:25 GMT -5
I think Scott McCloud pointed this out at some point but it's the rather ubiquitous trope of a random couple/pairing being mugged and/or assaulted usually in a dark alleyway somewhere. Sometimes it's just one or two common criminals, sometimes it's a gang apparently out for kicks late at night. For example, before the main plot of the issue starts, our stalwart hero will be out on patrol when he (or she) spots the foul deed and swoops in to save the day, thus setting the tone for our hero and the stakes that will soon follow. Judging by how often it's been used though, I should never ever ever visit NYC. For as I soon as I leave the safe confines of JFK airport, I am bound to be mugged and five minutes later, the mugger will probably be mugged. Thank you Marvel. Why I will never go to Vegas after watching "CSI." Apparently it's Disneyland for serial killers.
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Post by tarkintino on Aug 27, 2021 11:41:47 GMT -5
Heroes immediately accepting that comrades they have known for years have turned evil and immediately attacking them, rather than discussing the situation and finding out what is really going on. The very reason why the more comic companies wanted to not only exploit crossover, but build a so-called "universe," the more the mistaken identity / heroes fighting heroes trope made no sense at all, unless everyone was subjected to a brainwashing / criminality program.
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Post by mikelmidnight on Aug 27, 2021 11:43:30 GMT -5
Plucky young hero is a total neophyte when introduced to an ancient order of warriors - school of wizardry - super spy agency - exotic martial arts temple - competitive sports team usually requiring years of practice just to be admitted, and becomes an absolute master in, like, two weeks tops.
This is connected to the Chosen One trope, which I detest.
It's also connected to a similar trope - not sure what to call it - when a random protagonist solves some problem through accident or luck that Supremely Trained Person has failed to. Now, as a story twist that's fine, no problem, but then the Supreme Trainers designate the protagonist as the new Supremely Trained Person because the original one failed. Neil Gaiman did this in Neverwhere.
Okay, um, what about all the other tasks the Supremely Trained Person is responsible for? The random protagonist will crash and fail at those.
They even did this with Kirk in Star Trek! He got stuck with those displaced Native Americans and, because he knows CPR, they made him the new medicine man.
Is he going to know anything at all about the other rituals the medicine man is responsible for? Is he going to know what herbs to use when someone has a fever or an infection?
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Post by The Cheat on Aug 27, 2021 13:26:18 GMT -5
"It's a Doombot!" And heroes still being surprised by this despite it having happened to them every single time they've encountered Doom in the past! Does no hero in in the MU have senses capable of telling if someone is a robot? See also LMD Nick Furys (Furies?). As for "all scientists know science", this would appear to be a common misconception in real life too judging by the number of random psychologists, geologists, IT PhDs, etc, the media have been dragging out to comment on the pandemic just so they can say "scientists" back up whatever their alarmist headline of the day is.
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Post by kirby101 on Aug 27, 2021 13:57:14 GMT -5
I think Scott McCloud pointed this out at some point but it's the rather ubiquitous trope of a random couple/pairing being mugged and/or assaulted usually in a dark alleyway somewhere. Sometimes it's just one or two common criminals, sometimes it's a gang apparently out for kicks late at night. For example, before the main plot of the issue starts, our stalwart hero will be out on patrol when he (or she) spots the foul deed and swoops in to save the day, thus setting the tone for our hero and the stakes that will soon follow. Judging by how often it's been used though, I should never ever ever visit NYC. For as I soon as I leave the safe confines of JFK airport, I am bound to be mugged and five minutes later, the mugger will probably be mugged. Thank you Marvel. I live in NY, there really aren't any alleys in the city. Most of the post war building eliminated them. The few that survive have heavy gates and no one can walk down them.
Of course fighting crime is a silly use of power. The NYPD has a force of 40,000 officers, and they have dome a good job reducing crime here. It is a fairly safe city now. But one guy, swinging around town is not really going to put a dent in crime.
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