Iconic Heroes

[novatomato]

How about something like, for reknown. Underworld connections the Hero, or his Alter-Ego have contacts in the criminal underworld who will provide the character with the information they request. The criminals know that to backstab, follow, blackmail or otherwise hamper the Hero is entirely useless and will only bring the Hero and the Law down on them like a ton of bricks.

[DtMK]

I can easily see someone sending in a Rifter article of this kind of thing. Perhaps another one would be Legend of Yesterday, the aged but still active or semi-active hero that helped to define the earlier generations of heroes. This person has age, experience, countless stories and yarns to tell. Of course, this may or many not come with the downside of the character criticizing the younger generation in methods, spirit, physical conditioning and comparisons. "Flying around and shooting light out your backsides in a crowd of civilians to take out that punk? You should have used your fancy powers to light up like a flash grenade, then move in when he was blinded. Or what's wrong with going mano a mano? Don't they teach you wrestling in school anymore? I remember back in '55, me and my partner The Knuckle Duster took on the Ku Klux Kings. No fancy shmancy powers needed, just a healthy lifestyle and a training regimen!"

[PapaMambo]

Alright, thought of a couple of drawbacks.

Messed Up Good: (Drawback) Nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes. However, the hero screwed the pooch in a big way. They needlessly caused a lot (as in an entire city) of collateral damage, was the cause of the death of someone important or several innocents, went gunning for the wrong villain with the tenacity of a zealot, nearly tripped off WWIII, or whatever. The event(s) are years in the past and for the most part, the people have forgiven the hero and respect them and their efforts to make amends. However, the news media watches this hero for any mistake and the authorities will always question the judgment of this character, not trusting them to take charge of a situation or berating them for actions that other heroes could get away with. While they respect this hero, everyone tends to get a little worried when they enter into large-scale (national, international or worldwide) tense situations, thinking that one day it is inevitable that this hero is going to make the situation worse than it needs to be.

The Redeemed: (Drawback) This hero, wasn't. They were one of the most fearsome villains known and through some unusual events, they changed their ways. The character is honestly a hero now and has been for some time (years) but that doesn't stop people from assuming the worst. The media is always playing watchdog, looking for anything illegal on the part of the hero (a 'special investigation' into the hero's activities pops up about three or four times a year on national TV). Law enforcement trusts them only a little bit and if something goes wrong or it looks like there is super-hero corruption, this character is the first the look at. While many members of the public trust and support this hero, many (roughly a third) do not, thinking that this whole "hero" stunt is an ultimate plan for world domination.

I like all of the ideas presented here, although I think maybe the drawbacks don't go far enough - they're not really drawbacks if the public still 'mostly' trusts the hero when he's screwed up real good.

Here are some suggestions to change things up a bit.

The Redeemed: (Drawback) This hero, wasn't. They were one of the most fearsome villains known and through some unusual events, they changed their ways. The character is honestly a hero now and has been for some time (years) but that doesn't stop people from assuming the worst. The media is always playing watchdog, looking for anything illegal on the part of the hero (a 'special investigation' into the hero's activities pops up about three or four times a year on national TV). Law enforcement doesn't trust them at all and if something goes wrong or it looks like there is super-hero corruption, this character is the first they look at. While many members of the public would LIKE to trust and support this hero, many (More than half) do not, thinking that this whole "hero" stunt is an ultimate plan for world domination. There will always be people who think that someone can change their ways, but for the most part, people seem to assume the worst until they are proven wrong.

Legend of Yesterday: (Renown AND Drawback) This hero is aging and their career is almost at an end, but they are still healthy and capable, if semi-retired. Older generations will know this character and love and respect them as a hero of 'their' generation. Younger generations will have certainly heard of and know this character for their exploits, but will likely not look up to them like they do the newer "flashier" heroes. The character is likely to have entire books worth of stories of old adventures and can practically apply those experiences ("This reminds me of the time..." sort of thing). The primary benefit of this Renown is that people will afford this character respect and consideration, deferring to their experience and fame. Even law enforcement will sort of back off when this character comes on the scene, thinking this character has the experience to handle a situation better than they. Many people (especially those of younger generations) feel that this hero has had his day, and his best days are behind him. Newer heroes may look up to this hero, however, many will see him/her as an old-timer who needs to be protected for his own good. While he may have the experience of ages to draw upon, and the Wisdom of Solomon, he just doesn't have the 'chops' to stand up to todays Villains without putting him/herself (and potentially thousand of civilians) in danger.

[DtMK]

I dunno, that last revised Legend of Yesterday doesn't quite seem right. I mean, it's a strong likelihood that an elder hero may not have the physicality to fight someone younger as they once could, but sometimes older heroes, through items, experience, their powers or the occasional temporal feedback, can be of senior age and still use their abilities and skills, even if their endurance may not be what it once was.

[PapaMambo]

I dunno, that last revised Legend of Yesterday doesn't quite seem right. I mean, it's a strong likelihood that an elder hero may not have the physicality to fight someone younger as they once could, but sometimes older heroes, through items, experience, their powers or the occasional temporal feedback, can be of senior age and still use their abilities and skills, even if their endurance may not be what it once was.

Well, I suppose that where I was going with the revision is this - that in the mind of many of todays younger tougher generation of heroes, while they may feel the Hero of yesterday has some wisdom, most newer heroes would be worried about protecting him, and that may detract from their protecting of other innocents. Of course he may be perfectly CAPABLE of defending himself (perhaps even the younger heroes), but until he proves that he's still up to the task, many (not all) people around him might believe his best days behind him.. I would perhaps put an elder hero in more of an advisory type role, but that's just me.. I have many of my old characters from HU revised, and I wouldn't THINK to put them up against the majority of megas nowadays.

[DtMK]

So you're saying the characters with the most experience are too feeble, incapable of outsmarting more powerful characters and possibly turning their own powers and strength against them? It doesn't automatically mean that because you're facing someone younger and healthier that you can't outsmart them. Martial arts are about turning your opponent's strengths back against them, I'd say the older heroes would be ideal at trying to teach the mega-whippersnappers a few tricks if you play them properly. Of course that's just my opinion.