This applies to Western comics in the way where they tend to have used a campy version of the power in the 60s and have to grapple with what that means later. Like when Marvel gave the villain “molecule man” the power to control all molecules then were like “fine yes, also he’s a demi god who can essentially control all things and has the combined energy across all universes to splode reality”
Yeah true. I liked a couple of the new characters but I wish they hadn’t just kept cycling through new powers. Feels like with the freedom to change the fundamental premise they started with it let them focus on lower hanging fruit stories than trying to create deeper plots with the established story.
Worked for luffy. The stretchy people in hero comics are usually seen as side characters who are meh, even Reid Richard’s is mostly known for his intelligence over his stretchyness.
Tbf, that’s Oda’s imagination doing overtime. Reed Richards never gets past the Gum-Gum Pistol stage, I think his power would be considered way cooler if he hit Dr. Doom with a Gum-Gum Elephant Gatling or busted out Snakeman. It’s not just about making them a serious main character, mangaka seem a lot more inventive with utilizing the potential for powers than their Western counterparts.
Yea I attribute it to the audience. Manga evolved as a mature and mainstream medium that wasn’t just for kids. Comics, at least back then didn’t evolve as much and as quickly. Video games as well until the last handful of years.
In the Ultimate comics Reed actually uses his stretchyness to make himself even more intelligent by creating new wrinkles and pathways in his brain with his powers. He fixes his astigmatism too by just stretching his eyes back in the right shape resulting in better than 20/20 vision. It’s kind of weird comic book science but I think it’s a cool evolution of stretchy powers, truly controlling and manipulating the plasticity of his body on a conscious level.
How can Superman’s power of creating a miniature Superman from his palm be made into a cool power and not something he doesn’t even have anymore because it was lame?
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