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Since it looks like the same forum shows up in all the Dark Network sites, I believe this is the proper place to post this. If not than I'm certain it will be moved in short order.

Here's what I would like to know, what qualities make a Super Hero/Villain?

Is it super natural power or ability? Or is it just an extraordinary drive to do good or evil, depending on your inclination?

I'd love to hear what people have to say.

Order up?!?!?

Anywho, I would have though the making of a hero or villian would be common sense. Powers are usually chemical related in most cases, experiments gone aury in others.

The way the individual feels about the social calls that treated them fairly or unfairly determines the nature of good vs evil.

Thought most of it was self explainatory...

Heros respond to megamainicial arc types. Villians vary in motivation, does every villian plot for gain?

Is every hero dedicated for the Nobel reasons?

The " Powers" series by Brien Micheal Bendis is a good take on hero roles.

I like Anti Heros.

I tend to like the anti-heroes as well.

They also add the question of destiny or fate to the equation. The reluctant hero who can't escape their destiny.

The way they are portrayed:

The villain is the one who creates trouble to society, the hero fights him/her.

Often villains are individuals with psychological issues, the hero is one who apparently looks like a normal person but with an unusual life.

I think though, that sometimes villains get misunderstood and heroes over rated, but I still like them both and support heroes more :)

Punisher gets Flack from both "Good guys" and bad Villians. Then Their is Harley .. What twisted agenda has she?

No one needs powers to be super heroes or to be a villain. Someone who rescues a boy from a burning building can be considered a "super" hero. The person who started the fire would be considered the "super" villain. In order to be determined to be any such classification, you have to go by that such persons actions.

in order for the character to be rounded there must be at least one defect/flaw/quirk. but other than that you dont need a superpower to be a superhero. you wither need lots of money/gadgets, a power, or a huge devoted following and an ego complex that makes your enemies think your unstable enough to try something... *shiver* and the means to clone your devoted army several times.

sure its a little scatter brained, but you get the idea.

The simplest answer to this is, it's simply in what a person does or doesn't do, whether they choose to help another or not.

A good base for any hero, add the powers.

A villian usually thinks they deserve a position above Average humans, they operate on whim.. without Super heroes comic book worlds would be enslaved basically.

it seems that you all agree on the charateristic of villian or hero, yet culture and society have different points to view each and have defferent outcomes.

Use for example vlad who a hero to his people, yet a monster for the tortures he implied on people. villian, hero.

villlians usually action is based on self improvement , yet a hero acts on bases of what is good for the group.

The human enhanced villian is usually opposed to the hero, for various reasons from perceived ethics violations, to revenge.

In the "Powers"series they really make the "villian" negotiable.

It's an interesting question; and some good responses. When I read the opening post - I instantly thought of two "super heros"; Superman and Batman. These are actually two of my favorites to discuss.

Is Superman really a "super" hero? His abilities are purely natural due to the gravity on Krypton being so much higher/stronger than on Earth. Superman doesn't really have any super-human powers; but more super-earthling powers.

And Batman doesn't have any super powers; Bruce is just a very talented inventory. Many, many toys for the rich orphan .... but no super powers. Does he also qualify for a "super" hero?

I'd say Batman does ~ I think it's closely related to what would make a villian in the fact that there's a level of infamy about him. Then there's the mystery, and the ability to go above, around and through the law to get the bad guys in a way that police can not. Of course there is the motivation, a single minded purpose to get the bad guy, and save the innocent.

partly its matter of perspectave.superhero comics tend to have a very 1950s american republican social world veiw.the heros go about thumping blue collar criminals and blue collar supercriminals or sinister foreigners trying for world domination.V would be seen in as a supervillien in marvel or Dc from the 60s to the 80s.after that it has changed somewhat.a super person is still based on zorro.they have a secret identity or an unusuall costume,and an unusuall combat skill.as was pointed out in kill bill two ,superman is unique in that the secret identity is reversed.masked heros began in the 19th centuary.individualls with strange abilitys and either masks or discuises such as sherlock holmes.19th centuary pulp also had anti heros like varney the vampire and fantomas.

yet if we look at comics heros/villians. superman and batman was killed off for the new era heros to take their place. so heros can die.

but the true heroes are those in everyday life doing stuff beyond their means. helping, rescueing, fighting crime agaist the villians of society.

The only difference between your average villain/hero and a super-villain/hero is the word... "super."

Thus, it is the "super"-human capacity to act for good or evil that makes a "super"-hero or "super"- villain regardless the desire one might have to perform/commit the acts identifying oneself as one or the other.


- Upir'

In my opion they (good or evil) do not have to have any powers out the norm just a extreme urge to do what they need wether it be good or evil.

but yet we do not live in comic book land, and for our heros are the people who help us everyday, military individuals fire fighters etc.

the characteristic of normal people doing things that we we not even atempt.

By definition, a super- anything is something that is larger, stronger or faster than others of its kind.

I think that in the real world this absolutely, includes firefighters, police, military, etc... in the superhero category.

For me, in the comic book world, I would have to include the existence of a super-villain in the definition of a superhero.

what makes a Villian would be a a feeling of hurtfulness or lonelyness

The same charachter could be a villain or a hero.Let`s take Batman for example.
The line between good or bad is thin but usually that`s in regard with his services for humanity.
The "super" adjective is just an augmentation of a... lets say tool or weapon.In itself can not define a character`s orientation towards one side or another (see Spiderman and his evil brother).

Countess of shadow I agree with you on that point, can I press you for an example in a character?

That air of injury by perhaps mankind, real or percieved is a factor I agree in a super villain.

Ignoring the 'super' part, I think I'll answer.

What makes a man/woman a hero? Is it a drive to do what is right, or is a passion burning to right a wrong? It's a tough call, though it doesn't always mean you need supernatural abilities. Let's just face it- men and women oin the military are called heroes every day, and they're not all Wolverine clones....lol

i tend to associate serial killers and criminals as type cast villains so i think any atributes they have would be considered villain like.

Dab, an example of feelings of hurt, injury and loneliness can be found in Spawn. Perhaps also an example of a superhero and supervillian?

There is one man who has far greater knowledge than anyone on the planet regarding what makes a super hero and his name is Stan Lee. I would suggest that you write to him and he will tell you.

Spiderman is great, but why would you say he captures Stan Lee's definitive super character?

Just curious.

He fits the role, he developed into his role, he is driven by a personal event.
He knows his power requires responsibilities. He is also a normal human.. Turned super.

So how about Super Man as portrayed on Smallville. I find it interesting that every character introduced with even a smigen of his powers has a bent towards the misuse of them.

What makes Clark so darn pure?

i do believe it has to do with ones morals. when they discover this power to choose to use it well and just or to let it go to thier head and become power hungry and use it unwisely ... a dear friend of mine recently pushed a child out of the way of a train the child suffered a broken leg but my friend lost his life to me he is a super hero

its what he does makes him a hero or villan. you dont need superpowers. you just have to do what is right. they dont care what happens to them. and they always do what is best for others

In my opinion it has alot more to do with their overwhelming drive to do good or evil than the matter of them having special powers that makes them a superhero or supervillan....Whether it be a freak of nature that can move things with his mind or an average joe who moves things with a seemingly superhuman brute force due to the passion he feels towards his cause....It is all about extrordinary passion not extrordinary powers...

But what separates heros and villans?
Usually not very much....
Most villans are heroes from someones point of view and vice versa......
Usually a tradjety or injustce is all that separates a villan from a hero and in their own right they are the hero......

I believe it is their will power to not let the darkness which is in all of us take over us. I don't believe it is the powers I believe that is it how strong the person is and which side they lean to more good or bad light or darkness in the end they always decide.

Within each of us we have the ability or drive to be a good supe hero or the villian. depending on our goals and who they affect

heros do for others while the villians achieve things for their life or out of hate for someone.

super would mean they have powers, yet only in the comics sorry the only place...

In my opinion, they both have believes and reasons to fight for so they're neither considered Super Hero or Villian.

In relation to villains in the comic book world, all villains have their personal reasons for doing what they do. However common to most would probably be an element of narcissism, personality wise, and a desire to get ahead in the world on their own terms, or to destroy a world which is meaningless to them, or has done them wrong in some way (being insane helps too lol).

I suppose also heroes and villains are defined by what society deems as socially acceptable or morally right. It is these views that really separate the villain from the hero, at least in basic terms.

I don't think anyone's solely evil or good, it's what they choose to do with their lives that defines them in such a way. As for villains and hero's, I'd have to say that what makes a villain is not just super natural abilities, in fact, most of the villains you read about don't have such powers...nor do most of the heroes, unless you're looking in comic books. What defines a super villain and/or super hero is simply what defines your everyday bad and good people. It's what they chose to do with their lives at a certain point in time.

Yet than the nuetrals who desion is based on both and one way are the hero, next choice the villian,

Funny so many choices and some many outcomes.

In my opinion, the two best examples to look at regarding this debate would be The Punisher and Batman.

Both lack actual superpowers, both fight partially for personal vendettas, both have a rather dark side to them, and both of them are basically vigilantes whom also run into trouble of their own with authorities from time to time.

Even further still, a lot of Batman's arsenal relies on gadgetry, so in a sense he almost...purchases his assets closest to 'superpowers'

The Punisher, is more or less simply a very angry, former military man, who uses his military training, the same training that many many people in real life possess, to go forth and destroy what he feels is evil and in hopes of avenging his loved ones.

While I do think these characters are more relative to actual possibilities in real life, they aren't at all the same as "superheroes" except in the sense that they fight crime.

I will say, that I respect the hell out of any person who ever puts themselves in danger for another human being, whether it be military, police, firemen, anything...and I thank any of you who reads this for your services. But they honestly are just ordinary people who are trained to do extraordinary things in extraordinary situations...just like anyone else could learn to do if they truly dedicated their mind and body to learning...

A hero try's to prevent the inevitable
a villain sits back and watches the world burn

i see military people as murderous killers who are paid for their crimes by a society run by gangsters.to me they are not heros but villeins.ive got a friend who was going to marry somebody in iraque.but the americans killed him and his whole family so she sees them as monsters from hell.there was an afgan wedding and the guys fired their guns in the air as part of the celebration.the americans heard it and came round and killed them all.dose that make them heroes?

some super heroes have fought each other more than once and usually it's not because one thinks the other is evil, it's because they have differing opinions or their actions, regardless of whether they have the same end goal, clash and they see no other way around the problem.