The problem is that every “event” needs a bigger, stronger threat so the heroes need to level up to match it. The writers have made their own problems by having to one-up each other each time

I like it more when characters find out how to use their powers in better ways. Iceman reaching his potential for example. Thor has powers they never show him use. They should develop those more first and then show him get more powerful. It is also nice when heroes win because of teamwork, outsmarting their opponent and perseverance. Not just relying on raw power.

When characters get too overpowered, it kills the stakes of the story and it also presents the problem of having to use deus ex machinas or plot devices to allow them to lose. Superman for example, didnt need a power upgrade. But now he can open portals which implies he can warp reality when before, he was just absurdly strong and fast. This is why I always read Spider-Man, Batman and some X-Men comics. They don't go too overboard and focus on the storytelling.

Power-ups are a problem only when they mess with the character's core. It makes sense for Thor to get more powerful since he's an actual God and heir to the throne of Asgard. What doesn't make sense, was retconning his birth story (again) just to give him mommy issues with the Phoenix! and also Phoenix powers for literally 2 seconds.

Yes. You have to believe that the protagonist can legitimately lose otherwise there's nothing for them to overcome.

Remember what Syndrome said? "If everybody's super, no one will be."

If theyre too overpowered then there's no real stakes. It becomes too comical to really enjoy. The only threats left would be stuff you create too be more powerful than where they're currently at and once they lose then it's a vicious cycle

Power creep is ruining comics.

Especially since everyone's a healing factor now. back in the day less than 5 people had one: Wolverine, Sabertooth, Hulk, Deadpool etc, now is not who's got a healing factor, but who doesn't have one. But i agree characters need evolve and get stronger

They’ve been power stacking flat a rate that almost certainly seems built for profit monetization. Kind of like Transformers back in the day if you think about it with the different costumes & all.

I think the writting power ups depends on if the upgrade makes sense for the character and/or whether or not it hurts the story (this can be comics or any sort of medium) Daredevil gaining a power that enhances his senses to the point he can even sense and feel the emotions of others: I love it. It builds on his existing super human senses in way that doesn’t make him physically stronger, but instead in a way that makes him an even better fighter (such as sensing anger in an opponent so he knows they’re off their game, or confidence so he can sense his opponent is likely about to pull a trap). Miles Morales being able to conjure a sword from his electricity: Not a fan of it myself. Him being able to manipulate his own bio-electricity in and of itself is cool, but pushing it too far like weapon conjuraton seems a bit out of left field. Also regarding just upping the stakes to make up for a hero’s power-up, I think there’s only so much you can do before stakes become too ridiculous, and doing so because you as a writer gave your protag such a boost just seems a little sloppy in my opinion. Lastly, if a power up is gonna be temporary, unless it services something like character development, at least for me, why even write it in the first place when the readers know it’s going to be temporary and it just becomes a matter of when?

This is exactly why Spider-Man is my favorite superhero. He PERFECTLY walks the line between being powerful and being vulnerable

In my opinion I think it’s very interesting seeing heroes get stronger with crazy new abilities, but at the same time you don’t really feel the stakes when fighting powerful enemies

As someone who loved X-Men growing up, I think signing up for that book was in part signing up to see what mutants would be able to do later when they mastered their abliities. For instance, maybe one day Cyclops will be able to control his dang powers. I realize the visor is iconic, but he has only one of Superman's powers and is not able to control it. I don't mind OP super heroes as long as they make it fun.

Power creep has been a struggle ever since Superman changed from leaping over buildings to straight up flying. Yes, the problem has been around since almost the beginning of the genre. Personally, I stopped regularly reading comics because of the powered creep nearly 20 years ago. When I watch some of the videos by this channel about recent long term stories, my eyes roll almost every other minute because of the power creep. When I learned that The Batman Who Laughs overthrew The Mother Of The Multiverse, I practically turned into the Viola Davis pick up my purse meme. 😍😍😍😍😍

Love the detail that Nightwing's suit adquires a yellow color while using his powers. Nice reference to his first two outfits 👍

Here’s the thing, every writer wants to make their mark on the characters they write. But then they write Batman soloing the justice league in a bodycast while blind and Superman one shots the Abrahamic God. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Honestly I gotta agree. I feel like the superhero’s are getting a bit too OP rn to just never get beaten so maybe they all need to just chill

What makes characters better is there limitations and how they overcome them against insurmountable odds. This helps create great stories and makes the characters more relatable.

Reminds me of the Itchy Scratchy episode where they each pull out a bigger gun, a bigger cannon. Eventually, it's all going to come to a head. Just don't write yourselves into a corner, writers!

Yes to over powered fir sure even batman seems to have super powers now unfortunately. So many are now invulnerable. Not a good thing for storylines

Superheroes are getting too OP because of one thing: writers. But right now, these writers have a habit of killing off our favorite Marvel Heroes. Now, I find out they're killing off Mark Spector to replace him as Moon Knight.

The problem with this, is that it creates an endless cicle. Everyone has to become stronger, but that means that always stronger enemies appear, which means that the heroes should be even stronger and so on. I cant really enjoy a comic anymore where a robbery is stopped, when in another comic that character fights multiversal threaths

The punisher also became the ghost rider and the herald of Galactus in recent years

Sometimes it does feel like it’s just one ultimate power villain after another

I love it for characters that already have powers but leave the normal street tiers alone

imho what would excite me more about Punisher isn't powers, but a redemption arc where he actually does something about the injustice of the world, instead of just shooting villains on site.

It’s already been happening in Image Comics when Spawn became more powerful than God. Even though Spawn was already powerful, he was a street level hero.

Superhero stories illustrate to us what we are capable of and inspire us to overcome our own challenges and setbacks. When they become too powerful to relate to, the whole genre collapses. It all becomes nihilistic when the meaning is lost.

The villians need to win sometimes. Keeps it more interesting and believable. Give the hero something to ponder on how to win in the next battle

I thought the Power Cosmic went away after King in Black. Also I thought Wonder Woman abandoned her cosmic power as well. As for Superman’s Susanoo, Kinglion talked about that. He can only do that when in contempt with Gensis. Idk if the portals are the same way though. As for Punisher, I thought that was temporary too. As for Daredevil & Miles, the boosts aren’t big enough to make their fighting too easy.

I dunno, I’m not against new powers, but I’d rather see the villains have better/different counters to the hero’s power and force more creative solution. I ain’t a writer though so what do I know

Thor getting stronger doesn't bug me at all, he was always a powerhouse so having him be super strong is cool. Same with Superman

I wouldn’t say over powered but definitely over saturated. Everything is always about alternate reality versions of main characters or creating another character in the same universe with the same powers but also adding more. Spider-Man is a big example of this, Miles has gone and gotten electric and invisibility and then there’s untold amounts of spiderverse characters that pop up every month.

Wolverine is a famous example of being OP. I remember his limited series from the 80's when he was shot and stabbed and it took days to recover. Now, he survived a nuclear blast that stripped him of all skin and organs yet he was able to regenerate his entire body FROM nothing in mere hours if not minutes.

I understand Miles is basically going to be Peter Parker‘s replacement, but Sparman still needs to have a brand new power to match mile’s power

Better word: broken

I think it's cool to see a character's maxed out potential and different takes on the character, but I don't think they should completely overhaul the canon character. They're interesting What Ifs for sure.

Batman: "Now that my body is stronger after many years of hard training, I can bang with Diana without fear of her tough Amazon body hurting me!" 😎 Goddes Wonder Woman: *Appears* "I'm sorry, Bruce, but I'm afraid you're not the only one here with a recent power-up..." Batman: 😢

Superman used to be way way way WAY more powerful than todays Superman. Silver Age Superman casually chains planet and take them to a hospitable solar system. He sneeze and destroyed dead planets.

pretty sure Superman's power-up began at the end of the Warworld saga, when he was exposed to a White Dwarf Star Power-ups like Daredevil and the Punisher's came in a context that was supposed to be their final forms. The Power wasn't the focus, it was just a byproduct of showcasing these characters in their endgame... until the next writer decides it never mattered Nightwing's was solely just an interesting plot device, it was basically Neron trying to bribe him Miles making energy constructs... that's weird and unnecessary. he was already distinct enough among other Spider-heroes. I think in this case, the power-up was just an excuse for easy plot. The art we got was worth it, though. Giving Thor Phoenix powers was just stupid and it never mattered outside of Aaron's Avengers books. His whole big, run-ending event was entirely based on "hey, look at all this fun new one-note characters we pulled out of the multiverse this time!"

I like all super hero characters and villains and I found it very cool that Superman got powers similar to Goku because he always trains to improve and do better and I believe it is the purpose of Superman!

I think for street level heroes, it should be a very temporary or situational case. Batman has gained power rings and Superman's powers. But it would ruin the character and stakes if they always had that.

I actually love that Daredevil and punisher got powers

What do you think villains would be like if they were as overpowered as these Superheroes? Who's the most overpowered villain from both DC and Marvel?

there's much better ways to add changes etc to keep characters stories' dynamic and from becoming stale, but it takes so authorial ingenuity, imagination, and love for the character and their story

These are the kind of videos that need to be on this channel more often, this and the Batman episode recently. Good stuff!

No as long as a character still has threats that are around or above their level that can challenge them and the hero still has good emotional conflicts then it really doesn't matter how powerful they are you could have a character powerful enough to destroy multiverses by blinking but as long as they have those 2 things they can be interesting. Superman is a great example of this the guy can defeat gods, fly across the universe in minutes, lift the heavens and so much more but he's still a compelling character because of his villians who are often just as powerful if not stronger than supes like doomsday, mongul, Brainiac, Darkseid and Mr Mxy and he still goes through character growth and emotional conflicts

After I learned that Pre Crisis Wally West Flash can steal speed and just permanently freeze people- I'm like Aight, I'm pretty sure that means he can just beat almost anyone not a cosmic entity/ spirit, by petrification.

Heroes haven’t just started becoming overpowered, they’ve always been overpowered.

Power creep is a choice by writers to create stories, and I prefer focusing more on the character themselves as a way to keep characters interesting. Telling stories that dont need to focus on powers or greater level threats but looking at interpersonal relationships, the character themselves, and topics that make you think are all great ways to keep using characters in new and fresh ways. Batman the White Knight series is a great example or the elseworld stories.

Isn’t that part of what makes them “Super” folks - also you completely missed when Superman split into 2 and Superman Prime One Million

I think I agree with that thought, super heroes are becoming too OP.

It’s the same power scaling issue Naruto had. The writers have to continuously improve upon their characters to keep readers engaged. Granted I do like seeing how creative they get (Dr Doom beating the Beyonders by bombing them with a bomb made of Molecule Men absolutely blew my mind.)

I also think the power level community also have a hand at power creep in the form of people getting new power to fight other fictional character

This is nothing new, the power scaling has been going on for a very long time

Can you do history of Alfred Pennyworth, Batwing, Flame Bird, Batwoman, Azrael, Signal(Duke Thomas), Bluebird, Stephanie Brown and Carrie Kelly?

I think as opposed to multiverse stuff, I want to see how far it goes. Guerren Lagann style. Ultimately, they're superheros this is what we're signed up for. We'll still get Matt Fraction Hawkeyes, and theres plenty of grounded indie comics.

Yes. O always found it ironic when people would say that Superman is overpowered while Omega Level mutants exist.

They have to be careful not to fall into the Dragonball trap. Initially, Dragonball was about a kid who was a strong martial artist, growing stronger and more powerful as they learnt from experience and overcoming challenges. So things like flight and invulnerability to bullets were a new thing at one point. But due to power creep, the villains and threats grew as the powers grew, and then the powers grew to match those threats. So instead of busting up a bunch of criminal but normal humans in the beginning, they start fighting robots, and then aliens, and it goes from being able to punch hard enough to blow up a mountain, to a planet, to a solar system and so on. It just got too ridiculous and burnt out the creator. No wonder they took a break for a number of years and then completely rewrote the whole system so it was no longer about raw power any more. It's just not sustainable, and it can completely ruin the fun for both creators and fans alike.

I've been frustrating about this since the '70s (or earlier?). Heroes don't grow (age), but they do get more powerful, and the writers/editors create more power villains, and bigger more dangerous threats. I call it the Dragon-Ball effect; The villain gets more powerful, so to defeat them the hero gets more powerfull, then to defeat the hero the villain gets... and so it goes. To me it seems like the population of the worlds of Marvel and DC should be catatonic, given the number of world ending threats, and mass deaths they've had. (PTSD) Please let characters have full stories, grow, have lives, and pass on their mantles or watch their child (children) become their own heroes with out world ending threats each month. As always thank you so very much for the videos.

Since you did the origin of Sonic the Hedgehog characters Tails and Knuckles in your previous video, when are you going to do history of Sonic the Hedgehog himself? Since you did the history of Miss Marvel Kamala Khan, Can you please do origin of the Nega Bands in your next video since that's going to be the source of Miss Marvel getting her powers in the MCU?

Everybody get a susanno, goku and now superman

Yes. I usually love the level live action movies put them at.

When he said they gave Daredevil a power up. I thought they gave him the ability to see .

I like this topic, and I would love to see More!🎉🎉🎉

When are you going to do history of Marvel's Sandman and Kurt Conners the Lizard since they made a live action comeback in Spider-Man No Way Home along with the Elementals who were mentioned in Spider-Man Far From Home?

Oh, here I thought he would go through both sides of the argument and dissect the pros and cons. Nope, just a list of upgrades, well done variant, well done

Great video concept… nightcrawler Spider-Man always had me scratch my head why that was never the case if we didn’t wanna keep realism in check

I am more of a temporary power up person, and I only want them to make sense in context of a story being told. If we get into an arms race we are left with villains and heroes capable of annihilating solar systems. This makes it more difficult to write and it disrupts the suspension of disbelief.

I love when different super powers get givennto one character, like Hulk Ghost rider etc

Feels like this kind of video should’ve been made years ago. Still great video man!

My man. using a DBZ image when talkin about Naruto... cold hahaha

I randomly say and sign them with my bits at least twice a day thank you ERB

Not sure about all the others but I've been a fan of Moon Knights power upgrades

Some characters are to overpowered to be fun.

I blame Morrison he's turned Superhero genre into a pantheon of gods.

The most destructive of these is X-Men. The concept of X-Men was so good and there is so much potential for good stories. Turning them into 'superheroes', travelling to space, placing water on Mars, becoming omega level etc. simply makes the story uninteresting and moves away from the core concept.

I think the worst offenders are Iron Man and Doctor strange. Superman's been broken for a long time so i can't really blame them, however i can blame them for digging the hole bigger and making matters worse for the next writers.

There was a time when only Wolverine, Sabretooth and Omega Red had healing factor; now everyone has one. The same way there was a time only Wolverine had claws .....

Can you do history of the villains of the Stargirl TV show like Mr_Bones, Dragon king, Brainwave and Icicle? When are you going to do history of the Flash Villains Mirror Master and Top since the second half of season 6 of the Flash has finished? Can you do history of the Atom, Major_Force, Captain Atom, Plastique, the Blackhawks, Rocket Red Brigade, Maxima, El-Dorado, Element Woman, Metamorpho, Mr Terrific and Plastic Man along with the history of the Villains Dr Alchemy and Abracadabra?

This stuff is fine if its temporary but I think elevating street level heroes to omega level ruins them. It fundamentally changes the character and their stories to something else entirely. A major appeal of Punisher and Daredevil is their gritty real world hand to hand and tacticool combat. We got Thor and Surfer for out of this world cosmic madness.

Since you did the history of Conrad Carapax, Are you going to do history of OMAC, Overthrow, Dr Polaris, Posse and the Brotherhood of Evil who are all Blue_Beetle villains without a Scarab? Can you please do origin of DC the Reach who are the aliens who created the Scarab of the Blue_Beetle since no one else has done an origin video of them? Since you did the comic book origin Dan Garett, Ted Kord and Jamie Reyes the Blue Beetle, can you do comic book origin of DC Black_Beetle, Scarlet Scarab, Yellow Beetle and the Silver_Scarab?

is it just me or does Lex space suit look like he is dressed up as Buzz Lightyear? 😅 😂😂

I feel like you forgot a major character thats been powered up in the Hulk. In his latest series he killed a being Udru who was created to kill and take over for TOAA. Being called the fractured son his new enemy the Mother of Horrors exists outside of TOAA as she was not a creation of his and her power is enough to trick even TOAA. Hulks power up is MASSIVE!!!

I remember commenting this to you on a few videos. even though writers don't touch on some of these things again it still is ridiculous. Superman is the best example. a lot of people were bored with a hero who can do anything which is why the street level heroes were more popular at times. if the writers can't think of good stories anymore with the powers they have then its time to end the character. but just giving them power upgrades to fight a bigger baddie only will go so far until they have to fight the writer themselves. I love certain characters but even i admit there comes a time when their story must end.

That moonlight one surprised me, because wouldn't that be pretty obvious a power for Superman day 1?

A susano'o, and proceeds to show MUI Goku's susano'o.

I'm actually surprised that they didn't talk about Frank Castle becoming the Cosmic Ghost Rider. That seems more OP to me🤷

The Rule of Cool abides.

I think they should have a cannon line where it’s interesting with a good villain(s) and not too op and then a what if side series where we see these one off parallel universe but never have them mix

Turning daredevil to an empath is crazy

Before watching, hell yeah.

For Thor, the biggest problem with getting the Odin Force is that he needs to be wise on spending it otherwise he be forced into Odin sleep which could take a long time.

Yup and there are 2 solutions to this “problem”: either overpower the villains or introduce overpowered villains

As much as I love Miles, his new power feels too close to the speed force lightsabers from the flash tv show. I just kinda feels wrong.

Spawn still has the same powers . So basically he is not overpowered.

I think is great idea for superhero to evolve and become more powerful.😅 awesome job Variant 👍

Yes and no. Certain characters it works, certain ones it doesn't. I kinda expect characters like Superman, Hulk, maybe Thor, etc to be considered OP (even though they've been powered up ridiculously at times even more than they already are) but when you have The Punisher suddenly getting powered up and beating gods, it feels a little ridiculous. We already have to deal with Batman having about 80 bazillion contingency plans for every scenario ever lol. Pretty soon they're gonna have Aunt May being revealed to be a mutant that's 100x more powerful than Xavier 😂

Which spiderman variant is that in the thumbnail? Since I know ghost spider looks different