This isn’t exactly a development post. Not at all.
Since I could read, certain characters have really been emblazoned on my memory. Certain aspects, or characteristics, of characters moreso. I was trying to think through why on the drive home from holidays.
And it struck me simply .. it is a sense of Infinity.
Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. .. 
.
Take the Hulk. He is my primary example, but there are others.
Throughout the comics, there are mentions of the fact that .. the madder Hulk gets the stronger he gets.
This statement has never been broken in the comics, as far as I am aware. It still stands as truth.
And this statement is my point.
The Hulk has a sense of infinity to him. He has a characteristic that cannot be measured by any known terms. This is what I grasped.
There aren’t many characters that spring to mind straight away .. but if you think through your favourite ones, it might be that you will find something similar. Granted, the Hulk is not my favourite fictional character .. this Infinity complex is not the only factor in determining how much I rate them. But it’s a big part.
Haven’t really sorted it out yet in my mind, as the post’s lack of conciseness testifies .. but it was some well-spent moments in the car while the kids weren’t fighting .
That’s not what I get from the Super Heroes.
I thought they all have a weakness to combat this sense of infinity … The Hulk has to be angry to become stronger = hit him with a dose of valium and keep him happy. Superman = kryptonite.
To make them less than “God” and have human failings.
I always got the sense of vulnerability. Not as in weakness but that they have these amazing abilities (which could be used as easily for evil as for good) but there are limitations. Sure Hulk’s limitations are significantly higher than muggles but there is not perfection. = closer to humanity than any concept of God.
Comment by Lil — July 11, 2006 @ 1:09 pm
Yeah, i’m not talking about perfection. I’m talking about a characteristic whereby they are far greater than even a normal super-hero.
I realise that we love to create characters that are super but flawed .. all through the ages this has been done.
But I’m talking specifically about a unique characteristic that appeals to me .. and the best I can think of is that the madder Hulk gets the stronger he gets. Unlimited potential. Nynaeve was like that in WOT, Rand too i guess to some extent. Drizzt is the same, his abilities seem almost limitless, in the earlier books. Wolvie has it, to a lesser extent, in the saying that the writers trot out every once in a while .. I’m the best at what I do.
These figures are most definately flawed. They are none perfect. But they have something limitless in them.
That’s what I’m talkin bout
.
Comment by Stu — July 11, 2006 @ 1:18 pm
Not to say I disagree with what you are saying .. well, i do with some of it, heh heh .. but this post was a further understanding, a reasoning out of WHY a specific thought pattern was happening every time the hulk was brought to mind.
Comment by Stu — July 11, 2006 @ 1:26 pm