Answering Queries: Superheroes' Tragic Origins

I put some time into recent responses on Quora and figured I'd share them here, too, since I clearly need to work on writing more consistently.

Are there any superheroes without tragic backstories? Why does a tragic backstory seem to be obligatory for a superhero comic?

There are some superheroes without tragic backstories, but many of them aren’t as widely known as the blockbusters’ lead characters. A few have unremarkable lives before gaining powers or becoming heroes. Several experience tragedy only after becoming heroes. And others have tragic events in their past unrelated to their being superheroes.

John Stewart has an unremarkable history before being chosen as Green Lantern, after which he fails in love and marries, and then his wife dies.

Lunella Lafayette (Moon Girl) is a 9-year-old prodigy and an outcast at school before meeting Devil Dinosaur. There's no real tragedy, just frustration at not being taken seriously by others. She fears the Terrigan Mist, but her encountering it is suspenseful, still not tragic.

Squirrel Girl discovers she can communicate with squirrels and later grows a tail—awkward, but no tragedy.

Faith/Zephyr from Image Comics begins her first solo issue with a monologue about how her parents died and didn't leave her with anything extraordinary except “the stories they loved. Stories that showed me how people could make the world a better place. And then I met a guy named Peter Stanchek and he helped me discover I had superpowers.” He was capable of activating others’ latent powers, but there is no drama to it.

Even Wonder Woman lives an idyllic life, literally growing up on Paradise Island, before Steve Trevor comes along.

[Edited to add] Kitty Pryde of the X-Men has no tragic backstory. She began suffering headaches at the age of 13 when her powers began to manifest, but she doesn’t encounter conflict until after meeting the X-Men. [/end edit]

The tragic origin story trope exists because conflict is generally considered essential to plot, and the reality is that no one has a perfect life.

There's simply nothing compelling nor remotely relatable or engaging in a story about someone who overcame no obstacles and now has it all plus extraordinary powers and a quiet life; they need an event to create the opportunity for them to right a wrong.

Superheroes can only be superheroes at all if there is conflict. A person with nothing to do but twiddle their thumbs cannot be called “heroic.

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Answering Queries: Wonder Woman vs. Batman

I put some time into recent responses on Quora and figured I'd share them here, too, since I clearly need to work on writing more consistently.

In the comic book history, has a fight between Batman and Wonder Woman been depicted? Who won?

Yes, and Wonder Woman wins.

SPOILERS BELOW

In The Hiketeia, published in 2002, Wonder Woman is honor-bound to protect a fugitive that Batman is seeking.

The two exchange blows, and the fight ends with Wonder Woman’s boot on Batman’s head as she tells him, “DON’T. GET. UP.” Batman concedes, “…All right. You win.”

One might argue that she doesn’t “win” the fight just because Batman verbally concedes defeat, but the story makes it clear that she will not back down from her duty. We can assume that she—with her nearly limitless strength, superhuman speed, and extensive combat training—would easily outlast Batman if the fight continued.

The Hiketeia is an interesting exploration of Wonder Woman’s sense of honor and the question of what constitutes justice versus revenge. I recommend checking it out if you have the chance. Literally, I checked it out from my library.

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