One thing that always makes me upset is a character I love being treated unfairly, especially when it means losing their special abilities. I love seeing characters excel, and it honks me off when they get dumped in the gutter. Of course, it's necessary in a story, and I know that, but I still get upset when it happens. Perhaps that's one reason why I read as much as I do, because that takes me through endless character development and I see the tragic hero rise like a phoenix many times.
The recent trend of superhero movies really shows this to grand effect. The superhero genre thrives on taking their burly thugs and making them rob the heroes of their special stuff. Bane did it to Batman, the Mandarin did it to Iron Man, Red Skull did it to Captain America. It's grand, it's tragic, it's great theater. I think it's built into human dna to root for the underdog.
On the other hand, there is a kind of story where a fairly normal person excels and just keeps right on excelling. I've never been able to write a story like that myself, but I've read a number of them and I'll admit there's a special kind of magic about them. It's like the joy of it is simply watching a mythical progression that never ends. I haven't read many like that, and they have all been short stories, so I do wonder how long such a concept could work.
Let's give it up for the underdog! Eat a hot dog!
- M
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