Martial Arts in Sci-Fi and Fantasy #8: The New Super

[skribs]

The scenario: a teen or young adult has just gone through the part of their origin story where they get their powers. They now have one or more of the abilities I will list below. They have no fighting experience, no martial arts training, and they haven't even spent time arm-chair refereeing fights on Sports Center.

What type of fighting style do you expect from someone who has no training, but recently got:

• Super Strength (to the level of a peak bodybuilder)
• Super Speed and Stamina (imagine Usain Bolt, if he could keep the pace for a marathon)
• Agility, Balance, and Flexibility (I'll lump these together)
• Heightened senses and reaction times
• Increased durability (combination of an iron jaw and a minor healing factor)

How would a new superhero fight with one of these powers? All of them? What factors would make fights easier or harder for them?

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Some of it would depend on the temperament and age of the person. But in general:

Theyll think up all these awesome ways to use their flexibility agility, speed and balance. Then when they fight they'll forget about it, or not know how to use it because they never trained (or both). They'll get in fights and throw haymakers over and over, relying on their strength and knowing the person cant hit them as hard back. They'll use their stamina, but not knowingly, since they wont get gassed throwing normally ineffective, big telemarketed punches.

Or theyll be smart, and learn boxing and jitsu, and hopefully dont accodentally kill their partners.

 

[skribs]

Or theyll be smart, and learn boxing and jitsu, and hopefully dont accodentally kill their partners.

That comes later.

 

[Deleted member 39746]

I dont deal in mary sues.


Logically speaking though, the same as anyone else who hasn't had any training. Slight variations if anything.

 

[skribs]

I dont deal in mary sues.


Logically speaking though, the same as anyone else who hasn't had any training. Slight variations if anything.

How does the fact they have super powers make them a Mary Sue? You realize that superheroes usually end up fighting supervillains, right?

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I dont deal in mary sues.


Logically speaking though, the same as anyone else who hasn't had any training. Slight variations if anything.

How are they a mary sue? And what exactly would "anyone else" do in that situation? I think thats literally the question here

 

[jobo]

The scenario: a teen or young adult has just gone through the part of their origin story where they get their powers. They now have one or more of the abilities I will list below. They have no fighting experience, no martial arts training, and they haven't even spent time arm-chair refereeing fights on Sports Center.

What type of fighting style do you expect from someone who has no training, but recently got:

• Super Strength (to the level of a peak bodybuilder)
• Super Speed and Stamina (imagine Usain Bolt, if he could keep the pace for a marathon)
• Agility, Balance, and Flexibility (I'll lump these together)
• Heightened senses and reaction times
• Increased durability (combination of an iron jaw and a minor healing factor)

How would a new superhero fight with one of these powers? All of them? What factors would make fights easier or harder for them?

they would, I suspect grab their opponent by the throat and smash them into a wall, this ending the fight in two seconds, as a general rule the more athletic someone is, the less they need ma training, if their athleticism is in the super power class they don't need any at all, not even a bit

 

[Deleted member 39746]

How does the fact they have super powers make them a Mary Sue? You realize that superheroes usually end up fighting supervillains, right?

Just does, and super villains are what ever the antagonist equal of a mary sue is if they have powers. it generally denotes overpowered characters which do nothing to get overpowered i would say getting bitten by something is doing nothing to make them overpowered, being born with it the same thing.

I generally dislike the genre as its something hey can basically indefinitely attach and change the details about someone and conjure up random things up. Thats my general distaste and reason i dislike said genre.

Below the quote to kempodisiple is me actually answering the question proposed rather than semi rant about how much i dislike the genre you chose as well.

And what exactly would "anyone else" do in that situation? I think thats literally the question here

Addendum:Skip to asterix for the literal answer/eleboration on the question presented rather than a semi tangent more about human nature and psychology, i spent the time writing said tangent so i think its better to keep it than delete it as i could have made some good points in it and it influences what i wrote in the question bit/outlines how i was thinking when i wrote it. Trust me to prefix the actual answer with a 2 paragraph tangent though.


Go haymaker galore, if they are still human they are pre disposed to the same habits you see any human do. And what ever any psychological study has shown people do if any exist. I know generally speaking for bare bones, the majority is pre disposed to punch, a portion may be pre disposed to open hand and any cultural influences you have determine how you would fight in how you mimic what you have seen. ie if you grow up watching pro wrestling your mock play fighting with friends/siblings may mimic that, if you watch boxing it may mimic that so fourth.

I think its difficult to actually see what is genetic and what is behavioral in this regard though. Its kind of hard to also get a control sample without raising control children. Plus you need to take into account you are taught not to fight and its a taboo.

*Im not savvy enough in psychology nor any studies to give a response like X percentage will do this, another will do this etc. And i think studies in this are lacking TBH. So the better more honest answer is: what ever of the groups you make of fighting styles of said region they fall under is how they would fight. Any enhanced ability seems n/a unless you are trained to use it or it has a influence in what you find easier to do and what you are pre disposed to do.

the only two in said given list i would say would innately change how you do anything is strength and speed. If we mean flash levels of speed that would put you in a completely different group on that basis to everyone else and would fight completely differently. and strength would favour grappling methodology, i think there are stories of strength athletes picking people up in grappling if one so happens to take a interest in martial arts. Especially if we mean the comparable person to the flash for strength. Actually just thought about it, plenty of bodybuilders go to striking first it doesn't innately change how they fight/are programmed to fight by themselves. Just seems the most useful for grappling rather than punching.

The rest would work to help anything and everything. Just to list off my reasoning for it in order baring the two i have stated above:

1)Agility, Balance, and Flexibility: Doesn't innately favour anything, you can use the enhanced skills in striking or grappling stand up or ground and thus would lead you to deviate from any established groups based on "powers". (aint touching the super stretchy scale of this one)

2)Heightened senses and reaction times: If we bar weapons same as above, if we don't this probably has the best effect applied to melee weapons. (i aint touching the ability to dodge bullets scale of this)

3)Increased durability: You would probably take what ever the slugger equal in the style of combat you are predisposed to is, doesn't seem like it would adversely effect what you are predisposed to but rather how you do it. (Same as before, aint touching the ability to be bisected and survive scale to this)


I looked at no.2 on a weapons basis as well, didn't really look at 1 or 3 with that scope as i still think the initial point is barring them as i dont know of many super heros to use weapons. At least its in the same spirit, none would help you if a 120mm HE shell went off on your foot unless ramped to 11. Actually out of all 3 the third would help the most in regard with a reality filter applied to the damage model as the reality filter wouldn't exist for damage done to number 3.

Number 1 would die, number 2 would die and number 3 would be crippled until they regenerate ability to move.

Needless to say weapons change the game a lot and pending type is how. All die to weapons baring durability and that depends on the scale its ramped up.

 

[skribs]

@Rat

You really don't understand the concept of the Mary Sue. A Mary Sue is someone who has strength that defies the medium they are in, who has no character flaws or weaknesses, and who tends to just be better than everyone at everything. The biggest mark of a Mary Sue is when you have a character that can do everything by themselves, and often times has to because the person who SHOULD be doing the job is unwilling.

The original story of the Mary Sue was a fan-fiction of a girl named Mary Sue who goes onto the Starship Enterprise. She diagnoses a patient that Bones could not, solves a logic problem that Spock could not, flies the ship through a gauntlet that Sulu could not, and negotiates an agreement that Kirk could not. All of the girls respected her and all of the guys coveted her.

It's very easy for someone with super powers to not be a Mary Sue. They could be strong, but rely on a tech person to handle their gear (Batman and Lucius Fox). They could be bullheaded and get themselves into a lot of trouble (Superian from Amazon's The Tick, Genos from One Punch Man). They could rely on other powered heroes to offset their weaknesses (X-Men, Justice League).

If super powers are normal within the universe, then just having super powers doesn't make you a Mary Sue. Context matters. If you are Super Man, and there are no other super-powered beings, and Kryptonite doesn't exist, then you're a Mary Sue. If you are Bullseye, and you're incredibly accurate, in a world where the other heroes are Quicksilver and literal gods, then you're comparatively weak, and nowhere near a Mary Sue.