May 11, 2020 • 13 mins
You know them and love them. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Superman, Batman, and plenty of others. But how can you start writing your own stories using superheroes? Let's find out in todays episode!
For sources, the transcript, and free bonus content, visit www.writersworldpodcast.weebly.com
We put a ton of work into every episode and invest our own time, play unpaid to make each and every quality episode. If you would like to support us further, please visit our Patreon at patreon.com/writersworldpodcast The more you pay, the more exciting bonuses you get, all the way up to an exclusive shirt AND hoodie! Thanks for all the love and support everyone, and please share the podcast every way you can!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
The boy watches his parents murdered in a dark alley.
(00:09):
The boy is fast, but not fast enough to save his mother.
A woman falls into a bucket of radioactive junk.
My name is Ken Mears.
And I'm Melissa Fales.
And welcome to Writer's World.
(00:44):
What better way to learn about superhero stories than from comics?
From Masterclass, quote, comics are a visual form of storytelling that pair images with
text, end quote, which I thought was an accurate description.
The basics of writing a good comic superhero story and a general good superhero story are
(01:07):
number one, to remember act one is the beginning, act two, middle, and act three, ending.
Two, remember the superhero's reasons why.
And number three, your character needs to have unique personalities or power.
Ken, what are your basic three tips for creating a superhero?
(01:27):
I would say, first of all, make the superhero human.
Now I don't mean species wise, but make them faulty.
Even super humans are still human deep down.
They make mistakes.
They are not perfect.
So write them that way.
Make sure there are consequences when they mess up.
Second, I would recommend giving a superhero some kind of weakness.
(01:49):
This may or may not be some kind of object like Superman's weakness to kryptonite.
It could be something like pride or a person they value.
Basically give them a weak link.
And the third tip I would suggest is give them relationships.
This could be parents, friends, or romantic interests.
Often relationships can provide a lot more conflict for a superhero than even the bad
(02:10):
guy.
The reason behind this is because they can't just punch away relationship problems like
they can a bad guy.
True true.
Now we will be diving deep into something every superhero has, an origin story.
Ken, what is an origin story?
Exactly what it says, the story about a person's origin.
(02:30):
Basically an origin story is the background of what led up to a character, especially
a superhero or supervillain, that made them who they are.
For example, Batman's origin story is his parents were killed in an alley, he inherited
all their money, he grew up bitter, and decided to provide vigilante justice using his money.
(02:51):
Origin stories are crucial to providing reasons for why characters are the way they are.
Origin stories are important because they give the character depth, they greatly impact
the character by giving them a purpose, and it makes them human.
Confused?
Let me try to explain.
In NerdSync's YouTube video, Three Kinds of Superhero Origin Stories, he said quote,
(03:15):
comic books are littered with origin stories, they're constantly telling and retelling
origins.
An origin story clearly spells out why someone chooses to be and remain a hero.
The origin also establishes the rules of a character.
The origin needs to set up a theme and structure of the kinds of stories that you'd be telling
(03:37):
with that character.
The theme of your character's origin and how they are influenced.
A character like Superman would be completely out of place in the X-Men's world and vice
versa.
Superman in Metropolis and Batman in Gotham.
(03:59):
Both of these heroes fit perfectly into their cities.
Origin stories are very important.
There are no farmers in Gotham.
Batman's origin is about the loss of his parents at the hands of an average street thug.
It's about the trauma he suffered as a child and how he found meaning in it.
An origin story is a kind of transformation.
(04:20):
We care so much about origin stories because they quote, satisfy your curiosity and make
a character more predictable.
Your story could be interesting according to Stan Lee's TED Talk, What Makes a Superhero?
But you have to make him believable.
You have to give the reader or the audience some reason to think he really has the ability
(04:42):
to do that.
How did he get that power?
Origins of super powers are always very interesting.
If you get the right origin, for example, Spider-Man being bitten by a radio's active
spider at least, then the viewer has something to hold onto and say, well, it might have
happened, now I'll enjoy it.
After that very long spiel, Ken, how do you write an origin story?
(05:06):
Trauma and drama.
Basically, start with some kind of trauma.
Regardless of whether it's the story of the hero or villain, every good origin starts
with a bit of trauma.
From parents being killed to growing up on the streets, every good hero or villain has
to have some kind of trauma that fuels them.
Otherwise, they'll just seem like a two dimensional person with no real motivation.
(05:29):
As an example, let's look at Batman.
If you take away his backstory of his parents being killed in an alleyway, he becomes something
different.
Instead of being a man on a mission to clean up the streets of Gotham City, he becomes
just some needlessly depressed, goth rich dude who likes to dress up like a bat and
beat people up with gadgets.
Removing an origin story removes part of the reason we care.
(05:51):
I love that and that's very, very true.
If you need some ideas, NerdSync listed three common origin stories taken from clinical
psychologist Dr. Robin S. Rosenberg's book, Superhero Origins.
Number one, and Ken kind of talked about this, trauma.
This one is super common in comic books.
(06:13):
As we mentioned, Batman seeing his parents getting down in front of him, Daredevil losing
his sight, his father.
These are characters who suffer through physical and psychological pain, which serves as the
catalyst for their transformation.
The second type of origin is about destiny, that you are the chosen one.
(06:34):
The third type is chance or luck, like Barry Allen being randomly struck by lightning and
dosed in a chemical bath to gain his super speed.
But even with him, like he's trying to solve his father's innocence and to prove who killed
his mom, and he has this origin story that makes him really interesting.
(06:56):
That is one way.
Ken, how do I keep my readers engaged in superhero stories?
By making them care about the superheroes.
You have to do something that endears a hero to the reader, otherwise they will lose interest
really quickly.
Some ways you can do this include the saving the cat moment, giving them a boyfriend or
girlfriend or wife or what have you, and giving them a flaw.
(07:20):
To touch on the saving the cat moment, this is where the hero goes out of their way to
do a smaller good deed, such as saving the old lady's cat from the tree.
This shows that these heroes are kind and they don't just handle the big public stuff.
When it comes to giving them a significant other, this is pretty straightforward.
Because they are tied down to someone much more vulnerable, they have something keeping
(07:42):
them tied to humanity.
And when it comes to giving them a flaw, we're going to reserve that for a bit of a deeper
dive in a later episode.
Simply put, keep it fresh.
We have heard the same story thousands of times, but unique personalities or powers
make it fresh.
A huge part of their personality or power could come from their origin story.
(08:03):
Limelopages said, quote, your superhero needs a why.
The why explains your superhero's powers, but most of all it explains why they're committed
to their mission.
End quote.
Moving on to villains.
Villains are different from antagonists.
According to wellstory.com, quote, an antagonist is the character who creates primary external
(08:25):
conflict in a story by hindering the protagonist in their journey to achieve their goal or
overcome dissatisfaction.
But an antagonist's actions or intentions aren't necessarily evil by nature.
Villains are specifically characterized by both their malicious actions and intents.
And this is a new quote from the New York Book Editor.
(08:48):
Quote, the story's about someone who wants something and is having trouble getting it.
And I think that is a golden rule for writing.
And a villain is a great obstacle to a hero getting what they want and vice versa.
And my bad, that last one wasn't from New York Book Editor.
It was from Haley S. Schmutta, How to Write for Comics.
(09:12):
Well, this one is from New York Book Editor, and they had a great point that what makes
the villain bad is that he's opposing your protagonist, which is very simple.
And I was like, oh yeah, Ken, in your opinion, how do you write a villain?
By making them compelling and grounded.
I really don't like it when a villain is just plain old take over the world Tim.
(09:35):
That doesn't really make for a very complex or interesting villain.
What you need to do in writing a villain is you need to do anything you can to make them
very real.
Now, I don't mean they cannot have superpowers or any of that.
What I mean is make them people with very real motives, emotions, charms, and flaws.
If they want to take over the world, what is their reason?
(09:57):
Maybe they want to take over the world because they don't feel people can be trusted to be
peaceful and make good choices for themselves.
When it comes to charms, give them something charming.
For example, Loki is very charming, perhaps because he's so confident.
And of course, as with any character, give them a flaw.
Going to Loki again, perhaps Loki's greatest flaws are his pride and his jealousy of his
(10:21):
brother Thor.
Ken, why do superheroes need a why?
To start, what I would define as a why is a why do they do what they do.
The main reason to have a why is to define motivation.
As I mentioned when we were talking about origin stories, often a hero or villain will
have some kind of tragedy in their past.
(10:41):
This can perfectly lead to a hero's why.
For example, Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man's why is so he can prevent innocent people like
his uncle Ben from being killed and harmed.
For someone who wants to write a superhero story, I would recommend reading comics first
off and a more advanced tip for someone who may want to start writing superhero stories
(11:05):
comes from Andrea.com.
Quote, when you are creating a superhero, consider just how that character chooses to
put on the mask and fight crime in his world.
Every character has a moral code.
It may not necessarily be a good moral code, but it is still there.
It's that moral code that helps define the character to the reader and then right can
(11:28):
give the readers the opportunity to root for that character.
Quote, a story's climax when the hero is almost buried under his troubles, the hero
extenuates himself using his own wit, skills, or bra.
No power of the weak, no cheating.
And that tip comes from noted pulp author Lester Dent, creator of Doc Savage.
(11:53):
And I really thought it was a good point that instead of giving your superhero a new power
every week, to have them use their wits and their bra to get them out.
Ken, what are some tips you have for someone who wants to write superhero stories?
I'm not sure what more I can say than I've already said.
Basically, make sure your heroes and villains are grounded so they feel real and not like
(12:17):
toys being played with by some kid.
Have both heroes and villains trauma, drama, flaws, and charms.
And of course, please, please have consequences to your characters actions.
People really do die in these massive battles.
There are people who work in the buildings the hero and villains smash through.
Make sure there are consequences.
In the words of Brandon Sanderson's quote, limitations are more interesting than powers.
(12:41):
And quote, making these stories is all about superheroes who are not perfect or live in
a world is far more interesting than hearing all their powers and how their powers save
them instead of their wits or skill.
We hope today's episode was helpful.
If you like our podcast, please share it with your friends and family.
For resources and transcripts, visit writersworldpodcast.weebly.com.
(13:03):
And our Patreon is patreon.com slash writersworldpodcast.
And if you want your questions answered, our email is writersworldpodcast at gmail.com.
Until next time, I've been Ken Mares.
And this is Phil Smith's Writers World.
And keep on writing.
Keep on writing.
The boy watches his parents murdered in a dark alley.
(00:09):
The boy is fast, but not fast enough to save his mother.
A woman falls into a bucket of radioactive junk.
My name is Ken Mears.
And I'm Melissa Fales.
And welcome to Writer's World.
(00:44):
What better way to learn about superhero stories than from comics?
From Masterclass, quote, comics are a visual form of storytelling that pair images with
text, end quote, which I thought was an accurate description.
The basics of writing a good comic superhero story and a general good superhero story are
(01:07):
number one, to remember act one is the beginning, act two, middle, and act three, ending.
Two, remember the superhero's reasons why.
And number three, your character needs to have unique personalities or power.
Ken, what are your basic three tips for creating a superhero?
(01:27):
I would say, first of all, make the superhero human.
Now I don't mean species wise, but make them faulty.
Even super humans are still human deep down.
They make mistakes.
They are not perfect.
So write them that way.
Make sure there are consequences when they mess up.
Second, I would recommend giving a superhero some kind of weakness.
(01:49):
This may or may not be some kind of object like Superman's weakness to kryptonite.
It could be something like pride or a person they value.
Basically give them a weak link.
And the third tip I would suggest is give them relationships.
This could be parents, friends, or romantic interests.
Often relationships can provide a lot more conflict for a superhero than even the bad
(02:10):
guy.
The reason behind this is because they can't just punch away relationship problems like
they can a bad guy.
True true.
Now we will be diving deep into something every superhero has, an origin story.
Ken, what is an origin story?
Exactly what it says, the story about a person's origin.
(02:30):
Basically an origin story is the background of what led up to a character, especially
a superhero or supervillain, that made them who they are.
For example, Batman's origin story is his parents were killed in an alley, he inherited
all their money, he grew up bitter, and decided to provide vigilante justice using his money.
(02:51):
Origin stories are crucial to providing reasons for why characters are the way they are.
Origin stories are important because they give the character depth, they greatly impact
the character by giving them a purpose, and it makes them human.
Confused?
Let me try to explain.
In NerdSync's YouTube video, Three Kinds of Superhero Origin Stories, he said quote,
(03:15):
comic books are littered with origin stories, they're constantly telling and retelling
origins.
An origin story clearly spells out why someone chooses to be and remain a hero.
The origin also establishes the rules of a character.
The origin needs to set up a theme and structure of the kinds of stories that you'd be telling
(03:37):
with that character.
The theme of your character's origin and how they are influenced.
A character like Superman would be completely out of place in the X-Men's world and vice
versa.
Superman in Metropolis and Batman in Gotham.
(03:59):
Both of these heroes fit perfectly into their cities.
Origin stories are very important.
There are no farmers in Gotham.
Batman's origin is about the loss of his parents at the hands of an average street thug.
It's about the trauma he suffered as a child and how he found meaning in it.
An origin story is a kind of transformation.
(04:20):
We care so much about origin stories because they quote, satisfy your curiosity and make
a character more predictable.
Your story could be interesting according to Stan Lee's TED Talk, What Makes a Superhero?
But you have to make him believable.
You have to give the reader or the audience some reason to think he really has the ability
(04:42):
to do that.
How did he get that power?
Origins of super powers are always very interesting.
If you get the right origin, for example, Spider-Man being bitten by a radio's active
spider at least, then the viewer has something to hold onto and say, well, it might have
happened, now I'll enjoy it.
After that very long spiel, Ken, how do you write an origin story?
(05:06):
Trauma and drama.
Basically, start with some kind of trauma.
Regardless of whether it's the story of the hero or villain, every good origin starts
with a bit of trauma.
From parents being killed to growing up on the streets, every good hero or villain has
to have some kind of trauma that fuels them.
Otherwise, they'll just seem like a two dimensional person with no real motivation.
(05:29):
As an example, let's look at Batman.
If you take away his backstory of his parents being killed in an alleyway, he becomes something
different.
Instead of being a man on a mission to clean up the streets of Gotham City, he becomes
just some needlessly depressed, goth rich dude who likes to dress up like a bat and
beat people up with gadgets.
Removing an origin story removes part of the reason we care.
(05:51):
I love that and that's very, very true.
If you need some ideas, NerdSync listed three common origin stories taken from clinical
psychologist Dr. Robin S. Rosenberg's book, Superhero Origins.
Number one, and Ken kind of talked about this, trauma.
This one is super common in comic books.
(06:13):
As we mentioned, Batman seeing his parents getting down in front of him, Daredevil losing
his sight, his father.
These are characters who suffer through physical and psychological pain, which serves as the
catalyst for their transformation.
The second type of origin is about destiny, that you are the chosen one.
(06:34):
The third type is chance or luck, like Barry Allen being randomly struck by lightning and
dosed in a chemical bath to gain his super speed.
But even with him, like he's trying to solve his father's innocence and to prove who killed
his mom, and he has this origin story that makes him really interesting.
(06:56):
That is one way.
Ken, how do I keep my readers engaged in superhero stories?
By making them care about the superheroes.
You have to do something that endears a hero to the reader, otherwise they will lose interest
really quickly.
Some ways you can do this include the saving the cat moment, giving them a boyfriend or
girlfriend or wife or what have you, and giving them a flaw.
(07:20):
To touch on the saving the cat moment, this is where the hero goes out of their way to
do a smaller good deed, such as saving the old lady's cat from the tree.
This shows that these heroes are kind and they don't just handle the big public stuff.
When it comes to giving them a significant other, this is pretty straightforward.
Because they are tied down to someone much more vulnerable, they have something keeping
(07:42):
them tied to humanity.
And when it comes to giving them a flaw, we're going to reserve that for a bit of a deeper
dive in a later episode.
Simply put, keep it fresh.
We have heard the same story thousands of times, but unique personalities or powers
make it fresh.
A huge part of their personality or power could come from their origin story.
(08:03):
Limelopages said, quote, your superhero needs a why.
The why explains your superhero's powers, but most of all it explains why they're committed
to their mission.
End quote.
Moving on to villains.
Villains are different from antagonists.
According to wellstory.com, quote, an antagonist is the character who creates primary external
(08:25):
conflict in a story by hindering the protagonist in their journey to achieve their goal or
overcome dissatisfaction.
But an antagonist's actions or intentions aren't necessarily evil by nature.
Villains are specifically characterized by both their malicious actions and intents.
And this is a new quote from the New York Book Editor.
(08:48):
Quote, the story's about someone who wants something and is having trouble getting it.
And I think that is a golden rule for writing.
And a villain is a great obstacle to a hero getting what they want and vice versa.
And my bad, that last one wasn't from New York Book Editor.
It was from Haley S. Schmutta, How to Write for Comics.
(09:12):
Well, this one is from New York Book Editor, and they had a great point that what makes
the villain bad is that he's opposing your protagonist, which is very simple.
And I was like, oh yeah, Ken, in your opinion, how do you write a villain?
By making them compelling and grounded.
I really don't like it when a villain is just plain old take over the world Tim.
(09:35):
That doesn't really make for a very complex or interesting villain.
What you need to do in writing a villain is you need to do anything you can to make them
very real.
Now, I don't mean they cannot have superpowers or any of that.
What I mean is make them people with very real motives, emotions, charms, and flaws.
If they want to take over the world, what is their reason?
(09:57):
Maybe they want to take over the world because they don't feel people can be trusted to be
peaceful and make good choices for themselves.
When it comes to charms, give them something charming.
For example, Loki is very charming, perhaps because he's so confident.
And of course, as with any character, give them a flaw.
Going to Loki again, perhaps Loki's greatest flaws are his pride and his jealousy of his
(10:21):
brother Thor.
Ken, why do superheroes need a why?
To start, what I would define as a why is a why do they do what they do.
The main reason to have a why is to define motivation.
As I mentioned when we were talking about origin stories, often a hero or villain will
have some kind of tragedy in their past.
(10:41):
This can perfectly lead to a hero's why.
For example, Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man's why is so he can prevent innocent people like
his uncle Ben from being killed and harmed.
For someone who wants to write a superhero story, I would recommend reading comics first
off and a more advanced tip for someone who may want to start writing superhero stories
(11:05):
comes from Andrea.com.
Quote, when you are creating a superhero, consider just how that character chooses to
put on the mask and fight crime in his world.
Every character has a moral code.
It may not necessarily be a good moral code, but it is still there.
It's that moral code that helps define the character to the reader and then right can
(11:28):
give the readers the opportunity to root for that character.
Quote, a story's climax when the hero is almost buried under his troubles, the hero
extenuates himself using his own wit, skills, or bra.
No power of the weak, no cheating.
And that tip comes from noted pulp author Lester Dent, creator of Doc Savage.
(11:53):
And I really thought it was a good point that instead of giving your superhero a new power
every week, to have them use their wits and their bra to get them out.
Ken, what are some tips you have for someone who wants to write superhero stories?
I'm not sure what more I can say than I've already said.
Basically, make sure your heroes and villains are grounded so they feel real and not like
(12:17):
toys being played with by some kid.
Have both heroes and villains trauma, drama, flaws, and charms.
And of course, please, please have consequences to your characters actions.
People really do die in these massive battles.
There are people who work in the buildings the hero and villains smash through.
Make sure there are consequences.
In the words of Brandon Sanderson's quote, limitations are more interesting than powers.
(12:41):
And quote, making these stories is all about superheroes who are not perfect or live in
a world is far more interesting than hearing all their powers and how their powers save
them instead of their wits or skill.
We hope today's episode was helpful.
If you like our podcast, please share it with your friends and family.
For resources and transcripts, visit writersworldpodcast.weebly.com.
(13:03):
And our Patreon is patreon.com slash writersworldpodcast.
And if you want your questions answered, our email is writersworldpodcast at gmail.com.
Until next time, I've been Ken Mares.
And this is Phil Smith's Writers World.
And keep on writing.
Keep on writing.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com