# Characters Behaving Stupidly  In Science Fiction , Fantasy Horror Movies and TV Shows.



## BAYLOR (Jun 12, 2022)

Films which character seal their own fate, cause their own downfall and or demise  by making really dumb and shortsighted choices  .


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## paranoid marvin (Jun 12, 2022)

I stopped watching The Walking Dead after they inexplicably decided to wheel an old wagon over a glass floor (naturally with loads of zombies beneath). Not only did they managed to crack the glass, some of them managed to fall through and amongst the walking dead below.


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## Bramandin (Jun 12, 2022)

Tuesday 23 October 2007
					

Daily strip for Tuesday 23 October 2007




					www.schlockmercenary.com


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## Astro Pen (Jun 12, 2022)

Prometheus 2012  was chock full of stupids.


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## BAYLOR (Jun 12, 2022)

Astro Pen said:


> Prometheus 2012  was chock full of stupids.



 Dr Shaw and Meredith Vickers are  they are running from the rolling alien ship.   Dr Shaw stumbles  and, at that point , It occurs  to her that she should roll to her right and out the path of the  ship . Meredith  also stumbles but, for  some reason , rather then roll to the left and out of the path of the ship , she keeps running the same path under the ship and gets crunched.


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## AnRoinnUltra (Jun 13, 2022)

Sam Smith asks one of the Tomatoes to pass the ketchup, and blows his cover in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.


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## Draoighir (Jun 13, 2022)

In the movie The Gate II: Trespassers, a bunch of young people performed a satanic ritual with a relatively advanced pentagram drawn. Then, malevolent magic happened, there appeared unholy lights, demonic creatures etc... They got out of the cave in fear. And when one of them talked about what had just happened, another said that this is nonsense and told him (or her) not to believe in such nonsense like demons etc. But in the movie's "reality", they manifested themselves, and they saw them with their own eyes! I watched the movie Turkish dubbed long ago, so there could be a translation fail though.


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## Stomalomalus (Jun 13, 2022)

The one thing that consistently irritated the hell out of me in Wheel of Time was the fact that the characters just didn't speak to each other. They didn't talk about their problems, where they were, where they were going...so much could have been saved with just some conversation.


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## BAYLOR (Jun 13, 2022)

Given Camp Crystal Lakes infamous reputation   in the Friday the The 13 films, why do so many stupid  people  continue to  flock to the place?


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## Foxbat (Jun 13, 2022)

Any horror movie where a group of characters (or particularly stupid individual) goes to investigate some strange noise in the attic or other sinister happening. Not me. I’m a coward.

Any horror movie starring me wouldn’t be up to much….cue noise in the attic
Me: sod this, I’m off (runs out of the house and into the sunset)
cue end credits


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## Bramandin (Jun 13, 2022)

Foxbat said:


> Any horror movie where a group of characters (or particularly stupid individual) goes to investigate some strange noise in the attic or other sinister happening. Not me. I’m a coward.



I actually am that sort of idiot.  Weird noises outside, unlock the door so I can look around.  I have cats specifically so I can blame weird noises on them, at least.  There was also that night where I heard the front door open and I ignored it until mom got up a few hours later and started yelling about it.  Making sure it's deadbolted is not my job.


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## JunkMonkey (Jun 13, 2022)

Astro Pen said:


> Prometheus 2012  was chock full of stupids.



Wasn't it just!   Well, I presume the second half had its share too because I gave up watching when they all opened their helmets. "Oh breathable air! Helmets off everyone" (The words, 'airborne pathogen' having presumably been left out of their preflight briefing.) 

I think there are two types of stupid movie mistake.  Those that are in character and those that aren't.  

I'm quite forgiving of a characters' mistakes if the character makes them in situation where making a mistake is possible - we all make mistakes under pressure - and I'm _very forgiving_ if the character quickly realises she has made a mistake and tries to remedy the situation. 

What is less forgivable, and what tends to sink movies for me, are those moments where the character does something so out of character it's unforgivably unbelievable.  Like the highly trained scientist in _Prometheus_ not even considering for second that there might be more than just gases in the atmosphere.  

I mean how difficult would it be to write a line like:

 Character A holding up tricorder-type device.
 "The air's pure.  No viruses or bugs of any kind"

...to keep a great chunk of the audience from throwing their popcorn at the screen.


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## Foxbat (Jun 13, 2022)

Maybe the Prometheus tagline should have been: In space, nobody is aware of your exceedingly low IQ

I really wanted to like that movie. It looked great but, well….


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## AnRoinnUltra (Jun 13, 2022)

Interceptor ...obliterate the United States with nuclear warheads, in order to get hold of millions of US dollars (sort of SF, maybe not).


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## Bramandin (Jun 13, 2022)

JunkMonkey said:


> Wasn't it just! Well, I presume the second half had its share too because I gave up watching when they all opened their helmets. "Oh breathable air! Helmets off everyone" (The words, 'airborne pathogen' having presumably been left out of their preflight briefing.)



Really since actors can't really do their job well while wearing proper hazmat, (that's probably why the MCU takes the mask off of everyone they can,) why even have space suits at all?  A pre-probe saying that it's safe would do the same thing and save their budget.


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## BAYLOR (Jun 13, 2022)

Foxbat said:


> Maybe the Prometheus tagline should have been: In space, nobody is aware of your exceedingly low IQ
> 
> I really wanted to like that movie. It looked great but, well….



Oh,  I like that.


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## BAYLOR (Jun 13, 2022)

Astro Pen said:


> Prometheus 2012  was chock full of stupids.


  I would love to see a Simpson Treehouse of Horror episode parodying Prometheus .


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## Guttersnipe (Jun 13, 2022)

In the opening scene of Scary Movie, which parodies Scream, an actress grabs a banana rather than a weapon when there's an array of them on a table. There are probably loads of similar instances in non-comedic films, but I can't seem to think of any at the moment.


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## Bramandin (Jun 13, 2022)

If we're going to go after stuff that makes fun of typical horror fare, Cabin in the Woods chemically inhibits the common sense of the teenagers involved.


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## paranoid marvin (Jun 13, 2022)

I really like Superman. More specifically, I really like the 'Christopher Reeve' Superman movies. I think he's the definitive Man of Steel, and I think that Gene Hackman is the definitive Lex Luthor. However... why does no-one realise that Clark Kent is Superman with glasses, and Superman is Clark Kent without glasses? Glasses on their own are no kind of a disguise, no matter how clumsily you act! 

What makes it even worse is that he works for a newspaper, surrounded by people who by their very nature are inquisitive and observant. Lois Lane even goes flying with Superman and snogs him, works closely with Clark - yet it's only half way through the second movie (presumably months/years after they knew each other) before she even begins to suspect that something funny may be going on.


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## BAYLOR (Jun 13, 2022)

paranoid marvin said:


> I really like Superman. More specifically, I really like the 'Christopher Reeve' Superman movies. I think he's the definitive Man of Steel, and I think that Gene Hackman is the definitive Lex Luthor. However... why does no-one realise that Clark Kent is Superman with glasses, and Superman is Clark Kent without glasses? Glasses on their own are no kind of a disguise, no matter how clumsily you act!
> 
> What makes it even worse is that he works for a newspaper, surrounded by people who by their very nature are inquisitive and observant. Lois Lane even goes flying with Superman and snogs him, works closely with Clark - yet it's only half way through the second movie (presumably months/years after they knew each other) before she even begins to suspect that something funny may be going on.



Lois Lane is supposed to be savvy , streetwise and observant. Very little get's by her.  How could she have not been been able to  very quickly connect  the dots on the whole secret identity schtick of Clark Kent. It  makes no  sense whatsoever.


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## JunkMonkey (Jun 13, 2022)

paranoid marvin said:


> I really like Superman. More specifically, I really like the 'Christopher Reeve' Superman movies. I think he's the definitive Man of Steel, and I think that Gene Hackman is the definitive Lex Luthor. However... why does no-one realise that Clark Kent is Superman with glasses, and Superman is Clark Kent without glasses? Glasses on their own are no kind of a disguise, no matter how clumsily you act!








I've drawn an episode for my _Legion of Naked Superheroes_ book - which I *will* finish one day - in which my main naked superhero protagonist, Fantastoman, sits is his alter-ego's workplace office totally naked apart from his glasses... and no one notices him or pays the slightest attention to him at all... until he takes his glasses off and suddenly everyone sees him as Fantastoman!


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## Wayne Mack (Jun 14, 2022)

How about the captain of a starship, a first office, and a chief medical officer being the ones going to investigate a dangerous situation.


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## JunkMonkey (Jun 14, 2022)

Wayne Mack said:


> How about the captain of a starship, a first office, and a chief medical officer being the ones going to investigate a dangerous situation.



I have often wondered what the other 397 people on the Enterprise (any of them!) actually DO all day apart from walk up and down corridors.


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## AnRoinnUltra (Jun 14, 2022)

JunkMonkey said:


> I have often wondered what the other 397 other people on the Enterprise


Always figured the episodes were telling the story of the day shift, and the rest of the crew were jealous ...'man the night shift is boring as hell, and nothing ever happens on the evening shift -those fiddlesticksers on the day shift have all the fun.'


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## AllanR (Jun 14, 2022)

JunkMonkey said:


> I have often wondered what the other 397 people on the Enterprise


Babylon Five had an episode with the PoV of two maintenance workers.


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## Bramandin (Jun 14, 2022)

AllanR said:


> Babylon Five had an episode with the PoV of two maintenance workers.


StarGate as well.  

Y'know, it might be interesting to create a 3-tier series.  "This is the story according to the peons" which is released for free or ad-supported.  Then there is "the story according to the blue-collar" which you can either watch ad-supported or by subscribing.  Then there is "the story according to the officers" which means subscribing to a service where that's the only thing you're interested in.

Star Trek was mostly supported by advertising to people who could let their kid have free-access to an entire bottle of chocolate syrup.


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## JunkMonkey (Jun 14, 2022)

AllanR said:


> Babylon Five had an episode with the PoV of two maintenance workers.



The View From the Gallery?  Loved that episode.  "No, you're supposed to say it tastes like chicken. That's the joke."


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## Bramandin (Jun 15, 2022)

JunkMonkey said:


> The View From the Gallery?  Loved that episode.  "No, you're supposed to say it tastes like chicken. That's the joke."


I didn't pay attention enough when it was broadcast or since, but it sound like what I'm lovin.  

I'd love for stories to run on gags that I don't get rather than it happening through entropy.  Swear-now I get it when I'm not hunger-addled.


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## BAYLOR (Jun 19, 2022)

JunkMonkey said:


> I have often wondered what the other 397 people on the Enterprise (any of them!) actually DO all day apart from walk up and down corridors.



Hm, there must be Starfleet regulation somewhere which requires you to walk the ships corridors  when you've got nothing else to do.


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## JunkMonkey (Jun 19, 2022)

BAYLOR said:


> Hm, there must be Starfleet regulation somewhere which requires you to walk the ships corridors  when you've got nothing else to do.



But you would have though there would have been some sort of requirement to carry something like a clipboard or some piece of equipment about to make yourself look busy.  

There does appear to be some sort of requirement by Starfleet that if you _aren't _walking around in engineering you should stand next to, and point at, the walls from time to time.


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## Vladd67 (Jun 19, 2022)

JunkMonkey said:


> But you would have though there would have been some sort of requirement to carry something like a clipboard or some piece of equipment about to make yourself look busy.
> 
> There does appear to be some sort of requirement by Starfleet that if you _aren't _walking around in engineering you should stand next to, and point at, the walls from time to time.


As someone who was an extra on Longitude, in one scene you can see my arms 'steering' the ship whilst the producer's assistant lay on the floor turning the ships wheel so I had something to fight against, I can tell its actually hard to look busy when there is nothing yo interact with. You can only coil so much rope on a sailing ship.


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## JunkMonkey (Jun 19, 2022)

Vladd67 said:


> As someone who was an extra on Longitude, in one scene you can see my arms 'steering' the ship whilst the producer's assistant lay on the floor turning the ships wheel so I had something to fight against, I can tell its actually hard to look busy when there is nothing yo interact with. You can only coil so much rope on a sailing ship.



Being an extra is hard work sometimes. I once held up a BBC costume drama production for five minutes by stupidly asking the second assistant director (?) if us peasants loading a cart were to react in anyway to (or even notice) the sword fight that was taking place behind our backs.  He didn't know so went off to find out. The answer, eventually, was 'no'.  So we all went back to manfully heaving sacks of grain - that were stuffed with pillow down - and did 'this is heavy' acting for a few takes.

I listened to a program about Kubrick on the radio a while back and there was one moment I really wish I could unhear.  Apparently he was very instant that none of the massed extras engaged in 'conversation' in the background do any nodding.  "Background action - NO NODDING!"  Every time I see a restaurant/bar scene in which couples are sat around in conversation I'm looking for the nodders.  It gets really distracting.


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## Overread (Jun 19, 2022)

paranoid marvin said:


> I really like Superman. More specifically, I really like the 'Christopher Reeve' Superman movies. I think he's the definitive Man of Steel, and I think that Gene Hackman is the definitive Lex Luthor. However... why does no-one realise that Clark Kent is Superman with glasses, and Superman is Clark Kent without glasses? Glasses on their own are no kind of a disguise, no matter how clumsily you act!
> 
> What makes it even worse is that he works for a newspaper, surrounded by people who by their very nature are inquisitive and observant. Lois Lane even goes flying with Superman and snogs him, works closely with Clark - yet it's only half way through the second movie (presumably months/years after they knew each other) before she even begins to suspect that something funny may be going on.


I can't excuse Lois, but its actually rather common that you cannot recognise someone if they are dressed differently and if you encounter them in a different situation. Humans have a vast array of looks, but predominantly they fall into categories and groups. Even between different families there are people who look very alike. Heck films use them all the time as stunt doubles. 

Take the vast legions of Elvis Impersonators as well. 

The key isn't just that Clark Kent wears glasses whilst superman does; its that he also wears a different set of clothes, his bearing of his body shifts (Superman is standing tall and proud, Clark is just standing, sometimes even looking meek and withdrawn); the style of his talking, the conversations and the way he looks at a person, addresses them and engages with them. 

One might think Clark looks like Superman a bit here and there, but their behaviour and all are so different that the mind easily identifies them as two separate people.


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## paranoid marvin (Jun 19, 2022)

Overread said:


> I can't excuse Lois, but its actually rather common that you cannot recognise someone if they are dressed differently and if you encounter them in a different situation. Humans have a vast array of looks, but predominantly they fall into categories and groups. Even between different families there are people who look very alike. Heck films use them all the time as stunt doubles.
> 
> Take the vast legions of Elvis Impersonators as well.
> 
> ...




True, the human eye/mind has a way of blanking out things that it thinks don't make sense. But I'm betting that if I walked into work without my spectacles on and wearing a cape, I don't think my work colleagues would think I was Superman!


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## BAYLOR (Jun 19, 2022)

paranoid marvin said:


> True, the human eye/mind has a way of blanking out things that it thinks don't make sense. But I'm betting that if I walked into work without my spectacles on and wearing a cape, I don't think my work colleagues would think I was Superman!



You just can't hide a secret  identity that big  behind so small a pair of glasses.


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## farntfar (Jun 19, 2022)

BAYLOR said:


> You just can't hide a secret identity that big behind so small a pair of glasses.


But there's also my beer paunch to consider. You can hide an awful lot behind that.


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## BAYLOR (Jun 20, 2022)

Terminator 2 Judgement Day  The T 1000 crashes  a Semi truck with  a trailer full of liquid Nitrogen . Liquid Nitrogen is spilling everywhere , and as we know ,  it freezes solid everything it touches  including the liquefying nano metal of the T 1000  and yet , this Terminator choses to walk though it rather then around it.


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## Bramandin (Jun 20, 2022)

BAYLOR said:


> Terminator 2 Judgement Day  The T 1000 crashes  a Semi truck with  a trailer full of liquid Nitrogen . Liquid Nitrogen is spilling everywhere , and as we know ,  it freezes solid everything it touches  including the liquefying nano metal of the T 1000  and yet , this Terminator choses to walk though it rather then around it.



I dunno, maybe its operating temperatures didn't account for liquid gas?  I don't normally assume that puddles are dangerous.  Actually when I was a kid, I did wade through something that caused open sores.


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## JT stories (Jun 22, 2022)

Bramandin said:


> If we're going to go after stuff that makes fun of typical horror fare, Cabin in the Woods chemically inhibits the common sense of the teenagers involved.


That movie was super great! You know who the "the old ones/gods" were right? The different countries had to play out their own horror sequence to please the old gods and if it didn't go just right...if all the right tropes weren't included--the old gods would rise up in anger!

Well, the old gods were the viewers, the audience. And isn't that how it goes? If a movie doesn't behave the way we want it to, we smear it...but then we also smear it when it behaves too close to how we expect so there really is a fine line when dealing with critics lol


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## Bramandin (Jun 22, 2022)

JT stories said:


> That movie was super great! You know who the "the old ones/gods" were right? The different countries had to play out their own horror sequence to please the old gods and if it didn't go just right...if all the right tropes weren't included--the old gods would rise up in anger!
> 
> Well, the old gods were the viewers, the audience. And isn't that how it goes? If a movie doesn't behave the way we want it to, we smear it...but then we also smear it when it behaves too close to how we expect so there really is a fine line when dealing with critics lol



I actually found an explanation of that last night.  Pretty much when you put the entire world at stake, you can't let the heroes lose.

I never considered that we were the ones demanding that things be done a certain way, but I'm not much of a horror fan.  In Ready Player One, I never directly watched the Shining and mostly know what it's about because of the Simpsons and other homage.


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## JunkMonkey (Jun 22, 2022)

Bramandin said:


> Pretty much when you put the entire world at stake, you can't let the heroes lose.



Oh but you can.  The original _Snowpiercer_ film  ended with the last humans on Earth about to be eaten by a polar bear, _The Forbin Project _ ends with the hero powerless as the Colossus computer takes control of humanity, _Beneath the Planet of the Apes_ blows up the whole damn planet, everyone is well and truly frelled at the end of _On the Beach, Dr. Strangelove_ didn't exactly have an upbeat ending... the list isn't endless but it does exist.


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## Bramandin (Jun 22, 2022)

JunkMonkey said:


> Oh but you can.  The original _Snowpiercer_ film  ended with the last humans on Earth about to be eaten by a polar bear, _The Forbin Project _ ends with the hero powerless as the Colossus computer takes control of humanity, _Beneath the Planet of the Apes_ blows up the whole damn planet, everyone is well and truly frelled at the end of _On the Beach, Dr. Strangelove_ didn't exactly have an upbeat ending... the list isn't endless but it does exist.



I can't remember why she was saying that.  Considering that she said that the one subversion she's seen (done well?) was from Dragonball, maybe she hasn't watched any of the greats.  (Actually, she probably has since she's aware that dystopic fiction has changed to include a hero.)  I didn't really pay attention to Snowpiercer and I might have better luck if I view it as a metaphor for society instead of a literal train.  I don't know why I didn't watch The Forbin Project when Scifi channel was blurbing the heck out of it.  Been forever since I watched Planet of the Apes and I think I didn't watch that one much.


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## BAYLOR (Jul 3, 2022)

If your superhero or villain , capes can be  serious liability .  In *Watchmen *Dollar Bill  got his cape stuck in revolving door and ended up dead . In the film  *The Incredibles  *Syndrome  the villain got his cape stuck in turbo jet engine .


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## BAYLOR (Jul 18, 2022)

*Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade  *Walter Donovan drinking from the wrong cup and becoming dust. His biggest mistake was trusting  that Dr Snider  would had him the right cup and the possibility that she wanted it for herself. And even though he was not a historian, it  still should have occurred to him that the cup in question  which,  was the property of carpenter , would not have been made of gold or ornate in any way shape or form. It would have been a simple Cup which,  would have at the very least narrowed the choices down for him.


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## paranoid marvin (Jul 18, 2022)

BAYLOR said:


> *Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade  *Walter Donovan drinking from the wrong cup and becoming dust. His biggest mistake was trusting  that Dr Snider  would had him the right cup and the possibility that she wanted it for herself. And even though he was not a historian, it  still should have occurred to him that the cup in question  which,  was the property of carpenter , would not have been made of gold or ornate in any way shape or form. It would have been a simple Cup which,  would have at the very least narrowed the choices down for him.




Or simply made someone else drink from it first. It's not like it only made the first person immortal.

To be fair though, ask most people what they think the Grail would look like and they would probably say a golden goblet studded with precious gems. It's only when you think about it that the reality would likely be something quite different.


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## paranoid marvin (Jul 18, 2022)

BAYLOR said:


> If your superhero or villain , capes can be  serious liability .  In *Watchmen *Dollar Bill  got his cape stuck in revolving door and ended up dead . In the film  *The Incredibles  *Syndrome  the villain got his cape stuck in turbo jet engine .




Is there any reasoning ever given as to why any superhero uses a cape? The only ones I can think of that it might assist are those who aren't capable of flight, but who glide, such as Batman.


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## BAYLOR (Jul 18, 2022)

paranoid marvin said:


> Or simply made someone else drink from it first. It's not like it only made the first person immortal.
> 
> To be fair though, ask most people what they think the Grail would look like and they would probably say a golden goblet studded with precious gems. It's only when you think about it that the reality would likely be something quite different.



Fair points, the average person would envision a jewel encrusted  cup and , Arthurian tales  have   crystalized this image of how the grail should look in most people minds.   As images go, it's pretty powerful. 


If I were faced with Donovan's situation , along a warning of what happens if I drink the wrong cup . I would pause for while and ponder . In my case , im enough of a  historian  to have pretty good idea that such a cup would not be ornate. So,  I would have been very skeptical of Dr Snider's selection .


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## BAYLOR (Jul 18, 2022)

paranoid marvin said:


> Is there any reasoning ever given as to why any superhero uses a cape? The only ones I can think of that it might assist are those who aren't capable of flight, but who glide, such as Batman.



 in the case Dr Strange and Spawn  their capes are a part of their magic.  Not all hero require them.


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## JunkMonkey (Jul 18, 2022)

paranoid marvin said:


> Is there any reasoning ever given as to why any superhero uses a cape? The only ones I can think of that it might assist are those who aren't capable of flight, but who glide, such as Batman.



Because they are, from an artist's point of view, a really great way of getting dynamic motion into a scene whilst obscuring vast amounts of boring to draw background detail. 







If Thor's cape hadn't been so monumentally enormous it would have added hours to Jack Kirby's day.  They also allow the character to carry around their own personal frame so they don't get lost in background detail which means the artist doesn't have to spend all day contriving ways for the character to stand against plain backgrounds or open skies.


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## paranoid marvin (Jul 19, 2022)

JunkMonkey said:


> Because they are, from an artist's point of view, a really great way of getting dynamic motion into a scene whilst obscuring vast amounts of boring to draw background detail.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I never considered that, but it makes perfect sense. It also makes the character more imposing, like in the case of Darth Vader. And again, whether on screen or in print it makes them appear more dynamic. I just wondered if there was ever any rationale given as to why most superheroes wore one.


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## psikeyhackr (Jul 20, 2022)

There is a series recently uploaded to YouTube called The Day After.  YouTube videos can be downloaded with NewPipe and played with MX Player.

There are 9 episodes so far. It has 10 young people trapped in a bunker waking up and not knowing how they got there. They were supposed to be used to test a zombie virus but an accident happens, of course, the virus is released in Moscow and they are safe.

To me there is a competition among which 5 of the stereotypical shallow characters is the most dumb.  I think the screamer that wanders off into the zombie infested city takes the prize.


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## Bramandin (Jul 21, 2022)

paranoid marvin said:


> Is there any reasoning ever given as to why any superhero uses a cape? The only ones I can think of that it might assist are those who aren't capable of flight, but who glide, such as Batman.



Aesthetics?  They wear spandex that looks painted on because drawing naked people is easier, but then that doesn't look right and a cape is the easiest drape.


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## BAYLOR (Aug 3, 2022)

*Beneath the Planet of the Apes* Dr Zeus okaying the whole lets take the  army  into the forbidden Zone because we're paranoid there's a imagined threat  Ape City. Yeah , That stupid  paranoid decision had very grave consequences for everyone involved.


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## StilLearning (Aug 3, 2022)

Bramandin said:


> Aesthetics?  They wear spandex that looks painted on because drawing naked people is easier, but then that doesn't look right and a cape is the easiest drape.


Wasn't Superman's outfit made by Martha Kent from the cloth that was found with him in the pod that came down on the Kent's farm? So it's literally because his mum gave it to him, like Jayne Cobb's orange hat in Firefly.


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## BAYLOR (Aug 21, 2022)

The Star Trek episode  *The Doomsday Machine*   Commodore Mathew  Decker supposedly one the most decorated in Starlet history  commanding the starship Constellation   encounters the  the Neutronium hulled  planet killer .    Decker  is very badly outgunned and Im willing to bet you the Science officer on his ship Mr Masada probably  informed  The Commodore that Phasers   cannot penetrate the planet killers hull and  , Decker ignored him  and attacked  anyways resulting in his ship being wrecked . This alone is catastrophic  enough but,  then Decker further compound things  by beaming his enter crew onto a planet in the path of the machine which destroyed the planet and kills them .  Common sense say hat what should have done is retreat and warn star fleet or, at the very least , not beam his crew down  to a doomed planet.  Then when rescued   by Enterprise , in Kirks absence  , he take command and  haver nearly Destroys  that ship  proving he didn't learn anything from his previous excite with the planet killer.


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## BAYLOR (Aug 21, 2022)

StilLearning said:


> Wasn't Superman's outfit made by Martha Kent from the cloth that was found with him in the pod that came down on the Kent's farm? So it's literally because his mum gave it to him, like Jayne Cobb's orange hat in Firefly.
> View attachment 91844



Hm, interesting.


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## JunkMonkey (Aug 21, 2022)

As I understand it superhero costumes are an amalgam of what were a couple of pretty well know image/stereotypes of the 30s, 

The circus strong man:




and the swashbuckling movie hero:





(Interestingly the art for the poster has Errol Flynn wearing a cape for his climactic sword fight with Rathbone when in the film he doesn't.)





There's something about the cape that just sells dynamism and action in a way no other piece of clothing can.  Combine that with implied strength of the muscleman costume then whack a mask on - heroes have been disguising themselves and going incognito since Homer's day - and you have the basic template for every superhero costume until the days of post modern ironical revisionism with reluctant heroes like Starman 





assembling his costume from welding goggles (because the starstaff emits a lot of light), a leather jacket (because it's cold flying about and the jacket was the most windproof thing he had), and a toy sheriff's badge from his memorabilia shop's stock because as he was called Starman he thought he should have some sort of star, somewhere, on his costume.  - Totally by the by - the previous (1980s) iteration of Starman had his costume made by his sister and was pissed off there were no pockets in it. 

I do need to get out more.


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## BAYLOR (Sep 15, 2022)

*Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom *  The Bridge scene. Mola Ram  has  Dr Jone  cornered  on the rope  bridge over the gorge  , sees him with machete about to cut the bridge support . Why didn't it occur to  Ram, to  get ooff and stay off that bridge ?


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## paranoid marvin (Sep 16, 2022)

BAYLOR said:


> *Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom *  The Bridge scene. Mola Ram  has  Dr Jone  cornered  on the rope  bridge over the gorge  , sees him with machete about to cut the bridge support . Why didn't it occur to  Ram, to  get ooff and stay off that bridge ?




He surely wouldn't cut the rope and fall to his death.... would he?


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## BAYLOR (Sep 17, 2022)

paranoid marvin said:


> He surely wouldn't cut the rope and fall to his death.... would he?



Well, if  I  were in  Mola Rams position seeing him with the Machete at the rope  ,  the thought  would cross my mind that Dr Jones  in desperation might just do something  that crazy.


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## Fiberglass Cyborg (Sep 17, 2022)

Overread said:


> I can't excuse Lois, but its actually rather common that you cannot recognise someone if they are dressed differently and if you encounter them in a different situation. Humans have a vast array of looks, but predominantly they fall into categories and groups. Even between different families there are people who look very alike. Heck films use them all the time as stunt doubles.
> 
> Take the vast legions of Elvis Impersonators as well.
> 
> ...


My favourite story along those lines is that Dolly Parton once lost a Dolly Parton look-alike contest to a man....


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## StilLearning (Sep 17, 2022)

Maybe it says something that the comics introduced 'super hypnotism' to explain why no-one made the superman-Clarke connection, but had both writers and readers been better studies of human psychology they'd have realised that a change of costume, circumstance, and manner was actually enough!


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## Overread (Sep 18, 2022)

Hah possibly. Another aspect is that comics are a world of their own. Most of the characters you see are going to be the very limited pool of main story characters. Every so often you might get a public scene, but in general most of the faces you see are key characters. Part of that is often making sure that characters stand out so that they are easily identified as who is who. It's one reason anime uses things like big coloured eyes and wacky hair styles - they help tell characters apart from each other. Which is often why the main cast look WAY more flamboyant than the regular background characters. 

So another aspect is that in the films, comics and all not only are Clark Kent and Superman very similar in appearance, but they are the only two characters who do look similar enough to each other. Every so often they might throw a whole "look a like" storyline in, but in general you aren't going to see two or three people who look similar to Clark just milling around without being part of the story.


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## Vladd67 (Sep 18, 2022)

Fiberglass Cyborg said:


> My favourite story along those lines is that Dolly Parton once lost a Dolly Parton look-alike contest to a man....


Groucho Marx grew his moustache instead of just painting it on after the brothers were on tour, they got off their train and the fans mobbed them apart from Groucho who they didn't recognize until he hurriedly slapped on his makeup.


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