Beware the Nice Ones/Comic Books: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

** An issue of ''[[Superman]]'' entitled 'What's So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way?' sees Superman challenged by a [[Darker and Edgier]] superteam who aren't afraid to kill and maim their enemies, and deride Superman as a moral weakling who's past it and afraid to deal with issues [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|'properly']]. Eventually, challenging Superman to a fight, they pound and pound and seemingly break him -- but, in a completely unstoppable explosion of pure superhuman rage, he seemingly destroys and kills each one of them, and uses his X-ray vision to completely destroy the tumor in the head of his opponent that was giving him his powers. However, it's revealed that Superman was ''still'' holding back. Each member of the 'dark' team is alive and well (if somewhat battered) and the leader's powers still remain, and he has merely given them "a psychic concussion" -- because, as he explains to the leader, he wanted to give them a sense of what it felt to be powerless under such unstoppable brutality (namely, [[Not So Different|the feeling their victims had]] and a sense of what it would be like if he was ''actually'' like that). It wouldn't be pretty.

** A sequel to this story sees Manchester Black, the leader of the Elite, in an attempt to yet again break Superman, apparently killing Lois Lane. The issue follows an enraged Superman beating Black to a pulp before killing him. However, in yet ''another'' subversion, it's revealed that this was [[Indulgent Fantasy Segue|just a momentary fantasy]], and Superman, although enraged and grief-stricken, merely intends to arrest Black and then mourn his wife. Astonished, Black asks him why -- and Superman merely replies that neither beating nor killing him would bring Lois back, and would in fact shame her memory. Broken when he realizes that Superman is the genuine article, Black reveals that Lois' death was merely an illusion before killing himself.

* In an actual example, there's the Superman story "[[For the Man Who Has Everything]]", in which Mongul traps Superman in a [[Lotus Eater Machine|Lotus Eater Dream]] of a Krypton that never blew up by means of an sentient plant called the Black Mercy. The dream gradually turns into a nightmare as Batman, Robin and Wonder Woman battle Mongul, and when Batman finally frees him from the plant, Superman proceeds to [[Unstoppable Rage|unleash his rage in full upon Mongul]], including one [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|memorable scene]] in which he blasts the tyrant with his heat-vision: "BURN." This was later made into an episode of Justice League, which follows the same exact formula (including "BURN.").

** Probably the best Superman example was the famous "Death of Superman" arc. Losing to a monster that took out the entire Justice League with one hand tied behind its back, he comes to a grim decision. "To stop him I'll have to be as ruthless as he is." To which Lois replied with "But he wants to kill, and you CAN'T" also qualifies as a Last Stand, as he truly intended it to be a fight to the finish that would claim the lives of both combatants.

** http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7czid_superman-true-power_shortfilms

*** Notable bit of summary: at one point Superman throws an uppercut. After the [[World of Cardboard Speech]]. The punch itself seems to cause about three or four meters of shockwave around it.

** For additional fuel, the couple had another child already, who died in the fire, which was set as revenge when they guy insisted on being paid for work he'd done. The arsonist then pretends to grieve for the death of the child.

** At a later point in his life, Magneto has found a measure of peace and new love, while working for Mossad. When he wipes out a pet Nazi they keep for information and other uses he fulfills, they make the mistake of killing his girlfriend right in front of him, then taunting him with being invulnerable to his powers due to protective devices they wear. Protect them from direct attacks, yes, from shrapnel, not so much. After this, he sort of loses it for a few decades. Magneto is a wonderful example of why you shouldn't mistreat people who can kill you with their brain.

* Another from [[The DCU]]: [[Plastic Man]]. Although he's normally the team clown, he can get... ''testy'', if pushed. In "The Obsidian Age", he helps the team recover from the psychological effects of time-travel with bad jokes. Then, when Rama Khan ''sets the [[Martian Manhunter]] on fire'', Plastic Man uses his own ductile body to choke the dude into unconsciousness ("You like burning? How about the burning on the inside on your lungs right now, like that?") and subsequent brain-damage.

** Not to mention the fact that he went toe-to-toe with Fernus The Burning after the baddie in question had already curb-stomped the entire Justice League. Yeah, it was due largely to the fact he was the only member of the team who was immune to Fernus' telepathy, but seeing the [[Plucky Comic Relief]] putting the guy who just bitch smacked Superman in a headlock still sends shivers down my spine.

** Many people forget that before his origin, Plas used to be "Eel" O'Brien, a career criminal and quite a nasty piece of work. Even he managed to mostly forget, until the League got [[Literal Split Personality|split into their heroic and secret identities]]. He pushes the others to undo it because he doesn't want to go back to being that guy.

** Often forgotten is that Plastic Man's raw power is immense; as stated by Batman in "Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again".

* Colossus from the ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' is normally the team's [[Gentle Giant]], except for when Nightcrawler and Shadowcat are gravely injured by Riptide and Harpoon during the ''Mutant Massacre.'' On a single page, Colossus snaps Riptide's neck and swears to do the same to Harpoon.

** Or in ''Days of Future Past'' when {{spoiler|Wolverine and Storm}} are killed. One panel focuses on Colossus' grief-stricken face. The next panel shows us a Sentinel getting thrown through a skyscraper.

** Another example was an early appearance of Jubilee. Upon seeing Wolverine seemingly killed at the hands of Mandarin and a [[Brainwashed and Crazy|brainwashed]] Psylocke, she lets out a [[Big No]] and proceeds to ''blow up Mandarin's castle.'' Once the dust settles, a bewildered Jubilee simply says, "Did I do that? And, like, do I want to do it again?"

* You can do a lot of things to that nice attorney Matt Murdock... just don't kill his father, or girlfriends, or the people in his town, or else [[Daredevil]] may, if you're lucky, break your back, beat you to a pulp and throw a speech, engrave a bullseye in your head with a sharp stone or paralyze your legs permanently with a sword. If you really make him go over the edge, he will come back for you. To kill you. With ninjas.

* Mrs. Jean Grey-Summers, also of the ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]''. Despite the fact that she has an occasional temper and [[Never Live It Down|she is most known for her]] [[Heroic Sacrifice|tragic sacrifice]] in the ''Dark Phoenix Saga'', she is mostly a very compassionate and loving woman who cares for just about everyone around her. ''Mostly'' is the key word here as when she found out that [[Rich Bitch]] Emma Frost had a telepathic affair with her husband Scott, she broke into Emma's mind and [[Mind Rape|humiliated her severely]]. Also, when a team of mutant organ harvesters known as the U-Men attacked the X-Mansion, she used her powers to [[Humiliation Conga|make them vomit and defecate in their suits]] before she tore them off and made them flee, all while uttering one of the greatest threats ever put in a word bubble if they dared to hurt anyone again.

* And while we're at it, let's not forget her husband, Mr. Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops. While perhaps not as naturally nice as Colossus, Scott spent much of his life trying to be a nice guy, even when it was grossly apparent that no one appreciated his efforts (except for Jean and maybe Professor Xavier), but more than once, Scott has violently lashed out at those who dared push him too far. A number of supervillains, such as Mr. Sinister, found themselves on the wrong end of more violent than usual optic blasts once they incurred Scott's wrath. Wolverine himself, the loner who usually got off on harassing Cyclops, has also felt Scott's fury: in the 1970s, after an issue where the X-Men fought a group of villains who had brainwashed former X-Men and as well as Scott's brother Havok and Havok's girlfriend Polaris, Scott violently backhanded Wolverine with a closed fist when the clawed one took a cheap shot at him over the turn out of the battle. During Joss Whedon's run on ''Astonishing X-Men'' when Scott started officially dating Emma Frost, Scott violently blasted [[Wolverine]] out of his bedroom when the clawed one dared stick his nose too far into Scott's personal life.

** [[Oh Crap|"I want this thing off my lawn."]]

* There was once [[The Punisher|this really nice guy]], who had finally come back from the Vietnam War and just wanted to spend it with his family. He was an ordinary retired Marine, who loved his wife and two children wholeheartedly. Then, he took them to a picnic in Central Park....

** There was once a young boy, Frank Castle, who was friends with an older [[Semper Fi|Marine]] and witnessed the hold the local gangsters had over the neighborhood. After his friend's sister, who liked him, was raped and she kills herself, and he listens to his parents saying about how afraid everyone is, Frank takes his father's gun to kill the punk who raped his girl. {{spoiler|But he never got the chance, as the girl's older brother ''set the punk on fire'' first.}}

** M'gann's teammate Kid Devil is also one to beware. While Eddie projects the image of a loveable loser, he hides a lot of anger from constantly being underestimated by villains and his peers. In one instance, while drugged up by the Dark Side Club and thrown into a death match with Hardrock (a teenage Thing), he's beaten to the point that he suddenly loses it, turns the fight around in just a few punches, and almost kills Hardrock by ripping his jaw off. It takes Miss Martian to talk him out of it, reminding him that he's a good guy. The second instance comes when Eddie and Blue Beetle are tracking down supervillain Shockwave, whom had mockingly called Eddie Beast Boy the first time they fought. They split up to look for Shockwave, but he's in the wrong city. Upon finding out, Eddie loses his temper, furious that he's been upstaged by Beetle yet again. In his rage, he creates a portal for the first time and teleports to Salt Lake City to viciously beat up the villain and melt his armor.

* Of all the members of the Batfamily, you wouldn't expect [[Nightwing]] to be the baddest, but he has proven he is. Just ask Blockbuster. He also beat [[The Joker]] to death (of course, he is later revived by Batman).

** There's also Tin. Tin is a shy, meek little milquetoast with a pronounced stammer and a very slight physique. However, he's got something to prove and is repeatedly shown to actually be the bravest of the Metal Men when it comes down to it. Also, ''he will fuck you up'' given half a chance and proper motivation.

** All the above is explored in the 'Banner & Son' storyline, which sees Banner temporarily unable to transform into the Hulk. He still manages to take down villains like Juggernaut and the Harpy by being a [[Gadgeteer Genius]] (and with a little help from Skaar). In fact, Norman Osborn considers Banner to be a far greater threat to him than the Hulk ("The Hulk is purely reactive... Banner thinks he's some sort of hero") and exposes Banner to a substance which will accelerate the reacquisition of his Hulk powers.

*** During this time, he also muses whether the Hulk is there to protect him from the world or to protect the world from Banner.

** Oh, also... don't be the man who [[You Killed My Father|caused his parents' deaths]] and then taunted him about it. Yikes.

** Summed up quite nicely by Commander Rootrock on New Plympto in the ''[[Star Wars]] Clone Wars'' comics, referring to the Jedi:

* Sam, from ''[[Sam and Max Freelance Police]]''. He's that scary when he gets angry that, ironically, [[Heroic Sociopath|Max]] has to calm him down.

* Lahr the Gelfling from the ''[[The Dark Crystal]]'' prequel manga. He starts the story as a laidback shepherd. Then {{spoiler|[[Elite Mook|Garthim]] [[Doomed Hometown|destroy his village]], kidnap all of his friends and family, and [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|break his flute]].}} Lahr reacts by {{spoiler|stabbing a Garthim to death with the broken flute and [http://chibimaryn.deviantart.com/art/Chapter-Break-1-63315665 wields the flute like a sword for the rest of the book]}} He later helps convince a nearby Gelfling village to take up arms against a Garthim swarm. This when Gelflings were an artistically inclined, peaceful race who had believed Garthim to be indestructible.

* Despite being a [[Heroic Sociopath]], Marv from ''[[Sin City]]'' is actually very friendly and is gracious for any amount of kindness since people are usually afraid of him. His violent side [[Too Dumb to Live|only comes out when someone gives him a reason.]]

* ''[[The Incredible Hercules]]'' is basically a big drunk teddy bear unless you're looking for a fight, then he becomes a big drunk grizzly bear.

* Three examples from [[Paperinik New Adventures]]: Paperinik is usually cheery, fun and wisecracking, Urk is a nice and tranquil guy, if a little big, and the alien Xado is shown in flashbacks as a very nice alien [[Hot Scientist]] who really loves dancing. But keep in mind that Paperinik was originally born as [[Donald Duck]]'s way to vent frustrations and his full superhero name is [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Paperinik the Devilish Avenger]], Urk is strong enough to accidentally break people's ribs with a hug, and outside flashbacks Xado is now [[Person of Mass Destruction|Xadhoom]], a [[Physical Goddess]] bound to fully exterminate the Evronians (the aliens responsible of the destruction of her homeworld and her people) in the most painful way she knows while asking them if they want to dance.

* Klara Prast from ''Runaways'' is this. Having been wrenched out of the early 1900s, when kids were usually spanked into submission, she's as sweet and polite as can be. {{spoiler|But shoot a missile at her, kill things around her, or do anything else that might upset her, and she'll sic the vines on your ass, or raise a forest under your ass. Or both.}}

 

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