Story-wise, I don't like the typical superhero concept of the constant tinker/inventor, because of the frozen time-frame of so many classic comics: eventually, this new technology shouldn't be "new" anymore, and it should be assimilated into the setting. If Richard Reeds gets to fly his family around in a FLYING CAR, then at some point his world needs FLYING CARS -- whether they're civilian mass-produced, or used by the police, army, or whatever. If Tony Stark and various competitors keep coming up with cool armored super-suits, then eventually not-quite-so-cool armored super-suits ought to be a common sight in the armed forces.
A concession could be that, owing to the problems inherent in mass production and cost-cutting, or simply by being "behind the curve" on continuing advances due to the time required to move from design to mass production and distribution, they might never quite be AS AWESOME as whatever prototype our hero has on hand at any given time.
But the sort of super-tinker who just keeps inventing shrink rays and freeze rays and casually hops into a time travel device he just invented when we want to have a "back-in-time" adventure (and then forgets about it when there's a genuine problem that might've been solved by time travel) ... that's just poor writing in general, and it's no different from the generic "wizard" who just "casts a spell" to accomplish whatever it is the writer wants him to do, and completely FORGETS about the spell later on whenever its utility would prematurely solve some problem later on.
I think I'd like it better if it's the brilliant mechanic who keeps fine-tuning his personal vehicle, but he acknowledges that there are TRADE-OFFs to his tinkering. Say, for his own suit, he disables the automated systems that allow the typical pilot to control a battlesuit -- because he KNOWS the workings of the machine well enough that he can tell when there's a problem or when he's pushing things too much, so he trusts his own judgement rather than an artificial safety valve that might be TOO cautious, but he wouldn't force this "innovation" on everyone else, because it would be a recipe for disaster.
Or, he's the McGyver who, in the right situation, can cannibalize a defeated combat robot and convert its arm-blaster into an awkward laser-cutting tool to get through a blast door (but it's too bulky to just carry around EVERYWHERE), or he can jury-rig a one-shot weapon (but warns everyone else to stand back just in case it blows up, since they don't have time to TEST it properly), and every now and again, his "innovations" DO NOT work exactly as intended -- certainly not on the first try. (I'd just want the writer to take care not to turn this into a recurring punchline -- when our brilliant inventor HAS TIME to test things ahead of time and work out the kinks, then his inventions are comparably reliable, not prone to just "blow up" for no particular reason for cheap laughs.)
Anyway, I guess the short of it is that I just want the writer to put a little more THOUGHT into what the inventor is inventing, and make an attempt to explain how he could really get the parts he needs from his environment, or that he'd REALLY just happen to have the right tool for a very specific job handy. (Maybe the device was intended for SOMETHING ELSE the heroes had dealt with earlier, "just in case that ever happens again," but right now there's an alternative, if not-quite-as-efficient, use for it.)
Otherwise, it's just -- presto! I point my high IQ at the problem, and, with no effort whatsoever, I have a solution! And on we go. I find that terribly unimpressive in a story.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2014-09-12 03:43 pm (UTC)A concession could be that, owing to the problems inherent in mass production and cost-cutting, or simply by being "behind the curve" on continuing advances due to the time required to move from design to mass production and distribution, they might never quite be AS AWESOME as whatever prototype our hero has on hand at any given time.
But the sort of super-tinker who just keeps inventing shrink rays and freeze rays and casually hops into a time travel device he just invented when we want to have a "back-in-time" adventure (and then forgets about it when there's a genuine problem that might've been solved by time travel) ... that's just poor writing in general, and it's no different from the generic "wizard" who just "casts a spell" to accomplish whatever it is the writer wants him to do, and completely FORGETS about the spell later on whenever its utility would prematurely solve some problem later on.
I think I'd like it better if it's the brilliant mechanic who keeps fine-tuning his personal vehicle, but he acknowledges that there are TRADE-OFFs to his tinkering. Say, for his own suit, he disables the automated systems that allow the typical pilot to control a battlesuit -- because he KNOWS the workings of the machine well enough that he can tell when there's a problem or when he's pushing things too much, so he trusts his own judgement rather than an artificial safety valve that might be TOO cautious, but he wouldn't force this "innovation" on everyone else, because it would be a recipe for disaster.
Or, he's the McGyver who, in the right situation, can cannibalize a defeated combat robot and convert its arm-blaster into an awkward laser-cutting tool to get through a blast door (but it's too bulky to just carry around EVERYWHERE), or he can jury-rig a one-shot weapon (but warns everyone else to stand back just in case it blows up, since they don't have time to TEST it properly), and every now and again, his "innovations" DO NOT work exactly as intended -- certainly not on the first try. (I'd just want the writer to take care not to turn this into a recurring punchline -- when our brilliant inventor HAS TIME to test things ahead of time and work out the kinks, then his inventions are comparably reliable, not prone to just "blow up" for no particular reason for cheap laughs.)
Anyway, I guess the short of it is that I just want the writer to put a little more THOUGHT into what the inventor is inventing, and make an attempt to explain how he could really get the parts he needs from his environment, or that he'd REALLY just happen to have the right tool for a very specific job handy. (Maybe the device was intended for SOMETHING ELSE the heroes had dealt with earlier, "just in case that ever happens again," but right now there's an alternative, if not-quite-as-efficient, use for it.)
Otherwise, it's just -- presto! I point my high IQ at the problem, and, with no effort whatsoever, I have a solution! And on we go. I find that terribly unimpressive in a story.