Writing Tips and Reviews

The problem with superpowerful characters

Adding powerful characters isn't a bad thing inherently, it's when they nullify the point of the story that we have a problem. Why even have a conflict if the character can go up to the main antagonist and kill them immediately? What's the point if they're so powerful, they beat everything they touch? Unless the fight is fun, no one is going to bother. That's why many stories start with weak characters becoming stronger, the growth process is one of the best parts of a story. There are stories when they start off strong, but the creators know to make the other parts fun.

Overlord has fun action scenes, great characters, and a protagonist who tries his hardest to pretend to be a powerful king when he's simply a gamer who got a high level because of his excessive grinding. In the Land of Leadale, Cayna is one of the strongest people in the world, but her personality and interactions make the anime fun to watch, even if the fights are short-lived and easy to predict. With characters like them, you're drawn to their personalities and interactions with other characters. Stories that focus on how powerful a character is without a fun personality are... not fun. What happens when they're annoying or boring?

Back to the subject, a reason why many antagonists are much stronger than the protagonists is that it gives the protagonists the determination to get back up and keep fighting. It's common for the main antagonist to show up early and beat up the protagonists to give them a hint of how strong they need to be. But what happens when the protagonist can defeat the enemy easily? What happens when their first meeting is when the protagonist kills the enemy without a sweat? Well, unless there's more, you can say goodbye to that story. And I'm not talking about the puppet antagonists, I'm talking about the main antagonist getting beaten within the first few minutes of a story.

That's like when speedrunners go up to the final boss in a game and kill it. It's fun to watch, but if that was the full game, people would have a fit. That's why, even in games where you can enter with the highest level in a new game +, the story takes over and has the protagonists lose or show weakness. Because even though you're at level 100 and fighting a level 15 boss, the story still needs to run its course. Then again, games are different than tv shows and books.

The way I see it, adding a character who can nullify the journey is... boring. Imagine opening a one-page book or watching a one-episode tv show. No one wants that. And then there's when a character joins the main protagonist who is so powerful, they can kill the main antagonist in a second. Unless they're weakened or only show up a few times, they're not going to be fun. They'll be taking the journey away from the main protagonist and why not just make them the main protagonist? Clearly, we're following them more and they're the one who does everything.

In all, powerful characters have a lot to work with. They have to be fun if they're unbeatable, they need an equal if they're to stick around for longer, they need to be weakened until the others catch up to them, or they need to have a smaller role. There are many other options that I haven't considered, but the main point is to do something that won't end in them nullifying the journey.