LogFAQs > #909398410

I guess what I'm not saying clearly here is that my problem with the team is less on this particular execution of the team and more on the idea that 8 distinctive detectives all being able to contribute something unique, in any given execution, just because with each thing one guy contributes you need the guy to be fully unique in your way to have them contribute otherwise it comes off as dumb luck that this dude came across this inspiration and this dude came across this one. For me, they need to be the best at it and it needs to be something that you couldn't fathom any of the other guys doing on their own.

Like you have, specifically, a member devoted to the team's "soul" and the teams "morality"-- keep in mind each of these characters are capable of having moral qualms where others may not, or being the encouragement where others may not. Is The Question literally the only guy on the team that isn't morally bankrupt? Is Elongated man literally the only guy on the team that is optimistic and encouraging? And does every case require morals and optimism at some point? I'm not saying they're not distinctive-- I'm saying it's impossible to be distinctive enough that you don't have some guys coming off as third wheels without some real hamfisted writing that shoves it down your throat, or freakin amazing writing that I haven't seen.

I think what it really boils down to is the fact that personality and "super power" in some senses with this group are linked. It gives you less wiggle room. Like if say, the X-Men was a comic about detectives working together, I would say Gambit and Wolverine would largely contribute similar things to an investigation (let's not get into whether either one would be a particularly adept detective to begin with) with their lone wolf type attitudes. Wolverine might literally smell a clue, and Gambit might be able to seduce a clue out of a witness or whatever, but ultimately, they're going to be more similar than not. In a comic that isn't about being detectives, the similarities in how their personalities approach an investigation matter less and they're more distinct characters in terms of what they're contributing to any individual conflict, because the conflict isn't always chiefly about solving some puzzle. Never mind the "one dude charges things up and makes them go boom and the other dude cuts things with the sharps and is impossible to kill" element.

I mean I guess it's possible that this can be done. You've convinced me to at least think about it. But I'm just very skeptical. If you had a comic series/arc to recommend that you felt came close to something similar to this kinda meshing I would be extremely interested to read it in any case.

Regardless, I appreciate your patience and attempts to explain why the team worked for you better either way-- like obviously you know more about the details of all 8 of the component characters and can more easily find distinctions between them, but this was more of a theoretical issue with 8 detectives contributing in a way I like in that kinda genre than anything.

As for right now I still kinda feel like you'd have a better team with like... Batman, Constantine, Rorschach, Question and Chimp, cutting the other 3. Which, admittedly, is probably more than you would've convinced me of coming in.
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No problem!
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