Board 8 > What type of "endless rivalry" story structure do you like the best?

(+) Yeah! (+)

by "generational," that can include a family line (ex. the Joestars) or a title/power/position that gets passed down (ex. One-For-All in MHA)

I feel like I see generational heroes a lot (especially with comics) but I don't see generational villains as much

I think generational villainy has some pretty cynical implications so maybe that's why you see immortal villains more. Voted generational hero, immortal villain but I don't have a super strong preference.

Whats an example of an immortal hero and generational villain? I cant think of any offhand.

Anagram posted...

Whats an example of an immortal hero and generational villain? I cant think of any offhand.

Phoenix Wright vs. The Paynes

Leonhart4 posted...

Phoenix Wright vs. The Paynes

I know you're joking but it's literally 2 brothers lol

Anagram posted...

Whats an example of an immortal hero and generational villain? I cant think of any offhand.

admittedly I'm having trouble thinking of good examples too

one of the first I thought of is Captain Planet, which is kind of a unique case in that the Planeteers are generational heroes but he himself exists to return every time a pollution threatens the earth (which isn't a strictly generational villain but at least has that vibe).

The best example I can think of is the Eternals, with the Deviants serving as generationl villains

kevwaffles posted...

I know you're joking but it's literally 2 brothers lol

Phoenix Wright vs. The Von Karmas then...!

Anagram posted...

Whats an example of an immortal hero and generational villain? I cant think of any offhand.

Arguably the Dragon (Reborn) and whoever opens Pandora's box or drinks the evil juice that cycle (the times it's not Ishamel)

I swear there has to be more examples of "the ancient hero reawakened by the reemergence of evil" trope, but maybe it just happens as the immortal v. immortal route too much

in any case, IH v GV is underused

Could you argue that Black Adam did IH vs. GV

I think generational personal rivalries often feel contrived, after a few generations I'd assume that the beef would be able to be squashed if there wasn't a stupid amount of pettiness, so I voted immortal hero vs. immortal villain

That being said, endless rivalries are largely dumb. I've never met anyone who had a rival from their childhood all the way up through old age that was actually a "rival". Give the story an ending at some point and retire the characters. Even something like "they fell out of touch and stopped being rivals" would be satisfying to me.

_SJimW_ posted...

That being said, endless rivalries are largely dumb. I've never met anyone who had a rival from their childhood all the way up through old age that was actually a "rival". Give the story an ending at some point and retire the characters.

For mortals (one generation or several,) I agree with this. There are some immortal/immortal set-ups that can be interesting, but even then they're extremely contrived simply to serve as a plot vehicle.

John Adams vs Thomas Jefferson is probably the best example of a real-life rivalry lasting their entire lives.

XIII_Rocks posted...

Could you argue that Black Adam did IH vs. GV

no because Black Adam is an IV