tetradecimal

I am having a devil of a time trying to figure out a plot for my comic about superheroes. I guess the main problem is I can't think of an overarching plot or goal. Superhero comics don't really have overarching plots or goals as far as I can tell, being mostly made up of stand-alone stories or arcs or extended storylines which exist largely as social commentary. I mean, the X-Men sorta try and become accepted as mutants, but they've been doing that forever and it doesn't seem like they're any closer to that goal. Also, it's not like everything they do is in some way related to being accepted; mostly bad shit just happens and then they use their powers and beat someone up.

Actually, I guess I sort of have a goal for Neptune, whose problem is mainly that he was once this ridiculous Supermanish character before he quit superheroing but quit because of his crushing low self-esteem. But for some reason I'm kind of hesitant to make him the main character, because he'd be funnier if he weren't.

AND MY MAIN CHARACTER HAS ZERO PROBLEMS. Well, that's not true, he has a psycho brother who's a little too interested in him, but otherwise he's just too lazy and well-adjusted. At least Yoh from Shaman King had that whole thing where he started out weak and squishy, but Kur ALREADY has superspeed. GODDAMMIT, HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO GROW SUPERHEROES

I'm kind of thinking this is why superhero comics and manga don't mix too well (aside from, y'know, the concept that you can just slap big eyes on Wolverine and voila, it's a manga). I associate superhero comics with:
* giant muscly dudes
* women with huge boobs
* spandex and/or capes
* episodic MOTW enemies, with occasional longer arcs
* messages about Current Issues That Matter To Society
* relationship angst, angst about teammates dying, zomg I lost all my powers angst, zomg I used to be a government experiment angst
* staying in one city and fighting crime
* Real Life Issues occasionally, like Spiderman and his job

I'm probably leaving out a lot here, but dammit, I'm not interested in reading and/or writing that! The only thing I have is "staying in one city and fighting crime"! And maybe MOTW enemies, I guess, but... but... themes! overarching themes!

If I run through the series that I enjoyed reading, they all have some sort of purpose:
* Eyeshield and assorted other sports manga: Winning the Super Big Tournament.
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Obtaining the Philosopher's Stone
* Mononoke: No real purpose other than killing Mononoke, but makes up for it with cool art and concept.
* Mushishi: No real purpose other than wandering around finding mushi, but makes up for it with cool art and folklore and GINKO
* Death Note: Rule the world.
* Monster: Where's Waldo Johan?

But do my characters have any ambition? Nooooo.