Super-hero Weaknesses
May 8th, 2007 by Kelson. Posted in Comics and tagged for Comics, flash, kryptonite, superhero, weaknessThe suggestion box on my Flash site has picked up a couple of requests for the Flash’s “weakness.” The concept doesn’t really apply to the Flash’s powers, though. Thinking about it, if your hero has to have an off-switch, that’s kind of a sign that they’ve been over-powered, isn’t it?
It reminds me of a line that bothered me in Unbreakable. (Minor spoiler.) Samuel Jackson’s character explains to Bruce Willis that water is his Kryptonite. That’s hardly the case, though: a glass of water isn’t going to take him out of commission. He’ll still be invulnerable and super-strong while swimming. All it means is that he still has to breathe (and, presumably, eat and drink). A plastic bag over his head would be as effective as drowning.
Compare that to, say, Superman and Kryptonite, or Wonder Woman and being tied up, or past Green Lantern books and yellow objects or wood. It’s not in the same league (pun not intended).
Which brings us back to the Flash. What “weakness” does he have? Well, he’s a specialist, so he doesn’t have the advantage of super-strength or invulnerability. He can get tired. Like David Dunn, he has to breathe. He can get distracted. He can make mistakes. He can act without thinking. Are any of these really “weaknesses” in the Kryptonite sense, though?
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5 Responses to “Super-hero Weaknesses”
By West on May 9, 2007
I only saw “Unbreakable” once, so I may be misremembering, but I thought water sapped Willis’ strength, too. I thought that was why he got sick… just that one time.
The water didn’t just deprive him of oxygen. It made him vulnerable in a way he’d never been before or since.
As far as Flash’s “Kryptonite,” it’s tough to say, considering how many extra powers he’s gotten over the years. Even Barry-Flash could do more than just move his legs quickly - by the time he died, anyway.
Taking him back to basics, his only “weakness” would have to do with his traction-dependency. Maybe leverage, too.
In later eras? Maybe his access to the Speed Force? Now? Heck, it depends on which speedster one means since Jay’s not Speed Force-dependent, anymore.
By Andrew Perron on May 10, 2007
As for Unbreakable, IIRC, didn’t he have a hard time holding his breath underwater or something? Or there was some plausible-sounding medical condition that meant a sudden dunk in the deep end was a no-no.
By Kelson on May 11, 2007
I’ve only seen it once, too, so I could be misremembering.
By Nathan on Jun 21, 2008
Re: Unbreakable, Bruce Willis’ character did indeed have a “kryptonite” reaction to water, it reduced his general abilities.
I have been readin a few sites where people have asked about superhero weaknesses, n while for the most part they get them right, there is almost always some character that has some of the weaknesses/details incorrect or misunderstood.
A classic example of this is Wolverine, now, everyone goes on about the magnetic forces to his metal skeleton, except they are forgetting one crucial piece of comic history, namely, the “Fatal Attraction” story arc, where Magneto PERMANENTLY removed the adamantium from Wolverine’s skeleton, almost killing him in the process, therefore, the magnetic weakness no longer apllies.
Thank you for lettin me get that off my chest, couldnt b bothered signin up to Answers dot com, just ta b able to say it.
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