0:35, First off, love the handy chart describing the S-Rank hero as a “Paragon”, which brought to mind Mutants & Masterminds/Prowlers & Paragons, as if this story is taking place inside a superhero themed tabletop game (the focus on wacky, low level superheroes also evokes works like Doom Patrol or The Tick.) 2:20, Aardvark Man and Octo-Person’s dynamic is very well done, the over enthusiastic and frankly self-deluded up-and-comer who’s looking to live the typical superhero life, having epic adventures and fighting supervillains, without grappling with the realities of that life, seemingly more focused on doing great deeds and gaining recognition than actually protecting anyone, contrasted against the jaded veteran Z-Lister who fully accepts she and her compatriots are jokes in this world that shouldn’t aspire that hard to be anything greater lest they cause unnecessary trouble for themselves or others. In all honesty, if these guys had actual first responder or law enforcement training, they could be formidable defenders of this quiet little town. Aardvark Man having heightened senses for instance could give him a slight edge in investigations if he knew how to apply it properly and he’s not a terrible strategist (when he’s not actively making situations worse because he wants a challenge). Octo-Person’s tentacles could be useful in helping her get people out of harms way. In hindsight, the most limited one out of the bunch is Whopper (at least in regards to his power, as he may have skills he hasn’t had the chance to demonstrate), as his whale form seems best used as a weapon, specifically a projectile or a demolition’s tool, or maybe a way to catch someone’s fall. Invincible and My Hero Academia comparisons aside (in the sense that this is a superhero world unaffiliated with major franchises like Marvel or DC and this being a parodical take on the genre) this on its own has a pretty awesome premise and setting.
"Aardvark Man and Octo-Person’s dynamic is very well done, the over enthusiastic and frankly self-deluded up-and-comer who’s looking to live the typical superhero life, having epic adventures and fighting supervillains, without grappling with the realities of that life, seemingly more focused on doing great deeds and gaining recognition than actually protecting anyone, contrasted against the jaded veteran Z-Lister who fully accepts she and her compatriots are jokes in this world that shouldn’t aspire that hard to be anything greater lest they cause unnecessary trouble for themselves or others." But Aardvark man WINS. He wins by aspiring to be more, by proving that despite how stupid or useless your abilities may seem, they're still special and capable of doing things others may never have thought possible. After Aardvark man punches the dairy king with the strength of a thousand aardvarks, Octo-Person has to accept that maybe he was right, maybe they don't have to be a joke in this world
@@TodosLocosOfficial Forgive me if this comment runs a little long. I swear I don’t mean to write an essay. I don’t mean to say Aardvark Man and other Z-listers don’t have merits and he does prove they don’t necessarily have to be a joke, only that Aardvark Man’s ambition and desire to prove himself isn’t just a strength, but also a flaw that lead him to unnecessarily escalate this situation, which could have gotten people seriously hurt or killed in the ensuing crossfire. He never needed to win this fight because he never should have started it in the first place, as Octo-Person suggested the police could have handled Dairy King or (had she chosen to intervene) they could have easily subdued him until the police arrived to detain him properly instead of Aardvark Man demanding a fight and indirectly making him a genuine threat (like Miles inspiring Spot to not be another “villain of the week” by mocking him). Dairy King would’ve never gotten his epiphany (or what I call his Spot moment) of widening the range of his power or manipulating the properties of dairy products around him to make constructs out of them if Aardvark Man had not challenged him out of personal pride to make a point to Octo-Person. Being a hero is about helping people, not just fighting villains, going on adventures or having powers (regardless of how special, awesome or useful they are), but it’s a staple of the superhero life to have fights with villains, a life Aardvark Man glamorizes. This was why I mentioned Invincible and My Hero Academia, two stories that examine not just being an underdog and an up-and-coming hero in a world of heroes, but are also stories that examine the importance of genuine virtue (especially compassion, humility and courage) and morality for superheroes and how the lack of them lead to selfish, immature, irresponsible and sometimes even cruel individuals armed with power that are free to impose their will on others without restriction and cause damage without any personal consequences. People like that aren’t as interested in saving people or improving the world as they are in their own personal gain, be it wealth, status, glory or general self-preservation, often at other’s expense, while real heroes, powerful or not, simply seek to help however they can regardless of their limitations and put even the smallest bit of positive change into the world (even when it’s difficult or requires sacrifices on their part to do so). While Aardvark Man’s ambition has value and he is able to prove both his power and Dairy King’s are more effective than at first glance, his reasons for being a hero seem to be motivated more by a need to validate himself (wether in other’s eyes, perhaps the eyes of a specific person he knows like a relative or friend, or his own due to feelings of inadequacy) rather than making a positive difference in his world, which itself can serve as a flaw in his character that could be the catalyst for further growth as he fights stronger villains or is put in situations that test not only his power, but his will, his morals and wether his reasons for fighting and being a hero are valid or not.
@@TodosLocosOfficial I’d say it was a mistake on my part for not including more of these points the first time. From what I understood, at least, this story (if it continues) could be an interesting exploration on humility being a balanced view of oneself, recognizing one’s worth and one’s flaws in equal measure, not just the latter, as Octo-Person primarily recognizes the flaws she and other Z-listers have but not their potential value and Aardvark Man certainly recognizes his and other Z-listers potential worth, but hasn’t recognized his own flaws it seems (if they were intentionally written to be flaws that is and I’m not just over complicating the story). Either way, I’m grateful someone actually took an interest in what I had to say both times, even when I wasn’t able to keep my thoughts as brief as I perhaps should have. I greatly appreciate your input.
@@callmev3531 Hey! I just wanna jump in here and say this was absolutely awesome to read through! Your analysis is pretty spot on, too. (Even pointing out some things I wasn't aware of!) I've got a lot of long term plans for this story if I ever get the chance to make the rest of it, so I'm so glad you were able to read into this first part the way you did. It's honestly The Dream to be able to make something others would find worth thinking about, so I wanna thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts
i love the concept of "stupid powers + creative thinking= MAJOR DAMAGE!" it is not used enough, jjba does it, and this does it.
You get the powers that you get and you get creative wit it
@@henreymichelsonlegit, all powers are sick if used correctly
0:35, First off, love the handy chart describing the S-Rank hero as a “Paragon”, which brought to mind Mutants & Masterminds/Prowlers & Paragons, as if this story is taking place inside a superhero themed tabletop game (the focus on wacky, low level superheroes also evokes works like Doom Patrol or The Tick.)
2:20, Aardvark Man and Octo-Person’s dynamic is very well done, the over enthusiastic and frankly self-deluded up-and-comer who’s looking to live the typical superhero life, having epic adventures and fighting supervillains, without grappling with the realities of that life, seemingly more focused on doing great deeds and gaining recognition than actually protecting anyone, contrasted against the jaded veteran Z-Lister who fully accepts she and her compatriots are jokes in this world that shouldn’t aspire that hard to be anything greater lest they cause unnecessary trouble for themselves or others.
In all honesty, if these guys had actual first responder or law enforcement training, they could be formidable defenders of this quiet little town. Aardvark Man having heightened senses for instance could give him a slight edge in investigations if he knew how to apply it properly and he’s not a terrible strategist (when he’s not actively making situations worse because he wants a challenge). Octo-Person’s tentacles could be useful in helping her get people out of harms way. In hindsight, the most limited one out of the bunch is Whopper (at least in regards to his power, as he may have skills he hasn’t had the chance to demonstrate), as his whale form seems best used as a weapon, specifically a projectile or a demolition’s tool, or maybe a way to catch someone’s fall.
Invincible and My Hero Academia comparisons aside (in the sense that this is a superhero world unaffiliated with major franchises like Marvel or DC and this being a parodical take on the genre) this on its own has a pretty awesome premise and setting.
"Aardvark Man and Octo-Person’s dynamic is very well done, the over enthusiastic and frankly self-deluded up-and-comer who’s looking to live the typical superhero life, having epic adventures and fighting supervillains, without grappling with the realities of that life, seemingly more focused on doing great deeds and gaining recognition than actually protecting anyone, contrasted against the jaded veteran Z-Lister who fully accepts she and her compatriots are jokes in this world that shouldn’t aspire that hard to be anything greater lest they cause unnecessary trouble for themselves or others."
But Aardvark man WINS. He wins by aspiring to be more, by proving that despite how stupid or useless your abilities may seem, they're still special and capable of doing things others may never have thought possible. After Aardvark man punches the dairy king with the strength of a thousand aardvarks, Octo-Person has to accept that maybe he was right, maybe they don't have to be a joke in this world
@@TodosLocosOfficial Forgive me if this comment runs a little long. I swear I don’t mean to write an essay.
I don’t mean to say Aardvark Man and other Z-listers don’t have merits and he does prove they don’t necessarily have to be a joke, only that Aardvark Man’s ambition and desire to prove himself isn’t just a strength, but also a flaw that lead him to unnecessarily escalate this situation, which could have gotten people seriously hurt or killed in the ensuing crossfire. He never needed to win this fight because he never should have started it in the first place, as Octo-Person suggested the police could have handled Dairy King or (had she chosen to intervene) they could have easily subdued him until the police arrived to detain him properly instead of Aardvark Man demanding a fight and indirectly making him a genuine threat (like Miles inspiring Spot to not be another “villain of the week” by mocking him).
Dairy King would’ve never gotten his epiphany (or what I call his Spot moment) of widening the range of his power or manipulating the properties of dairy products around him to make constructs out of them if Aardvark Man had not challenged him out of personal pride to make a point to Octo-Person.
Being a hero is about helping people, not just fighting villains, going on adventures or having powers (regardless of how special, awesome or useful they are), but it’s a staple of the superhero life to have fights with villains, a life Aardvark Man glamorizes.
This was why I mentioned Invincible and My Hero Academia, two stories that examine not just being an underdog and an up-and-coming hero in a world of heroes, but are also stories that examine the importance of genuine virtue (especially compassion, humility and courage) and morality for superheroes and how the lack of them lead to selfish, immature, irresponsible and sometimes even cruel individuals armed with power that are free to impose their will on others without restriction and cause damage without any personal consequences.
People like that aren’t as interested in saving people or improving the world as they are in their own personal gain, be it wealth, status, glory or general self-preservation, often at other’s expense, while real heroes, powerful or not, simply seek to help however they can regardless of their limitations and put even the smallest bit of positive change into the world (even when it’s difficult or requires sacrifices on their part to do so).
While Aardvark Man’s ambition has value and he is able to prove both his power and Dairy King’s are more effective than at first glance, his reasons for being a hero seem to be motivated more by a need to validate himself (wether in other’s eyes, perhaps the eyes of a specific person he knows like a relative or friend, or his own due to feelings of inadequacy) rather than making a positive difference in his world, which itself can serve as a flaw in his character that could be the catalyst for further growth as he fights stronger villains or is put in situations that test not only his power, but his will, his morals and wether his reasons for fighting and being a hero are valid or not.
@@callmev3531 Ah, I misunderstood your initial comment. Thank you for clarifying, I think that’s a really interesting take!
@@TodosLocosOfficial I’d say it was a mistake on my part for not including more of these points the first time.
From what I understood, at least, this story (if it continues) could be an interesting exploration on humility being a balanced view of oneself, recognizing one’s worth and one’s flaws in equal measure, not just the latter, as Octo-Person primarily recognizes the flaws she and other Z-listers have but not their potential value and Aardvark Man certainly recognizes his and other Z-listers potential worth, but hasn’t recognized his own flaws it seems (if they were intentionally written to be flaws that is and I’m not just over complicating the story).
Either way, I’m grateful someone actually took an interest in what I had to say both times, even when I wasn’t able to keep my thoughts as brief as I perhaps should have. I greatly appreciate your input.
@@callmev3531 Hey! I just wanna jump in here and say this was absolutely awesome to read through! Your analysis is pretty spot on, too. (Even pointing out some things I wasn't aware of!)
I've got a lot of long term plans for this story if I ever get the chance to make the rest of it, so I'm so glad you were able to read into this first part the way you did. It's honestly The Dream to be able to make something others would find worth thinking about, so I wanna thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts
Dairy King is an inspiration to all Z-listers
Seriously, he got the Spot treatment when he realized the extent of his powers.
I love this I hope you make more of this😊❤
Man this was great hope we get more in the future but this was amazing 😊❤
THIS WAS SO GOOD!!