Miscellaneous Ideas Topic
So, lately, whenever I come across a plot where someone with money/business gets something special, and becomes a superhero, I think, among other things:
-Single Point of Failure, &
-Planning to fail.
So they develop crazy-tech, or chemical superpowers, or they discover/learn some unbeatable ancient fighting technique, and they...keep it to themselves, starting a one-man wave of vigilante-ism.
And then, whenever they fail to stop some crime or atrocity because it was, say, a few miles away and they were busy somewhere else, they get all broody, saying "Oh, I should've stopped that, I could've stopped it, I'm a horrible failure," ignoring the fact that they couldn't be in two places at once (or fifty-something, if they can clone themselves or time-travel without worrying about paradox or something), well, they should've expected this, if they're trying to go it alone.
Or, if they're smart enough to realize they can't do something on their own, they recruit an apprentice or three. A step on the right track, but...not quite what I'm thinking.
Another problem, let's say the worst happens. Hero-Character dies, taking the secret of whatever they had with them, be it knowledge left only in their head (or effectively left there, if all other records are hidden/out-of-reach/unknown to the public,) or because when they died, the only working/existing model of the gimmick (Power Armor, Ray Gun, Super-soldier Formula, etc., etc.) is destroyed or irreparably damaged along with them.
So...Let's look at something different.
[Example]: Iron Man. Tony Stark, same backstory up to the point where he gets home after first developing the Iron Man armor and escaping the terrorists/enemies/whatever-the-current-re-imagined-enemy-is.
Instead of just building one suit of maxed-out armor and moonlighting as a vigilante, he builds his super armor, then goes on a recruiting drive. Reputable mercs, retired cops, discharged soldiers, private detectives, would-be vigilantes who just can't get off the ground, ex-spooks, anyone with a yen to right wrongs (without government/official approval), a halfway decent moral character (by Tony's standards, anyway), the ability to keep their mouth shut, an urge to right wrongs violently (or at least resort to violence if more peaceful methods fail), and the inclination to follow orders, either because they recognize Tony as their leader or they'll fight within his rules as long as he pays them.
Then, having gathered a small (by national standards) army of half-way reliable fighters, Stark equips them all with Iron Tech Armor, and sends them out to fight crime.
Armor that isn't quite as good as his, or has overrides incase one of his recruits goes rogue, but a suit that's still a cut above what anyone else has, at least as far as Stark knows.
So, instead of Tony Stark running around, disappearing at odd times, doing all that one person in crazy-advanced, 100%-current-capability Power Armor can do, or the duo of Stark (Iron Man) and Rhodes (War Machine), there's dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of guys in high-tech, roughly 40-80%-current-capability Power Armor operating in a coordinated manner, taking orders from Boss Stark, who keeps up his normal facade, funding, equipping, maintaining and directing his vigilante militia, either upgrading them or accompanying them in his top-of-the-line Suit whenever something especially dangerous is going down.
Start 'em out on the lower end of the tech scale, about 40% of what he can build, upgrading them bit by bit as the danger/difficulty increases and they've established a history of loyalty and trustworthiness.
Repair their gear with separate, established resources and/or personnel (depending on automated assistance sophistication), to make it harder for them to reverse-engineer the tech, even if it is lower-class then your best.
Teach them enough for basic maintenance, have 'em cross-train in job-related skills and knowledge (y'know, the cops teach police procedure, soldiers teach PT and military discipline, martial artists teach what they can, so on). Heck, don't just limit their education to the Mission, further their education!
Employ them as actual bodyguards, to explain weapons or skills or personality/lifestyle changes, or if they have/want other skills, give them jobs within Stark Industries.
It'd take more money, and resources, and time, and there'd be some troubles with bad apples, turncoats and the like. Stark (or Bruce Wayne, or Oliver Queen, or whoever you pick) wouldn't develop the same experiences, skills, or knowledge if they took a more backstage, leadership role as opposed to being the only guy with the specific capabilities in the thick of things, meaning they might be weaker, or less individually awesome...
...But then again, with more time on their hands, and more experienced sounding boards to bounce ideas off of, and more opportunities to try smaller, individual or team-based variations out, and with the specific example I used, well.
Even with the controls I suggested (reserved tech, control overrides), or anything an actual author might come up with, Tony Stark, with a small army of people aware of some of his secrets and suffering the consequences for his decisions, would have a much more personal moral and ethical safeguard to prevent the jackassery that reared its head in Civil War.
Then again, this could backfire too. Stark had to wait for the Civil War to get put in charge of SHIELD, a military organization, as opposed to the warrior-vigilante style partnership of equals like the Avengers. In this sort of idea, he starts out with that kind of power, raising the possibility of him starting out as a dictatorial prick, instead of becoming one after a history of being an OK, if not excellent, leader.
[/Example]
tl;dr: Have the individual heroes with duplicatable gimmicks take Professor X roles, creating super-leagues instead of individual superheroes or small teams.
Focusing back on the newly equipped and/or empowered army we've thrust into the canon environment, it's a shift from the warrior style of the original, to a soldier style of good guy.
Warriors are dangerous, and sometimes have epic team-ups, but tend to work best alone or in small groups. Throw too many warriors at a problem, and they'll get in each other's way.
Soldiers can be dangerous on their own, but provide a greater threat to the enemy as more and more of them work together. Throw more soldiers at a problem, and they'll tend to have a better chance of defeating it.
...
Moving on, I saw Jakkun's post, on 9/12/08, and thought of this fic:
Alternative Strategy, by
Adrian Tullberg.
Is that anything like what you were thinking of?
