23 Problems Only Comic Book Readers Will Understand

A problem shared is a problem halved...

Comic book readers. No longer a tiny, shamed, hidden minority, but by no means a dominant social force, only a select few will be able to relate to the issues highlighted in this article. Having long been targeted for abuse as the basement-dwelling, girl-repelling, morbidly overweight no-hopers that fiction so often stereotypically depicts them as, comic book readers are slowly becoming more socially accepted, thanks largely to the highly popular Hollywood depictions of our favourite characters bringing the source material to the mainstream - but that doesn't mean life is all plain-sailing for fans of Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse and the many other comic book companies that publish our beloved stories. There are still countless gripes and grievances that comic book readers have with the industry and with life in general as fans of the on-panel adventures of superheroes and supervillains. Some are mere minor annoyances, while some are seriously life-hindering issues, and it's nice to be able to share these problems with like-minded people - after all, a problem shared is a problem halved, so they say (whoever "they" may be). On that note, let's take a look at 23 problems only devout comic book readers can relate to...

23. People Not Getting Your References

Reference Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad or even the Marvel or DC live action movies in everyday life and the likelihood is that people will understand you. Reference the creepy caverns in Wonder Woman 297/299 and people will look at you like you've got 3 eyes. Basically, comic book readers have a tonne of material to refer to, but very few people to talk to it about - and when they try, they end up feeling stupid.

22. Plot-Induced Stupidity

There is nothing more agitating for a fan of a particular character than when that character acts like a complete moron in order for the plot to progress. For example, let's say Superman is fighting Lex Luthor. Lex Luthor is wearing his power armour, which offers him enhanced durability, Superman-rivalling strength and powerful blasts of energy - but no superspeed whatsoever. And yet, Superman still manages to take hits from him and get hurt, despite the fact he can think and act within nanoseconds. In other words, Superman conveniently forgot to use one of his foremost powers because the plot required him to do so, when he could have just dumped Luthor in space before the bald billionaire knew he was in a fight. This does happen in fiction in general, but far more often and far more obviously in comics, thanks to the large of array of powers that certain characters have at their disposal which could theoretically end fights in a single panel. Of course, this stupidity can also extend to the writers, such as writing Hulk as being able to be choked out by a snake or writing the Silver Surfer as being stuck in one of Black Panther's headlocks, both of which are outrageous, given those characters' usual power showings.
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I'm a Tottenham Hotspur fan who loves comics and comic book movies.