# Mismatched power levels and durability in comic book fight scenes

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mismatched-power-levels-and-durability-in-comic-book-fight-scenes/755821>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [May 27, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mismatched-power-levels-and-durability-in-comic-book-fight-scenes/755821 "2016-05-27T15:56:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mismatched-power-levels-and-durability-in-comic-book-fight-scenes/755821/21 "2016-05-28T17:58:17Z")

</div>

> [@Miller](#):
>
> Of course, that sort of impossible toughness isn’t unique to Superhero comics - most action films feature protagonists who are, when you get right down to it, supernaturally resilient. When people talk about Steve Rogers being “peak human,” the important thing to remember is that the baseline human in the Marvel universe is basically John McClane.

Yes, most action genres feature preternaturally tough characters. I played with the idea back when _City of Heroes_ was live, with a Natural origin character. He wasn’t a mutant or scientifically modified, and he didn’t get his powers from alphatech or magic. He was just from an alternate universe where civilization followed a different path, and a long-term genetic optimization program had resulted in virtually the entire population of baseline humans having near Wolverine-like regenerative abilities. Half the fun was in pondering the implications of a population like that, particularly in terms of crime and law enforcement. How differently is battery treated when the injuries heal within seconds? Does it mean practically all murders _have_ to be considered premeditated, given the difficulty of actually killing someone with powers like that? What kind of weapons get used on either side of the law when gunshot wounds are just temporary nuisances?

I also got into fun questions like “What constitutes an extreme sport in a world of Wolverines?”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mismatched-power-levels-and-durability-in-comic-book-fight-scenes/755821/22 "2016-05-28T18:26:04Z")

</div>

Captain America in the MCU is more powerful than the comic book character. They outright said in The First Avenger that he has regenerative powers so fast that he can’t get drunk, which means he could work out and basically get stronger every minute with no need to rest to let his muscles heal up.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mismatched-power-levels-and-durability-in-comic-book-fight-scenes/755821.md?page=1)