Ok so I don’t know if you have noticed but into the spider verse does an AMAZING job at telling Gwen’s backstory in just a few minutes, now this does contain spoilers for Gwen’s backstory
In Gwen’s backstory scene you can see the shadow of her beating up Green Goblin right?
Now if you pay attention to the Green Goblin’s shadow you can see it turning into a man like this;
This is Peter Parker, in Gwen’s universe Peter Parker is her best friend and also the Green Goblin
You can even see the green blue scales left on his body after he is back to his normal state
And you can see the look of terror on Gwen’s face after she realizes what she has done, and they don’t even show her face
Then later when Peter meets MJ in the restaurant Gwen tells Peter that “it’s not your MJ, trust me I’ve been there”
She is directly talking about him, right in front of him, and he doesn’t even know it
Gwen goes through the entire movie having to look at Peter B. Parker and remember that she killed her Peter
And this concludes my essay for why Gwen is an underated character and y'all need to give her the respect she deserves
All this except that Peter is the Lizard in her universe
More to the point, Peter became the Lizard after being inspired BY Gwen and wanted to be a hero himself, saying as his final words that he wanted to be special, like her
im sorry but this scene makes me fucking lose it every fucking time i see it i just
the buildup, the series of motion leading up to what should be a satisfying punch and then nothing fucking happens
the fact that nothing on dracula’s face moves… no impact lines or nothing… he’s completely fine and just looks down at trevor in mild disappointment and contempt, and only his hair jostles
it makes me wheeze at only frequencies that dogs can hear and go completely apeshit and i cant get over it
peter parker, expressing his affection as any teen would: thor i would die for you :)
thor, gripping his shoulders with the intensity of ten thousand burning suns: i would never let that happen
peter parker, later that week: i would die for you loki
loki, looking him dead in the eye: you will.
drax: [really bad joke]
peter parker: mr. drax? I would die for you
drax, with a pause spent determining that peter is probably joking and then a hearty guffaw: but my muscles and fighting power is several times your own! your death would be meaningless!
peter parker, in the middle of battle with no regard for his own safety: i would die for you
t'challa, who has lived with shuri long enough to know exactly what answer peter is looking for: then perish
Peter parker, jumping in front of steve: i would die for you mr. rodgers
Steven Grant Rodgers, a known idiot, somersaulting over peter: not if i die for you first
Peter Parker, one night over dinner: I would die for you aunt may
Aunt May, a worried mess and 100% done with this shit: not if you’re grounded for life you won’t
Peter Parker, out of the blue: I would die for you
Bucky, tired: oh not this again
Peter Parker: I would die for you
Mantis, 10/10 idiot wife: how noble of you, you will not be remembered i am sorry
peter parker: i would die for you, mr. falcon sir
sam, still mad about being beaten by this mouthy toddler: not if I kill you first, you little shit
Peter Parker: I would die for you
Ned, who is also a gen z idiot: Boi if you do I’ll yeet myself into the sun
Avatar: Magic is limited to the four elements (and some spirit stuff). Furthermore, everyone except the Avatar is limited to at most just one element.
The magic battles are spectacular displays of creativity where each element is utilized to its full potential in a variety of ways.
Harry Potter: Magic is basically limitless, with there being a spell to do pretty much anything and any wizard can learn it, including an instant-death spell.
Which is why fighters on both sides only ever go for the best and most effective spells (Avada Kedavra for bad guys, Expelliarmus for good guys) and magic battles look like this:
I know what you’re talking about. With the most obvious example being Spiderman vs. Superman.
Spiderman’s powers being basically the same for 60 years now, and writers had to come up with new ways for him to use his abilities.
While Superman (especially in the silver age) is pulling new powers out of his ass at every given opportunity.
But I think unlike Harry Potter where there’s no reason for wizards to use anything except their go-to spell, Superman does use the full array of his powers to deal with different foes.
He doesn’t instantly go for freeze breath or heat vision every single time, even though they’d probably be the most effective powers for most situations.
I recommend reading Brandon Sanderson’s essay on his Second Law of Magic, in which he talks about one of his guiding principles when building magic systems: that the limitations are more interesting than the powers. He actually talks about Superman and how the limitations on his powers are what make him a good character, and talks about the Wheel of Time, which has a similar system to ATLA. It’s a long essay, but well worth the read if you’re at all interested in world building.
Here’s the link to his First Law and Third Law as well. The third law especially touches upon some of the concerns/criticisms brought up about HP and Superman.
