u/azraelswift

Prometheus is my favorite character in Apocalypse and remains so by virtue of not being edgy, but just friendly... a rarity in this manga, despite that, I can't help but point out that his fighting gimmick would be busted IRL but in fighting manga.... it was always doomed to be a hype tool for the opponent, not an actual weapon that HELPS Prometheus in combat.

https://preview.redd.it/9gsc1rptztdh1.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9a4c1bb29a2b9c0014101be5620edfbdda9ee74

One trope I've grown increasingly tired about the treatment of in battle manga is the "pain-based" ability. Not abilities that cause injuries, but abilities whose defining trait is that they inflict unbearable pain regardless of physical damage.

This isn't a problem unique to Record of Ragnarok or Apocalypse of the Gods. Plenty of action manga have characters whose power essentially boils down to "I don't need to wound you. I just make you suffer." And almost every time, I can turn off my brain, because we all know how it's gonna go...

The victim will grit their teeth, the narrator will tell us the pain is unimaginable, everyone watching will be shocked that they're still standing... and then the fight continues almost exactly as before.

The ability exists solely to hype the opponent's endurance.

To be clear, I don't think pain itself is a bad storytelling device. In fact, I think it's often used very effectively, just not as a primary combat mechanic.

1. When Pain Works

The best examples are when pain serves the character rather than the fight itself.

Outside of Record of Ragnarok, Kuma's ability in One Piece is a perfect example. By transferring all of Luffy's pain onto Zoro, the story creates one of the series' most iconic moments (the "nohing happened" scene). The scene isn't about proving pain is an effective weapon; it's about sacrifice, loyalty, and Zoro's willingness to bear his captain's (and best friend's) suffering.

Within the Record of Ragnarok universe, Heracles is another excellent example.

Every Labor he performs causes his tattoos to spread across his body, inflicting pain so severe that, according to some translations, even a single millimeter would make an average god lose consciousness. By the end of his fight, those tattoos cover almost his entire body.

The important part isn't that this somehow makes Heracles stronger. It reinforces what his character has always represented: unwavering conviction. His greatest strength has never been his muscles, but his will. Even while enduring unimaginable pain, he never abandons his ideals or loses his composure.

Qin Shi Huang works similarly, his pain syenthesia is great for his character depiction.

His pain synesthesia causes him to physically experience the suffering of those around him, whether emotional or physical. Their pain manifests as wounds on his own body. Mechanically, this isn't especially useful in combat, but thematically it's brilliant. Qin's claim that he bears the burdens of his people becomes literally true. His empathy isn't just something we're told about: it becomes a defining aspect of his character. He is the greatest king because he feels the pain of his subjects... that's good narrative. We even see him flinching a couple of times during battle.

In all of these examples**, pain aids their characterization. It symbolizes sacrifice, compassion, conviction, or perseverance.**

It isn't there simply to make someone look cool for ignoring it.

2. The Difference Between Enduring Pain and Inflicting It

This is where I think many battle manga stumble.

There's a huge difference between a character enduring incredible pain and a character whose entire fighting style revolves around inflicting unbearable pain on others.

The first naturally builds character.

The second should fundamentally alter how a fight unfolds.

Pain's biological purpose isn't to deal damage, it exists to change behavior. When someone experiences overwhelming pain, they instinctively hesitate, lose focus, pull away from the source, or struggle to perform complex (or even the simplest) of actions: how many times you've hurt your pinky finger only to be almost incapable to do anything with that whole hand despite the wound being superficial only because it hurts?. In a fight between skilled combatants, even a momentary lapse in concentration can decide the outcome, and pain should be, on paper, a constant distraction.

That's why, in theory, pain-based abilities should be terrifying.

Not because they kill opponents.

Because they prevent opponents from fighting effectively.

3. The Prometheus Problem

This brings me to Prometheus in Apocalypse of the Gods.

This... is when it gets ridiculous.

His weapon, the Acantha chains, amplifies both his own pain and his opponent's pain by "hundreds of times." The manga even shows us that ordinary gods would be unable to withstand such suffering and die by simply their bodies giving up (this is how Bia dies in this verse).

On paper and character-wise, this is a fascinating and cool ability. In practice as an "offensive" ability this kinda sucks because it's manga logic.

Prometheus has fought under this level of agony for thousands of years. His endurance defines who he is. That aspect of the character works.

The problem begins when Wukong is struck.

The narration describes the sensation like this "It was a pain that Wukong had never felt before, it was unpredictable and unbearable".

Yet after a few expressions of discomfort, he continues fighting almost normally. That's where the ability loses all of its weight.

I'm not arguing that Wukong should immediately collapse: I'm arguing that the pain should matter.

If the manga insists that this is the greatest pain Wukong has ever experienced, then I expect that pain to affect how he fights. Maybe he hesitates before engaging. Maybe his reactions are visibly slow down. Maybe he instinctively tries to avoid another hit. Maybe his concentration breaks for a crucial moment. Just him trembling a fair for the rest of the match a bit would be enough! have him visibly limp all the way or have ragged breath, don't erase pain just because it makes him look "less cool"

Instead, nothing really changes. He gets up, takes a deep breath, even has a laughing fit and immediately starts talking, calmly points his weapon and pokes Prometheus unleashing his technique at perfect accuracy, without effort, and not even flinching, calculating perfect to 15%...

The pain is there according to the narration, but it has almost no influence on the actual round.

It purely cosmetic.

Ironically, the only character whose relationship with pain consistently matters is Prometheus himself. His endurance defines his fighting style, while Wukong's experience of supposedly unbearable pain he never had to experience before becomes little more than another opportunity for the narrator to praise his toughness before he unleashes his personal nuke of damage dealing with a poke.

4. My Bigger Problem with Pain Powers

This is why pain-based abilities often disappoint me in battle manga.

In reality, pain is one of the most effective ways to disrupt a person's performance. A fighter doesn't need broken bones to lose a match: they simply need to lose focus at the wrong moment... which pain does.

Yet manga frequently treats pain as though it's just another damage number.

1-Characters scream.

2-The narrator calls it unbearable

3-The audience is impressed.

4-Then everyone continues fighting as though nothing happened. At that point, the ability has stopped functioning as a combat mechanic and has become little more than an endurance test for the opponent.

The irony is that these powers almost always make the victim look cooler than the user.

Instead of showcasing how dangerous the pain-inflicting character is, they become another obstacle for the protagonist to overcome, another excuse for the story to proclaim, "Look how incredible their endurance is."

And after seeing that formula repeated across so many series, I can't help but feel that pain powers have become one of battle manga's most overused, and at the same time less realistic, ways to generate hype. Mechanically the fight becomes "Can you endure enough pain until the plot moves forward?" rather than "Can you fight while your nervous system is actively sabotaging your skill?".

Because I can accept a manga action series to ignore pain at all and focus on just damage (after all, seeing every fighter pant and recoil or struggle to get limbs up in every fight after every hit would get boring.), but if you are the one to BRING UP inflicting pain as a core mechanic of the fight and then do nothing with it then it will feel lacking. Heck, it's as simple as justifying it with "he is used to it" or "he can barely move but will try anyway"... but you can't introduce a "pain that he never felt before!" and follow it up with "and acts normally" in the same sequence! Because pain is an alarm system. It exists to interrupt whatever you're doing and redirect your attention toward protecting the injured area. That's why overwhelming pain doesn't merely hurt. it interferes with coordination, decision-making, and concentration.

And honestly? I wish to someday see some work that actually delivers with these aspects of pain once they happen.

Thank you for reading!

art by John Romita Sr.

(note that this is purely an opinion piece)

I always disliked the modern idea that Spider-Man "ruined" Peter Parker's life that so many modern writers and audiences seem to carry.

It's not that I can't understand why someone would have that interpretation. My issue is that I think it's based on a subtle shift in how modern writers portray both Spider-Man and Peter himself.

Peter Parker, at the very beginning, wasn't a perfect kid who was always destined to become a hero. He was stubborn, carried a chip on his shoulder, had a superiority complex because of his intelligence, resented being bullied, and was fairly selfish.

That doesn't mean he was a bad person, and it definitely doesn't mean he was one step away from becoming a criminal or some violent monster. I think that's an important distinction, because whenever people point out that early Peter was much meaner than modern Peter, some take it to mean we think he would've become a school shooter or something similarly absurd. That's not what the original comics portray at all either: Peter was simply a lonely, emotionally confused teenager with a lot of flaws who needed to grow up.

Then the spider bite happened.

What did Peter do with his newfound powers? He immediately tried to make some quick money. Not because he wanted to rule the world or become rich for its own sake, but because he wanted to take care of Uncle Ben and Aunt May, in his own words, "They are the only ones in the world who've ever been kind to me! I'll see to it that they're always happy, but the rest of the world can go hang for all I care!"

Everyone else could fend for themselves in Peter's eyes, he wasn't interested in becoming a better person, just interested in having Ben and May be okay.

That selfishness, that apathy, and that refusal to take responsibility with his abilities are what ultimately lead to Uncle Ben's death. Peter lets the robber go because he simply doesn't care. Then that same robber murders Ben.

From that point on, Peter becomes Spider-Man not because he was always a saint, but because he's trying to make up for the worst mistake of his life.

And over the years, through being Spider-Man, Peter slowly learns kindness, empathy, patience, sacrifice, responsibility, and helping people simply because it's the right thing to do.

Spider-Man wasn't a curse, Spider-Man was the vehicle through which Peter became a genuinely good man.

That's what made the original comics so compelling. We weren't watching a perfect person endure hardship. We were watching a flawed, bitter kid slowly grow into the good, responsible man Uncle Ben would've been proud of.

Being Spider-Man didn't ruin Peter's life. It helped save him from becoming a smaller, more selfish version of himself.

That's why "Spider-Man No More!" hits so hard.

It hurts to watch Peter throw the costume into the trash, not because "Oh no, the superhero quit! No more cool stories!" but because that act symbolizes something much bigger. He's throwing away everything Spider-Man has taught him. Narratively, it's a moment of regression. Peter is tempted to retreat into the selfish, apathetic mindset he had before Uncle Ben died because being a good person has become too difficult. It's not just rejecting crime-fighting; it's rejecting responsibility itself.

He's essentially saying, "I don't want to keep carrying ANY responsibility anymore."

That's tragic and not a good thing for Peter.

He's not just abandoning the mask. He's abandoning the person he's worked so hard to become. Which is exactly why it's so satisfying when he puts the suit back on.

That moment isn't just the return of a superhero. It's Peter choosing, once again, to become the man he's spent years growing into. He's refusing to retreat back into the lonely, resentful kid he used to be, even if doing the right thing means suffering.

In my opinion, that emotional payoff only works if Peter is allowed to be deeply flawed at the beginning of his journey.

If Peter was already a perfectly kind, selfless, morally complete person before becoming Spider-Man, then Spider-Man really does become little more than a curse. It brings hardship, suffering, and endless sacrifice without fundamentally changing who Peter is or opening a better path of personal growth for him.

But that's not how the original story reads to me.

The original story is about a selfish lost kid learning to become a responsible man.

That's why it always disappoints me when modern writers reference "Spider-Man No More!" while ignoring that aspect of Peter's character. They often frame it as "Peter simply becoming overwhelmed before remembering that he's such a naturally good person". And, to me, that misses what made the story so powerful in the first place.

"Spider-Man No More!" isn't about a hero temporarily quitting because life got too hard.It's about a man almost abandoning the very ideals that allowed him to grow into someone better, only to realize that becoming that better person was worth every sacrifice.

I understand why later stories focus on the cost of heroism. After decades of publication, Peter's moral growth has already happened, he is now this better man... But when those stories retroactively portray Peter as having always been naturally selfless, they flatten the significance of his origin. Spider-Man ceases to be the catalyst for Peter's growth and instead becomes merely the source of his suffering.

In the way I always read it, however, Spider-Man doesn't simply save New York; he saves Peter Parker from remaining the isolated, resentful boy who believed everyone else "could go hang."

Because if Spider-man isn't helping Peter grow up into a better person... then why would spider-man be his responsibility?

Thank you for reading.