I’m thinking about writing an 18+ superhero story about a young adult superhero who is 21 to 23 at the start of the story. He comes from a millionaire or billionaire family. His parents are alive, his siblings are alive, but the main character’s significant other, who also comes from a wealthy family, is murdered. That motivates my character to become a superhero. His two best friends, a 24 to 26 year old man and a 24 to 26 year old woman, come from wealthy families too, and they help him with superhero stuff.
The reason they come from wealthy families is so they can drive around in nice cars, take yachts out, and go on private jets without having to explain how young people in their early 20s are doing stuff like this. They live in penthouses or nice apartments, and we don’t have to explain their jobs at all.
My superhero could own a nightclub, and his base of operations is under the nightclub. We can just say his friends work for their families or something. The story is really about a superhero and his two friends getting into things, and it’s also a way for me to draw exotic locations.
There can be drama with my main character’s rich parents, who maybe don’t like or support the superhero life. I was also thinking of having my main character be mixed race, so he doesn’t come from a billionaire white family. Maybe his dad is Black and his mom is white, or his mom is Hispanic.
Maybe they come from a wealthy family of color, which can be a source of drama or reflection for the characters. Basically, I’m not gonna lie, the story is basically kind of Spider-Man meets Daredevil, but what if Spider-Man was rich or came from a rich family. Could that be interesting?
You seem to not like superheroes, which makes me wonder why you even replied to my post. But to answer your question, my character is traumatized. His girlfriend was murdered, and that’s more traumatic than anything in the world. Also, just because his parents might be shitty doesn’t mean he is.
" and superheroes too for that matter."
Again, you don't like or understand superheroes; you aren't even a casual fan, so why respond to my post?
Oh I love superheroes: I've read a ton of comics, watched a ton of superhero TV live action, animated and non-US foreign through the decades.
But there are legitimate criticisms of the genre, and there are problems with the general idea of super-powered, costumed vigilantes as well.
Maybe I got it wrong, and with the concept you've got inside your brain, you can pull off the story in a way that surprises and pleases readers beyond what you've briefly described.
Since it seems to be a common theme in your ideas, maybe you've got a personal understanding of what it's like to be young and have a significant other murdered, and I'd love to see you put that insight into your story.
I encourage you to get writing and lay down those words!
All I have to say is: If it isn't working, don't be afraid to revise, revise, revise: Move scenes around, drop scenes that aren't working, change the whole concept if that's what the story is telling you.
You do have to explain why not though. It's pretty hard for people to go in their parents' opposite direction without additional outside influence.
Also, maybe read some meta-discussions on superheroes (or even just Watchmen for starters, I suppose), then you might understand where "superheroes are monsters" is coming from (spoilers, it's not "superhero comics are dumb"). Might also improve your writing to be more nuanced.
Ok, for context, his parents aren't shitty, unlike Succession. The family is mostly chill. His sisters aren't mean and bitchy; his dad might be emotionally distant, but he still loves his kids, but his mother loves him more than anything, and he loves his siblings. Even if in the story I put it where they are corrupt or maybe working with one of the villains, the parents still love their kids and want their kids out of danger. Even Darth Vader loved Luke.
I never said his parents were shitty; the guy I was responding to assumed that.
But to answer your question, people have choices. Just because your parents are shitty people doesn't mean you are going to be a shitty person. Just because your parents are good and loving doesn't mean you won't grow up to become an asshole.
There are a bunch of liberals/Democrats whose parents were hardcore conservatives.
People have choices, and just because you have past trauma doesn't give you a free pass to do horrible shit.
Yeah, sure. Now go and explain that in your story and build on it to tell a story, not just a setting.
I don't blame you for getting mad at my post actually.
Looking back at it, it does read pretty inflammatory. My sincere apologies.
When I wrote "Why would a rich young person, who unlike Bruce Wayne still has their parents, want to become a costumed vigilante instead of drowning their sorrows by overconsuming drugs/alcohol/buying shit and luxury travel on their parents’ credit card?"
I wasn't questioning the concept, I meant that you need to answer the question of why the character takes that path of costumed vigilantism instead of overconsumption, which would be more expected behavior IMO.