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Post by dans on Mar 24, 2024 11:37:00 GMT
Suppose you are an unstoppable force for good, a hero with powers which have never before been witnessed by humanity, just say your powers are the strength of 50 men, you can run so fast you are invisible, and bullets bounce off of you... and you are pretty much the first super being ever seen in your state, and you have just recently begun your crime fighting career by stopping several menaces which the police had previously been unable to stop (say, a crook with the power to command other people just by talking to them, or a giant robot, that kind of thing...), and the press and the cops on the street love you.
But, instead of welcoming your assistance, the Chief of Police is unhappy because you are making his department (and him, incidentally) look bad, and he has branded you as a dangerous vigilante to the press and the Mayor.
Now, suppose that one evening after dinner, you are surprised when you suddenly and unexpectedly stumble upon the Chief in a private situation, like, say, you ring the doorbell on his private home...
How do you convince him that not only are you on his side, but that your assistance is valuable? If he suggests that his major worry is that if you go rogue, he won't be able to stop you, how do you reassure him? How do you get him to stop telling other people that you are dangerous?
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Post by jonclark on Mar 24, 2024 19:28:40 GMT
Assuming you are more champion of goodness than avenging scourge of the underworl, you could offer to become a sort of policeman yourself. Either working directly for the Chief of Police or through a liaison. If you are also trusting (and believe the Chief is worthy of trust) then you might even reveal secrets about yourself (secret ID, weaknesses, source of your powers).
Now if you are more the dark avenger type you might try intimidation or blackmail. That will probably backfire, but then you don't really want or need police anyway. They are either corrupt or incompetent (if not both). Odds are you just tip your pet reporter something scandalous (possibly even something true) to ruin the guy's reputation so no one takes his claims against you seriously.
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Post by johnreiter902 on Mar 24, 2024 19:36:11 GMT
I contemplated this idea for a long time, and I don't think you will like my answer
If I'm that powerful, I don't need the police to cooperate with me, so I wouldn't care what they though about me
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Post by dans on Mar 24, 2024 22:13:10 GMT
If I'm that powerful, I don't need the police to cooperate with me, so I wouldn't care what they thought about me If a 'hero' thinks that way, the police are right to feel threatened by that hero. I'm not saying it is not realistic, but that guy really isn't a hero I would admire, and definitely not the one I am writing about (though that would be an interesting story). Sooner or later that guy will get tired of everybody around him fouling up by not doing it his way and start trying to impose his way on the people around him. (Kind of like Lex in the Starsky story Doc just posted...) I thought about having this particular hero reveal a weakness to the top cop, when he says 'One of the reasons I am concerned is I don't know how we would stop you if you go bad.' But I am not sure what that weakness is... And indeed, the hero is going to offered a deal to the top cop like: 'we can make a joint announcement that I'm going to be a kind of volunteer Police auxiliary, who comes to help after the PD calls me...' Thanks! |
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Post by redsycorax on Mar 24, 2024 23:03:58 GMT
Well, there is the fortuitous coincidence scenario. The hero rings the doorbell and the Chief's son, daughter or grandchild answers it. Just at that moment, the hero realises that a guntoting villain is going to attack the Chief's residence and turns and takes out the assailant in time, saving the child's life. The Chief witnesses this and realises that all along, he's been wrong about the hero's motivation and intent, primarily because he recognises the assailant villain as a ruthless gangland hitperson his office has been after for a long time and has had some success with blunting aspects of his operation. As the hero prepares to leave, the Chief asks him to stay a moment and confesses that given that the villain was also carrying explosives and other firearms, there is little doubt that they would have seen nothing amiss in killing his entire family as well as him as collateral damage. The Chief is widowed and apart from his job, his family is at the core of his life. The hero gets a distant look in their eyes and says: "Wow, I wish I were that lucky." The Chief realises that some sort of personal tragedy may be at the core of the hero's vigilante tactics and offers to repair the wrong impressions that he communicated to the public. In return, the hero agrees to tone down his rougher aspects.
Hmmm. What about making one of them female? Either the hero, the Chief, or the hitperson?
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Post by DocQuantum on Mar 24, 2024 23:58:18 GMT
I contemplated this idea for a long time, and I don't think you will like my answer If I'm that powerful, I don't need the police to cooperate with me, so I wouldn't care what they though about me You're describing Superman from 1938 to 1941. |
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Post by dans on Mar 25, 2024 0:17:37 GMT
Hmmm. What about making one of them female? Either the hero, the Chief, or the hitperson? The heroine is Lady Fairplay. The story is set in 1943 so I doubt if there were any female Chiefs of Police. I will need to modify the hitperson idea somewhat, but I have just this instant updated the background on one of the villains in the story to include some aspects of it. Thanks! |
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Post by redsycorax on Mar 25, 2024 21:47:51 GMT
I mean, look at the Mafia. They were still active, given the fact that Prohibition spawned a criminal infrastructure that enabled them to flout Prohibition's criminalisation of alcohol, and once the Thirty Third Amendment was repealed, they pivoted to produce and distribute illicit narcotics instead. And yes, I suspect that if a police chief was making serious inroads into their narcotics black market, then the Mob wouldn't hesitate to try to make an example of him. And to add an element of historical veracity, heroin was being distributed during the 1950s due to an arrangement between the Sicilian Mafia, Corsican counterparts in Marseilles and the Mob. To add a note of poignancy, perhaps have the widower police chief's late wife be a former friend of Lady Fairplay too? Perhaps her late friend knew her secret identity but kept quiet about it, and Lady F promised she'd look after her family?
Okay, I see that your existing story deals with machinery theft, but perhaps you can keep my suggestion in mind for a future Lady F adventure?
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Post by dans on Mar 25, 2024 22:50:07 GMT
I am probably not the right guy to write stories with 'a note of poignancy'. I think I have written like 1 story that actually has some emotional conflict and evolution in it, and I wrote that while I was taking a class is story writing... But I will keep it in mind. Thanks!!!
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