Wingman wrote:Even if you removed Superman's vulnerability to Kryptonite, he's still full of weaknesses to exploit, such as his compassion and love. Sure, not many writers are going to make a story where Superman's family is held hostage and his adoptive mother's head is mailed to him in order to get him to comply. But it's certainly possible, and assuming he can't go back in time or anything, or track down everyone involved, he's going to be haunted by the knowledge that anyone he gets close to might get taken and killed because of him. How long do you think he can withstand that, before he gets angry and tears someone in half in the middle of the street for all to see?
What if a government agent came to Superman, asking for aid in bringing some "criminals" to justice, and only later does he discover that he's been tracking down and capturing the good guys, resulting in their death. Word leaks out, and now the world sees Superman as the "monster he always has been."
You could also ask what would have happened if "Clark" wasn't adopted by such loving parents, didn't have such a stable childhood, or never believed in "truth, justice and the American way." Superman's run into quite a few fellow survivors of Krypton in his time, the majority of which strongly disagreed with his ideals (to put it gently).
I tend to prefer werewolves etc. in my writing to have physical limitations and weaknesses, however, not so much as an obligation, but because super-powered characters like Superman aren't as easy to write continuously about. What ultimately kills Superman time and time again is the boredom of his viewers. After all, the Superman premises depends on two things: an abundance of super villains, and an incredibly accident-prone Lois Lane (it reached a point in the 90s cartoon where, after introducing herself to a hostage taker, he responds: "Lois Lane?! You mean that chick Superman's always saving?!").
Overpowering a character; giving them super strength, super speed, or super durability, deprives them of any need for wit, resourcefulness or insight (traits which his 100% mortal counterpart, Batman, displays in abundance). Superman doesn't need to duck and cover because whatever anyone is shooting at him will just bounce off of him, doesn't need to find a hiding place because he can fly faster than a speeding bullet, doesn't need to solve one of Jigsaw's puzzle traps because he can tear the whole thing apart.
Best possible example of what can go wrong with a super-powered protagonist: Dragon Ball Z. Eventually Goku and his adversaries got so overpowered that the human race was obliterated and the planet blown up once every other story arc, all just for the sake of keeping it
remotely interesting.
Not saying that there's anything wrong with an "uber" character; just that if you do write about one, you're going to have to be prepared to deal with the repetition that all too often kills them. Me personally, I prefer heroes and villains that have to match wits with each other just as often as test their mettle, and I find that to be much easier when they're a little closer down to Earth with the rest of us.
Which goes back to my original stance on silver: It's not a werewolf's kryptonite, but it still holds all of its association with werewolves, and the werewolves aren't exactly keen to let anyone after them know that they don't need it. Like I said earlier in this thread: if somebody is investing in weapons made of silver, it shouldn't be that hard to figure out what they intend to do with them.