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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eyes of Nine" data-source="post: 8074531" data-attributes="member: 99786">We're totally thread busting (what else is new here on ENW?), but...So I think you're conflating 2 concepts. There's the power level of the characters - street level (Punisher, Batman), country level (Captain America, X-Men, Wonder Woman), and cosmic level (Thor, Superman). And then there's the idea of the actual fiction of the source inspiration material (I like the phrase touchstones) - in comic books the training up is a single issue; or a flashback. Daredevil learning all his marital arts from Stick? A flashback. It is not the point of the narrative arc. Xavier's School? We rarely actually see the characters advancing in grades. What we see is scenes set in a school; and sometimes there's a training session in the Danger Room. But the characters aren't advancing "levels" in the fiction of the source material.Take instead someone like Luke Skywalker. Or Harry Potter. Or yes, even Peregrine Took - who starts as a villager and ends up Thain of the Shire (note, he inherits the title - but still...). All those narrative arcs in various realms of fantasy are zero to hero narratives. (There's a whole other possible thread where we could discuss "Chosen One" narratives vs "Everyman Hero" storylines - and why very few TT RPGs actually feature "Chosen One" type characters. Monster Hearts being an exception that proves the rule).</blockquote>