Crunch: The Hero
Writing Exercise #23
Gah! I’m late! Got superheroes on the mind so here’s a short superhero snippet.
If you have ideas for Prompts, Crunches, Sprints, Relays, Stretches, Fables, or other writing exercises in the future, please leave them in the comments! If you would like to write your own take for this exercise, please comment with a link so that I can see what you wrote and support your work, maybe even share your version with my subscribers. Please let me know if you have any thoughts, comments, or constructive criticisms as well!
Enjoy!
Crunch: Write about a reluctant superhero
They said I could find him up here, in these mountains. It took a while but eventually I did. He was in a cave. He was wearing tattered skins, he had a long grey beard, he walked with a cane. Time had not been kind to him. But I compared the man before me to the picture I had cut out from the newspaper from all those years ago. Clean shaven, smiling. It was the eyes, he had distinctive eyes, even now. That was how I knew it was him.
“What do you want,” he said. It wasn’t really a question. His voice was still strong.
“I, uh, I am here to ask for your help.” I didn’t know how formal to be.
“Why do you need my help?”
“We are in trouble, the city.”
“There has always been trouble. There will always be trouble. What will you do after I am dead?”
I knew he would take this approach. There were rumors of people finding him before, he used the same argument. I tried something different.
“What will you do after we are dead?”
He looked at me, sharply. His eyes piercing. “If the world dies what can I do to stop it?”
“That line works for me, but not for you. Not when you have powers.”
---
I regret it now. Luring him down from the mountain. He agreed to solve the problem, in his own way.
Now we live in caves—because we can’t stop him.
(249 words)
Talk to me!
Your feedback helps to improve my writing. I would really appreciate a comment on your thoughts on this writing exercise. Consider telling me your thoughts about:
What is your favorite superhero story? Why is it
’s Edison City series?Have you ever bought comic books?
What would you make for dinner if the power went out?
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy! Come back next week for another writing exercise!
Have you taken a look at the section called “The Volume” recently? All my longer-form stories are kept there! Be sure to take a look and catch up on any stories you’ve missed!
Thank you and God bless!
Now *THAT'S* a wham line! Very nice!
1. Well, aside from the Edison City stories ... :) I have to say, one I really liked was an animated movie that's hard to find now; it was one Marvel did called "Hulk Vs.". It was really two stories put together, Hulk Vs. Wolverine and Hulk Vs. Thor. It's exactly what it sounds like: in the first one Wolverine and a group of others (including Deadpool as I recall) go after the Hulk. The second one is my true favorite, though: Loki uses dark magic to split Bruce Banner from the Hulk and then unleashes the Hulk against Asgard, just as Odin is going into the Odinsleep. So you get a good solid half-hour of Hulk just SMASHING his way through all the forces of Asgard, and it's honestly a joy. (I mean, not good, but still). I won't spoil it, but it's the best.
2.. No, alas: I never got into them as a kid, and never really did later. Tried once or twice, but I always felt like I was in the middle of an ongoing story. Also as a kid my buying choices were limited to pretty much Archie and Co. So, y'know.
3. I try not to think about that. Maybe peanut butter sandwiches, I guess? Ice cream before it melts? I don't know. I. Don't. Know.
Powerful and well done, Scoot! You hit on the conflict and resolution succinctly in a short piece.