Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #11

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #11

THE DYNASTY


Also known as: The ______ Family, the ____ Corps, League, etc.

What is it?

It's a group of of a characters based around a primary "Classic" character, with multiple versions of the same powerset/personality/narrative arcs with only moderate tweaks.

Why Do Comic Companies Do It?

Multiple reasons:

1) Nothing succeeds like success and excess.
2) It's easier to come up with a variation of an old character than to create a new character or to modify/retcon the old one to fit the new variation.

3) Because creators increasingly keep their most original ideas for their own projects.

Recent Offenders Include but are not limited to:

Superman - Superman, Superboy, Supergirl, Powergirl (yes she counts), Steel, The Eradicator.

Flash - Barry, Wally, Jay, NuImpulse, Jesse Quick, Max Mercury, Bart/Kid Flash

Green Lantern - Hal, Kyle, Guy, John, Alan (I don't count the non-Earth ones here).

Batman - Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Azrael, Red Robin, Robin, Batwoman, Batgirl, Spoiler, and I'm sure there's a couple more I'm missing.

Green Arrow: Oliver Queen, Connor Hawke, Arsenal, Speedy, Arrowette (sorta counts?)

Oh, and if you think this is just a DC thing...you're wrong, because Marvel is jumping on this bandwagon like it's going on out of style.

Captain America - Steve Rogers, Bucky, Patriot, Nomad, USAgent (sorta counts if you ask me) and I could make a case for Jack Flag

Iron Man - Iron Man, Rescue, War Machine

Hulk - Red Hulk, Green Hulk, the three She-Hulks, A-bomb, the other two Hulk kids...

Wolverine - Logan, Daken, X-23

Spider-Man - Peter Parker, Venom, Anti-Venom, Spider-Girl/Arana, Spider-Woman, Arachne/Julia Carpenter

Patient Zero

While the SHAZAM Marvel Family are certainly the first "family" of supercharacters, I don't count them as part of this particular phase.

No, I think Patient Zero is the 90s "Batfamily" and "Superfamily" of comics where most of these guys (Superboy, Azrael, Nightwing) really started spawning their own separate titles.

Why does it have to go away?

Redundancy, pure and simple - guys like Superman and Batman aren't unique if there are 9 other people in the same universe who can do almost the same thing.

Angles for Redemption of the Device:


OK, I admit that the Kon-El/Conner Kent clone Superboy is a guilty pleasure of mine, but that said? The best thing to do is to phase out a lot of these unnecessary variants or at least start making larger distinctions and differences - and keeping them apart from each other wouldn't hurt either.

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #10

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #10

The B-List


Also Known as: First Tier/Second Tier, First String/Second string, etc.


What is it?

Have you noticed that superheroes in comics lately actually state their level of status (or that of other characters) in the heirarchy of the superhero communities in the same terms that celebrities do?


Why do Comic companies do it?


Usually they set out at the start of a story that a given character is some low tier member of their community to lower expectations and create a surprise when the character is elevated to a new status (greater) status. The celebrity metaphor is a quick and dirty shorthand for that.

Recent Offenders include but are not limited to:

Luke Cage and Jessica Jones-Cage, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) and most of the "JLI" -era characters (Fire, Ice, Rocket Red, Elongated Man, Sue Dibny, etc.), Nova, Darkhawk, etc.





Patient Zero

This is a hard one to pin down, but for me, I'm going to go and put the blame for this one on Identity Crisis and Dr. Light in particular - the whole premise of that story is that Dr. Light is no longer a joke.

Why does it have to go away?

First, I think I've remarked on how little I care for comparing superheroes to celebrities, so that's a start. But the greater danger is not just because of a personal choice, but because the overuse has created a degree of overexposure on the "A-List" to the exclusion of the development of other characters who might actually be better tools to tell a story. It's not always about the "Trinity" (Cap/Thor/Iron man or Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman, take your pick) but about those other characters who get a moment to shine and truly step up to the plate because their stories have been building to this point for years. Remember, Wolverine used to be B-list too.

Angles for Redemption of the Device:

There's two methods in my mind. The first is showcased by what Brian Michael Bendis did with Luke Cage over the years in the Avengers, although that creates another set of problems too. Still, like it or not, I give Bendis credit for taking Luke Cage and taken him from forgotten 70s character to someone compelling enough to be the focus of two ongoing series. The other method is more traditional - simply give characters different focuses on different times in different stories that highlight their own unique and special nature.

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #9

Haven't done one of these in a long time, but I did remember that someone asked for it, so here you go. Finally.....

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #9

THE CHOSEN ONE

Also Known As: Actually, I'm pretty sure that's it, right?

What is it?

There's a prophecy, and a chosen one who is meant to fulfill it. It is usually integral to the plot.

Why Do Comic Companies Do It?

Because almost all mass media genre fiction uses it. Comics aren't a much greater offender than the rest of fiction generally. It's a simple mechanic for getting some bit of plot resolved by the end of the story.

Recent Offenders include but are not limited to:

Hope Summers, Cable (Nathan Summers), Batwoman, Buffy Summers (man, the Summers name comes up a lot, doesn't it?), Hal Jordan, Sodam Yat, Adam Warlock, Harry Potter, and the various characters depicted in these posters.

Patient Zero:

This one goes back to the dawn of fiction and the idea that a special hero who will save the people by sheer dint of his specialness, so it's hard to really pin the wrap on any one character in particular.

Why does it have to go away?

Because there is a difference between succeeding because you are special and succeeding because you're good, and that's a distinction that not a lot of writers are taking the time to make anymore. Our fiction is being saddled with an increasing number of increasingly defective characters that we are supposed to believe are the protoganists are "Special" and often triumph over their obstacles for no other reason than they are special, as oppossed to the fact that they are either skilled, or resourceful, or believe in themselves. Superman isn't the hero because he has powers - it's because he has these powers and never relents in using them for others, that he never stops. Spider-Man is the hero because more than any other character, he uses his wits and determination to come out on top. And so on.

Angles for Redemption of the Device? Let's have heroes who aren't just special: they're GOOD.

And that's the last of these I've got, unless people want to write in some suggestions.

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #8

Yes, you lucky ducks you, you get a double dosage this week of "Plot Devices that Need to Go Away"!

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #8

RIP-OFFS OF MORE FAMOUS SUPERHEROES

Also known as: Analogues, Knock-offs, Homages, etc.

What is it? When you can't use say, a big name hero, but want to use him/her as an easy means of identifying your character's situation, you file the numbers off and call him "Photonus" or "Apollo" if you need Superman, or "Mister Dark" or "Winged Dark" if you need Batman, etc.

Why do Comic Companies do it?

Two reasons: usually it helps as a means of contrasting "your guys" vs. the competition and how different characters operate. The other reason you might do it is because you want to do something with a big name character that because of their 'iconic status' that you couldn't get away with if you had the real deal (i.e., say you wanted to show Batman as a pedophile, or you wanted Spider-Man to go on a six-day drunken bender and hook up with Paris Hilton).

Recent Offenders include but are not limited to:

Half of Wildstorm (this was a huge stock in trade of theirs for a while), Squadron Supreme, The Ultimates (wait, I can explain this one), The Sentry (he keeps popping up on these lists. Funny, huh?), Every character in "The Boys", Half of Image (but only half, they are getting better at it).

Patient Zero

As much as I hate, hate, hate to admit it, the blame goes to Mark Gruenwald's Squadron Supreme Mini-series. This was the first (and perhaps, most successful) attempt at showcasing what you could do with these characters without worrying about the long term implications. However, this has been taken to extremes by all the comic companies.

Why does it have to go away?

OK, turn on your TV, watch an episode of Lost. OK, how would you describe it? Would you say "It's Gilligan's Island except with non-stupid people?" or "It's the Twilight Zone on an island?" No, of course you wouldn't. You aren't stupid. Now, try that with most other TV shows or movies or what have you. Notice the pattern there? See, that's what's called ORIGINALITY. If you have nothing new, you have nothing new to draw in new people, and you have nothing new to say.

Look, this entire device only works because it sends out an entirely false resonance. Yeah, we know that in "true continuity" Captain America wouldn't use a flamethrower to melt down some innocent Vietnamese civilians, but by having a stand-in do that, well, it sort of jogs the perception of "oh yeah, that's what their going for". The Ultimate Marvel Brand (and its incestuous cousin, the JMS-rebooted Squadron Supreme franchise) owes its entire existence to this feature. "Hey, here's Captain America! Except he's much more HARDCORE!!!!" (and again, I have to reiterate - how the hell is it people say Mark Millar's version is more "realistic" when the creator, Jack Kirby,who did several years of work with the character after the war, actually SERVED IN WORLD WAR II?) or "Here's Wolverine and Jean Grey sleeping together, just like you always wanted but we could never have done before!!!!" etc., etc. Now granted, there are facets of all mass medium that produce familiar "comfort food" entertainment, such as the Law & Order Franchise, the CSI franchise, and there's a new "underdog sports hero film" currently starting production....now, let's say. The point remains; these mediums do produce that sort of material, but even then there is some semblance of variety, and it isn't just "OK, let's just make the lead character from this show exactly like the lead character from the other show, but make him just slightly different enough that we can get away with calling it something new", and it certainly doesn't depend on you getting the "larger significance" by contrasting the two leads in such a direct and blatant manner.

Angles for Redemption of the Device. NONE.

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #7

PLOT DEVICES THAT NEED TO GO AWAY #7:

MARY SUE CHARACTERS

Also Known As: Marty-Stu, Gary-Stu, etc.

What is it? If you don't know, just go here. It's easier for both of us this way.


Why do Comic Companies Do it?

Lazy Writing.

No, sorry, that's not a worthy answer. Let me try that again.

Really Lazy Writing by bad fanfic authors who pass themselves off as professionals, but have no idea what to do with a character, so they just write a given favorite character as their own mouth piece.

Recent Offenders include but are not limited to:

Geoff Johns (Hal Jordan), Ed Brubaker (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier/Nu Captain America), Mark Millar (Too many to count, and it requires understanding Millar Logic, so why bother?), Frank Miller (Batman), Brian Michael Bendis (The Hood, Luke Cage, Nick Fury, Jessica Jones, The Sentry...it's a long list here too), Garth Ennis (Any given Ennis Protagonist), Warren Ellis (any Given Ellis Protagonist) and many, many more.

Patient Zero

While this trope has always been common to comics, I'm going to have to (again) point to the Dark Knight Returns as being the point where it went from "occassional but acceptable" to "down right obnoxious and omni-present"

Why does it have to Go Away?

I'll just assume you skipped over that whole "Bad writing" thing I put up above there, just to humor you a bit. Even if you were to ignore that, you are left with the fact that in any artistic medium, sooner or later you have to show and not just tell, and this is true of storytelling. We, the audience, need some compelling reason for the audience to give a crap about a character. If all you do is have your characters talk about how "special" your personal favorite is, and you have them constantly upstaging other characters with no consistent or logical reason for doing so, it's obvious and more than a little insulting to the audience. And that's how we feel about your characters: insulted. Not a great way to keep us coming back, is it?

Angles for the Redemption of the Device?

See that poster of the Sentry up there? yeah, that works for me just fine. How about you?

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #6

Still working on some format issues, please bear with.

PLOT DEVICES THAT NEED TO GO AWAY #6:

CELEBRITY SUPERHEROISM

Also Known As: Superfuckers, Supercelebs, Starsupes

What is it? In an attempt to "modernize" the concept of the superhero and make it more "relatable" to our era, superheroes culture is being shown as being comparable to celebrity culture; after all, the heroes are mostly telegenic young people living exciting lives that people have a voyeuristic fixation on - that's why people read comics, right?

Why do comic companies do it?

In the old days, comic creators were military vets (remember, Jack Kirby served as a scout in WWII; thus, when Millar keeps claiming that Ultimate Cap is what a REAL Captain America would have been like, I have to laugh, then cry) or had parents who had served. The generation currently calling the shots has no idea what to pattern superhero life after, so they go with the only "culture" they and what they think of as their audience is familiar with: Tabloid Hollywood Celeb Culture, of the Entertainment Tonight and reality TV variety.

Recent Offenders include but are not limited to:

The Order, The Authority, X-Statix, the entire body of Garth Ennis' 'superhero' work, 50% of the body of Warren Ellis' 'superhero' work, The Initiative, especially Ms. Marvel, the Authority, Powers, the Ultimates.

Patient Zero

Powers. Bendis' work here is probably the most definitive and the one that has shaped most of Marvel and thus the mainstream. Bendis chose this angle for the supers in powers because then, it was innovative and after a few years in Hollywood, it was the framework he was the most familiar with. It was easy, so he did it. The fact that he keeps doing it? Makes me nuts.

Why does it have to go away?

Never mind that Celebrity culture is the lowest, most degrading and decadent part of Western culture (and fuck you if you think otherwise). It's lazy shorthand for "Hey! Superheroes are assholes who do it for money! And glory! And Q-Ratings! And Orgies with Groupies! and licensing! And Movie Deals! Did we mention the Orgies? What? 'Truth and Justice'? That's grandpa shit!" Yeah, because bathroom sex with an 18 year old starlet is so worth having your life threatened daily by atomic monsters. I just wonder, has the concept of heroism just degraded beyond the point of no return in this culture? Is this what we define heroism as? Who is the biggest 'name brand' actor/actress/whatever. I know who my heroes are: there's not a single celeb among them. I like actors, I like what they do and occasionally even the causes they support when they are off camera. But you know who's way more heroic than that? The guys and gals who actually make those causes fucking happen. The guys who work on building communities, fighting poverty, injustice, hunger and addiction and sickness; firefighters, soldiers, police officers, doctors and teachers have my respect, those are heroes (though this by no means is universal; I was taught to question all forms of authority, and as such no grouping automatically has a 100% approval rating: I judge based on results and an individual basis, thank you very much).

Angles for Redemption of the Device: Showing that these guys aren't heroes. Show that these vain cretins, like the current incarnation of Ms. Marvel, that while they are off filming a shot for a product placement, aren't saving lives while truly heroic superheroes, are doing the real work, without credit or a corporate sponsor.

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #5

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #5

SUPERHERO EMO

Also known as: Emotional Realism, Superhero Trauma and Uberdrama.

What is it?

Attempts to give greater "maturity" to a comic character by saddling them with additional personal tragedies and angst.

Why do comic companies do it?

The theory goes that heroes with greater hardships are more 'relatable' than those that don't.

Recent Offenders include but are not limited to:

The X-Men, the Titans (all versions), Spider-Man, Green Lantern (all versions, but especially Kyle Rayner), The Sentry, She-Hulk and every character featured in "Avengers: The Initiative" plus many many more.

Patient Zero:

Again, we have to go with that classic of Superhero Angst -

GWEN STACY.

Ugh. Between that and Claremont's early run on the X-Men, when they were defined virtually EXCLUSIVELY by all the crap that happened to them because they were different, the trend was set very early on to have a hero be defined by increasing amounts of emotional trauma.

Why does it have to go away?

Because at this point, it's become as laughable (if not more so) than the angst-free superheroics that preceeded it. Because the entire point of the superheroic ideal is one of uplifting against impossible odds and doing good. Because every extra bit of angst takes away from the belief that people can improve themselves and make the world a better place. Because people who do right should have some reward in fiction, because lord knows it is all too rare in reality.

Angles for Redemption of the device: NONE.

Plot Devices that Need to Go away #4

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #4

GRIM & GRITTY


Also Known As: Going Dark, More "mature", "Sensible", "Adult", or "Driving people from comics since 1985"

What is it? Remember those happy-go-lucky smiling happy superheroes who always saved the day and no one really ever got hurt too badly? Well fuck that true believer! We're going to do it the way it would REALLY HAPPEN. Family members die gruesome deaths! The Heroes are powerless as their petty idealism is exposed and mocked! Supporting characters are brutal victimized. The Heroes have to take EXTREEEEMMEEEE measures to..ok, I'm done. I'm sorry, I can't even try to make fun of this. You either know what I'm talking about or you don't.

Why do comic companies do it? Because the fans want it, it sells, it has short-term shock value and it's a reflection of the other mass media of our civilization, such as movies and TV.

Recent Offenders include but are not limited to: Actually, it'd be easier to identify the characters whom haven't been subjected to this particular gimmick. Let's just say it's infected every character in comics over the last couple decades like a particularly virulent strain of herpes.

Patient Zero: BATMAN. In particular, The Dark Knight Returns Batman that set the bar for this entire gimmick. This was the darkest Batman that had existed, and one that was pretty grim to audiences that only knew him from the Adam West era. Any more than this really doesn't need to be said.

Why does it have to go away? Aside from the fact that it has been so overused that it should be retired on general principles, it's infantile and insane. I'm sorry, but only a seriously fucked up civilization would demand excessive realism in all its genres at all times. This is reflected in most "dramatic" movies and TV shows that are so fricking dark that you might as well be listening to radio dramas. We continually ask "What would really happen if...?" for everything, and the answer, if history is any guide, is "Bad shit", but because we are increasingly desensitized to any humane emotion, and that's pretty much the opposite of what fiction SHOULD be doing for us. It should be inspiring us, giving us new ideals and new things to communicate. This is nothing but well, bullshit hackery by bullshit hacks that are taking cues from hollywood movies and just projecting their own irrational hatreds, fears, and thoughts onto a genre and conept that it is fairly incompatible with. See Pennance below for the ultimate example of how incredibly stupid this is.

Angles for Redemption of the Device: Show that it doesn't work. Show that darkness does nothing but consume and destroy and that by staying true to your ideals, you can win. Maybe it's not realistic, but it's a better story to tell.

Plot Devices that need to Go Away #3

Hi, and welcome to the third in our series on comic book plot devices that need to go away
Here's #1

Here's #2

And tonight

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #3:

DAMSELS IN DISTRESS

Also Known as: Rescue Meat, Girls in Refrigerators (when the hero doesn't get there in time), Lady or The Tiger, Captured Women, Dungeon Dramas


What is it?: The Love interest or some other woman of import to a hero is kidnapped by the villain in order to heighten tension and cause drama.

Why do comic companies do it?: The primary reason here is because the story is traditional for these types of fantasy dramas. I mean, the original primary audience of superhero comics were the same as most other primitive genre fiction, in which a women was rescued by a hero/knight in shining armor or masked rogue type. At this point, it's metastasized into this gimmick in order to heighten the drama of a story because while most people realized that a superhero isn't in much danger, supporting characters are not as well protected.

Recent Offenders include but are not limited to: Mary Jane Watson (in all three Spider-Man Movies), Agent 13 (Captain America), Colleen Wing and Mysti Knight, Cowgirl (Green Lantern), Jessica Jones (New Avengers), Milla Donovan Murdock (Dardevil)

Patient Zero: While we can go to Lois Lane as being the original Damsel in Distress for comic book women, she's largely been balanced in recent years (in most media) by being fairly independent, thoughtful, and resourceful enough to get herself out of a jam. So, the real cause of the modern over-reliance on this gimmick can be traced to exactly one source:

GWEN STACY

And yes, I've read my fair share of Gwen 70's stories, and you know what? She's a Cipher. A nobody. She had the personality of a doorstop except when she was used as a foil for her friend, the far more interesting Mary Jane Watson. She's better known for how she died than what she did when alive, and the only reason anyone under the age of 30 remembers her is because she was the ultimate "damsel in distress" because SHE DIDN'T MAKE IT. Otherwise, she'd be as well known at Deb Whitman or whatever lame attempt they are throwing at Peter right now in the current Spider-Man story arc named for a bad Sting Song.

Why does it have to go away?: Because the target demographic for most comics is not adolescent boys in need of a fantasy of rescuing a beautiful damsel (Some days, it seems that the target demographic is a bunch of men in a perpetual adolescence who need to be rescued by reality, but I try not to let such cynicism weight me down). Because we now live in an age where it is right and proper to show that women, super-powered or no, have the power, the cunning, and smarts to stand up for themselves and to serve as a better example. Because that should be one if not the primary goal of superhero fantasy; to provide a better example of how to live a just life.

Angles for Redemption of the Plot Device: I believe I will let Mary Jane speak for me on this one.

Thanks MJ.

Plot Devices that Need to Go Away #2

Normally, Monday night is very busy and I just make do with one of my "what if we lived in a comic universe" posters. However, I thought tonite would be good for the second installation in the series about comic book plot devices that need to go away.





Plot Devices that need to go Away #2:



SUPERHEROINE STRIPPER COSTUMES

Also Known As: Pervert Suits, Nimbo suits (Ninja + Bimbo, for those of you who wanted to know), Superhero Sex Bikinis, and Buttfloss outfits.

What is it?: Take a look at the pictures here pal. It's pretty obvious.

Why do The comic book companies do it?: The short answer is "Sex Sells". The long answer is....actually, no that's really about it. I mean, you could point to the stunted emotional maturity levels of most comic fans, writers, artists, and editorial, and that'd be a wonderful answer. But it wouldn't really be the truth. Oh, it might make you feel better, until you remember that we live in a world where Megan Fox stated in her interviews for Transformers that she was cast for her ability to look good in a belly shirt while running. It's not something strictly limited to comic book fans and is part of a larger tapestry of an oversexed society.

That said, I think the superhero comicbook medium does it take to ridiculous extremes, as seen here.

Recent offenders include but are not limited to: Every Image Heroine Ever, Ultimate Scarlet Witch, Mary Marvel, Huntress, Psylocke, Elektra, Ms. Marvel, Gammora, Every female character who had a costume re-design since 1988.

Patient Zero: Now, this is hard to determine, as some degree of titilation has been present since the beginning of the genre (Wonder Woman, anyone?), but in my opinion, we can trace the point where it went completely off the rails to one of two early offenders: The 70s costumes for the Legion of Superheroes, or and I think this is far more likely, Starfire from Teen Titans pictured below.

Why it has to go away: Look, I'm a straight guy and hey, I like sexy women just fine, but can we just admit that at some point, this became puerile, immature stupidity that makes all comic book fans look like mentally-addled manchildren? Nevermind the sheer impracticallity of the outfits, or the implied sexism, or sending bad ideas to kids. This crap makes all of us, from the top of the foodchain down to YOU, the person BUYING IT, look like just a little bit like a creepy pervert who stares too long in front of the lingerie mannequins at Sears. And I don't know about you, but I can think of lots of women in my real life that I think are pretty goddamn sexy without ever having seen them in a V-Thong and fishnet fetishwear.

Angles for Redemption of the Plot Device: None. Bury this already and put some clothes on!

Plot Devices that need to go Away #1

Hi and welcome to what I hope will be a new semi-Regular Feature at the MPM (Provided Reader feedback is positive) that is dedicated to comic Plot Devices have become overused in modern times, and should probably be retired for a while.

So, Plot Devices that need to go Away #1:

THE GUY SO SMART THAT HE ACCURATELY PREDICTS THE FUTURE



Also known as: The Techno-Prophet, The Futurist, The Ultimate Predictor, Etc.

What is it?: Many consider this the Sci-Fi version of The Prophet or Mystic; through mechanical means, or just being really, really smart, the character is able to accurately calculate the future, and thus, is able to make plots that move like clockwork.

Why do writers use it?: This particular device is usually used for one of two reasons

1. It's an easy way to show how intelligent the character is by allowing the reader to go Holy Crap! This guy predicted the future! With Maths!
2. It's an easy way to write your character out of a jam

Recent Offenders include but are not limited to: Iron Man, Darkseid, Reed Richards, Amadeus Cho, Black Panther (Christopher Priest Era-only), Dr. T.O. Morrow, Dr. Gregory House (House), Linderman (Heroes), Batman, Layla Miller, At least one character in every Mark Millar-penned comic.

Patient Zero: Ozymandias from Watchmen. While some would suggest that you could use the concept of psycho-history from Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, I would argue that in most comic stories, most writers use Ozy here as the base case for what they are trying to achieve.

Why it has to go Away: Generally, having a main character who can accurately model the future at every turn doesn't work out very well for serialized fiction because it either makes him look like a God or an idiot, and usually nothing in the middle. Tony Stark here is probably the worst offender of the current batch here, and he shows aspects of both failings. Civil War? He comes off as a god, and a petty one at that, that can't be bothered to explain the rationale for his actions. It doesn't help that "Math told me this would happen!" isn't exactly the best reasoning under the sun when it comes to predicting human behavior. Given the constant sniping back and forth in the real world about Global Warming, something that has a lot of like, hard science behind it, it's a little insane to say that you can concretely prove human behavior with math. Hell, even in the Foundation series, the existence of a an x-factor (The Mule) was shown to throw off the entire concept of psychohistory and it's predictions. Saying that you can predict the actions of an entire species undercuts the belief that the individual matters in the grand scheme of things, and that's kind of a dour prospect in superhero fiction.

The other downside is that because of the nature of serialized fiction, the hero cannot always be right, otherwise there is no drama. When a "Futurist" fails, it generally makes him look like an idiot for not foreseeing this eventuality, like Tony in World War Hulk here:

Angles for Redemption of the Plot Device:

Actually, it's probably for the best to retire this one for a while, as it's showing a hell of a lot of wear and tear. But if you are bound and determined to use it, just keep in mind that individual characters matter, that they can always do something that the futurist won't predict. Gregory House is a great example: While he understands what people will do, and how they will lie and cheat and contradict themselves, he also shows a remarkable inability to expect people to try and rise above their failings.