Roleplaying Superhero Tropes: The Hero Meet and Beat
The Meet and Beat is the amazingly common incidence of superheroes getting into fights with each other when they first encounter one another. It’s usually due to some form of mistaken identity (it’s the killer – get him!) But it’s also a way for the heroes to test each other’s abilities, resolve, and motivations while allowing the reader/viewer to see the characters in action.
This is not the related phenomenon of heroes inevitably going toe to toe with their teammates after they’ve already established a relationship, such as being mind controlled or having a falling out. The Meet and Beat is strictly for the very first time the superheroes cross each others’ paths and decide to battle.
I’ve used this tropes to good effect in rpg’s as a way to introduce new heroes to each other or an established group. No matter which system you’re using, when running the Meet and Beat, the same elements hold true:
- Each side has a specific goal
- Effects of the battle are non-permanent
The specific goals range from stopping the other person from leaving, getting answers, bringing in a fugitive, etc. Oftentimes it’s a philosophical difference – one hero wants to capture a villain while the other hero wants let the villain go or possibly kill him, putting them at odds with each other while the villain awaits the outcome.
Non-permanent effects means that whatever in-game resources are used during the fight are reset before the next encounter. That may be in five minutes or the following day. But before they need to spend them again, any and all points lost by the PC’s (hit points, power points, Fate points, Bennies, etc.) are returned and all wounds are healed.
This mirrors how the trope plays out in media. The heroes mistakenly fight each other, thinking the other one is the villain, only to have to unite to battle the real enemy when he shows up. No one seems any weaker from their original fight.
It’s a lot of fun for the players if you do it right. The key to gamemastering this type of thing is to not let it get too out of hand. Egos are at risk here if one hero seems to dominate. You can always have the cops or bad guys show up if the scales (and dice) start to tip too far in favor of one side or the other.
Set the scene up so that conflict is logical. In my experience, a lot of players are very willing to have their PCs attack each other, so this shouldn’t be too difficult. Examples:
- Two heroes independently sneak into a crime scene to investigate and they naturally assume the other is a suspect.
- One hero goes undercover as a low-level thug in order to work up to the boss, but another hero shows up, ruining the whole deal.
- A hero has his nemesis at his mercy and wants to kill him, but the new hero needs the villain to live in order to find his kidnapped grandmother.
If you’ve got an experienced group you can just ask them why they’re fighting initially and let them run with it.
Once one side or the other completes its task or seems to have the upper hand, you can end the battle if it doesn’t seem like it’s going to end on its own. A SWAT team shows up, the building collapses, the supervillain shows up and captures them, etc.
It’s a great trope that works really well in rpg’s. My players have never failed to have fun fighting each other.
Some examples from film and television I particularly enjoy include: Luke Cage and Danny Rand’s fight in Netflix’s the Defenders, Thor and Ironman’s fight in the Avengers, Black Panther vs. Captain America and Bucky (along with some minor participation of Falcon and War Machine) in Captain America: Civil War. Daredevil and the Punisher in the Netflix Daredevil is good. One of the very best action scenes is Captain America’s first face-to-face fight vs. Bucky in CA: Winter Soldier. This happens all the time in comic books too.
