NationStates Jolt Archive

Anyone ever noticed how many comic book characters have names where the first and last name start with the same letter or sound?

Peter Parker
Jonah Jameson

Lex Luthor
Lois Lane
Lana Lang
Clark Kent

Sue Storm
Reed Richards

Is it that the creators were that creatively bankrupt? Is there something I'm missing? Am I just spending too damn much time thinking about these things?

Anyone ever noticed how many comic book characters have names where the first and last name start with the same letter or sound?

Peter Parker
Jonah Jameson

Lex Luthor
Lois Lane
Lana Lang
Clark Kent

Sue Storm
Reed Richards

Is it that the creators were that creatively bankrupt? Is there something I'm missing? Am I just spending too damn much time thinking about these things?

Whoa, never noticed that before, though I'm afraid Bruce Wayne breaks this train of thought.

Matt Murdock
Scott Summers
Bruce Banner
Richard Ryder
Warren Worthington.

:eek: OMG! My first and last names begin with the same letter too! That can only mean one thing...

*starts shopping for spandex*

I think you're late, is what it is.

Yeah that's a lot but not all of them...

Fall of Empire said Bruce Wayne...and there's

Steve Rogers - Captain America
Tony Stark - Iron Man
Diana Prince - Wonder Woman
Remy LeBeau - Gambit
Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin - Collosus
Erik Lehnsherr or Erik Magnus - Magneto
Harvey Dent - Two Face
Norrin Radd - Silver Surfer

...theres probably more...

also Homer Simpson is Pie-Man

Matt Murdock
Scott Summers
Bruce Banner
Richard Ryder
Warren Worthington.

:eek: OMG! My first and last names begin with the same letter too! That can only mean one thing...

*starts shopping for spandex*

Our Friendly Neighborhood Goofball

Yeah, it's called an alliteration.

It's perfectly normal.

And if you think that alliterations aren't very creative, you're a philistine. Alliteration are awesome, because they require an extensive knowledge of grammar and vocabulary to make a sensible statement with most (or at least the more important words) starting with the same letter.

To think not is to be a vulgar vermin, and the term "creatively bankrupt" is very vicious.

I bet there's a correlation between the likelihood a character has an alliterative name and when that character was invented. Early-to-mid twentieth century comics tend to have a punched-up writing style that makes free use of alliteration and assonance. It's not unique to comics, it shows up in a lot of popular media -- advertising copy, pulps, early films ("The Perils of Pauline" et al.) Then in the 50s design went all modernist and Helvetica and comics, slow to catch on to the trend, started looking really dorky and retro. And now you have comics written by people who were born in or after the 50s and they wouldn't use alliteration if you forced them to write with only five letters of the alphabet. But Peter Parker and Lois Lane were invented in a more innocent time, so the names are still around.

Yeah, it's called an alliteration.

It's perfectly normal.

And if you think that alliterations aren't very creative, you're a philistine. Alliteration are awesome, because they require an extensive knowledge of grammar and vocabulary to make a sensible statement with most (or at least the more important words) starting with the same letter.

To think not is to be a vulgar vermin, and the term "creatively bankrupt" is very vicious.

I can vouch for the veracity of these ventured claims.

I can vouch for the veracity of these ventured claims.

2 can play at that game.

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V!

Alliteration are awesome

QFT

Maybe they just thought it sounded cool.

Anyone ever noticed how many comic book characters have names where the first and last name start with the same letter or sound?

Peter Parker
Jonah Jameson

Lex Luthor
Lois Lane
Lana Lang
Clark Kent

Sue Storm
Reed Richards

Is it that the creators were that creatively bankrupt? Is there something I'm missing? Am I just spending too damn much time thinking about these things?

Logan
Ororo Munro (okay, there's assonance in the middle and end there..)
Piotr Rasputin
Kitty Pryde
Kurt Wagner
Lamont Cranston (the Shadow -- definitely pre-50s)
Jimmy Olsen, Perry White & the Kents (just to bust the Kent/Luthor/Lane/Lang coincidence in Superman)
Carter Hall (Hawkman)
Jay Garrick (1940-), Barry Allen (1956-1986), Wally West (1986-2006, 2007-), and Bart Allen (2006-2007) -- all The Flash, with only one of four being alliterative.
Golden Age Green Lantern: Alan Scott
Silver Age Green Lantern: Hal Jordan
Bronze Age Green Lanterns: Guy Gardner, John Stewart
Modern Age Green Lanterns: Kyle Rayner, Jade

You're missing a minor coincidence fueled by the need to be catchy.

2 can play at that game.

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V!

I swear I'm the only one who thought that was really lame.

the authors use up all their imagination with ludicrous plots and character backgrounds. they have none left for names.

Anyone ever noticed how many comic book characters have names where the first and last name start with the same letter or sound?

Is it that the creators were that creatively bankrupt?

Alliteration is euphonious. Just like choosing a real name for a child, any sensible "creator" chooses something that sounds good.

"Bugs Bunny" for instance. :D

Alliteration is euphonious. Just like choosing a real name for a child, any sensible "creator" chooses something that sounds good.

"Bugs Bunny" for instance. :D

Or Elmer Fudd...oh...uh...Wile E. Coyo...er...Sylvester and Tweety...nope...uh...golly.

Oh, very well:

Daffy Duck
Porky Pig
Yosemite Sam
Foghorn Leghorn
Claude Cat (he who would claw-hold the ceiling when a puppy barked in surprise)

2 can play at that game.

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V!

Alas, I have been badly beaten by a better, more brisk and busy alliteration. Oh, it's so hard to bear the bitter defeat, especially by one so baffling and bewildering. The mammoth of this massacre of my assonance is immense. The sheer majority of alliteration is astoundingly amazing in their aggregation.

*hides his head in humiliation*

You were beaten by a quote. Frank Miller's V for Vendetta. Meh.
I am aware of that.

It's one of my favorite movie lines.

EDIT: WHOAOAAHH TIME WARP QUESTIONS YOUR EXISTENCE IN TIME AND SPACE DOESN'T IT?

Alas, I have been badly beaten by a better, more brisk and busy alliteration. Oh, it's so hard to bear!

You were beaten by a quote. Frank Miller's V for Vendetta. Meh.

Or Elmer Fudd...oh...uh...Wile E. Coyo...er...Sylvester and Tweety...nope...uh...golly.

Oh, very well:

Daffy Duck
Porky Pig
Yosemite Sam
Foghorn Leghorn
Claude Cat (he who would claw-hold the ceiling when a puppy barked in surprise)

Mickey Mouse
Minnie Mouse
Donald Duck
Daisy Duck


I suppose it makes them easier for people to remember, which is a good thing from the creators' viewpoint...

If this alliteration thing is true, then my mother, my ex-husband and I should all be super-heroes. My mother's initials (after marriage) were M.M.M., my exes initials are R.R. and my initials (before marriage) were M.M.

Let's see, my mom could be Perfectionist Woman.
My ex could be Super Dick (Richard is his first name).
And I could be Entropy Woman (because a body at rest, tends to stay at rest).

Anyone ever noticed how many comic book characters have names where the first and last name start with the same letter or sound?

Peter Parker
Jonah Jameson

Lex Luthor
Lois Lane
Lana Lang
Clark Kent

Sue Storm
Reed Richards

Is it that the creators were that creatively bankrupt? Is there something I'm missing? Am I just spending too damn much time thinking about these things?

It's called alliteration, and it's function is an increased memorability.
Alliterations used to have the same function in the Germanic languages as rhymes do now, they were a form of poetry. Some of it survives even today in sayings like "Kith and Kin", "Home and Hearth" and the like. You will find a lot of it in old Norse epics, and even Shakespeare makes good use of it.

It's been prevalent in children's books and with children's characters for a very long time : Bugs Bunny, Donald Duck... it's a long list, but those two came to my mind first ;)

It's been prevalent in children's books and with children's characters for a very long time : Bugs Bunny, Donald Duck... it's a long list, but those two came to my mind first ;)

Mighty Mouse!

Deputy Dawg

and does anybody else here remember 'Atom Ant'?

Anyone ever noticed how many comic book characters have names where the first and last name start with the same letter or sound?

Peter Parker
Jonah Jameson

Lex Luthor
Lois Lane
Lana Lang
Clark Kent

Sue Storm
Reed Richards

Is it that the creators were that creatively bankrupt? Is there something I'm missing? Am I just spending too damn much time thinking about these things?This is an old tradition that has recently been scrapped. Penny Dreadfuls immortalized horrible names such as Varney the Vampire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varney_the_Vampire). Peter Parker and Clark Kent are an improvement.

2 can play at that game.

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V!

Sorry to butt in, but without any prior qualification I can honestly say that you have just won the alliteration contest.

Also, did anyone know that at one point, the serial killer Jack the Ripper was referred to as "the Devilish Dissecter", for his, er, devilish habit of, um, dissecting?

Sorry to butt in, but without any prior qualification I can honestly say that you have just won the alliteration contest.Prior qualification consists of having seen the alliteration dialogue in V for Vendetta.

Nah, I was saying that he's made a win, no strings attached.

And I thought it was V for Vendetta, wasn't sure though.

Yeah, it's called an alliteration.

It's perfectly normal.

And if you think that alliterations aren't very creative, you're a philistine. Alliteration are awesome, because they require an extensive knowledge of grammar and vocabulary to make a sensible statement with most (or at least the more important words) starting with the same letter.

To think not is to be a vulgar vermin, and the term "creatively bankrupt" is very vicious.

Emphasis mine, sir, you win a platonian :fluffle:

I hate alliterative names (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AlliterativeName), if combined with a species surname (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpeciesSurname) it really really annoys me.

Anyone ever noticed how many comic book characters have names where the first and last name start with the same letter or sound?

Peter Parker
Jonah Jameson

Lex Luthor
Lois Lane
Lana Lang
Clark Kent

Sue Storm
Reed Richards

Is it that the creators were that creatively bankrupt? Is there something I'm missing? Am I just spending too damn much time thinking about these things?

Stan Lee has said on many occaisions that he gave his characters alliterative names so that they were easier to remember. Perhaps this is true for other writers too.

i think that cleche ness went/goes, with the mentallity that supported/supports the "mpaa" rating system.

main reason i never got into d.c. and marvel, or even american comic books in general.

i really never saw much potential in the before windey and richard pini came up with elfquest.

i still don't really care about them enough to ever noticed.

only the indies, and a few marvel 'cover' series, (comicizations of stories told previously in other media) have ever really been to me of any great interest.

nihon manga are another matter, their even a cut about most western indies, but again, still not any big deal in my life.

=^^=
.../\...

Alliteration just makes a name sound catchier.

And yes. Yes you are crazy. :)

You were beaten by a quote. Frank Miller's V for Vendetta. Meh.Nope. Wachowski brothers' V for Vendetta.

Alliteration just makes a name sound catchier.


For instance: Sue Sue Sue Sneeze-Achoo


See what I mean? You've caught it already!