--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At one point, I worked up a list of five…" description: "\"At one point, I worked up a list of five requirements for a superhero: superpowers, a costume, a code name, a mission, and a milieu. If the character h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37e/kurt-busiek-14199_character_at-one-point-i-worked-up-a-list-of-five_3213729.jpg" --- # At one point, I worked up a list of five requirements for… ![“At one point, I worked up a list of five requirements for a superhero: superpowers, a costume, a code name, a mission, and a milieu. If the character had three out of the five, they were a superhero. But that's just my definition.” quote by Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37e/kurt-busiek-14199_character_at-one-point-i-worked-up-a-list-of-five_3213729.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37e/kurt-busiek-14199_character_at-one-point-i-worked-up-a-list-of-five_3213729.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37e/kurt-busiek-14199_character_at-one-point-i-worked-up-a-list-of-five_3213729.jpg) > “At one point, I worked up a list of five requirements for a superhero: superpowers, a costume, a code name, a mission, and a milieu. If the character had three out of the five, they were a superhero. But that's just my definition.” [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He outlines a personal checklist for what makes a superhero, emphasizing a mix of powers, identity, purpose, and setting. **In simple terms:** A superhero needs powers, a costume, a name, a mission, and a world. Key Takeaway Use clear criteria to define roles or characters. Themes creativity character design storytelling definition Mood analytical inspirational Type creative motivational When to use this quote - Writing comics - game design - branding - leadership training Key Concepts Narrative theory hero archetype role modeling Questions to Reflect On - What qualities matter most for your hero? - Can a hero succeed without all five elements? A Different Perspective Rigid checklists may limit unconventional heroes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Code](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/code/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Costumes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/costumes/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Missions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missions/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Superhero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superhero/) [Superpower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superpower/) [Superpowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superpowers/) ## Related quotes > [I'm always attracted to the vulnerable character more than I am the superhero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-zahn/i-m-always-attracted-to-the-vulnerable-character-more-than-i-am-the/) [Steve Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-zahn/) > [Im really into superheroes and the comic book illustration concept, and with this album I kinda wanted to play along with that. Im really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ciara/im-really-into-superheroes-and-the-comic-book-illustration-concept/) [Ciara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ciara/) > [Well, you know, in the fundamentalist milieu of the Afrikaners, there was a sense that they were a chosen people, that they were bringing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/well-you-know-in-the-fundamentalist-milieu-of-the-afrikaners-there/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [In order to cultivate yourself and to drop no lower than the level of the milieu in which you have landed, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/in-order-to-cultivate-yourself-and-to-drop-no-lower-than-the-level-of/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [I get letters every week from people who live in rural Texas or rural Mississippi and who feel totally alone. They feel like they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-get-letters-every-week-from-people-who-live-in-rural-texas-or-rural/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [The writer has a life and a personality but the problem of today is that most of those writers have exactly the same life;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-bruckner/the-writer-has-a-life-and-a-personality-but-the-problem-of-today-is/) [Pascal Bruckner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-bruckner/) > [I always found myself more drawn to each religious milieu than I would have anticipated, but in time, a ghoulish threat of being absorbed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-l-ochs/i-always-found-myself-more-drawn-to-each-religious-milieu-than-i/) Vanessa L Ochs > [Detach the writer from the milieu where he has experienced his greatest sense of belonging, and you have created a discontinuity within his personality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-roth/detach-the-writer-from-the-milieu-where-he-has-experienced-his/) Henry Roth > [We must overthrow the material and moral conditions of our present-day life. . . . We must first purify our atmosphere and completely transform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/we-must-overthrow-the-material-and-moral-conditions-of-our-present/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [Philosophy appears to some people as a homogenous milieu: there thoughts are born and die, there systems are built, and there, in turn, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/philosophy-appears-to-some-people-as-a-homogenous-milieu-there/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [The law of dislike for the unlike will always prevail. And whereas the unlike is normally situated at a safe distance, the Jews bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-zangwill/the-law-of-dislike-for-the-unlike-will-always-prevail-and-whereas-the/) [Israel Zangwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-zangwill/) > [I grew up in the sort of cultural milieu that always regarded conversations about the political discourse as tremendously low-brow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/i-grew-up-in-the-sort-of-cultural-milieu-that-always-regarded/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [In creating the strange milieu in which your story takes place, you must first understand as well as you possibly can the familiar milieu…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/in-creating-the-strange-milieu-in-which-your-story-takes-place-you/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Part of the broader task of Christian scholarship is to help create and sustain a cultural milieu in which the gospel can be heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/part-of-the-broader-task-of-christian-scholarship-is-to-help-create/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [Iron and coal dominated everywhere, from grey to black: the black boots, the black stove-pipe hat, the black coach or carriage, the black iron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/iron-and-coal-dominated-everywhere-from-grey-to-black-the-black-boots/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) ## More by Kurt Busiek > [The most fascinating powers don't mean a thing if the guy's poorly motivated or dull, and the most generic powers won't hurt a well-motivated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/the-most-fascinating-powers-don-t-mean-a-thing-if-the-guy-s-poorly/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [The reason I quit being a sales manager over twenty years now is because I hate elevator pitches. I want to write stories and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/the-reason-i-quit-being-a-sales-manager-over-twenty-years-now-is/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [If I won the lottery tomorrow - which would be a real trick, since I haven't entered - and was independently wealthy for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/if-i-won-the-lottery-tomorrow-which-would-be-a-real-trick-since-i/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > ["Superhero" is a term that's been borrowed in order to say "big and larger than life and loud and active and dumb." And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/superhero-is-a-term-that-s-been-borrowed-in-order-to-say-big-and/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [You've got to leave the reader with more than just a name and a costume - they need to know who the character is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/you-ve-got-to-leave-the-reader-with-more-than-just-a-name-and-a/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [That's the way it happens - some characters you set out to use, some are happy accidents. As long as it works, it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/that-s-the-way-it-happens-some-characters-you-set-out-to-use-some-are/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [The metaphor is the story, not the character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/the-metaphor-is-the-story-not-the-character/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [I love creator-owned comics. Most of my favorite books these days are creator-owned, from stuff DC publishes, like 'Fables,' to books like 'Saga,' 'Fatale,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/i-love-creator-owned-comics-most-of-my-favorite-books-these-days-are/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [It's fun to take a piece of formula and go someplace else with it and see what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/it-s-fun-to-take-a-piece-of-formula-and-go-someplace-else-with-it-and/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [I'm not building each one character around one metaphor, so much as trying to build a heroic archetype that can be used to express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/i-m-not-building-each-one-character-around-one-metaphor-so-much-as/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [Dracula, if he could see modern corporations, wouldnt like them much. He took care of his people, at least as he saw it. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/dracula-if-he-could-see-modern-corporations-wouldnt-like-them-much-he/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [If there's ever a character who can only serve one metaphor, I'll probably tell one story with that character and be done with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/if-there-s-ever-a-character-who-can-only-serve-one-metaphor-i-ll/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [I seem to like playing with form, and the superhero genre has an awful lot of formula to it. It has a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/i-seem-to-like-playing-with-form-and-the-superhero-genre-has-an-awful/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [Marvel's got a crowded universe, and there are already so many characters hogging the spotlight that it's hard to break through that. First off,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/marvel-s-got-a-crowded-universe-and-there-are-already-so-many/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [When you have a novel set in a fictional history, you still should get your history right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/when-you-have-a-novel-set-in-a-fictional-history-you-still-should-get/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) [Explore all 47 Kurt Busiek quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "At one point, I worked up a list of five requirements for a superhero: superpowers, a costume, a code name, a mission, and a milieu. 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