Such Superheroes
Superhero origin stories are the most interesting, because they are the only ones where there is any character development. All the rest are Boys Own Adventure and Soap Opera.
Why do I say that?
Origins:
Superhero origin stories must have character development, because it isn't just the story of how our protagonist became super, it is also the story of how our protagonist chose to become a hero. Whether it is Spiderman realising that "with great power comes great responsibility", or Tony Stark vowing never to make another weapon again, or Thor deciding to fight for the weak instead of his own pride, every superhero faces a choice, and it is the choice which makes the difference. It isn't a choice about whether to put peanut-butter on their sandwich, it is a choice about the direction of their life, and that is character development.
Adventures:
I think it's fairly obvious why a great part of superhero stories are Boys Own Adventure. They are always fighting the (super-)villain of the week. With a lot of ZAP and KAPOW, and, depending on the type of hero, a lot of snark or earnest do-goodery. It is plot-driven, how to defeat the villain, and that's about it. Unless, of course, there is also the soap-opera mixed in. Which brings us to...
Soap Opera:
Soap opera is a steady-state of melodrama, which masquerades as characterisation, but really isn't. It is emotion without development, change without growth, discovery without learning. The creators of the superhero universe do not want their characters to change or develop, because that makes it difficult for multiple writers to take up the banner; and it may be that they feel that the audience only ever wants more of the same, it is too risky to do something different. But that's why we get "Buffiphanies" in the Buffy-the-Vampire-Slayer universe; where Buffy gets an epiphany at the end of a season, and then forgets it by the time the next season comes around. Because writing Buffy would have to change if she ever actually learned from her mistakes. Here comes the emotional merry-go-round: falling in and out of love, keeping secrets, failing to communicate, being completely emotionally stupid and indecisive. It's very emotional to angst about decisions and never choose; writers love to milk that for all it is worth. Especially if they can make it blow up in everybody's faces. And still nobody learns anything, and nobody changes. Nobody grows.
Loki is always to blame. Captain America is always self-righteous. Tony Stark is always a jerk. Clark Kent never tells Lois Lane that he is Superman.
I find this very frustrating.
I'm not entirely sure whether deathbed reconciliations count as character development or not. Probably not, they are too easy.
Things Can Be Better in Fanfic:
I've been reading a lot of Marvel Cinematic Universe stories lately, even though I haven't actually seen very many of the movies. It's one of the few universes where I don't mind spoilers because I don't really intend to watch all the movies -- there are too many of them to catch up on, anyway. And I've been reading mostly Alternate Universe stories, which means it doesn't matter that much if I don't know all the details. So... I've been reading a bunch of Tony-Stark-centric and Loki-centric stories, and I have a few recommendations.
Odin's Son, Tyr's Son (1) "Grievance" by Peace Heather (200K) (95911 words) Long Novel Complete
https://archiveofourown.org/works/4146378
For a fill in Round 17 of Norsekink: Someone starts to notice that Odin treats Loki in ways that are neglectfull and borderline abusive and starts to feel very uncomfortable about it. It becomes worse when people at court start to take after Odin's treatment of Loki. But they still don't feel comfortable voicing their doubts out loud. And then the lip-sewing incident happens and they can no longer sit idly by while this happens. So this person just stand up and calls the rest of Asgard out on this bulshit, seriously the boy just cut off some hair, it's not like it wont ever grow back on it's own again. Bonuses: 10+ The person is higly respected and influential in Asgard. 100+ The person is Tyr. 1000+ Whoever it is, is not part of the royal family.
(Not Rated AU, Canon Divergence, Child Abuse, Adoption, Mentorship, Hurt-Comfort Excellent) (Loki, Tyr)
This story, it doesn't even have to count as an MCU story; it is just an excellent fantasy YA novel, an alternate-universe Norse mythology where Loki was rescued from Odin's abuse. Just excellent.
"Orestes" by Aublanc (652K) (288016 words) Long Novel Complete
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9307901/1/Orestes
Thanos never pulled Loki from the void, and the invasion of New York never happened. But the peace is only an illusion, and years after Loki jumped from the Bifrost he falls, quite literally, into the life of one Tony Stark. Broken by the emptiness, Loki struggles to pull himself back together in time to stop the Mad Titan from ruining everything.
(AU, Canon Divergence, Hurt-Comfort, Mental Illness, Friendship Excellent) (Tony Stark, Loki)
This story demonstrates that love is not an emotion, love is a verb; a choice, a promise, a commitment. The epic bromance between a trying-to-be-responsible Tony Stark and a completely broken Loki is just AWESOME.
"Restitution" by Ink And Paper Qwerty (506K) (242830 words) Long Novel Complete
https://archiveofourown.org/works/15022439
Loki is taken back to Asgard to face justice for his crimes against humanity, and Odin comes down hard on the marauding trickster. Thankfully, Thor still has a soft spot for his younger brother, and he's made a pitch to save Loki's skin that the King of the Nine Realms deems worthy. Now all Thor has to do is convince Earth's Mightiest Heroes that his slightly-psychotic, partially-evil, definitely-unstable brother can and should be rehabilitated on Earth while living in Avengers Tower. Easy, right? Right...
(AU, Canon Divergence, Redemption, Friendship, Family, Post Avengers, Post Iron Man 3, Hurt-Comfort, Psychology, Therapy, Angst, Humour, Canon-Typical Violence, Magic Excellent) (Loki, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Thor, Clint Barton, Tony Stark...)
It's quite a genre, the "Loki is on Earth, remanded into the custody of the Avengers (and rehabilitated)". But this is an excellent example of this genre, because oh boy it takes a LONG TIME and a lot of HARD WORK for Loki to turn around from a villain to a hero. Even better, the Avengers themselves learn and change for the better, because you can't tell your former enemy to do something, and then not do it yourself.
"Life In Reverse" by Lise (500K) (234434 words) Long Novel Complete
https://archiveofourown.org/works/476291
Home is where you make it. Or, the AU where Loki falls to Earth after Thor, wanders around trying to work out what to do with himself, and somehow ends up working for SHIELD. (Mostly because supervillains are so plebian.)
(AU, Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Adventure, Friendship, Shapeshifting, Torture, Mental Health Issues, Anxiety, Depression, Panic Attacks, Hurt Loki, Loki-centric Excellent) (Loki, Phil Coulson)
Loki keeps on running away from attachments, and then keeps on making them, because these Midgardians just don't know how to mind their own business, and they have this annoying habit of being compassionate to strangers.
"Peachy Keen" by AnonEhouse (325K) (145716 words) Long Novel Complete
https://archiveofourown.org/works/11911191/
What if Tony decided in Siberia that he couldn't just go home? He was used to being the scapegoat, but this time the cost would be more than he could pay.Ross would have the ammunition he needed to get Iron Man under his control, and what he'd do with the tech didn't bear thinking about. Tony decided to use Protocol Pass The Torch. He'd be fine. A penniless fugitive's life would make a nice change of pace. Everything would be peachy keen. (Tony miscalculated the pull the world had on him. He also miscalculated how many people would join him. Ultimately, Thanos underestimated him.)
(AU, Canon Divergence, Team Iron Man, Post-Civil-War, Virtual Reality, Reconciliation Excellent) (Tony Stark, Vision)
This was fabulous. A lovely balance of characterisation and plot, where character-is-plot, where reconciliation is not just papered-over plot-devicium. Also, where defending the world takes the whole world, not just folks in spandex suits. And Tony is brilliant.
So, any recs for more Tony-centric or Loki-centric character-full stories (that are NOT SLASH)?
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