I periodically go through the library here to see which stories are the most viewed. That’s how I first ran across Supanji by d_k_c. It’s one of the most popular stories on the site, so I thought I’d give it a read in an effort to understand what it did so well.
The story is exactly what its title suggests – a marriage of the Superman family of characters from the comics and the Jumanji movies, with a bit of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World-style over-the-top superhero dueling thrown in for good measure. It begins with a bit of “telling” for efficiency’s sake, laying out the background on the five main characters and their relationships, history, and conflicts with one another. D_k_c spends the opening stanza weaving a nicely convoluted web with some truly interesting characters, heightening interest and investment by the reader in what’s to come.
The characters and their preexisting relationships are what truly set this story apart. Great characters create a natural interest to know what will happen to them – and there is certainly no shortage of one-on-one comic hero battles, superpowers, and transformations. The story is novella length and action-packed. As someone who prefers writing dialog, sensory, and sexy scenes, I can’t even IMAGINE how much effort it would take to write that much action. :)
I don’t want to spoil anything for those that haven’t read it, so I’ll leave it at that… except to say that I’m particularly fond of the apt closing soundtrack and ambiguous post-credit scene.