This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Working Title: Inverse Law of Lethality and Utility: From YKTTW
Peteman: I personally would like to point out that in regard to utility, Jeong Jeong is ignoring/forgetting things like metalcrafting and cauterization in terms of Fire's utility.
And travel. Can't forget those giant air balloons (though that was a recent development)
Servant: Not really a new development. I mean, Firebending plus time has basically equaled steampunk every single time. The only thing the Fire Nation hasn't developed is guns, and it never will on a kid's show.
Scrounge: It probably wouldn't occur to them, since they could use firebending for ranged combat anyhow, without wasting metal to make bullets that'll never hit anything in the timeslot they're in.
Colin: The Final Fantasy Tactics example is Awesome, but Impractical, so I'm moving it there.
Peteman: I think a qualifier needs to be added to Jeong Jeong's statement. This man hasn't been on the forefront of technological development, but rather a brutal war he has become utterly disillusioned with, and has never had the chance to engage in the more utilitarian abilities of fire. He only sees the horrors of fire, and considering that most of the technological developments have been used for war, he is a bit biased. I think they should have done more to show the practical uses of fire and civilian utilization of the steam-punk motif.
Scrounge: Let me add that cooking and keeping warm are basic survival skills, so Firebending would probably be pretty useful if you were, say, lost in the woods.
Citizen: The Sylar example needs a little trimming. Most of the stuff seems to be a somewhat off-topic rant into the Misapplied Phlebotinum aspect, which is better left on that page. // Also, I feel that that nuclear weapons "example" under Real Life doesn't belong. It's just not fair to limit nuclear energy to "nuclear weapons". That's like taking all other aversions and saying that all of the non-lethal uses don't count.
Kamino Neko: I heavily revised the Legion of Substitute Heroes entry, because it was just...wrong. Fire Lad didn't sneeze his powers - it was fairly standard firebreathing - it was an (at the time) unfounded fear that he didn't have enough control over the flames and might start an accidental conflagration that got him bounced. (When Giffen wrote the Subbies, he gave Fire Lad that lack of control, but it didn't exist at the start.) Spider Girl was never a subbie - she went to the Legion of Super-Villains after washing out (again, due to a fear of lack of control), then joined the Legion proper while they were fugitives. It also completely missed the two biggest examples of 'wimpy powers being awesome when written creatively' - Color Kid and Stone Boy, who I added.
Rory: What about the Crowbar in Half Life
Citizen: I removed the FSN example entirely; it was a four bullet discussion about what Shirou's abilities were and how awesome they were, and not a good example to boot. Shirou was putting his talents to good practical use before the grail hit the fan, and tracing Rule Breaker certainly helped him out in a non-lethal way in the final game route.
