On this specifically:
Originally posted by Digi
I'd contend that writers with crap character portrayals and plots are bad writers. Power levels, by necessity of the medium, are not set in stone.
True, but I'm not only talking about power levels. Stories like Iron Fist and Wolverine have flat out gotten his power set wrong, portraying him as a one trick pony that's not even a mediocre street leveler without his chi. Only way you'd assume his speed, agility, and combat capability are reliant on channeling his Iron Fist and seriously drops without it to the point Night Thrasher could hold his own, is if you didn't read much Iron Fist or care for the character.