Comic books have certain patterns. When a new comic comes out, either the first or (sometimes) second story will be the ever popular "origin" story. In some ways, it's almost gotten to be a cliche.
However, I think that these stories are really a major part in defining a character, and have great value. The odd thing is that I think that people usually look at the "wrong part" of the story. The classic OS consists of two parts. First of all, is how they got their powers, and the second is what led them to become a member of the spandex set. A great deal of the time, the focus seems to be on the way that people got their powers, but I think that's misplaced.
Who are the most important people in the DCU? I think you can make a great case for Ma and Pa Kent. When people talk about Superman's origin, they focus on all the things related to Krypton. Indeed, that story has a great deal of pathos, and the writers have gotten some very good stuff out of there over the years. However, what has really defined Superman is not the powers that he has, but the essential decency of the character. If it weren't for the values that the Kent's raised Clark with, he could have easily become the greatest nightmare the earth had ever seen, rather than the iconic hero that he is. The values he was raised with are part and parcel of answering the question "Why is he a hero?"
You see the same thing with Batman's OS. Here the two parts of the origin are tied pretty closely together. He got his "powers" because of his determination to be a hero (in this case powers being defined as the physical and mental training to fulfill his chosen role.) While the very early stories didn't have his essental aversion to ever killing another human being, even that was an organic outgrowth of his OS. What really defines Batman is the thing that decided he wanted to be a hero.
Much the same is true with the X-Men. The OS of the various characters are varied, and it's gotten to the point that describing how they got their powers is an exercise in handwavium. "They're mutants! And don't think too much about how ruby quartz would actually stop the eyebeam of doom!" However, what unites them all is "the dream." The characters all approach the dream somewhat differently. Charles is the Apostle, Cyclops the Paladin, Wolverine the rather unpleasant cousin that keeps coming to dinner. However, that dream is what defines them as a whole, and their individual relationship to the dream is a major piece of what defines them as individual characters.
On the other hand, we can look at a case where there is no real OS and see how badly it's lacking. Look at Grace in Outsiders. What makes her tick? Why is she a hero? She's been revealed to be a number of things. I'll tempered, cynical about the whole hero thing, seemingly satisfied with working as a metahuman bouncer, and the like. What led her to take Arsenal's offer to join the Outsiders? It's got to be more than the money. She's so cynical about the whole hero "biz" (as has been shown in some of her conversations, such as the one with Thunder after Indigo died), why did she willingly jump into it? There may have been some hints in the "missing child" story, but in many ways, she's a cipher, and because of that, pretty boring to me.
Now, you don't have to reveal all (or even much) at the beginning. The introduction of Raven in Teen Titans would be an example of that. It was clear there was something going on, and that she had a history she was trying to deal with. So, what made her interesting was watching that mystery develop. Grace (at least in my not very humble opinion) hasn't been given that sense of mystery. She's just thrown out there as a "bad girl" with powers.
Oracle is another interesting story, as she in a real way has two OS. I'm going to work under the assumption that Batgirl: Year One is the OS for Batgirl, for the sake of simplicity. There, her origin is really a touch shallow. She wants to be a cop, but when she's blocked from doing that, she practically "falls" into becoming a costumed hero. Still, there seems to be a certain ambivalence about it, even after she takes her "oath" with Batman. She's there for the thrill and the fun, not out of a deeper commitment. On the other hand, her maiming by the Joker forced her to focus, and turn into a deeper and more profound character.
Stargirl is another good example. Her reasons to become a hero are about as shallow as they get, but really the entire run of Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E is her OS, as she's gone beyond her initial silly reasons, and allowed her to grow into something far more. She has an understanding and commitment to who she is and what she's doing.
I don't really care about how someone "got" their powers, I care about why they do what they do.
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