Lady Shiva being an unstoppable godlike fighter that only maybe three people can touch is not just good for her character, it's good for the DC Universe as a whole.

Please bear with me here... https://twitter.com/TKOpresents/status/1313565286151274496

DC's martial arts corner, for better or for worse, is built on a foundation of plausibility. It's unrealistic for a tiny teenager to be kicking the shit out of twenty full-grown men, but it's presented as believable within that world, explained through backstories...

... and justified with storytelling legerdemain. Even Karate Kid's amazing bullshit has a sci-fi explanation: he knows 31st Century Space Kung Fu. Unlike Marvel, DC doesn't really have any 100% magical/fantastical martial artists. They all make sense within their comic logic.

And then there's Lady Shiva, who's not a realistic character at all, and doesn't try to be. There is no secret style, no superpower, no legendary bloodline or logical explanation as to why she's so good other than "'cuz she fights a lot." But what makes her different is that...

... at her best, she doesn't need a reason to fight anymore. Fighting isn't something she does for money or reputation or achievement, it's what she does. It's her nature, and she's long since stopped trying to resist it. She's transcended her limits and with it, the need for...

... justification. Why is she so good? 'cause she is. Her oath of revenge and subsequent training isn't as important as the fact that she completely emptied herself to become Shiva, and never came back -- never filled that void. Instead, she dove right into it.

It's a level that, to me, no other living fighter in the DCU (apart from Richard and occasionally Cass) should achieve, not for lack of skill or will, but because they can't let go of their attachments to the material world. In many cases, they are defined by it.

And that's not a weakness. It's what makes them human, and you could argue very effectively that it's also what makes them heroes, spurring them into action against injustice instead of picking fights for no reason. It's their source of strength, as much as emptiness is Shiva's.

And while it works for them, it shouldn't be enough to beat her. Not unless they can accept their nature, detach themselves from reality, reach a similar state of mind and tap into that same emptiness. A fight against Shiva shouldn't be a contest of skill or muscle...

... it should be about the transcendence of the self. It should be about reaching a deeper level of understanding of oneself and the world.

There's a reason why the only time Vic Sage came even close to touching her was after spending a year in the mountains.

And there's a reason why Cass was only able to beat her once she had died and been born again, free of her guilt and able to reach a new level of understanding of both herself and Shiva.

It's not about skill, or strength, or determination, or any of that.

Which is ultimately why I get so peeved at stuff like drugged chocolates or computer helmets being used to beat her. Is it plausible? Sure. Does it make sense? Totally. But it robs her of everything that makes her genuinely unique. She's dragged down into the mud of realism...

... in the service of showing how much smarter/stronger/better other characters are, or to give the end of an arc that extra bit of peril. There's no theme at work there anymore. No deeper meaning beyond "this guy is a better fighter because of this."

By virtue of being such a detached, otherworldy presence, Shiva can serve as a compelling foil to more human characters, not as an obstacle to be surmounted but as an ideal to be explored. Could Vic Sage ever become like Shiva? Could Cass? Who could? How?

The moment you reduce Shiva to just an obstacle, a challenge to be overcome, a villain to be thwarted, she loses all that perspective. She becomes mundane, banal, realistic and utterly meaningless. And the DC Universe suffers for it, because it simply does not have any...

... street level (or arguably any level) character with that kind of philosophical poignancy.

A magical realist character in a realistic setting can be immensely fascinating and hugely beneficial to the setting, but only if they're allowed to remain magical.