osmium

I agree consistency is a big part of it. I think some of it is also knowing what you don't know and focusing on your strengths. For instance in star wars the combat doesn't really take the same "view" that say a babylon 5 (that has realistic vector physics and semi-realistic ship design... and nifty tactical decisions like why jump gates are opened "behind" you) would have of the combat and as a result the weirdness and limitations of utilizing atmosphere-like combat is lessened.

As for learning, we'll agree to disagree (unless of course there is no such thing as a super vilian). I sort of look at heatwave-like people as the equivalent of someone who half-heartedly goes to the front lines of a war. Like forgetting basic training with knives during WWII because it wasn't interesting. I find that sort of personality suspect. Now if she's just there as a support person that's different. If she's going on the front lines than her not having a desire to understand her powers (and thus not having a desire to take part in her combat training) is diametrically opposed to her survival. (another example would be someone in a martial arts class who just wants to spar, if you don't learn all of the things that lead up to it you are not going to be effective at sparring). That all being said if she understood what I said and is simply the sort of person to act before she thinks, or simply acted more quickly than she processed the situation (realizing her mistake too late), that is a different matter, and is much less contrived and much more realistic. That is to say if heatwave fully understood all the concepts I touched on and appreciates them but just knee jerk went rar-stay-away-from-my-man on Harem that's a more reasonable outcome given her situation.

Now maxima is somewhat of a different case as she is clearly very powerful, so the desire to have to be perfect and precisely understand exactly her limitations etc is likely less tantamount (as she's probably never been outclassed before)...Maxima also seems to have a much less focused array of powers so she has many more options are her disposal whereas heatwave has one.

Well I'll expound on that a little it could be a couple. Two "basic" levels for heatwave would be
1) infrared radiation control. You could conceivably heat up anything that absorbs some wavelengths of radiation (but some things will be "clear" in the spectrum so she couldn't really heat them up all that well, and some things will be super reflective both of which could cause her troubles). You could make infrared lasers by only emitting one wavelength so-called cohesive light. Not sure how you would fly with only that.
2) directly control the temperature of materials. This one could be ugly awesome. You could insta detonate things, turn materials that are normally stable into a cloud of flammable gasses at their ignition temperature. Randomly turn things into plasma. Start fusion reactions. Basically break any material (just nucleate some cracks by making some points of flash super temperature)... or if you want to be even fancier, overheat just the water vapor in the air to make monotomic hydrogen... lot's of metals are susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement. You could heat things up to produce black body radiation (so you could like super heat up the outer wall of a building and give everyone cancer with the resulting wave of ultraviolet x-rays and gamma rays.

I think for both 1) and 2) you would also need some form of force field to direct the force of heat expansion to actually create positive thrust. Similarly it seems like she has it but you'd likely *want* some degree of immunity to your own powers.

(which brings up another suspension of disbelief moment, I don't think there would be enough metal in the can to actually melt like that... and even if it did I don't think it would be strong enough to prevent her from working her way loose (aluminum isn't all that strong, it's just light and so specific strength i.e. strength per unit weight is high).

/ more random thoughts.

-O