# Most Plausible Superhero? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 2, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827 "2012-06-02T01:13:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/21 "2012-06-02T21:02:44Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I only saw the movie but didn’t he also have nerve damage from being hit by a car which gave him some minor resistance to pain? That’s… sort of… a “power”. I wouldn’t try it at home, though. It was a good enough super power for the main thug in _The World is Not Enough._ ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/22 "2012-06-02T21:07:13Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I don’t think so. A lone man on the run wouldn’t have the ability to find out which of his targets deserve their fate and which were undercover cops, and anyone using his methods couldn’t help but kill untold numbers of innocent bystanders. Yeah, all of which are plausible problems for the most plausible superhero. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/23 "2012-06-02T22:14:02Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > I guess Iron Man’s suit is technically plausible. No, it ain’t. The problem is power-supply. The black-box power-plant that runs the suit (and Stark’s heart) does not exist, and IRL, no portable battery or fuel-cell yet invented could keep that thing going for five minutes. And, of course, even if that problem were solved, the suit still couldn’t **fly.** ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/24 "2012-06-06T06:08:32Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > Who is the most plausible superhero, and why? I’d guess the answer to this question would be one of the non-superpower superheroes, like Batman or Iron Man, so as a bonus question who is the most plausible of the superpower superheroes? Korean War hero Ace Morgan shot down a bunch of enemy planes before becoming a record-breaking test pilot; that’s not a power, or even a _“Batman or Iron Man”_ backstory of debatable implausibility; that’s just _ **being John Glenn** _; a number of American aviators shot down enemy planes in that one, and a number of those aviators went on to become record-breaking test pilots. (What, you’re going to badmouth Iven Kincheloe? Don’t badmouth Iven Kincheloe.) Anyhow, he promptly teamed up with an Olympic wrestling champ who knew how to handle a gun (and, again, real-world America in fact had just such a gold medalist at the time: an Army veteran who’d joined up with the NYPD to, y’know, fight crime and save lives); for bonus points, throw in a scuba-diving explosives expert and a mountain-climbing sharpshooter; in short, the Challengers Of The Unknown were essentially four guys with mundane skills and conventional firepower, cooperating with the authorities and sensibly carrying sidearms when setting out to arrest crooks. (This being a Jack Kirby comic, they’d of course arrive with guns at the ready to find the crooks du jour had only just now stumbled across wacky alchemical concoctions that granted weird super-powers, or whatever – but that shouldn’t count against our heroes; _ **they** _ were still just a team of gun-toting athletes.) ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/25 "2012-06-06T14:06:15Z")
Clint Barton/Hawkeye. If you dedicate your life to it, you can be that good an archer. Bow-controlled arrowhead-selecting quiver? Completely plausible with today’s technology. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/26 "2012-06-06T14:18:18Z")
First of all, I would like to note that Googling “plausible man” (without the quotes) gives some very odd results. As to the OP, I might have to go with The Coon. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/27 "2012-06-06T14:18:57Z")
Krokodil: > [@](#): > > There is no credible reason for Batman to eschew guns Psychologically, I can definitely see someone who saw his parents murdered by gunfire not wanting to have any association with guns. I agree that practically, using a gun would help him a lot, but I don’t see his refusal to do so as “implausible.” I think most non-powered heroes of the Golden Age are pretty plausible. Sandman, Atom (before he got his “atomic punch”), Wildcat (before he was ret-conned to have nine lives), Mister America, the Guardian, the Whip and a host of others were simply skilled hand-to-hand fighters or users of devices that are downright mundane or not unreasonable for 1940’s technology. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/28 "2012-06-06T14:53:48Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Psychologically, I can definitely see someone who saw his parents murdered by gunfire not wanting to have any association with guns. I agree that practically, using a gun would help him a lot, but I don’t see his refusal to do so as “implausible.” Plus, while no killing might not be a completely inviolable rule, Batman does go to great lengths not to kill people; shooting someone is pretty much accepting that they might or probably will be killed. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/29 "2012-06-06T15:08:33Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > First of all, I would like to note that Googling “plausible man” (without the quotes) gives some very odd results. > > As to the OP, I might have to go with The Coon. We’re talking Cartman here, right? ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/30 "2012-06-06T15:55:26Z")
I also vote Kick-Ass. But Jimmy Olsen gets an honorable mention. Oh, and so does Kamandi. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/31 "2012-06-06T16:34:21Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > We’re talking Cartman here, right? Yes. Is there another superhero named The Coon out there? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/32 "2012-06-06T16:36:43Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > First of all, I would like to note that Googling “plausible man” (without the quotes) gives some very odd results. Plausible man, plausible man, doing the things the average man can. What’s he like ? It’s not important. Plausible man… ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/33 "2012-06-06T18:35:26Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Plausible man, plausible man, doing the things the average man can. What’s he like ? It’s not important. Plausible man… I lol’d. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/34 "2012-06-06T20:28:50Z")
The Lone Ranger. His superpower is the ability to shoot the gun out of his opponent’s hand, without killing him, or even causing serious injury to the hand. Very nearly plausible. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/35 "2012-06-06T20:35:36Z")
Peripheral-Vision Man! ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/36 "2012-06-06T20:40:11Z")
I would vote for The Wizard of Oz or his current avatars, Anonymous, Lulz-sec, etc. Normal humans with hidden identities, reputation for power (with the hackers, used for their questionable definition of “vigilante justice” ), ability to keep regular humans off guard and perform seemingly huge feats…all with a little bit of humbug baked in…sounds superhero-ish to me… ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/37 "2012-06-06T20:47:50Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > Yes. Is there another superhero named The Coon out there? I hope not. That’s what I wanted confirmed. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/38 "2012-06-06T20:51:48Z")
Silk Spectre I. Her chief ability was teh hawt, right? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/39 "2012-06-06T21:03:16Z")
[Man-Man](http://manmancomics.comicgenesis.com/d/20010312.html). He was bitten by a radioactive man, and has gained the powers and proportional strength of a man. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827/40 "2012-06-06T21:05:14Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Plausible man, plausible man, doing the things the average man can. What’s he like ? It’s not important. Plausible man… Reminds me of [Man-Man,](http://www.thewebcomiclist.com/p/223/manman-comics) the superhero who was bitten by a radioactive man, and thus obtains all the proportional strength of a man his size. Dammit, beaten by 2 minutes! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-plausible-superhero/623827.md?page=3)