# Poorly thought out superpowers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 28, 2008, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948 "2008-12-28T10:09:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/21 "2008-12-28T17:29:34Z")
I imagine that along the lines of super speed, Nathan Petrelli-style flight (without any supplementary powers) would probably do some serious damage to the flyer and his clothes. He breaks the sound barrier in a shirt and tie, come on. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/22 "2008-12-28T17:34:38Z")
On the opposite of Midas’ touch-the ability to take the properties of whatever you touch. “Aw man, I’m made of duct tape again. And being naked sucks.” The Human Bomb. He can make himself explode. And I’m geek enough to know that Vulcan is partly immune to Havok’s power, but Cyclops and Havok are not immune to his. Also, I hate Vulcan. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/23 "2008-12-28T18:01:17Z")
> [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](#): > > There was a Marvel villain named Midas with exactly that power, though he could control it. I remember having an issue of “Iron Man” with Midas as the villain when I was a kid in the 1970s…no idea if he ever appeared after that. I used to have that story. I believe Midas was killed by a telepathic blast. I don’t think he appeared after that. IOt was a crappy power anywhere. [QUOTE=Half Man Half Wit] I always thought super-speed was a rather bad concept… You couldn’t touch anything, because the impact of your super-accelerated fingers with whatever you wanted to touch would shatter your bones. [/QUOTE] I could be wrong as I am no expert on The Flash…but I had believed he had an aura around him that protected him from the effects that his speed would have on a normal person. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/24 "2008-12-28T19:36:19Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > On the opposite of Midas’ touch-the ability to take the properties of whatever you touch. “Aw man, I’m made of duct tape again. And being naked sucks.” > > The Human Bomb. He can make himself explode. > > And I’m geek enough to know that Vulcan is partly immune to Havok’s power, but Cyclops and Havok are not immune to his. Also, I hate Vulcan. I think whole the point of the character the Human Bomb was that he’d be dangerous to pretty much everybody if he ever removed his hazmat suit. I loved the scene in Kingdom Come where he’s trying to get people to pull his finger. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/25 "2008-12-28T19:39:12Z")
The Legion of Super-Heroes once had Triplicate Girl, who was renamed Duo Damsel after one of her got killed. So you can duplicate yourself at will? Why are two or three teenage girls any scarier to the supperbaddies than one? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/26 "2008-12-28T20:45:33Z")
> [@Trocisp](#): > > Aquaman springs to mind, off hand. > Really… ? _I swim real real fast and talk to aquatic animals (not just fishes!)._ That’s the common “wisdom,” but Aquaman in the comics did quite well, thank you. He only worked against threats in the sea, so his powers were all very useful. And wasn’t just talk to aquatic animals – it was the power to **command** aquatic animals. Think of that when you’re dumped in the ocean with a pissed off Aquaman and a couple of sharks by his side. And why is it that everyone razzes Aquaman but no one say anything about Namor – who was where Aquaman’s writers got the idea of an aquatic hero? (I know – the Super Friends. But you can use that to laugh at any of the heroes or villains involved. It’s a piss-poor look at them). ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/27 "2008-12-28T20:54:49Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > And why is it that everyone razzes Aquaman but no one say anything about Namor – who was where Aquaman’s writers got the idea of an aquatic hero? (I know – the Super Friends. But you can use that to laugh at any of the heroes or villains involved. It’s a piss-poor look at them). Well, Namor has way cooler powers and a much cooler name than Aquaman. Namor can fly, he’s nigh-invulnerable, he’s a true heavy-hitter, and he’s meaner than hell. The guy’s a beast. You _could_ insult Namor’s powers, but he’d choke you with your own discarded six-pack plastic rings, then do your wife. ---
**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:** [December 28, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/28 "2008-12-28T21:08:04Z")
I remember that there was a Fantastic Four story where some villian claimed to have removed whatever factor it was that protected them from the contradictions of their powers. Invisible Woman was blind when she was invisilbe, Reed Richards’ heart couldn’t pump blood out to elongated extremities, the Human Torch would be cooked by his own flame, etc. It all turned out to be an illusion he somehow imposed on them. So in this case, the realistic laws of physics turned out to be the fantasy. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/29 "2008-12-28T21:16:18Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > The Legion of Super-Heroes once had Triplicate Girl, who was renamed Duo Damsel after one of her got killed. So you can duplicate yourself at will? Why are two or three teenage girls any scarier to the supperbaddies than one? Try combining teenage angst and PMS, triple it and get back to us. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/30 "2008-12-28T21:52:58Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > Namor can fly, he’s nigh-invulnerable, he’s a true heavy-hitter Aside from the flight, that all applies to Aquaman, who’s also telepathic - a, frankly, much more useful power than flight, even with the limitations applied to it - aside from commanding sea creatures, Orin could induce seizures in higher animals by stimulating the primitive ‘fish brain’ (a very rarely used variation of the power - I think it came up twice, once in the Silver Age, once in Morrison’s JLA), and Joseph can see through their eyes. The Aquaman power set includes the telepathy, air breathing (for Orin - an Atlantean, so being able to come above water is the superpower) or water breathing (for Joseph, a human), superhuman (though not Superman or Wonder Woman’s level) strength and durability and enhanced senses - or hearing, anyway - (both necessary consequences of the fact they’re primarily active deep in the ocean). Starting in the 90s (or maybe late 80s), Orin had various magical abilities, and both are skilled fighters (though Joseph spent the first half a year or so of his series learning the skills). The only thing Namor has on either Aquaman is the ability to piss off Reed Richards. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/31 "2008-12-28T22:21:18Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Aside from the flight, that all applies to Aquaman, who’s also telepathic - a, frankly, much more useful power than flight, even with the limitations applied to it - aside from commanding sea creatures… Namor doesn’t _need_ telepathy to command sea creatures - he has an army, and he has his own Godzilla-whale minions, complete with nuclear halitosis. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/32 "2008-12-28T22:38:39Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > The only thing Namor has on either Aquaman is the ability to piss off Reed Richards. I’m not a DC fan, so my opinion on Aquaman in general is a big fat “meh”. But Namor is a undeniable badass mofo, and to this day I’m disgusted that Aquaman won their fight in that wretched Marvel vs. DC mini-series due to reader voting. Namor’s not just strong, he’s in the top-tier of strength in the MU, and there are very few people stronger than him, on land or under the ocean. His toughness and speed are formidable. But above all, Namor is not to be messed with under any circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/33 "2008-12-28T22:38:55Z")
X-Bomb Betty. The ability to detonate herself with a 40 kiloton yield… once. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/34 "2008-12-28T23:09:21Z")
The “superpower” like the ghosts in \*Ghost \*had. They couldn’t interact with matter-- except floors and street and the ground, etc. If they really couldn’t interact with matter, they’d be stuck in one spot until some supernatural force interacted with them. Oh, and they wouldn’t be able to keep clothes on, either. This one bugs me whenever people are walking through walls. What’s the difference between a wall and a floor? ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/35 "2008-12-28T23:26:40Z")
Heroes has quite a few superpowers that bite their owners in use. Elle had the “shorts out from water” thing with her electricity. Bob was probably devaluing gold by transmuting so much to fund the Company. Dale’s super-hearing caused her pain from noise, and nearly drove her nuts until she drowned everything out with even more noise. Ted irradiated his wife to death, and nearly blew up himself (with much collateral damage). All of the paint-the-future types ended up painting their future death, and died. And I’m half-convinced that Claude got himself run over by a car and killed by running around Manhattan always invisible. I mean, it’s hazardous enough when the cabbies can _see_ you crossing the street. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/36 "2008-12-28T23:35:50Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > And why is it that everyone razzes Aquaman but no one say anything about Namor – who was where Aquaman’s writers got the idea of an aquatic hero? (I know – the Super Friends. But you can use that to laugh at any of the heroes or villains involved. It’s a piss-poor look at them). Because people know who Aquaman is. Namor is one of the upper echelon characters in the Marvel Universe, but no one outside the comic-book reading community is even aware of his existence. > [@Mississippienne](#): > > Well, Namor has way cooler powers and a much cooler name than Aquaman. I’m a Marvel fan too, but the Sub-Mariner? That’s even dumber than Aquaman, and I say that as someone who HATES the -(wo)man naming convention. ---
**Author:** ![AllWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@AllWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllWalker)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/37 "2008-12-28T23:43:41Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > And I’m half-convinced that Claude got himself run over by a car and killed by running around Manhattan always invisible. I mean, it’s hazardous enough when the cabbies can _see_ you crossing the street. He’s still alive, and I’m pretty sure he’s back in England now. Elle went to find him so he could teach her how to control her powers, before running off to Evil Petrelli Inc. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/38 "2008-12-28T23:50:09Z")
I nominate the USSR. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/39 "2008-12-29T01:27:04Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Because people know who Aquaman is. Namor is one of the upper echelon characters in the Marvel Universe, but no one outside the comic-book reading community is even aware of his existence. That does make a good deal of sense. And, getting back to my original point, that’s because of the Super Friends. I never found either hero particularly fascinating (though prefered Aquaman to that whiner Namor – maybe because Aquaman bothered to speak real English), but there’s nothing wrong with his powers in the original. In the original run of the Legion of Super Heroes, there often were “casting calls” for new heroes, many of which were poorly thought out. There was Infectious Lass (could make people sick), Stone Boy (could turn into a rock), and Color Kid (who could change object’s colors). **Dial H for Hero** had plenty of poorly thought out heroes, but since they were one-shots, it didn’t matter too much. They did their schtick and left. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/40 "2008-12-29T01:35:19Z")
Meltman! With the power to…melt. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948.md?page=3)