# 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:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/41 "2008-12-29T02:00:48Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > 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. The Namor/Aquaman fight wasn’t the result of reader voting. Only the top five fights were decided that way. I assume Aquaman won his fight because the miniseries was written by Peter David, who had recently revamped Aquaman and was writing his book at the time. Anyhoo, Namor _is_ a lot stronger than Aquaman (in the Marvel vs. DC fight, Namor punches Aquaman straight out of the ocean). He can fight the Hulk to a standstill. But Aquaman’s powers aren’t anything to sneeze at. He’s typically written to have roughly Spider-Man-level super strength along with super durability, so that alone makes him formidable. ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/42 "2008-12-29T02:40:04Z")
> [@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? Well… if the teenage girl has no qualms about suicide missions or self-injury, that could be kinda inconvenient. I don’t know if that was the case. I’m sure they could run up your phone bill. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/43 "2008-12-29T02:43:36Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > There was Infectious Lass… Trust me, folks. You don’t want to know. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/44 "2008-12-29T02:46:32Z")
Wonder Woman has a golden lasso that makes you tell the truth. She must get a lot of “Hey, Wonder Woman, your boobs are huge”. (Stolen from somewhere I can’t remember, but always cracks me up). ---
**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 29, 2008, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/45 "2008-12-29T03:13:10Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > 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). Well, the point of the three of them - and most of the other rejects\* - is that their powers sucked. And Infectious Lass’s power would be truly awesome…if only she was able to control it. The Legion, actually, has a rather undeserved reputation for members with lousy powers. Take Matter-Eater Lad, mentioned upthread. He can literally eat anything (short, possibly, of Inertron) in the universe (or beyond). That entails a complete immunity to toxins, either jaws and teeth strong enough to bite through even the hardest substance, and either the ability to dislocate his jaw, so that he can fit it in his mouth, or some sort of energy field that removes the need to physically bite through it. He’s also evidenced the ability to eat several times his own mass. Bouncing Boy and Triplicate Girl’s powers are fairly unimpressive (though Luornu’s trained in a martial art called Tri Jitsu, which allows her to use them to her advantage), but Chuck’s have always been presented as a bit absurd, though he makes them useful (and his origin presents a side effect never used elsewhere - an immunity to electricity due to his rubberized skin). - The rejects that didn’t have sucky (or dangerously limited\*\*) powers were typically evil, frauds or crazy, though there’s one case - Kid Psycho - whose powers were harmful to him, and a couple whose powers were pretty typical superhero powers, but they were disqualified for one ridiculous reason or another (Polar Boy and Fire Lad were rejected for a potential lack of control that neither of them actually exhibited during their try out, for instance). \*\* Night Girl, for instance, whose powers only functioned in darkness and applied before Shadow Lass was a member, and thus could become useful if paired with her. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/46 "2008-12-29T03:50:56Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > 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. The original Dial H for Hero was generally a somewhat whimsical comic. It had a wind up some time ago that was as dark and grisly as any comic in recent memory. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/47 "2008-12-29T03:58:39Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > But Aquaman’s powers aren’t anything to sneeze at. He’s typically written to have roughly Spider-Man-level super strength along with super durability, so that alone makes him formidable. Only Spidey level? Are you sure? Spider-Man’s a relative lightweight in the strength department. He’s only Class 10, which means he can lift about ten tons under optimal conditions. Namor, by comparison is Class 100+, which puts him up there with Hulk, Thing, Thor, Juggernaut, and Colossus, which are the super-heavyweights of the Marvel Universe. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/48 "2008-12-29T04:22:31Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Take Matter-Eater Lad, mentioned upthread. > > He can literally eat anything (short, possibly, of Inertron) in the universe (or beyond). That entails a complete immunity to toxins, either jaws and teeth strong enough to bite through even the hardest substance, and either the ability to dislocate his jaw, so that he can fit it in his mouth, or some sort of energy field that removes the need to physically bite through it. He’s also evidenced the ability to eat several times his own mass. Based on some of the tasks that he has performed, he must also have the ability to eat pretty darned fast. ---
**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 29, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/49 "2008-12-29T04:30:52Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Only Spidey level? Are you sure? Spider-Man’s a relative lightweight in the strength department. He’s only Class 10, which means he can lift about ten tons under optimal conditions. Namor, by comparison is Class 100+, which puts him up there with Hulk, Thing, Thor, Juggernaut, and Colossus, which are the super-heavyweights of the Marvel Universe. That quote was about Aquaman, the point being that, while Namor is significantly stronger, Orin is far from a lightweight. > [@JThunder](#): > > Based on some of the tasks that he has performed, he must also have the ability to eat pretty darned fast. That too. (Also, when I mentioned immunity to toxins, I meant only ingested toxins…inhaled or injected can still get him - as can certain exotic energies, as evidenced by when he ate the Miracle Machine.) ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948/50 "2008-12-29T04:42:55Z")
Yes, I know it was about Aquaman. I was asking for clarification on his strength level as I assumed he’d be quite a bit stronger than someone like Spider-Man. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poorly-thought-out-superpowers/478948.md?page=2)