# Ruin a Superpower **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 16, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034 "2021-03-16T16:30:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/42 "2021-03-16T22:22:16Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > X-ray Vision. You are gonna see some shit you really don’t wanna see. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/42/Superboy98.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/42/Superboy98.jpg) When boys with super powers check each other out … ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/43 "2021-03-16T23:16:28Z")
Had the same thought. Mind Reading sounds wonderful. A tremendous boost to social skills since you know what everyone is thinking. If it works like vision (where you have to “point your eyes” somewhere and can close them) that’s great. If it works like ears (360 degree surround sound and you can’t turn them off) then that would suck… Superstrength has its own problems. If you have superhuman strength and try to lift something hollow much larger than you (like a building), you might punch a hole through it as it applies its entire mass on one small part of you (your hands). You might end up driven through the ground, if neither you nor the object break, if the ground is not strong enough to support the object. Shapeshifting… what happened to your phone? Your clothes? Your keys? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/44 "2021-03-16T23:27:00Z")
There’s a superhero story (“Origin Story”, by Dwight R. Decker) in which someone is offered powers derived from Native American symbology; the fellow handing down the powers has been out of circulation for some time, and can’t understand why no one wants to wear the costume with the fylfot symbol ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/45 "2021-03-16T23:37:15Z")
A kind of icky drawback to the power of flight that should occur to anyone who’s ever taken a road trip, then inspected the front of the car: The bugs in your teeth problem. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/46 "2021-03-17T01:16:43Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > > > Have you ever heard of a super named **Blindman**? > > Daredevil? > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Well, there’s Blindspot, though admittedly his career at Vaught didn’t last very long. I’ve learned my lesson: Never cross paths with a superhero/comix fan. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/47 "2021-03-17T02:04:35Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > A kind of icky drawback to the power of flight that should occur to anyone who’s ever taken a road trip, then inspected the front of the car: The bugs in your teeth problem. Not really a problem unless you’re flying within about 20 feet off the ground. It’d be a real problem for Flash though. I’ve been wondering how fast Flash could actually go if he was living in the real world instead of the comic book world. At some point, and I think it would be well before the wind rips his spandex off, he should be lifting off the ground so much that he couldn’t go any faster. He needs a spoiler to keep his feet on the ground. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/48 "2021-03-17T02:06:53Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > When boys with super powers check each other out … Boys being boys, but the 1950s being the 1950s, they’re both drawn looking at the wrong person. > [@MEBuckner](#): > > The bugs in your teeth problem. As the olde saying goes: > Q: how can you tell a happy motorcyclist? > A: By the bugs in their teeth! Lots less true since full-face helmets were invented in the 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/49 "2021-03-17T02:37:42Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > A kind of icky drawback to the power of flight that should occur to anyone who’s ever taken a road trip, then inspected the front of the car: The bugs in your teeth problem. Actually, doesn’t that seem to happen a lot less often than it used to? ---
**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:** [March 17, 2021, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/50 "2021-03-17T02:43:43Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I’ve been wondering how fast Flash could actually go if he was living in the real world instead of the comic book world. At some point, and I think it would be well before the wind rips his spandex off, he should be lifting off the ground so much that he couldn’t go any faster. He needs a spoiler to keep his feet on the ground. - Well, OK. Feet on the ground. i don’t see how that could help but whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/51 "2021-03-17T04:25:33Z")
In one of the X man movies, quicksilver is helping Magneto move at supersonic speed. Quicksilver is fine, but Magneto is very disoriented because of it. So if you had super speed but your inner ear ended up splashing fluid all over because of it that would ruin the superpower. You could run at super speeds then end up vomiting and too dizzy to stand up. Iron man suit but because of inertia you slam against the interior of the suit anytime you rapidly decelerate. Invisibility but kind of like in the Chevy Chase movie your food, urine and feces are observable (they just did food though). ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/52 "2021-03-17T08:37:36Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > A kind of icky drawback to the power of flight that should occur to anyone who’s ever taken a road trip, then inspected the front of the car: The bugs in your teeth problem. I used to fly open cockpit. Once landed and everyone was freaking out. Turns out I was bleeding and, it being a small wound on my forehead, like all head owies it was leaking pretty freely. I hadn’t noticed because it’s cold up there and my face was a bit numb. Judging from what was left, it was a dragonfly. After that, I started wearing a faceshield on the helmet. So: it’s cold, even aside from the windchill factor Even small things can cause injury if you hit them fast enough. And, oh yes - there’s other stuff up there: bugs, birds, aircraft. Clouds might not have silver linings but some are full of aluminum. Air traffic control over Metropolis probably swears a blue streak when Supes is out and about. Low down there are obstacles - not just easily seen things like trees and buildings but powerlines and support wires on things like radio towers. You really don’t want to hit one of those at speed. I’d still consider taking the flight superpower, but given I’m a pilot I might have a greater chance of surviving it without severe injury or death since I have some notion of the hazards that aren’t obvious to the usual person walking around. > [@dtilque](#): > > Not really a problem unless you’re flying within about 20 feet off the ground. I hit the probably-a-dragonfly at around 1200 feet. Bugs can fly surprisingly high, higher than that. If you fly high enough to avoid 99.99% of bugs you’ll then have to worry about small Cessnas and Pipers. And now drones. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/53 "2021-03-17T13:02:12Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I’d still consider taking the flight superpower It would be worth it for the commuting alone. Strap on a helmet, a snug wind proof jacket, and I’m cutting an hour and a half of bumper to bumper traffic into a quick 10 minute flight, without going faster than 70-80 mph. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/54 "2021-03-17T13:03:59Z")
> [@Kimera757](#): > > Mind Reading sounds wonderful. A tremendous boost to social skills since you know what everyone is thinking. If it works like vision (where you have to “point your eyes” somewhere and can close them) that’s great. If it works like ears (360 degree surround sound and you can’t turn them off) then that would suck… There was an episode of Star Trek TNG that featured **[a telepathic alien](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Tam_Elbrun)** who lacked the ability to block out the thoughts of other creatures. He got along great with Commander Data (who lacked a meat-based brain), but was generally irritable around everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/55 "2021-03-17T13:16:51Z")
He later became Mayor of Sunnydale. ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyEcks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnnyecks/32/18197_2.png) [@JohnnyEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyEcks)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/56 "2021-03-17T13:17:53Z")
Shrinking, but you suffocate because the oxygen molecules are too big for your lungs (or die of hypothermia because you are too small to maintain your body temperature) Teleportation that fuses you with solid objects if you are even slightly off, or with the air if you aren’t. Precognition that leaves you nihilistic because the future is fixed and immutable, or is useless because the butterfly effect means it’s constantly changing and unpredictable. Super intelligence that means you can’t relate to anyone. Super intelligence focused on art and literature, instead of science and engineering. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/57 "2021-03-17T15:07:56Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I hit the probably-a-dragonfly at around 1200 feet. Bugs can fly surprisingly high, higher than that Once while riding jumpseat in a Boeing we took a bird in the windshield. At 32,000 ft. It left blood and feathers, so we’re sure it was a bird, albeit a small one on the order of a sparrow. What the hell a small bird was doing at 32,000 over the central US is an utter mystery. There weren’t any thunderstorms nearby that could have lofted its carcass that far up. Generally birds are real rare much about 5000 AGL and only really common below about 1000 AGL. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/58 "2021-03-17T15:11:50Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > What the hell a small bird was doing at 32,000 over the central US is an utter mystery. No mystery. He was getting hit by a Boeing. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/59 "2021-03-17T15:22:31Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > She used his heat vision. Which reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from _The Boys_. Laser Baby! > [@LSLGuy](#): > > My Dad always said that Superman’s costume was actually a full-body tattoo. There’s a female character in the _Top Ten_ comic who has (changeable) dermal coloring. Everyone thinks she’s wearing a costume. But she’s not. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/60 "2021-03-17T15:32:50Z")
Sorta like those airbrushed “clothes” you see pictures of models “wearing” at various festivals and such. ---
**Author:** ![blabbermeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9a140/32.png) [@blabbermeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blabbermeister)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/61 "2021-03-17T16:42:25Z")
Even if humans could fly, we probably wouldn’t do it, or we’d complain about it. My friend pointed out that even though most of us can walk we avoid it whenever possible, often driving or waiting 20 minutes for a bus just to avoid doing it. What makes us think we would actually fly if we could, especially if it took physical effort? “Studies show flying just 30 minutes a day reduces your risk of heart disease by 20%”…see, it’s taking the fun out of it already. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034.md?page=4)