# Super-hero fantasy time again! Would you rather be Ultra Boy or Storm? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 31, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433 "2015-03-31T17:38:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/41 "2015-04-02T22:02:39Z")
Oh, Ultra Boy. Does this come with a flight ring? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/42 "2015-04-02T22:46:08Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Non-canonical. Storm is in tune with earth’s weather, and needs large volumes of air to work best. She can make it rain in the attic, but only a little. She’s been shown to be helpless in outer space. > > (She doesn’t seem to create matter out of nothing, although she does seem to pull energy out of…um…subspace or somewhere.) Are you sure? Check out this page and scroll about half way down to see the panel with Storm fighting a Sentinel in space. > **[From the Top: Claremont’s Uncanny X-Men, Part Two | Nothing But Comics](https://nothingbutcomics.net/2014/02/01/from-the-top-claremonts-uncanny-x-men-part-two/)** > > Using some of the greatest comic titles of all time, let’s take it from the top and explore them from the very beginning.  I will break up the articles by Don’t know if the site allows hotlinking, but here’s the panel: [https://nothingbutcomics.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/ux99\_storm.jpg](https://nothingbutcomics.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/ux99_storm.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/43 "2015-04-02T23:17:49Z")
Slightly off-topic, but did you decide on these two characters because they share the same basic weakness (paralyzing, all-consuming claustrophobia) or was that a complete coincidence? (Storm was buried alive during an air-raid as a little girl. Her parents were killed and she barely managed to dig herself out; hence she freaks out badly whenever she’s in an enclosed space Meanwhile, Jo “Ultra Boy” Nah was swallowed by a giant space dragon. It gave him superpowers but left him with a similar complex that came into play several times.) At any rate, I’d go for Storm. After the crummy winter we had here in the northeast, controlling the weather sounds like a gift from the gods - which in this case it would be. (But why Athena would grant a person the powers of a mutant superhero who apparently worshiped African tribal dietes I dunno. “Lords of the Earth & Air!”) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/44 "2015-04-02T23:24:37Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Are you sure? Check out this page and scroll about half way down to see the panel with Storm fighting a Sentinel in space. > > [From the Top: Claremont’s Uncanny X-Men, Part Two | Nothing But Comics](http://nothingbutcomics.net/2014/02/01/from-the-top-claremonts-uncanny-x-men-part-two/) > > Don’t know if the site allows hotlinking, but here’s the panel: [https://nothingbutcomics.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/ux99\_storm.jpg](https://nothingbutcomics.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/ux99_storm.jpg) Whew! You win, definitely. I’d have to class this in with Marvel’s other really dumb mistakes (like Hercules towing Manhattan Island.) In some of the continuity, Storm is helpless in space! But you definitely win a No-Prize here for a darn fine cite! (Gotta love Marvel! Remember Franken-Castle, when The Punisher was revived as a Frankensteinian monster…with a big V8 engine block sticking out of his back?) ---
**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:** [April 2, 2015, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/45 "2015-04-02T23:28:02Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > [QUOTE=The Other Waldo Pepper] > But as Ultra Boy, you can default to invulnerability; thinking like a lots-of-luxury chess player is hard to do when you’re unexpectedly getting hit in the back of the head. That’s one of the benefits of working with weather: it rarely hits you on the back of the head. Storm would be safe from hailstones…by controlling hail clouds. [/QUOTE] Think less about what you’re working with and more about how life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. You’re walking down the street, and – a car jumps the curb? A fleeing pickpocket accidentally plows into you from behind? A sneaky mugger hits you upside the head on purpose? A bullet meant for someone else whizzes through the air? Man, I don’t even _have_ an opinion. I do know that, when you’re not doing anything else with Storm’s powers, you’re squishy; and when you’re not doing anything else with Ultra Boy’s powers, you can stay armored. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/46 "2015-04-02T23:45:05Z")
Storm. You could make good money, making rain, or stopping it. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/47 "2015-04-03T00:48:47Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Whew! You win, definitely. I’d have to class this in with Marvel’s other really dumb mistakes (like Hercules towing Manhattan Island.) In some of the continuity, Storm is helpless in space! But you definitely win a No-Prize here for a darn fine cite! > > (Gotta love Marvel! Remember Franken-Castle, when The Punisher was revived as a Frankensteinian monster…with a big V8 engine block sticking out of his back?) My first no prize! You know, I did write Marvel for a couple when I was a kid. Still waiting. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/48 "2015-04-04T22:10:53Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > “You magnificent bastard, I read your book!” > > (Just so you don’t make me eat at your ethnic restaurant…) What’s the matter, iskish, scared you might taste something? I should introduce you to Panak; you’d make a fine bungle. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/49 "2015-04-04T23:05:24Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > (But why Athena would grant a person the powers of a mutant superhero who apparently worshiped African tribal dietes I dunno. “Lords of the Earth & Air!”) Syncretism - same god, different name / aspect. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/50 "2015-04-05T17:32:39Z")
Ultra Boy, no contest. Hell, I’d just fly over to where ISIS is, turn on my invulnerability, and drop on them from very high up. Make it big, ugly and public. Because while weather powers are great, at some point someone’s gonna try and shoot you. If I knew I could stop someone from doing that, I might pick Storm’s gifts, even though I don’t think I’m smart enough to use them effectively. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/51 "2015-04-05T18:02:32Z")
First things first: the “NBA tournament”? Secondly, I’d probably go with the Ultra set. Hell, I wouldn’t even need all of the powers, I could get a lot of mileage out of just the invulnerability. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/52 "2015-04-05T18:26:09Z")
I’d take Ultra Boy’s powers, and right wrongs around the world. I’d concentrate on one problem at a time – I’d probably start with child sex trafficking, and work my way up. A secret identity would be very important, because at some point I’d be going up against really organized bad dudes who’d have no compunctions about going after those close to me. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/53 "2015-04-05T18:44:45Z")
Storm. I’d make a deal with NASA and travel around terraforming planets and making them habitable for colonization. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/54 "2015-04-05T19:09:45Z")
> [@Octarine](#): > > Storm. I’d make a deal with NASA and travel around terraforming planets and making them habitable for colonization. I don’t think Storm can travel at interplanetary speeds and I doubt she can handle the radiation for long. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/55 "2015-04-05T20:17:40Z")
I’m still with Storm for her power to do good. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/56 "2015-04-05T21:09:29Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I’d take Ultra Boy’s powers, and right wrongs around the world. I’d concentrate on one problem at a time – I’d probably start with child sex trafficking, and work my way up. A secret identity would be very important, because at some point I’d be going up against really organized bad dudes who’d have no compunctions about going after those close to me. True. They’d have a lot less to lose than I would. And of course I’d make it clear Ultra Boy is not working for America or wherever I was born. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/57 "2015-04-05T21:20:52Z")
As Ultra Boy, I’d get me some spiffy rainbow tights and be the multi-national defender of gay rights everywhere. Fear me. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/58 "2015-04-06T06:52:47Z")
> [@Octarine](#): > > Storm. I’d make a deal with NASA and travel around terraforming planets and making them habitable for colonization. There are a number of reasons why Mercury, Venus and Mars are inimical to human life and I don’t think the climate is a significant factor in any case, even if Storm could effect permanent changes. As for extra-solar planets, NASA can’t get her there, still less any colonists. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/59 "2015-04-06T09:29:45Z")
Question: Does Pallas punish me if I become a supervillain or a heavy-emphasis-on-the-“anti”-hero? I mean, I gotta me honest, there _is_ a not insignificant part of me that’d “just like to watch the world burn.” ---
**Author:** ![Gothic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Gothic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gothic)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433/60 "2015-04-06T15:50:42Z")
Ultra Boy because I want a strong back and joints again. I think having Storm’s powers without the years of mental discipline could wreck havoc every time I dreamed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-hero-fantasy-time-again-would-you-rather-be-ultra-boy-or-storm/716433.md?page=4)