# What do you think makes a Superhero?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-makes-a-superhero/1001271>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** comic-books-manga\
**Created:** [May 8, 2024, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-makes-a-superhero/1001271 "2024-05-08T17:03:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 47

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\
**Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-makes-a-superhero/1001271/47 "2024-05-09T14:01:12Z")

</div>

In the ’ [What is extremely common in TV or movies but almost never happens in real life?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311)’ thread I mentioned the lack of real-world superheroes (which is apparently [not entirely correct](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-extremely-common-in-tv-or-movies-but-almost-never-happens-in-real-life/932311/3599)), and I posited this as my thinking for what might make a superhero (a real-world version, so no crazy superpowers from radioactive spiders or space aliens getting powers from our yellow sun):

> I’d say to qualify as a real-world superhero, one would need something like, but maybe not all, of these qualifications:
> 
> - A desire or obsession to fight crime outside of the normal channels of law enforcement
> - Some sort of identifiable costume or uniform
> - A secret identity (probably the most optional)
> - Gadgets or abilities that give them an edge over bad guys as well as conventional law enforcement

---

_[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-makes-a-superhero/1001271)._