# Who is the best non super powered, super hero **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 4, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433 "2005-05-04T20:14:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/21 "2005-05-04T21:59:35Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#): > > Zorro that means the old Disney charecter Scarecrow must be included. remember him? “On the southern coast of England there’s a legend people tell of days of old when the great Scarecrow would ride from the jaws of hell and laugh, with a fiendish yell” Zorro, Doc Savage and the like may not qualify as superheros but they are too cool to leave out. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/22 "2005-05-04T22:02:07Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Iron Man has no powers. > > But a hellava “utility belt”. 😉😃 But his utility belt is his powers, unlike Batman who is dam formidable without his. Who was the charecter a few years ago, called XO or something, who was a barbarian with some alien symbiotic combat suit? ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/23 "2005-05-04T22:03:52Z")
I was often a fan of Captain America. Does he qualify or not? He got his prowess from a super soilder formula so probably not. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/24 "2005-05-04T22:09:49Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > that means the old Disney charecter Scarecrow must be included. > remember him? > > “On the southern coast of England there’s a legend people tell > of days of old when the great Scarecrow would ride from the jaws of hell > and laugh, with a fiendish yell” > > Zorro, Doc Savage and the like may not qualify as superheros but they are too cool to leave out. Was Scarecrow based on a novel? ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/25 "2005-05-04T22:15:46Z")
Emeril Lagassi. (Well, he’s MY hero) ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/26 "2005-05-04T22:28:47Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > Okay, being fairly new to SDMB. > > Moderator, why Cafe Society instead of Mundane things? I thought I did the right thing by not chooseing Great Debates. Because **Cafe Society** is “Our salon for art, drama, literature, movies, music – all the artistic disciplines – if it’s about art or entertainment, it goes here.” Now, if you had regaled us with a story about how you woke up this morning and found yourself able to burn the walls with your new heat vision, that’d go in **MPSIMS**. But if you’re commenting on a superhero who has some smokin’ eyes, that belongs in **Cafe Society**. No worries; sometimes it’s a thin line and difficult to choose. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/27 "2005-05-04T22:34:44Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Was Scarecrow based on a novel? I don’t know. It’s possible. Anyone else know? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/28 "2005-05-04T22:35:14Z")
Ahem… The Question. Though he hardly ever uses it, he has “leet ninja skelz/ possibly batman level” and while his violent methods almost lead to his destruction, his style of fighting villains would certainly lead to a vastly reduced rogues gallery. Were this real life, that would be a good thing. Also, his transitioning to multiple mediums hasn’t hurt him, unlike, say, Howard the Duck. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/29 "2005-05-04T22:40:36Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Was Scarecrow based on a novel? [The Reverend Dr Syn, the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh](http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/s/syn.htm) I keep on linking here every time someone brings up Cardinal Sin. [It will be released on DVD](http://users.msworldnet.com/tomhering/) ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/30 "2005-05-04T22:57:59Z")
Arthur…from The Tick. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/31 "2005-05-04T23:16:54Z")
**Judge Dredd**. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/32 "2005-05-04T23:26:45Z")
Deathstroke is a badass, but I believe he has some super powers: enhanced strength and speed, a healing factor, immortality, and the ability to use 90% of his brain. I would think he’s more like Captain America or Black Panther–an enhanced human operating at beyond peak physical capability. As for the others, Batman would beat any of them with prep time, but my personal favorites are Blue Beetle (RIP), the Question, Phantom Lady, Mister Miracle, and in his prime, the Golden Age Sandman. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/33 "2005-05-05T00:09:58Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > I was often a fan of Captain America. Does he qualify or not? He got his prowess from a super soilder formula so probably not. I believe he would qualify, but he wouldn’t be allowed to play baseball. As for the best ever, DareDevil (I shan’t debate), he wasn’t really super-powered, he just had extrahuman senses. His physical prowess was all just clean livin’. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/34 "2005-05-05T00:26:26Z")
I’d vote for Captain America, if only for having the cojones to trying to [coldcock Donald Rumsfeld.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/28/AR2005042801995.html) 😉 ---
**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:** [May 5, 2005, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/35 "2005-05-05T01:24:22Z")
Although he lives in a universe where men do not don spandex and capes, James Bond would almost certainly qualify. He’s the guy they send in AFTER elite agents have already tried and failed. He’s at least at Nick Fury’s level. John Rambo might not be as qualified all around, but on a straight-up “if it moves, shoot it” mission, he’s a one-man army. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/36 "2005-05-05T02:13:39Z")
If James Bond counts, how about Sherlock Holmes? ---
**Author:** ![Baggins111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@Baggins111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baggins111)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/37 "2005-05-05T02:14:00Z")
Dangermouse. 'Nuf said. ---
**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:** [May 5, 2005, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/38 "2005-05-05T02:17:06Z")
I’ll nominate Rorschach and Ozymandias, from _The Watchmen._ Though Veidt (Ozy) is pretty much an all-around “peak human”\*, Rorschach has extremely high [Mojo](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=254666) and Badass levels. As for the Punisher movie—not half bad. Not the greatest movie (comic, action, or otherwise) ever made, but I didn’t regret spending my six bucks. (Jane didn’t quite have that interesting “half-dead lunatic” vibe that Dolph Lundgren had in the first movie, but that was the _only_ good part of the first movie.) \*Does his “uses 100% of his brain” ability count as a superpower, though? In real life, I think it’d mean that he’d be having a Grand Mal seizure all the time. But it might just have been ad copy, anyway; maybe he only uses his existing brain differently, so he gives himself the abilities of an autistic savant without sacrificing his ability to talk or dress himself. ---
**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:** [May 5, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/39 "2005-05-05T02:39:21Z")
> [@Jack Batty](#): > > As for the best ever, DareDevil (I shan’t debate), he wasn’t really super-powered, he just had extrahuman senses. Which is a superpower. A fairly potent one, in fact. Can’t be blinded in combat, has impressive tracking abilities, less likely to be fooled by disguises… Batman WISHES he had this ‘lack of superpowers’. If someone like Iron Man, who has no inherant superpowers, but has mechanical aid in duplicating them is disqualified, Daredevil is disqualified. Favourite non-Superpowered heroes: Sandman - like Batman, but with less variety in his gimmicks, and the ability to have a functional, equal relationship with another human being. Wildcat - well…maybe I just have a weakness for the cat costume. Green Arrow - although, frankly, I’m not sure he’s not meta. Holding a bow with a 200lb pull, at full extension, after giving as much blood as the doctors would let him… But, he hasn’t been revealed to be a meta yet, so… Blue Beetle - like Batman, but without the Issues. ---
**Author:** ![Kaspar\_Hauser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@Kaspar\_Hauser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaspar_Hauser)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433/40 "2005-05-05T02:56:46Z")
Ambush Bug (unless breaking the fourth wall is a power!). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-non-super-powered-super-hero/302433.md?page=3)