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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.