your real name wouldn’t be Simon Templar, would it?
I was a hero once for about 4 years, when as a teacher, I joined the Peace Corps and taught school in Tanzania for 2 years, and then spent 2 more years building schools in the bush where the local government wouldn’t or couldn’t build them.
Most satisfying time of my life!
That is the kind of hero we should try to be.
Killing an invader or occupying soldier isn’t murder. Killing people in the process of conquest is. I’d be a villain if I didn’t destroy them. If they come home safe and sound, then they have gotten away with murder.
Were the Allies murderers for killing German soldiers during WW II ?
Had I the power, I’d likely intervene in favour of Canadian military operations, destroying leftover Talibans and such. I’d be inclined to just disarm Iraqis if possible (no point creating generations of revenge) because that nation may be salvageable while the Taliban… isn’t.
On a smaller scale, probably some kind of emergency rescue kinda guy. Needless to say, life-and-death decisions made in proportion to my ability to assume them.
I am of the mindset that Superman’s greatest power is (or at least should be, all dickery aside) that he doesn’t give in to “human” desires like vengeance and that he doesn’t develop such an ego that he dictates right and wrong, he just saves people from immediate peril.
With that said, I like to think I will become a very active hero when the inevitable day comes when I get my super powers. However, I know it would be a daily battle with myself not to just fling the troublemakers into the sun. I would try to convince myself that an action that actually harms someone would cost me my powers. But the normal human in me would counter that with “harming this one guy will save so many.” I would have to try not to think like that.
I think Superman’s selfless attitude is what makes him a true hero, though its hard to believe anyone is THAT good.
It would depend on what powers I had, but if I were at least able to make quick escapes (flight, inviso-power, teleportation) and keep my identity secret I’d probably actively go after drug dealers and the like. It’d be fun to have that comic book moment when you see the authorities on the news trying to deny your existence. “No folks, there is no Twilight Avenger…its just the ravings of a deranged drug dealer.”
Not touching my view of the war in Iraq, but doesn’t that make you a murderer as well? And you are leaving the people at the top who made the mess there to raise more troops, declare you an enemy of the state, discover krytonite etc.
With superman level powers wouldn’t it be more effective just to put the troops in their vehicles, and move the vehicles back to the US/other home country? Do this a few times and the cost of repeatedly shipping them back and setting up again makes the war completely uneconomic. (especially if you carefully placed an aircraft carrier or two in the middle of, say, Nevada…) You might even get public support if you took that route. Why the mass murder?
What I’d do? With a lower level power, probably find a way to make it commercial e.g. spreadbetting is easy when you know what’s going to happen in the next ten minutes. Once my family were comfortable, there are a few local causes that could do with the aid. Invisibility could make investigative reporting a really interesting career option.
But I would still be keeping a low profile.
You’d definitely be a supervillain. Thank God no one actually has superpowers.
If I could, I would use my powers for profit, but not for crime. If I were super-strong, I’d win as many boxing titles/purses as I could before I was banned from competing. If I could heal people with supernatural powers, I’d expect to be paid as much as a medical doctor (or several doctors, if I can do the work of several doctors). If I were able to teleport, I’d work as a premium courier or somesuch. I don’t think that I would have the guts to endanger myself to help others.
Just remember to leave La Pieta intact when you destroy Vatican city, ok? And the libraries.
Some of those powers would be a bitch to have. Two-way telepathy, for example. Let’s say there’s some powerful people whose behaviour I find quite unacceptable; I believe that “doing things right” would actually produce better results both for other people and for them. Is it really ethical to change their behavior using telepathy? Eeeeeh… not really… But what if doing so would actually result in more people living better and on those guys actually getting more money and power than with their current misbehavior? Eeeeeeh… still not really…
Sssshhh…don’t confuse him with logic.
Moderator comment: I don’t see that this is about arts, entertainment, or leisure… so I’m moving it to IMHO.
If I had Peter’s power, I would go around like Sylar, except instead of killing everybody I would just get to know them and their abilities. I would form a political group to protect my kind, and fight for their survival. Kind of like on the 4400.
With Superman level powers? I’d be a villain in the Ozymandias mode - only, I’d pretend to be an invading alien fleet, moving a hollowed-out asteroid into orbit and dropping small space rocks on the most densely-populated parts of US, Asia and Africa, not doing what he did. More bang for your buck that way, I think. The world could use 2-3 billion people less and a common enemy to unite against. Plus the dust-cloud winter effects might come in handy right now what with climate change and all.
Less powerful but still awesome powers - say, just invisibility, mind-control, illusion or telepathy? I’d be out for myself. Of course, part of that looking out for myself would be anarcho-socialist political action that would (IMO) benefit a lot of people - so I’d say I’d be an accidental hero.
Other powers like flight, healing, super-strength, telekinesis - ones that don’t really allow you to influence other people - would be where I’d take the hero route. Too much trouble to stay secretive about your powers, although a secret identity isn’t out of the question. That or a WWE persona.
Why wouldn’t you just gathere 'em up and bring 'em home, out of the danger they’ve been put in through no choice of their own? That would make you a hero and restore the respect I had for you just before I read your post.
I like your posts Der Trihs and for some crazy reason I like you.
But will you please leave it off?
You never miss an opportunity to snipe at the US armed forces, for that matter the USA in general. Give it a rest old chap, there’s a good fellow
Yeah, I said that in post number 10.
I’m afraid that depending on the power I would become an opportunist or villain. With telepathy, you have some great opportunities to engage in what would amount to insider trading without getting caught. The downside, is you get to find out all the crap that people think about you and about other people. That might make you into a bitter recluse. If you can influence people, the temptation to “fix” society would be hard to resist.
Flight would be a useless power. Too easy to be found out and too hard to use covertly for the most part although maybe you could save some money on airfare.
Something like super strength might be interesting although how do you use it responsibly? The temptation to off a few drug lords and keep some of the funds might be hard to resist.
Based on my past behavior, I know that I am prone to heroic impulses of a sort, and that I have a strong protective streak. If presented with a situation in which I could use my powers heroically, I would almost certainly do so…probably without adequately considering the negative consequences (danger, exposure, property damage, and so forth). I can be a little, well, stupid that way. :smack:
However, I am also fundamentally lazy. I very much doubt that I’d go out looking for opportunities to do heroic things. Mostly, I’d use my powers for my own convenience and that of my family and friends–hopefully without doing anything really unethical. Maybe if I had Superman-class powers, I’d become more of an active do-gooder…after making myself independently wealthy in whatever fashion my powers made easiest.
Because, of course, none of them volunteered, they are all conscripts…
I’m sorry, I was going to let the whole Iraq thing go, but I wasn’t going to let such a blatant lie pass without remark.