Up, up and away.

[davywavy]

When you look at Superheroes, they tend to come in two varieties - the ones who are powerful enough to save the world on their own, and the ones who need to be in a team to do it. Whether Superheroes need to team up or not tends to depend on how many superpowers they have; most Superheroes have between one and three power. This means that they have gaps in their power repertoire and they need partners to plug those gaps. The best example here are the X-Men, most of whom have only one or two powers and so need each other to cover their backs. At the other extreme, the really big hitter - Superman - has an astonishing list of seven superpowers: flight, speed, super-senses, X-Ray eyes (including laserbeams), strength, cold breath, invulnerability. I can't think of anyone who has more, although some are bigger or stronger - the Hulk and Captain Marvel are stronger, The Flash is faster, and so on but these tend to be characters with only one or two powers boosted beyond the norm (for superheroes) and lacking the breadth of Supermans repertoire.
The exception to all of this is Batman, but I'd count unlimited wealth without having to do a stroke of work for it as a superpower.

In the main, superheroes in teams won't have more than 3 powers as more than this makes it hard for their team-mates to keep up, and reduces the justification for them being in a team in the first place (the Justice League are a different matter, so we'll ignore them).
So with this in mind, that's my question for the day: If you were a superhero, which superpowers would you want to have (to a maximum of 3) - and, when you've answered, come back later, look through other people's answers and decide which of them you'd want on your team.
For the record, I'd probably go for:
1) Healing (others)
2) Invulnerability
3) Either flight or teleportation - teleportation would be more useful, but flight would be a LOT more fun.

You?

Comments

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

1) teleportation - using portals rather than "blinking from place to place" - this would be able to be used in a variety of ways - you could use portals offensively by creating portals to volcanos to blast our lava etc
2) self healing - up to and including death
I'm not sure on the third - disk teleportation really counts as two as it's a travel + combat power

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I'd say that teleportation counts as one as it's a single 'action', if you will. It's quite easy to screw with questions like this as you can just claim that 'magic' (like Zatanna) is a single power, but hopefully nobody will be that simple-mindedly tricksy in their answer.

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

Well then I'd probably go with something like psionic damping, creating mental static that wipes out telepaths.

[cleosilver.livejournal.com]

1. Shapeshifting (always was fond of Mystique: ) )
2. Healing (others)
3. Telepathy

[fonnparr.livejournal.com]

Forethought

Right now I'd go with the ability to know when my software project will be ready to ship

Super Zuki

[godzuki.livejournal.com]

1) Flight for sure...way more fun than teleporting.

2) Polymorph - Myself and other objects. This is hella useful in any fight or
for general amusement. Besides I always wanted to be that "Size of an Elephant" Guy from the old arabian knights cartoon.

3) Time Travel - The would undoubtedly rule, but also be total pain in the arse, but what the hell kinda superhero doesnt like breaking the laws of physics.

I also really want tentacles...but eh, i guess i can polymorph them..er..

[robinbloke.livejournal.com]

1. Precognition
2. Invulnerability
3. Teleportation

Although I'd want myself to have to consciously want to know about the future of a specific event rather than random images spazzing me out all the time.

[caseytalk.livejournal.com]

1. Flight
2. Polymorph/shapeshifter
3. Time travel

Heh. That would be fun.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

So you'd go back in time and turning into a flying...what?

[caseytalk.livejournal.com]

Depends on what I find when I go back in time, dunnit? Or forward. I mean, if I find I'm surrounded by pterodactyls, might be nice to try to fit in. Be the polite traveller and all. And if I'm surrounded by idjits intent on killing the unknown, well, shape shifting might come in handy then, too. In the future, I'm certain flight will keep me out of the perpetual traffic jam.

[caseytalk.livejournal.com]

It's exactly what godzuki said, but I didn't read through the others first because I didn't want them to influence what I said.

[godzuki.livejournal.com]

Interesting, well that just means we rule.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

You just want shapechanging so you can live out your furries fantasies, you deviant.

[godzuki.livejournal.com]

I would comment on your need for healing powers as some bizzare BDSM fantasy, but ill rise above it.

But...ok you are right. >.<

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

No, I'd use my healing powers to set myself up and the new Messiah, and the invulnerability and teleportation would come in handy when the inevitable bearded nutters tried to whack me out.

[hiromasaki.livejournal.com]

Hrm... Only 3, huh? (Oh, and Spider-Man as a member of the Avengers / Fantastic Four kinda breaks your rule just a smidge, but meh. I think Iron Man in the Avengers might be a break, but I'm not sure how many gadgets count on their own, and how many just fall under "gadgeteer".)

1) Spider-Sense
2) Super Speed (Just-sub Flash level... Mach 1.5-ish max speed?)
3) Super Reflexes/Agility (Because they come as a package, don't'cha know?)

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Iron Man and Spiderman do mostly break the rule, but they're powerful enough to carry comics on their own as well, which, say, Nightcrawler hasn't done lately (I think).

[hiromasaki.livejournal.com]

Nightcrawler had two limited-issue series since the turn of the century, as well as this:

http://www.comics.org/series.lasso?SeriesID=17805

[hiromasaki.livejournal.com]

So far, for my team, only twicedead, cleosilver, and zenmeisterin make my team, though davywavy's admission will depend on his CV and interview.

Super Man

[applez.livejournal.com]

Remember, it isn't so much that Superman has 7 astonishing powers, it's just that he's a Man, only more so...and in tights. ;-p

[sherbetsaucers.livejournal.com]

As an aside Jon Jonns, the Martian Man Hunter, has more powers than Superman. Wonder Woman has close. (OK, no lazer beems but she has some natty equipment that 'Old Blue' dosen't.)

As to what power I'd go for: The Flash's level of super speed wins all ties. He can hit something with infinate mass. Dodge anything. Read a book and put the kettle on. All before you've had a chance to activate your teleport. Oh, and those who claim 'invunurability' as a get out: you get hit with enough force to put you into escape velocity and I don't care. ;)

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Yes, the Flash is one of the great superhero anomalies - Superman has demonstrably moved faster than light in his career, and yet The Flash is faster than Superman; The Flash is a being of truly Godlike power and I'm nto sure anyone writing the comic ever has really explored this.

[sherbetsaucers.livejournal.com]

They have actually.

For a Start Superman powers have, in the past, been all over the place (He could actually move through time at one point)

Secondaly DC have now brought into being this werd thing called the Speed Force, which lets DC Speedsters ignore Einstien. It also means that teh Flash IS faster than Superman, who dosen't use teh Speed Force.

[sherbetsaucers.livejournal.com]

For more info on the Speed Force I suggest: http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/force.html

Hhhhhhhhhhhhh geek.

Superhero Physics

[applez.livejournal.com]

One of the more interesting sidebar advantages of being able to run as fast as The Flash must be an immunity to heat and/or friction. So ol' Flashy there can probably grab fresh-roasted ham without oven mitts irrespective of any speed...and might also be really really bored with sex. ;-)

Re: Superhero Physics

[hiromasaki.livejournal.com]

In the old TV show they dealt with that, involving a specially-designed costume and some side-effect of how his powers work. I don't know how the comics deal with it (if at all)...

[applez.livejournal.com]

1. Time-Travel
2. Force-field
3. Teleportation

So in Power Gamer terms, I could hypothetically travel to the beginning of the universe, take a portion of that firey cauldron, contain it within a force field, travel back to the present, and release it right in the middle of the Dread Army and simultaneously Teleport to safety.

---

But if I was going to be more myself than the superhero idea of myself, I would choose:

1. Spider-Senses (never drop a drink!)
2. Teleportation (no traffic! no aircraft bills! no car payments!)
3. Telekinesis (I'll get those condiments from the serving station myself, thankyouverymuch)

[zenmeisterin.livejournal.com]

For maximum fun:-

1. Teleportation (by way of line-of-sight portals - lots and lots of fun not to mention utterly physics-borking)

2. Flight (always wanted to fly and absolutely love it every chance I get to go on an aeroplane)

3. Telekinesis (again with the hilarity)


For vaguely practical powergaming fun:-

1. Invulnerability
2. Teleportation
3. The power to manitpulate quantum probability

My 3 Powers

[sgtrocknroll.livejournal.com]

1) SUPER Wealth: Usable vs Others. - Because then I can buy other superpowers.

2) Super Precog: So I'd know when I'm going to roll for shit in my RPG's and can choose not to roll until such time as I predict a good result.

3) A Super Schlong that stretches out to 30 ft long like in the movie Soul Vengeance, cuz then I could do cool cowboy rope tricks with it and freak people out. :)

[sesquipedality.livejournal.com]

1) Mind control, please. It's pretty much all you need
2) Invulnerability is always useful.
3) Unnatural beauty

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

1) You have knockers, and they work on at least 50% of the population.
3) I already have this power and it's not all it's cracked up to be.

[sesquipedality.livejournal.com]

I'm sure that there's a bit of a difference between staring at my chest when you're talking to me and doing what I say.

Oh, and I think you're confusing "unnatural" with "unnatural beauty" as well.