Interesting superpower questions

[Smackgiver]

Whoa.  

I thought I was fairly well up to speed on the majority of Marvel trivia, yet that little factoid has eluded me until now.

Might I ask how you came upon that little nugget?  

[Smackgiver]

Also, I have another question that I’ve been aching to pose to SPL’s more seasoned contributors – namely, Wulf, Vault, Marv, Phi, WHD, Zale, and Myself (others are certainly welcome to chime in, I’ve just been following the posts of the aforementioned SPL veterans recently).  I’ve searched the forum and although there have been several threads that come close, I haven’t found this exact question/discussion.  If I’ve missed it and it’s been covered, please correct me (and point me to it, if it isn’t a bother).  The last thing I want to do is duplicate an old, hackneyed thread.  

Let’s say you acquire any and all powers that you desire.  Period.  You are your own, perfect version of a super-being (hero, anti-hero, villain, or conscientious objector) in our world/reality.   There exists at least the possibility of other supers (rumors, mainly, but no documented proof). The questions are:
1. What powers would you choose, specifically?  For instance, if you chose Power of Imagination or Self-Existence Manipulation, what mid-level powers would you endow yourself with?
2. What would you do when you received the powers (immediately, near-term, mid-term, and long-term)?

[Marvelous Miscreant]

To start with I'd like:

Wolverine Style Regeneration
Invulnerability
Super Strength
Geokinesis
Pyrokinesis
Electrokinesis
Telekinesis
Conduit http://www.superpowerlist.com/details/6415/
Every Quartz power I ever made... or thought of....(Probably the most important)

Basically, I'd use these powers to make a living and generally be a badass. I wouldn't necessarily go around helping people, but rather sell my powers out to the highest bidder...probably the government. Worst case scenario, after some time I invariably fall out with the government and begin to oppose it. The conflict would probably escalate ending in my indefinite imprisonment in a super lab or with a bloody all out war with the army in which I prevail then go on to "conquer" a third world country and gain immunity from further pursuit.

Grim? Yes...but I would make a terrible superhero. And there aren't many uses for superpowers in my daily life that aren't technically illegal.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Eternal youth would be nice. Heck, immortality, provided I could go somewhere else with intelligent life once the Earth is dead. Some sort of comprehension ability, let me pick up skills and languages fast. Peak human everything, no need to go crazy. Immunity to diseases, some sort of healing hands power, invulnerability. Teleportation. Being able to create food out of thin air.

I don't know, there are so many powers on the list, it easier to list the ones you don't want. Nothing that effects my mind or the way I think. No mind control powers. Nothing thats only use is hurting someone else, I'm the sort of guy that's more uncomfortable holding a gun than having one pointed at him.

Nothing really changes for me after I get powers. I'm better at my job, probably. Maybe I apply for a better one. I don't go out of my way to save people, but if I see someone in trouble it's not as though I'm going to ignore it. I just, y'know, live without burdening anyone else.

[Myself]

Me, "seasoned contibuter"? I'm flattered.

I'd pick simply to have the entirety of my profile, including future ones as I acquire them. There is at least one power which fits that bill alone. After that, I would probably not add any powers to myself (no pun intended).

As for their use, I'd:
1) Try to live a relatively normal life, but keep my powers as a sort of go-to option.
2) I might alter myself with the help of a recent addition to make my irises change color from blue to gold when using my powers (passive or active use) to show those around me when I am using my powers (this would, of course, be able to be disabled if needed and would also be able to be set to only show to those who already know about my powers).
3) Bestow my first year 12 group the power of telekinesis (in the style of Chronicle and genetically inheritable). I would include myself in this, granting me a second copy of telekinesis (which would not induce the iris change). This would mean that I could use telekinesis quite openly and people would simply think I had acquired it when the rest of my class did.

[Smackgiver]

Thanks, guys, for indulging me just a bit.  I relish other perspectives in general, but have a particular passion for polling people with regard to superpowers.  If y’all don’t object, I’d like to pose some follow up questions/comments.  Please feel free to answer as many or as few them in your own, good time.  I certainly don’t want to bore anyone.  Here goes:

Marv :  
I noticed a not-at-all-subtle elemental motif there.  Very nice.  Did you have a recreational goal in mind with them?
I’ve scoured the SPL from top to bottom two complete times over the past year and somehow I missed Conduit.  Cool selection, dude.  I’ll have to put it on my must have list after I finish all of Wulf’s Mythpowers.
Quartz, eh? Again, I see a pattern.    Might I inquire after your proclivity with quartz-thingies?  
When you say “make a living and generally be a bad ass”, is there a particular vocational ambition you’d like to pursue with your powers?  Security?  Bounty Hunter?  Assassin?  Disaster Relief Sorcerer?  
Is there a particular cause you’d fight for or against?

Vault:
Any specific powers you’d like to test-drive for simply the pure, unadulterated pleasure of it?  Would you have a top 3 power sub-list?
When you say “better at my job”, might I ask what line of work are you in?  
Your comment “live life without burdening anyone else” – totally agree.  More on the side of “live and let live”, unless a jerk comes around and starts making unfair demands of others.  
I’d also like to ask you the same question I asked Marv – any cause with which you’d align yourself?
Would you pattern your power choices or behaviors after another hero/anti-hero/villain that you admire?

Myself:
Hopefully, flattery will get me everywhere  
Same question I posed to Vault – are there any particular powers you’d like to play with upon first acquisition?
Point #1 – when you say “normal life” could you expound on what that means to you?  Things like, wife, job, dog, 2.5 kids and a 2 story house with a picket fence… that type of thing.
Point #2 in your response fascinates me, primarily due to my initial urge to keep my powers secret, should I ever acquire some.  How public of a figure would you like to be?  Celebrity Super-Hero?
Point #3 – I’m gonna have to break down and see Chronicle, apparently, but I think I get the gist of your comment – share powers with a particular peer group.  Are these folks generally good folks that you have goodwill toward, or were you imbuing them primarily to take specific focus off yourself as the source (head fake for government spies?).  
Lastly, since I’ve asked Marv and Vault, I’d like to know your thoughts as well – do you have any crusades/causes you’d support or oppose?

[Marvelous Miscreant]

A recreational goal? None come to mind, I just really enjoy the elemental side of superhumans. I suppose I might like them for some showboating perhaps. Pleasing crowds and staging impromptu displays of power for their entertainment.

I'm glad you like Conduit, it was one of my better powers.

Anyone on the site who's spent any kind of time with me can tell you that I have an unnatural fascination with Quartz. I don't really have a reason why I like it so much. I just kinda do. It's just so...beautiful. Naturally being able to create or control it appeals to me.

"Vocational Ambition"...you have such a way with words. But I digress... In all honesty I hadn't given it much thought, but if I had to I'd say Security most likely. Of course I wouldn't be above menial labor such as Disaster relief, construction or even just generating clean energy by sitting around and generating power. I mean, so long as it pays well, I'm not too choked up about the means. Except if it involves the killing of innocents. Not to sound like a cliche, but sort of thing isn't exactly in my wheelhouse.

If I had to fight for a cause, I'd fight for freedom...not like American freedom, but just Freedom in general.

[Philote]

If I could pick one power that would sum up all that I would want from super powers it would probably be Data Manipulation and I don't just mean computer data but the information of any object.

Basic abilities that I would get after that would be Intelligence/Skill/Sense increasing ones, invulnerability, mobility powers and a way to hide myself or my powers. All of these for initial defense and figuring out where to go from there.

Short term I would make sure that myself / my family / friends were all alright / protected. Mid term I would try to figure out how I got powers, how to better use them, and who all else got powers and who the strongest or most dangerous might be. Long term if there was not any problems with other super humans I'd probably use my powers to generally improve things that caught my attention and entertain myself after that.

[Myself]

Smackgiver wrote

Point #1 – when you say “normal life” could you expound on what that means to you?  Things like, wife, job, dog, 2.5 kids and a 2 story house with a picket fence… that type of thing.

Perhaps just a career as a geneticist, as I plan on eventually entering anyway. I may have a relationship as you suggest, though immortality would make me less inclined to have kids; if I give them immortality, the world will overpopulate or I'd have to bury every single one of them. I might get a normal home, but upgrade it a tad, perhaps with resort-style personal realms.

Of course, I'd still maintain my normal responsibilities, such as part of my alliance with WHD and Shadowulf1.

Smackgiver wrote

Point #2 in your response fascinates me, primarily due to my initial urge to keep my powers secret, should I ever acquire some.  How public of a figure would you like to be?  Celebrity Super-Hero?

Thanks to the fact that my power would be "explained" by the presence of my peers, I might be a superhero. I probably would not be the first to display them to the public though.

Smackgiver wrote

Point #3 – I’m gonna have to break down and see Chronicle, apparently, but I think I get the gist of your comment – share powers with a particular peer group.  Are these folks generally good folks that you have goodwill toward, or were you imbuing them primarily to take specific focus off yourself as the source (head fake for government spies?).

You should see Chronicle. It is amazing.

The peer group is nothing special, just difficult to trace back to me, as it would be if I gave it to all of my friends. I may also grant other powers like a slightly altered version of Omnipotent Power Mimicry* to them. It is not that they are special, but generalized; people would think it was some infection or something. Thing is though, I could control them with my other NB powers.

[Smackgiver]

'preciate your perspective, Phi.   I concur with your inclination on the skill/ability/intelligence augmentation.  Keeping myself and loved ones safe would be the first order of business for me as well.  

As regards improving things that caught your eye, is there a specific plight (or plights) that currently exist that you are drawn to that would give you a starting point to improve?

[Whd]

CONTENTS DELETED

The author has deleted this message.

[Smackgiver]

1) Thor... by a slender margin.  They were both very well done and managed to stockpile a ho-lotta esteem for their respective mythos.  Nothing wrong with the Man of Steel flick, I'm just more of a Marvel guy
2) Superman.  I must begrudginly admit that in a head-to-head confontation, Supes would take Thor.  There's a lot of speculation out on the web and this discussion gets as varied as it does passionate, but if we are going strictly by the various published handbooks, Supes is the superior being.  I wish it weren't so...
3) Thor, by a wide margin.  I used to collect Thor as a teenager in the 80's and Walt Simonson's story/art set the bar very high as far as sheer quality.  The reason Superman isn't as interesting a character as Thor is, IMHO, primarily due to the very same reason he could beat Thor one-on-on - he's simply too powerful.  

And I would take the Mark 5 Spartan armor for the Zombie Apocalypse.  We all know what Master Chief did to the Flood with it, so it's been proven effective in that scenario.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Samus. I mean, duh. Infinite ammo.

Thor 2 was a fun action movie. Man of Steel tried to be a dark an serious Superman movie and in the process completely butchered the character of Pa Kent and made me unable to believe that a boy raised by him could grow up to be Superman.

Neither.

Superman. I love Superman.

[Smackgiver]

BRILLIANT!!!

I never considered that tactic for keeping the prying eyes of big brother off of oneself.   Kinda like orchestrating a smaller event similar to the one in the BBC show Misfits.   Kick up a little thunder, lightning, and some weird light from up above, then grant a select, controlled group of peeps some mid-to-low level powers.  Well played, sir.  This is why I asked the question in the first place - sampling alternate/supplemental tactics that hadn't occurred to me.

I always relied on having a mid-sized cabal of shape-changing clones that allowed memory/experience sharing. Maybe an amalgamated approach using bits of both?

[Smackgiver]

Vault - which item is Samus and what are its capabilities?  Seriously, I recognized less than half of the items in the picture.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

You probably cant tell because it's not in color, but the armor under Link's tunic belongs to Samus Aran. It's armor, so there's no way for them to bite me. It can be taken off and put on with just an effort of will, can maintain itself by absorbing the life force of things it kills.It's gun has infinite shots, a freeze ray, a grapple beam, and a limited supply of missiles. It can compact down into a ball so I can reach tight places, and the ball form can drop an infinite number of small explosive and a limited number of very high explosives. In addition to even use it one has to be genetically altered with the genes of the Chozo, a precursor race of alien birds, giving the user increased strength and agility even without the suit. It is a one of kind ultra-adaptable super weapon designed expressly for her use.

Most of that stuff, however, you have to find throughout the game. But even without any of the upgrades you find for it it's still armor with a gun that never runs out of ammo.

[Smackgiver]

Good intel, dude.

Uh, can I change my answer?  

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Always. The Metroid series is really good, heavy on the exploration and finding upgrades. There hasn't been a bad one yet, if you ignore the latest one because it's garbage and also doesn't exist.

I really feel that bears repeating: there is no such game as Metroid: Other M. It does not exist.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

1. With Power of Imagination at my disposal, I'd likely just make use of my MythPowers. Not to mention, I'd take on every superpower that I've created on the Superpower List. These, I would not only use as a result of Power of Imagination, but I'd also cement them into my genetic code, so that in the event I find a foe with Reality Anchoring or the like, then they would still be powers at my disposal (they'd be divine powers, not the result of Reality Bending; sort of like buying something instead of just renting it). I wouldn't care to endow myself with all the various immunities (because then, where's the fun in a fight against good and evil?), but I'd make absolutely certain to give myself some capacity to recover from whatever damage I take.

2. Right away, I would write my history (as well as the history of my fictional planet Celadon, and the adjoining territories) into the timeline. I would make my backstory an actual thing that happened in the universe. How I become The Penultimate (reality-bending ruler of Celadon), my connection to the Elementals and the gods of various pantheons, all the other heroes, my archnemeses (The Chaots, Darkess Faye, Tundra Cryos, The B!?¢#, etc), the prophecy and Gaugamon, the works. I would love to give my loved ones the chance to see amazing other worlds, other timelines, etc, if they wanted. And I'd try to generally act as a force for good, throughout the worlds I live in, and the various worlds, times and dimensions I visit. Diplomacy, infiltration, espionage, helping with war efforts, politics, law enforcement, defense, healing and restoration, whatever I can do to help, and basically live my life to the fullest.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Yeah, um, even though I don't actually know about Samus (I've never played Metroid, sad to say), the thought of infinite ammo would persuade my to take her side. A close second, though, would be a tie between Mario and Donkey Kong.

Assuming you get the abilities of every Mario incarnation, that could actually be amazing. Flight, Brick-Breaking strength, Fireball Generation, growing in size (even growing to SUPAH-HUMONGO-NORMOUS size, like in the more recent game), getting extra lives, the star of invincibility, not to mention having Yoshi as a mount (which I can recover if ever he gets lost, by finding another place where his egg can be found).

And if you get Donkey Kong's abilities from every incarnation, then you're pretty well off, too. The strength feats, the climbing and agility, sure, but also don't forget the powers he gains from Donkey Kong 64, like the Strong Kong invulnerability barrel, the Bongos he gets from Candy Kong which can kill all enemies within a given radius, the Coconut shooter, and the barrel that allows him to shapeshift into a rhino (not only good to attack foes, but also handy when the hordes are too many; assuming they're normal zombies, they only eat human meat, not that of humans).

That said, aside from those, I actually would have liked if they gave the choice for Sonic. I would take that option in a heartbeat, and none of you should have to guess why. Not only for the escape and attack speed, and the speed sufficient to run up walls and across water and whatnot, but if I was really feeling lazy, I would just Spin Dash in place and motor the heck out of whatever zombie came my way, until I'd cleared a safe path for exit. And also the box things he can jump on for the different effect bubbles (fire, water, magnetic to attract rings, etc); and if I get my hands on all the Chaos Emeralds, then it's time for Chaos Control. Go all Supersonic and beat the tar out of the zombies before most of them have time to blink.

THAT would be amazing.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for Thor and Superman...

Um, which Thor movie are we talking about here? The first one was pretty decent, but surprisingly, I liked the second one (The Dark World) much better; more heartfelt drama, more dynamic action, more awesome effects, and yes, more mythology. So, as to that question, I liked Man of Steel better than the first Thor movie, simply because I liked MOS's drama and the effects and I thought the acting was good, but I dislike how dark and gritty they tried to make his story. Still, I take away points for killing off Thor's 'mother' in Thor 2, and also for how little the villain was seen being awesomely villainous. So, if you ask me, MOS beats out the first Thor, but MOS and Thor 2 are tied.

As for who I'd rather be...I love mythology, so that answer should be obvious. If I absolutely HAD to choose, it'd be Thor.

In terms of who I like better, I guess that's also a tie. Superman is supposed to be this physical embodiment of hope, in terms of man's potential for greatness. Thor is, likewise, a symbol of honor and greatness and a valorous moral code (he literally cannot wield his defining weapon without being pure of heart, or noble, or something like that). Though, I think I like Thor better. Aside from his power set and his mythological lineage, he's just much more magical. As much as I like the straight-up superhuman, I have a soft spot for the supernatural, the mystical, the mythical and the fantastic. Scientifically explaining Superman's powers (to make them seem like an actual thing that can happen in real life) is great and all, but the pomp and circumstance and mystery and wonder of the unknown has always had a big appeal for me. We don't know all there is to know about what is possible in the universe, and I like when folks just let some things remain unknown.