Superpowers

My name is Terry Taplin, and I’ve been reading comics for three years. However, I don’t really fit the stereotypical image of the average comic book “nerd.”

First off, I don’t wear glasses (although both my parents do). I don’t wear suspenders, flannel shirts, or pocket protectors. Also, it is no longer 1995. I am neither a six-year-old jumping up and down on my brand new car-bed in my Spiderman pajamas, nor a middle-aged dungeon master who hasn’t shaved in twelve years.

Despite all these things, I do find myself spending a significant amount of time in Comic Book Stores (yes, capitalized). Even though I don’t spend a dime at Comic Book Stores, I do accomplish a task of cosmic import: I master the arcane art of accurately matching my closest friends to my favorite superheroes. What I lack in nerd attire, I make up for in pure dork imaginative prowess! SNIKT!

But here’s why I think most people are attracted to the Fine Publishing Arts – superpowers. There are about four power groups: Physical, Energy-based, Magic-based, and Gadget/Artifact-based. But since every single aspect of universe comics is dictated solely by the writer and artist’s imagination, there’s bound to be overlaps and anomalies – as there are with the mutants of Marvel Comics.

In Marvel Comics, mutants are born with their abilities, rather than achieving them. For example, long-time Avenger and former mutant terrorist Quicksilver was born with the physical power of super speed. Similarly, Quicksilver’s twin sister, the Scarlet Witch, was born with the “chaos magic” ability to alter reality.

Powers are bestowed upon heroes through various means. Whether evolutionary mutation (the X-Men), scientific augmentation (Captain America, Spider Man, Hulk, the Fantastic Four), tampering with magic (Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom), cosmic interference (Captain Mar-Vell, Quasar, Nova), or my personal favorite, godhood (Thor, Hercules, Ares).

The power group archetypes are as follows:

The most immediately recognizable superpowers and superheroes are those associated with peak human conditions such as super strength and endurance (Colossus, Superman), super speed (Quicksilver, The Flash), agility (Spider Man), enhanced senses (Wolverine, Daredevil), martial arts (Daredevil, Black Widow, Iron Fist), and to a lesser extent, a term I like to call biomorphic capabilities like healing abilities, shape shifting and stretching abilities (Mister Fantastic).

[A note about flight: flight can be achieved by any of the specified power groups, whether physically by wings, or magically, through the use of jetpacks, or by a propelling force (Storm, Human Torch, Cannonball, Magneto, Telekinesis).]

Classic heroes (my favorites) who derived their power through physical abilities include: She Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Rogue, Captain America, Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Colossus.

One power group that baffles writers, fans, and even the characters themselves (especially Tony Stark, aka Iron man) is magic – the arcane, divine, celestial and mystical arts. Characters can receive their magic powers at birth, such as the beloved gypsy turned involuntary arch nemesis, the Scarlet Witch, and her magically ill-begotten son, Wiccan. Heroes can also receive their magical powers through years of spiritual mastery, like Doctor Strange. Let us not forget the fictional Inuit deity Snow Bird, or Norse powerhouse the Mighty Thor, who got their powers from…well…being gods.

The largest and most open-ended power group is comprised of those beings that yield and draw their power from various forms of energy. These include cosmic (Phoenix, Quasar, Captain Mar-Vell), and elemental (Storm of the X-men, Crystal of the Inhumans, Iceman of the X-Men, and Human Torch of the Fantastic Four). There are all also those that command the electromagnetic spectrum (Magneto, Photon), and those comprised of energy themselves (Wonder Man).

Another type of energy that deserves its own subdivision in the marvel universe is psionic, or psychic energy. There are braniac hordes of heroes relying solely on their mind. From the street level Lady Mastermind, who specializes in horrible convincing full sensory illusions, to the “personification of life itself,” the Phoenix Force (who is eternally bonded with mutant Jean Grey and has control over all matter at the atomic level), and former White Queen of the Hellfire Club, Emma Frost, who makes up for what she lacks in raw psychic power with a sharply honed telepathic prestige.

At the end of the day, both Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne – despite their weight in their respective universes – are vulnerable. They are tragically human men with no actual superpowers. Instead, one is an alcoholic who resents himself for his father’s unmet expectations, and the other is torn apart by self-loathing and guilt over the death of his parents. They are also both billionaires, with a plethora of toys and gadgets at their disposal – Iron Man has his bio-psionic responsive life suit, and Batman has his Batcave and Batmobile. These two men, along with many other heroes, rely on hardware to save the day. There are even heroes who are essentially hardware themselves, such as synthezoid turned human, (almost) turned accidental villain, turned robotic adolescent, better known as the Vision.

 

Terry Taplin, Oakland, California