Questions tagged [super-powers]
For questions about the development and usage of powers and abilities beyond what is "normal" for a specific species.
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Everyone believes everything Joe says. How can he get around it?
Joe is an average bloke, who has a passive superpower that he's lived with all his life.
People believe everything he says. Implicitly, unquestioningly and absolutely. If he says that black is ...
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What mechanism can prevent super-healing heroes from accidentally budding?
We’re all familiar with the heroes that can’t die. Honey-badger (with the claws and the angry voice), Dreadpeel, that girl with the weird cheerleading obsession...
Basically they all have the same ...
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Everything Joe says will become true. Can anybody notice?
Joe has a slightly embarrassing issue.
Simply put: Everything he says is true from that moment on until Joe himself contradicts it.
For example: If Joe were to say that hundreds of people turned up ...
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How can a hive mind secretly monetize its special ability to make lots of money?
TLDR: How can a 100-strong hive mind utilise our superpower in order to generate \$1billion as fast possible?
All 100 of us share a common mind and can think as one. Instant, undetectable, thought ...
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How can powerful telekinesis avoid violating Newton's 3rd Law?
Characters with powerful telekinesis are portrayed as being able to exert a superhuman force using only their minds. For example, they can throw a car.
Based on what I remember from high school ...
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Taxing the superhero industry
I'm the mayor of a large city, and I'm up for re-election. My poll numbers have slipped after a recent scandal (don't ask), so to make up ground, I need to appeal to my most vocal constituents: ...
user53026
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How to give a rationality-inducing drug to an entire software company?
I'm a genius inventor who's managed to come up with a drug that increases the occurrence of rational behaviour over 400% among human beings. This drug makes humans more likely to communicate ...
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How to Kill the Thought-Crime Killer
Joe Schmoe was six years old when he killed his best friend; it wasn't his fault, it was just the way that he was made...
Joe was born with an auto-telepathic telekinetic feedback ability - he has ...
user10945
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What job could someone do better with super-strength, but without actually revealing that they have it?
Being a superhero without being state-sponsored or independently wealthy is kind of a massive pain. You're essentially working two jobs, one of which is highly dangerous and doesn't even pay. So ...
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Identify Batman without getting caught [closed]
Welcome to C.A.L.V.E.S.
Consultants And Lawyers for the Villainous Evil and Stupid
Your assignment is to discover the real identity of the masked vigilante commonly known as Batman aka The Caped ...
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How do you assassinate someone who is protected by precognitive people? [duplicate]
The US government is desperate to kill the superhuman rebel leader, but the man is surrounded by "precogs". They can see any attempt on his life before it happens. What plan will the government form ...
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Learning new physics from a superhero
Last week, a young woman came by my physics lab. She demonstrated the telekinetic ability to rotate things from a distance. We did some quick tests, but we couldn't find any previously known ...
user53026
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I have a superpower that no-one can say "no" to me. How can I get informed consent?
I have a character who has a super power that gives them what can be best described as perfect pheromones, and when in their presence, anyone will volunteer for anything they want. (Eg in existing ...
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Would a 4-dimensional being be able to see inside other people?
I have a tribe that is completely isolated from the outside world and there is a shaman that can see in 4 dimensions. He can identify disease before it manifests and is hailed as a god.
This 4th ...
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Superheros and capes
So I've seen this question as to how a cape could work as a shield, but why else would 'classic' superheroes (Batman, Superman) wear a cape? Is there something about a cape that makes a person more ...
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Why might the government keep the gold at Fort Knox, even though super-villains steal it all the time?
So, I’m creating a world were superheroes, and villains, are real and exist in the real world. Everything else is the same, like the gold depository in Fort Knox, Kentucky, which brings me to my ...
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What kind of supernatural powers don't break the masquerade?
I'm designing a world a of supernatural beings loosely based on Christianity/Judaism as described in Naming the forces of the Purgatory? who visit Earth without humans being aware of them.
They ...
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Putting Ant-Man on house arrest
In Ant Man and the Wasp, Ant Man starts the movie on house arrest. House arrest is enforced by a standard ankle tracking monitor. Of course, this security mechanism proves woefully inadequate since, ...
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Why do governments not execute or otherwise permanently contain super villains?
The argument for superheroes to capture villains alive is that superheroes are already illegally operating as vigilantes and compensating for muggle law enforcement is all they are morally obligated. ...
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Everything Joe says is true. How can he most help humanity?
Please note: This is not a duplicate of my previous question, and in fact has a quite different premise.
Joe is just an average guy, aside from one passive superpower that Joe has had since he was a ...
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What would be the ideal melee weapon for someone with superhuman strength?
Many video games and movies set in a medieval-like fantasy setting feature implausibly huge weapons, which would be completely impractical in real combat.
Sometimes people defend the realism of ...
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Scientific/biological basis of someone with unlimited willpower?
Meet Greg. Greg was born with pretty average genetics. It seems like he was destined to have average intelligence, average strength, and be average at everything. There was one particularly though: he ...
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What prevents wielders of action-at-distance-type superpowers from destroying internal organs of their enemies?
Telekinesis, pyrokinesis, matter transmutation, bringing tiny chunks of stuff into existence, etc...
If no special rules apply, it seems that wielders of such superpowers might easily defeat their ...
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Could a really fast man catch a bullet?
Let's say that a character moves much faster (>100 x) than a bullet.
If he is shot at, could he theoretically catch the bullet (and put it in his pocket) ?
What happens when he touches the bullet, ...
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What's the most effective way to use my skill-copying superpower?
I've developed superhuman abilities, specifically, I am able to "copy" and permanently keep "skills" and technical knowledge from other people. For example, if I spend time near a ...
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Least impossible explanation for superhero flight
How does Superman fly?
(or rather, a Superman like character in a different world. This is not a question about the existing fictional character but a similar being.)
He does not simply use high ...
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Humans can now fly. What happens to the transportation industry?
Let's pretend for a moment that right now, everybody on earth was given the ability of flight. What impact would this have on the modern-day transportation industry?
Physical restrictions on the ...
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What would be the fastest way to end hostilities with the USA (without surrendering) for a superpowered being?
A somewhat benevolent, previously unknown superpowered flying knight, appears out of thin air and upon arrival (somewhere between New York and Washington DC) the USA government took him for an hostile ...
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Can I build a space elevator from superman's hair?
In Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (imdb) a single strand of Superman's hair is seen suspending a 1000lbs weight.
Is is possible to build a space elevator from strands of a super strong human-hair-...
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Would pyrokinesis be an effective defense?
I've read comics in which someone with pyrokinetic powers was able to block bullets with a sheet of fire. I have three questions
How hot would the fire have to be to melt a bullet passing through it? ...
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Why isn't my superhuman always hungry?
I'm writing a speculative fiction story that includes superhumans. The focus is on individual characters and their daily lives, and I'm trying to maintain some consistency by not throwing all the laws ...
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Solid material made from human blood
Is it possible to create a room-temperature solid made from 100% human blood?
One of my stories features a girl who has the passive ability to block the superpowers of anyone in a 100-meter radius. ...
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Why would a healing factor superhero still be afraid of things?
So, I have a superhero, and his name is Logan Wotowski, the indestructible man.
He can survive and heal from gunshots to the head, knives to throat, getting hit by cars, fire, electrocutions, high ...
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How to catch creatures that can predict the next few minutes?
These creatures have the ability to see all possible outcomes within their vicinity within the next 30 minutes or so.
This is not the same as foreknowledge that they have no choice over. Even if ...
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On a Speedster's perception of time and ability to function in civilian life
All right, I'm whipping up a speedster character. Figured if she's going to run real quick she'll have to think very quickly so that she doesn't end up as a smear against a wall. So, I did some ...
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Humans can now fly. What new laws are created?
Let's pretend for a moment that, right now, everybody on Earth was given the ability of flight. What new legislation would have to be passed to regulate this ability?
Physical restrictions on the ...
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Reality Check: Batman
One of the most popular types of superheroes breaks down to the "highly skilled, highly intelligent, (sometimes well funded) martial artist," with the most well known example of this superhero trope ...
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How high can Ludicrous Leg man jump?
Ludicrous Leg Man has never skipped a leg day, as a result of which he has infinitely strong and fast legs and all attendant secondary superpowers. Don't ask why, just roll with it.
While performing ...
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How does a super-power salesman not get shut down for legal reasons?
I am in trouble: my boss, a multi-millionaire, has just come up with a scheme, but it has problems and he wants me to solve them.
The whole thing started when he saw this picture:
This gave him an ...
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Relative Super Powers
The origin of Superman is fairly well known. A baby is sent to a planet and gains super powers from being in the environment (technically the sun, but I believe you catch the gist). I'd like to make a ...
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Personal Teleportation: From Rags to Riches
I'm looking to investigate one aspect of the "real world" implications of teleportation as a super power, much like I did with this question.
In this case, I'm trying to figure out the best method(s) ...
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Personal Teleportation as a Weapon
I've always considered teleportation to be one of the most under-rated super powers in all ways, but at the moment I'm thinking through the ramifications of personal teleportation as a superpower in ...
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You're superstrong but you still weigh the same. What happens when you hit things?
In movies and especially Japanese anime, you can see characters punching through walls, breaking columns by kicking etc. Similar effect is seen in computer games, which is something I'm interested in ...
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Would low-grade levitation be of any use?
Malcolm dreams one night that he can levitate and wakes up to find that he is still able to. He teaches others to do it and it becomes a world-wide craze. Soon nearly everyone can do it and Malcolm ...
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In a fantasy world where physical training has no hard limit, why isn't everyone a superhuman?
I have been building a 'magic' system in a fantasy setting and have a number of ways a human can gain power.
Most of these are limited to who can access them by royal bloodline, being god's chosen, ...
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How can a mortal woman successfully carry a demigod to term?
Demigods are special humans that are born partly divine. These individuals have been extremely rare throughout history, and always have various significant effects for the world around them, leading ...
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How to safely knock someone out
I'm the new superhero on the block. I've got the classic powerset - super-strength and super-durability. I don't have to worry one bit about your average thug hurting me.
On the contrary, I'm really ...
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Can a precognitive dodge modern firearms?
If you have a physically fit individual who can see up to 5 seconds in the future, is it possible for them to not get hit by bullets by moving away?
(Precognition being defined here as the ability to ...
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Defenses against someone moving at 1500+mph
This question is about speedsters and defending against them (Dr Wells' gun thing doesn't work).
There is a speedster. His 'cruising speed' is about 1000 mph, but can get up to 2000 mph if needed. ...
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Everything Bob says is false. How does he get people to trust him?
I was looking at the questions where Everything Joe says is true and I thought it would be interesting to explore the inverse superpower.
Bob isn't just a pathological liar, but if he says a true ...
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