If you could pick a superhuman ability, what would you pick and what would you use it for?
That’s not you asking ME the question, that’s me asking YOU the question. But I’ll answer it anyway:
My number-one pick would be the ability to stop time. I snap my fingers and the world stops… except for me. What would I use it for? It might sound silly, but the MAIN reason I’d use it would be to get a good night’s sleep. Seriously. I could stay up until 3:00am, sleep for 10 or 11 hours, then wake up at 3:00am and keep doing whatever it was I was doing, fully rested. I could probably use it to get a lot more work done, depending on if I could make my laptop work. The down side is that I’d appear to age faster than everyone else, but that’s okay; I’m more of a “burn brighter, not longer” kind of guy.
Other than that one, there’s only two other’s I’ve ever fantasized about having. One is telekinesis. Very powerful telekinesis… strong enough to crush a car like a soda can or send one into orbit with the flick of a finger. What would I do with it? Let’s just say that the term “road rage” would take on an entirely new dimension. The third one is teleportation. Anyone who’s spent 2 hours in Atlanta traffic trying to go 5 miles will know why I’d want that. Plus, I’m just too lazy to walk up a flight of stairs if I can avoid it.
Your turn.
X-ray(ted) vision is always a popular thought. Victoria still covers a few secrets that might be worth seeing.
I’d go for the ability to absorb and redirect electricity. Nothing like tossing a couple of bolts of lighting at traffic to make you feel good. Flash, Bang, Clear road.
I also think the ability to survive in any environment without any equipment would be useful.
I also like the idea of telekinesis, or even Magneto’s control over metal.
Comment by nate — October 30, 2007 @ 6:40 am
I’ve also thought about telekinesis and teleportation as being two incredible superpowers. The one I ultimately choose, however, is a lot less super, but I think much more useful. I’d like to have a truly photographic memory coupled with the ability to understand and integrate what I read. Oh, the possibilities….
Comment by Teserk — October 30, 2007 @ 5:30 pm
Like Nate, Magneto’s control over magnetism would be awesome.
I also like telepathy. Able to read minds would be fucking cool.
Personally, I always had a thing with Wolverine’s claws and healing ability. Able to beat the living shit out of anyone and heal after the fight.
Comment by Loki — October 30, 2007 @ 7:35 pm
Stopping time and being the only one not affected by it has been a favorite one of mine for many years now, since I saw it on an episode of Twillight Zone, where a woman finds a necklace buried in her garden, and when she screms STOP, everything stops. It had a really cool ending, where a nuke is falling on her town, and she stop time with the bomb just seconds away from blowing everything up. Oh well … it’s a favorite ability, but not THE favorite …
Number one has got to be the one that Deadman has - the ablity to posses another human body. Why? Well, I guess I’ve always thought it could be fun to spend a day in the body of, I don’t know, a president (do something good for the world for once), a woman (never leave the house) an astronaut or something else …
Comment by udgang99 — November 3, 2007 @ 8:52 am
I never saw that episode of Twilight Zone. I remember one from the original (black and white) series that was a bit different. I think at the end of that one, the watch that stops time gets broken while everything is frozen, thus leaving the main character stuck.
Another one I’ve considered is the ability to see and hear other people no matter where they are or what they’re doing. Aside from the obvious use (I AM a guy, after all) I can see certain blackmail and career advancement potential. I actually had a story idea about a guy who could do that… hmm, wonder if those notes are still around…
Comment by DarkIcon — November 3, 2007 @ 9:20 am
Probably shapeshifting. Lycanthropy would be incredible, or some other therianthropy, although there are some I can think of that would be a little stupid. Fish, for one. I had a character that was a shapeshifter–to keep her from being overly powerful, she could only become something she had killed. She could turn into several different flies.
Another is ghosting, becoming invisible and insubstantial at the same time.
Comment by Icewind136 — July 11, 2008 @ 10:14 pm