best super power to have

[ThemasterRabbit]

In this thread say which super power is best, and (optoinal) decide which superpower is the worst. Assume that all of the heros have trained in the martail arts.

I'll start

I believe that telepathy is the best superpower to have as it has uses for multiple super-hero-ey things:

Snooping around:
By reading surface thoughts the hero can detect were guards are, their decisions of where to move.

Close combat:
In combat, by reading surface thoughts the hero can detect the guards next move and adjust accordingly. Heck, he can read the villains super evil plan, unless he has an anti- mind read helmet. He can co-ordinate the troops and his squad from a vantage point if need be, so he is perfect for a battle commander.

[Quietus]

Warning : Cracked link. Almost as bad as TVtropes.

http://www.cracked.com/video_18289_the-best-super-power-is-not-what-you-think.html

[Obrysii]

Already established powers?

Best:
I'd love to have Magneto's powers. Magnetism? Heck yeah - I'd carry around several long extension cords with me to use in a pinch. Match that with the ease and scale of power he has, and you'd have someone who'd be able to do just about whatever he wants.

Sure, general telekinesis would be more variable, but from what I've seen in the X-Men universe, at least, it is a lot harder to control. Perhaps part of Magneto's mutation is the ease in which he handles his power.

Worst:
For established powers, one of the worst would be Toad's powers. Strong legs, and acid spit? Ehh ... no thanks if it comes with his typical appearance.

[ThemasterRabbit]

Sorry i apoligise, i had no idea.

[TheSummoner]

Complete bodily manipulation. A bit like shapeshifting combined with regeneration, but that's a bit of an oversimplification.

Ok... It's a bit of an old one, but have any of you ever seen an anime called Yu Yu Hakusho? At one point, the protagonists were fighting through a tournament arc. The leaders of the team they fought in the final bracket were the Toguro Brothers. The younger brother's power was essentially tremendous raw power, but the older brother, while weaker, certainly had the better power. He could turn his body into anything... Harden and shape his body so it could be used as a weapon or shield... Liquify himself and slip into cracks to ambush enemies... Extend and sharpen fingers and limbs to impale enemies... And reform from any attack that wasn't instantly fatal.

The only way to kill the guy would be to pierce his heart or brain... A task easier said than done since he could move them around inside his body. I don't remember it word for word, but at one point he described trying to kill him like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but the needle can move around anywhere it likes. He lost his fight... But only because it was part of a greater plan (throw the fight make the final round look closer so people would bet on the underdog, then cash in on the bets when their team eventually won). His entire body was crushed during the fight. He survived it (liquified and went into the cracks of the arena). He managed to piss off his incredibly powerful younger brother and was punched so hard it appeared to completly destroy him. He survived it (was thrown from the building and almost entirely destroyed, but he managed to survive and slowly regrow himself). His half-regenerated form was eaten. Not only did he survive it, he took over the guy's body from the inside (the entire thing was just a plan to speed up his recovery).

By this point, he had become powerful enough to regenerate from even wounds to the heart or brain. He was functionally immortal, and further, he had gained the powers of the guy who ate him, which included the ability to read minds. He was eventually dealt with... Not killed... But dealt with. A fate worse than death... He was trapped by a plant that drained it's victim's lifeforce while trapping them inside their own mind and taunting them with halucinations. Since his regeneration made him immortal, he was trapped for eternity... But if anyone deserved such a fate, he did. This was a guy who, at one point morphed his hand into the form of a character who had served as a mentor to the protagonists and had recently died. He put on a puppet show that included impaling the puppet and making it bleed in front of a character who didn't even know that she had died.

Yeah... The guy was a monster... But he had a really amazing power. I wouldn't even care about the abilities he gained after taking over the guy who ate him... Just the bodily manipulation would be enough.

[TheThan]

I still think that teleportation is one of the most useful powers out there; just the shear capacity to move around unhindered by everything else around you is valuable. Virtually all teleportation powers you see in comic books allow the teleporter to take his clothing and a small amount of extra stuff (like hand held items) with him. So the cracked vid’s discussion on the power is a mute point.

Through every day life, this power is extremely useful. You don’t have to commute to work; you don’t have to wade through throngs of people at the mall. Travel in general is easy, fast and hassle free.

[ThemasterRabbit]

established powers are great as are new ones (as long as their not "grant my own wishes" or "bending time/space to my will" be reasonable here!)

[Tazar]

Control over plants is a vastly underrated super-power.

Think about it.

#1, you eat for free (and healthily, too!) for the rest of your life! You could live off the land effortlessly if you were really inclined to, and you'll save huge amounts of money.

#2, it's a really useful combat power. Pretty much anywhere you go is going to have dirt below the surface at some depth, which means plants. You could attack people with dozens of vines, hell, dozens of trees at once. Getting impaled by a tree branch is no laughing matter.

#3, you could animate treants, and that's just awesome.

[thubby]

omnipotence, obviously.

that aside for obvious reasons, teleportation just has so many practical applications. the clothes thing would be easy to work around, just make it the power to create temporary portals to other locations
wolverine style immortality would be good too. even if you got stuck somewhere, just crush your head with somethign heavy (you cant regenerate into occupied space obviously), you'll spend however long unconscious until, eventually, you get freed.

[Kato]

Aw man, I was going to say omnipotence... :smallmad:

No, I guess Telepathy really is useful. How much depends on your skill at it of course but on about any decent level it's pretty badass.


Never read/saw Yu Yu Hakusho but if your heart/brain is your weak point how do you liquify it do dodge an attack? Sounds inconsistent. Also, I'd guess at that point you could also still just boil him like an egg breaking down anything inside that's vulnerable no matter how he tries to dodge. But sound like a fun power anyway.

[TheSummoner]

I don't think it was ever really given an indepth explanation (and if it was, it's been a while so I don't remember). I would assume that his internal organs were no more limited than the rest of his body... He could extend and stretch other parts, so why what would prevent him from doing that to his brain or heart? Perhaps liquify wasn't the best choice of words... He didn't actually turn into liquid to do it, but I couldn't think of a better way of describing how he hid in the cracks of the arena.

Unfortunately I can't find a video of it in English (or even the original Japanese... Or anything else that atleast has English subtitles)... So unless you're fine with not understanding a word of it, I don't have an example to show you how it worked...

[Mx.Silver]

For superheroics, I have a soft spot for gravity manipulation, as it's rather uncommon given how much it can mess with people. Enemy is armed? Bam, their weapons are too heavy to hold. Charging you? Their next step sends them flying into the air, over your head and crash landing out of range. Ranged attack? grab a suddenly light-weight heavy object to use as a shield. If you're badly outnumbered, just lessen gravity on yourself and proceed to jump away a huge distance.

Yeah, it may not be the most powerful, but it's fun and lends itself well to creative uses. Certainly more useful for non-lethal combat than super-strength or what have you.


For day-to-day practical uses, there's something to be said never needing to sleep. It effectively adds an extra couple of decades worth of time onto your life in which to do things. Plus you can save money on bedding, and save floor space due to not need a bed.



Worst power? Rogue's is a fairly obvious one, although I'd be inclined to call it more of a curse. Default-on telepathy would be pretty horrible to have as well.

Warning : Cracked link. Almost as bad as TVtropes.

http://www.cracked.com/video_18289_the-best-super-power-is-not-what-you-think.html

Problem: if teleportation doesn't include your clothes, then stopping time won't exempt your clothes either. Since they can't be effected by time then nothing you'd do to them would have any noticeable effect until time sped-up again (leaving you trapped in an immobile straight jacket). This is not considering the additional problem that stopping time would also stop all photons moving, thereby immediately removing all light. Of course, that wouldn't make for as funny a video, so it's understandable why they didn't go that route.

[thubby]

Problem: if teleportation doesn't include your clothes, then stopping time won't exempt your clothes either. Since they can't be effected by time then nothing you'd do to them would have any noticeable effect until time sped-up again (leaving you trapped in an immobile straight jacket). This is not considering the additional problem that stopping time would also stop all photons moving, thereby immediately removing all light. Of course, that wouldn't make for as funny a video, so it's understandable why they didn't go that route.

you could see just fine so long as you moved (the light would still be there, walking into it would be like it hitting you.

[Mx.Silver]

you could see just fine so long as you moved (the light would still be there, walking into it would be like it hitting you.

Good point, although it could be problematic if you're in an enclosed space.



Also, now that I think about it, I may have under-estimated the offensive potential of gravity manipulation since with it you have access to a really nasty move: neutralising/reversing earth's gravity on someone. Whoever you hit with that needs to be able to move faster than about 30 kilometres per second ( most likely as flight speed) or be sent hurtling into the vacuum of space. Even if they're tough enough to survive that it'll still put them out of action for a year (assuming they can survive atmospheric re-entry).

[Nerd-o-rama]

How about the power...

...to move you?

[ThemasterRabbit]

Also, now that I think about it, I may have under-estimated the offensive potential of gravity manipulation since with it you have access to a really nasty move: neutralising/reversing earth's gravity on someone. Whoever you hit with that needs to be able to move faster than about 30 kilometres per second ( most likely as flight speed) or be sent hurtling into the vacuum of space. Even if they're tough enough to survive that it'll still put them out of action for a year (assuming they can survive atmospheric re-entry).
Today 10:24 PM


you make a good point, and ive been thinking, telekenises is also a pretty good power. you can create similar effects of manipulating gravity, while with well timed bursts and prolonged effects, you can have the equivelent of several different powers:

super strength, by using your powers at the same time of the punch.
flight, just lift yourself
forcefeild, just prolong a push outwards
death touch, pop someones main artery or hold their heart to make it stop.
necromancy, (ok its a bit of a stretch) moving bone and/or flesh of dead humans to create zombies. this isa great tatic as it inspires fear in your enemies but would take a lot of focus to maintain.

[Dr.Epic]

The single best super power is obviously to have any/all the super powers you want at any time for as long as you desire.:smallwink:

[Mx.Silver]

you make a good point, and ive been thinking, telekenises is also a pretty good power. you can create similar effects of manipulating gravity, while with well timed bursts and prolonged effects, you can have the equivelent of several different powers:

super strength, by using your powers at the same time of the punch.
flight, just lift yourself
forcefeild, just prolong a push outwards
death touch, pop someones main artery or hold their heart to make it stop.
necromancy, (ok its a bit of a stretch) moving bone and/or flesh of dead humans to create zombies. this isa great tatic as it inspires fear in your enemies but would take a lot of focus to maintain.
Telekinesis and shape-shifting can both be frighteningly versatile, to a point where little else can compete*. I say *can* because it requires a fairly generous amount of lee-way to get to those levels (as in, they both need to be treated as essentially magic). In the case of telekinesis, the actual human brain doesn't really produce/use all that much energy, so the actual amount of effects you could produce would be fairly limited (there's also the question of range). With shape-shifting, the big stumbling block is conservation of mass,. If you can't bend that, the you're basically stuck with only things of equivalent mass. There's also the question whether you morph into non-organic materials. If you can though, and if you have enough wiggle room on the mass issue the sky is pretty much the limit. Otherwise, your power is mostly useful for disguises (and possibly copying other people's powers).


*It can be argued that a lot of powers are essentially just really specific forms of telekinesis to begin with, but that's another can of worms.

[ThemasterRabbit]

Telekinesis and shape-shifting can both be frighteningly versatile, to a point where little else can compete*. I say *can* because it requires a fairly generous amount of lee-way to get to those levels (as in, they both need to be treated as essentially magic). In the case of telekinesis, the actual human brain doesn't really produce/use all that much energy, so the actual amount of effects you could produce would be fairly limited (there's also the question of range). With shape-shifting, the big stumbling block is conservation of mass,. If you can't bend that, the you're basically stuck with only things of equivalent mass. There's also the question whether you morph into non-organic materials. If you can though, and if you have enough wiggle room on the mass issue the sky is pretty much the limit. Otherwise, your power is mostly useful for disguises (and possibly copying other people's powers).



the only power they cant copy is telepathy, which leads me to be stuck f which is the most powerful.

i also beleive that super-stregnth is the worst power as you can get better combat results (which is all heros use it for) with other powers.

[druid91]

Personally I'd go with Rolo's power from code geass. Without the whole heart attack part.

Either that or the ability to see and manipulate objects in more than the usual three dimensions. That way I can make a bag that's bigger on the inside.

Or push someone through a wall by taking a shortcut through time.

[Dr.Epic]

Personally I'd go with Rolo's power from code geass. Without the whole heart attack part.

But heart (attack) is an awesome power. Just ask Mati.

[Curious]

I'm gonna give the same answer I did last thread; the ability to manipulate atomic bonds.

Now, assuming cheating isn't allowed, I think perfect immortality would be my second choice. Witnessing the growth, expansion, and eventual death of the universe, and surviving it. . . Glorious.

[druid91]

But heart (attack) is an awesome power. Just ask Mati.

No he doesn't have the ability to give people heart attacks, he has heart attacks when he uses his power. Which is to freeze people. But nothing else. bullets keep moving, cars keep moving, but everyone freezes and doesn't notice the passage of time.

[Mx.Silver]

the only power they cant copy is telepathy, which leads me to be stuck f which is the most powerful.
Actually,the only aspect of telepathy you can't imitate with telekinesis is mind-reading and two way communications. Putting thoughts in someone's head though is possible (though requires a lot of specialist knowledge) via telkinetically firing the right neurons.


i also beleive that super-stregnth is the worst power as you can get better combat results (which is all heros use it for) with other powers.
This may be because the typical depiction of super-strong character have them primarily punching and grappling, whereas the most useful combat aspect of it is probably throwing things. If you're strong enough then just about any object within reach is suddenly a dangerous projectile. They don't even have to be particularly large objects: a metal coin could cause serious injury if thrown hard enough.
It's also useful in rescue work as well, where being able to move really heavy objects quickly can save lives. Digging people out of rubble becomes a hell of a lot easier if you can lift large chunks of concrete, for example.

I'd agree it can be overshadowed by other abilities, but it shouldn't be entirely dismissed either. If a guy's strong enough to kill/incapacitate you in one hit then all he or she needs is one hit.



I'm gonna give the same answer I did last thread; the ability to manipulate atomic bonds.
The problem I'd see with that is that to get full use out of it (changing one atom into another, for example) you'd need to see what you were doing. This could a problem if you don't have any really powerful electron microscopes lying around.


Now, assuming cheating isn't allowed, I think perfect immortality would be my second choice. Witnessing the growth, expansion, and eventual death of the universe, and surviving it. . . Glorious.
You would get really, really bored though.

[The Glyphstone]

Being filthy rich is totally a superpower. Batman and Iron Man both have it, and it is awesome.

[Dr.Epic]

No he doesn't have the ability to give people heart attacks, he has heart attacks when he uses his power. Which is to freeze people. But nothing else. bullets keep moving, cars keep moving, but everyone freezes and doesn't notice the passage of time.

I stand by what I posted.

[Tazar]

The superpower of genius-level "mad science" (a la Doctor Horrible, Iron Man or Buffyverse superscience) would also be quite fun, I think.

[TheThan]

I like the idea of precognition as a super power. Seeing into the future is a powerful tool. However it’s even more interesting when it’s restricted to a time limit. Say you can see only 5 minutes into the future. With this you won’t have any horrible nightmares of what is to come, and people won’t think your absolutely nuts. Now you can see what about to happen before it happens, and actively do something about it.

In the context of super heroes you’re invincible in a fist fight, as you’ll be able to perfectly predict what your enemy can do, you’ll know who’s coming around the corner, you’ll be able to elude guards and know where to go to rescue people. You can even dodge bullets by seeing where the enemies are aiming before they shoot.

When used this way, this power is pretty darn cool. Most of the time, precognition is nothing more than a plot device to foreshadow events; that is boring and uninteresting. The version I’ve come up with is one that is active, engaging and could be a fun power to read about.

Naturally as most people will quickly point out, the furture is ever changing so no future sight can be 100%, but with such a short time limitation, the chances of you're foresight being wrong is greatly diminished.

[The Glyphstone]

Even then, it'd have to be vague though, or limited to shorter than 5 minutes ahead. If you act on your precog and change the future within that time period, what happens?

[Quietus]

Your precog would build from a momentary instant, read your response to it, and build forward in a progression of infinitesimally small moments up to the maximum of the five minutes. That way you get the information already filtered for what you're *going* to do, as determined by what you've already chosen. It even takes into account your intent to change what you're doing in an effort to defeat predestination. In effect, you create predestination through the choices you make, including those specifically designed to beat predestination in the first place.

Or, to put it a bit more simply - time is your *****. :smalltongue:

[Dr.Epic]

The superpower of genius-level "mad science" (a la Doctor Horrible, Iron Man or Buffyverse superscience) would also be quite fun, I think.

I'm sorry, doctor who? And I don't mean Doctor Who, I mean who's this doctor.

[The Glyphstone]

Your precog would build from a momentary instant, read your response to it, and build forward in a progression of infinitesimally small moments up to the maximum of the five minutes. That way you get the information already filtered for what you're *going* to do, as determined by what you've already chosen. It even takes into account your intent to change what you're doing in an effort to defeat predestination. In effect, you create predestination through the choices you make, including those specifically designed to beat predestination in the first place.

Or, to put it a bit more simply - time is your *****. :smalltongue:

Now choose 'Paradox' as your super-name, and you're good.:smallbiggrin:

[Ricky S]

Teleportation or Timestop or Telepathy would be the most useful in current day life. They are pretty hidden powers and really the last thing you want if you have a super power is for everyone to find out.

Teleportation cuts out all travel which would save you an enormous amount of money and time. You could travel the world and set up the worlds fastest delivery service if you werent afraid of publicity.

Timestop would be extremely useful especially if you didnt age when you stopped time. Forgot to do your home? Timestop. Struggling on a test? Time stop. Need that work report handed in by 3 and its 2.59? Timestop. The possibilities are endless and you could save a lot of people as well.

One thing I have always thought about though is what happens if you stop time and you die while time is stopped? You will have ruined the universe. So maybe instead of actually stopping time it is more that you speed yourself up so that time does seem to have stopped?

Telepathy as long as you can use it at will would be extremely useful. I can picture a long career as either an interrogator or psychiatrist. Knowing what people are thinking would be helpful in a lot of situations in everyday life as well.

For hilarity being able to give people orgasms at will would be a fun super power. Anyone watched the film Orgazmo?

[Tazar]

I'm sorry, doctor who? And I don't mean Doctor Who, I mean who's this doctor.

Am I missing something? :smalltongue:

[Dr.Epic]

Am I missing something? :smalltongue:

I don't know. Do you know who this doctor is, 'cause I sure don't.

[Tazar]

I don't know. Do you know who this doctor is, 'cause I sure don't.

And yet, you seem horribly familiar...

[Dr.Epic]

And yet, you seem horribly familiar...

No he doesn't.

[Curious]

No he doesn't.

What is this I don't even

You have a Doctor Horrible avatar.

[Dr.Epic]

What is this I don't even

You have a Doctor Horrible avatar.

Can you prove it?

[Tazar]

Can you prove it?

Yes, I can. With my fists.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CTJwssgw7xE/SIDACeLW6EI/AAAAAAAAAOM/6V557UZC0aE/s400/These+are+not+the+hammer.jpg


My fists are not the hammer.

[Mx.Silver]

Timestop would be extremely useful especially if you didnt age when you stopped time.

If time isn't stopping for you then you're going to age. No real way around that one.

[Hida Reju]

Well I can think of two. One is serious the other is just plain funny.

1. Probability manipulation (Super luck)- IE I win at all games of chance ever better if it can be turned on or off. Pros, if used sparingly you have wealth, always land on your feet, and rarely look like a fool with small accidents.

2. Cause orgasms on command. Nuff said and twisted fun in public places or parties. Best on super villains for the shear amusement factor.

[SlayerScott]

Am I fighting supervillains? Or am I talking day to day applications?

I mean, if I'm fighting supervillains I'd probably like some variation of Cannonball's(Marvel - Sam Guthrie) blasting powers. Flight, invincibility, speed and a hell of a first punch. Teleporting's up there too. But let's face it - a lot of awesome world shattering powers are completely useless if there isn't a Darkseid or Dr. Doom around.

If I'm just a regular guy I thnk Multiple Man's ability to make copies of himself have a lot of great real world applications. We've all wanted to be in two places at once. I mean, get drunk on a friday night and then make a sober copy of yourself to drive home. Any task you have to complete you can summon up a work crew to do it in half the time. You could be a sizeable army, but when it comes time to feed the army you go back to being one guy. You don't have to worry about being killed so long as you left a copy of yourself at home on the couch. If you tend towards evil, you can rob a bank while simultaneously having a video alibi of yourself. If you tend towards good you can make copies of yourself to have their organs harvested for dying orphans. The more you think about it, the more clever applications there are.

[thubby]

One thing I have always thought about though is what happens if you stop time and you die while time is stopped? You will have ruined the universe.

I've always assumed stopping time was something that required continuous effort, time wants to flow normally, you're just holding it off.

[Errata]

Immortality. In super hero terms that would be from extreme regeneration, like Wolverine, which effectively halts aging. Technically you could die from horrible enough injuries, but it's very unlikely to happen from a mundane accident or random violence.

After the first couple of centuries you could be very rich, which is almost like a superpower itself. You could also be trained and educated beyond what normal people have time for. You just need patience.

[Tazar]

Personally, I interpret "stopping time" as the individual themself simply moving far, far faster than the world around them, to the point where it appears to be frozen in relative terms. I find that to be much more sensible than a single individual freezing the entire universe in place.

[thubby]

Personally, I interpret "stopping time" as the individual themself simply moving far, far faster than the world around them, to the point where it appears to be frozen in relative terms. I find that to be much more sensible than a single individual freezing the entire universe in place.

the problem with that is that, without secondary powers, moving would cause you to explode from friction, and even with it would likely burn to death anyone nearby.

[Tazar]

the problem with that is that, without secondary powers, moving would cause you to explode from friction, and even with it would likely burn to death anyone nearby.

Given that we're talking about, y'know, superpowers, I tend to try not to overthink things too much with real science. :smalltongue:

[KingofMadCows]

The Bat Glare. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EENaoUiLfV0)

[Anderlith]

Clairvoyance, or being really hard to kill

[Traab]

Mind control. That gives you total freedom to do whatever the hell you want, when you want, how you want. Id walk into a dozen different businesses, mentally command everyone there to send me 50 bucks every paycheck and never even think about it or mention it to anyone. Bango, im a millionaire without having to work a day in my life. Yes there are times when things would get complicated, but, lets say I get into a computer file, and get arrested for one of my crimes. Hi there jury of my peers, you dont think im guilty right? How about you judgey boy? Obviously due to lack of evidence the case is dismissed. Everyone accepts it because I told them to.

[Elrik]

Best: telepathy/mind control, for reasons already given.

Worst: Being able to turn any fabric into plaid. Seriously, this superpower actually exists. (http://www.comicvine.com/plaid-lad/29-72852/) Unless I'm dating someone with a plaid fetish I'd be furious at the fact that I didn't get a better superpower.

[Mx.Silver]

Mind control. That gives you total freedom to do whatever the hell you want, when you want, how you want. Id walk into a dozen different businesses, mentally command everyone there to send me 50 bucks every paycheck and never even think about it or mention it to anyone. Bango, im a millionaire without having to work a day in my life. Yes there are times when things would get complicated, but, lets say I get into a computer file, and get arrested for one of my crimes. Hi there jury of my peers, you dont think im guilty right? How about you judgey boy? Obviously due to lack of evidence the case is dismissed. Everyone accepts it because I told them to.
The problem is that this sort of behaviour is going to make you a lot of enemies. Enemies who know the only way they can stop you is to kill you. Sure, you can force a would-be assassin to stop their attempt, but to do that you need to spot them before they strike. There are a hell of a lot of stealthy way to kill someone, and only one of them needs to work.

Also, it's kind of evil. Just putting that out there.


Seriously, if you want easy money just go for something like a 'midas touch' and open a shop, or transmutation of matter and start a recycling business. It's safer and means you can don't have to live your life in a state of continuous paranoia.

[Cheesegear]

Obviously, the best super-power is Aptitude. At Everything. Mr. Terrific style.

"I'm better than you at being you." Gold.

[Traab]

The problem is that this sort of behaviour is going to make you a lot of enemies. Enemies who know the only way they can stop you is to kill you. Sure, you can force a would-be assassin to stop their attempt, but to do that you need to spot them before they strike. There are a hell of a lot of stealthy way to kill someone, and only one of them needs to work.

Also, it's kind of evil. Just putting that out there.


Seriously, if you want easy money just go for something like a 'midas touch' and open a shop, or transmutation of matter and start a recycling business. It's safer and means you can don't have to live your life in a state of continuous paranoia.

True, its definitely evil if you want to use it like that, but it IS highly effective, and there are ways to protect yourself from these enemies. It would just be really complicated to do it. Ideally id stay under the radar as much as possible. Im not sure of the best method for receiving the cash from everyone that would raise the fewest red flags, but im sure there is one. Perhaps mind controlling the bankers at a specific branch so they gather together the multiple deposits, then at the end of their shift combine them into a single deposit. Id imagine 1-2 large deposits would raise fewer eyebrows than seeing a thousand deposits into the same account every week. Other option would be to have people mail me the cash to a handful of po boxes then go collect them and deposit them all at once myself.

[Corlindale]

It would be pretty nice to have the awesome superpower of Cut/Copy/Paste as applied to actual, physical objects - the ability to erase, move or replicate objects of any size and shape within a certain distance of yourself that you can see - keeping anything copied or erased from the world in your mental "clipboard", so that you could Paste it back into the world at any time.

Day-to-day applications would be countless - though actually copying money would be a problem for obvious reasons, you could simply replicate whatever else you might need. Window-shopping would take on a whole new dimension. Also you could conveniently travel without needing to carry anything with you - even spawning a comfortable beach house to rest in during your hike in the mountains.

Should you decide to be a hero you could single-handedly bring and end to world hunger (or indeed any crisis that is brought about due to the scarcity of anything), as well as solve any imaginable problem of garbage disposal, easily ridding the world of dangerous chemicals or nuclear waste.

As for actually fighting crime, the Scribblenauts-like power of spawning whatever obscure object you have stored should be a great asset on the battlefield.

[Mx.Silver]

True, its definitely evil if you want to use it like that, but it IS highly effective, and there are ways to protect yourself from these enemies.
Yes, there are ways to protect yourself from things like:hidden snipers, letter bombs, regular bombs, Grenades through your windows, poisoning, etc. It's just that such protection is difficult to pull-off, and you only need to fail to pull it off once.


Ideally id stay under the radar as much as possible.
Again: requires a lot of effort and if you slip-up there are going to be more than few powerful groups who are going to view you as a potential threat.


Im not sure of the best method for receiving the cash from everyone that would raise the fewest red flags, but im sure there is one. Perhaps mind controlling the bankers at a specific branch so they gather together the multiple deposits, then at the end of their shift combine them into a single deposit. Id imagine 1-2 large deposits would raise fewer eyebrows than seeing a thousand deposits into the same account every week. Other option would be to have people mail me the cash to a handful of po boxes then go collect them and deposit them all at once myself.
One problem you seem to have missed here is that statistically a fair few of these people you're exploiting are going to have a family and/or an accountant which will inevitably lead to questions along the lines of: 'Why exactly are you paying a fixed sum of your weekly earnings to this guy you've never met?' The answer: 'Well, he walked into the store one day and told me to' is going to start more than a few alarm bells ringing, especially when it comes out that more this situation is happening in several different places. After that it's really just a matter of some light investigative work before you're found.

I mean yeah, you could minimize this risk, but this would involve an enormous amount of effort on your part (you'd need to come up with some really elaborate contingencies in your initial programming) and would mean that could only expect a small amount of money (because large sums are much more likely to attract attention). Like I said, if you really just want money then you're better off with a power that can be used for a non-illegal form of financial gain that doesn't cause everyone to (rightly) view you as an evil monster.

[Traab]

Yes, there are ways to protect yourself from things like:hidden snipers, letter bombs, regular bombs, Grenades through your windows, poisoning, etc. It's just that such protection is difficult to pull-off, and you only need to fail to pull it off once.


Again: requires a lot of effort and if you slip-up there are going to be more than few powerful groups who are going to view you as a potential threat.

One problem you seem to have missed here is that statistically a fair few of these people you're exploiting are going to have a family and/or an accountant which will inevitably lead to questions along the lines of: 'Why exactly are you paying a fixed sum of your weekly earnings to this guy you've never met?' The answer: 'Well, he walked into the store one day and told me to' is going to start more than a few alarm bells ringing, especially when it comes out that more this situation is happening in several different places. After that it's really just a matter of some light investigative work before you're found.

I mean yeah, you could minimize this risk, but this would involve an enormous amount of effort on your part (you'd need to come up with some really elaborate contingencies in your initial programming) and would mean that could only expect a small amount of money (because large sums are much more likely to attract attention). Like I said, if you really just want money then you're better off with a power that can be used for a non-illegal form of financial gain that doesn't cause everyone to (rightly) view you as an evil monster.

1) Yeah... or I could do my best to avoid all that by NOT living in metropolis. I mean good lord, im not going to be declaring myself the king of detroit or some such deal, or leaving people with the knowledge of me so they can go out and hire assassins to kill me. Strictly small scale stuff.

2) Im not going to be doing much of anything that would attract notice. Once again, im not trying to take over the world here, just have a comfortable life. Hell, I could even take things slow and go from person to person, go home with them at the end of the day, making sure to put the whammy on their immediate families/accountants in order to keep them from noticing anything unusual. There, they dont even notice the missing 50 bucks anymore, and noone else would have a problem with it as they have no reason to know about it. Sure it would take awhile to set all this up, but the end result would still be the same. Id be rich, and id be relatively safe.

All powers have their downsides, this is one that gives me the chance to fix almost any mistakes I make and lets me have time to perfect things. Any of the other powers, once you are exposed, you are screwed. Mind control lets you do damage control, and while its still possible, especially in the days of electronic media, to get caught, id have a far better chance of staying under the radar than virtually any other power listed here.

[Coidzor]

Inspi (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipy1ZJQeUcs&feature=related)ration (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=7720.0), preferably of the Musical (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_q1SdaWLlw)Variety (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=9830.0)

[druid91]

1) Yeah... or I could do my best to avoid all that by NOT living in metropolis. I mean good lord, im not going to be declaring myself the king of detroit or some such deal, or leaving people with the knowledge of me so they can go out and hire assassins to kill me. Strictly small scale stuff.

2) Im not going to be doing much of anything that would attract notice. Once again, im not trying to take over the world here, just have a comfortable life. Hell, I could even take things slow and go from person to person, go home with them at the end of the day, making sure to put the whammy on their immediate families/accountants in order to keep them from noticing anything unusual. There, they dont even notice the missing 50 bucks anymore, and noone else would have a problem with it as they have no reason to know about it. Sure it would take awhile to set all this up, but the end result would still be the same. Id be rich, and id be relatively safe.

All powers have their downsides, this is one that gives me the chance to fix almost any mistakes I make and lets me have time to perfect things. Any of the other powers, once you are exposed, you are screwed. Mind control lets you do damage control, and while its still possible, especially in the days of electronic media, to get caught, id have a far better chance of staying under the radar than virtually any other power listed here.

Except mine. Because I can gank cameras from the past. I could step forward into the jurassic age with a ladder, climb up reach into the future behind the camera, and loosen a couple of screws and pull it into the past. Then walk back to the present. I can see into the future and past so unless I'm not paying attention noone is getting the drop on me. Or even more interestingly I could simply pull out a knife and walk down a hallway cutting the wires, only cutting them in the past retroactively deactivating them before I walked down the hallway....

[Partysan]

Healing Factor. Never get ill, recover from any injury, suffer not from aging. Bad health can make any other power worthless, but this one defeats it. If strong enough it can also be used for moneymaking and heroism.
Teleportation, Telekinesis and Telepathy are all cool though.

[Elrik]

Healing Factor. Never get ill, recover from any injury, suffer not from aging. Bad health can make any other power worthless, but this one defeats it. If strong enough it can also be used for moneymaking and heroism.
Teleportation, Telekinesis and Telepathy are all cool though.

I've always been a sucker for the healing factor (Never feel like crap ever again? Great.) but I also thought one could exploit telepathic abilities to such a degree that they could unlock knowledge on how to develop a healing factor serum or something.

I guess I'm just trying to find a loophole, because choosing between HF and telepathy is too hard for me :smallsigh:.