what superpowers would you choose?

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i don't think this has been done before, searched and found a few similar but not the same - so, if you could have superpower/s, which would you choose and in what order? mine:

1. ability to fly
2. ability to breathe underwater, or not necessarily breathe as such but, you know, cope
3. any musical talent whatsoever (yes yes not strictly a superpower in the traditional sense, but it feels like one from here)
4. an off switch

― emsk ( emsk), Monday, 8 August 2005 10:46 (twenty years ago)

we were discussing this last night and no one else gets the off switch thing, the others wanted stuff like invisibility and mindreading and shooting lightning out of their fingers.

― emsk ( emsk), Monday, 8 August 2005 10:46 (twenty years ago)

what you mean by off-switch?

I'd pick, the ability to freeze time.

― dog latin (dog latin), Monday, 8 August 2005 11:05 (twenty years ago)

i'd just go for cat-like balance/agility, jumping power etc.
Cat Power, tihi.

― g-kit (g-kit), Monday, 8 August 2005 11:06 (twenty years ago)

I'd pick, the ability to freeze time.
Agreed

― not-goodwin (not-goodwin), Monday, 8 August 2005 11:09 (twenty years ago)

an off switch, so you can switch yourself off. i suppose it would have to be linked to a timer otherwise you'd never wake up. and i want a snooze facility on it please, so you can get woken up, have a look around, realise london is being destroyed by people shooting lightning out of their fingers, think "fuck this, let's give it another week", and drop right back off again.

― emsk ( emsk), Monday, 8 August 2005 11:12 (twenty years ago)

1. ability to instantaneously jump to any point in time and space (with whatever i was carrying or in direct physical contact with included) by mental description alone (but it wouldn't work unless i knew specific enough details of the desired destination and there was no-one at the other end) though without the ability to intervene in what has/will happen, because that responsibility is too much for one person.

2. ability to regenerate after death ala Dr Who (i'd settle for twelve max too) with altered appearance (nothing too ugly please).

3. ability to learn things at the rate of the Daleks, or Neo in The Matrix, or even Johnny 5

4. invisibility at will

5. ability to personally defy/resist gravity at will, meaning i can walk on walls, ceilings and fall from great heights at a nice gentle pace

6. super-strong body highly resistant to high heat, freezing temperatures, bullets, blades and the pressure of heavy objects

that's probably enough

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Monday, 8 August 2005 11:14 (twenty years ago)

you're pretty easy to kill while switched off, i would assume. bit of a crap power, tbh.

― g-kit (g-kit), Monday, 8 August 2005 11:15 (twenty years ago)

no it is a GREAT power. you would be protected while switched off, perhaps while in some kind of egg/pod type structure. it would be 1000000xbetter than sleep because you would be totally off, no brain action... have you never wanted that? when you go AAAAAARGH stop all these thoughts argy-bargying round my head, i do not want to think of *that* and i did not want to see *that* mental picture and i am sick of worrying about *this* and what to do about *suchandsuchaperson* and whatever you do you CANNOT REST and it tires you out so much but you can't even sleep and when you do you dream of it and wake up just as exhausted. (this sounds like i am v miserable atm; i am not.) i suppose what most people do when this happens to them is go down the pub and get smashed, but that is not a long-term solution.

― emsk ( emsk), Monday, 8 August 2005 11:22 (twenty years ago)

i'll stick with Cat Power, thanks.

― g-kit (g-kit), Monday, 8 August 2005 11:24 (twenty years ago)

If I had an off switch it'd be used once and for all within a week. That's no good. Flying and invisibility are the two classics nearly everyone fancies, and I am no exception.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 8 August 2005 11:26 (twenty years ago)

1. Be able to live ok in space, on planets or underwater/liquid or in any gas without being crippled.
2. Be super fast so it seems time would stand still and you could get places without being bored of travelling
3. Fly probably need this to go with 1&2
4. Yes an off switch because if you were super fast then things would seem super slow. A strobe setting for my off switch.
5. Hard skin so you didn't get hurt or your bones mashed fighting super baddies
6. zoom vision

― stevieshaw, Monday, 8 August 2005 11:39 (twenty years ago)

the power of foresight, the ability to read minds, the ability to fly, to run without getting out of breath/tired, the knowledge of the world, and to speak all known languages, to stop time, to speed up time, and to sleep.

― battlingspacemonkey (battlingspacemonkey), Monday, 8 August 2005 12:11 (twenty years ago)

General omnipotence would do me.

― Come Back Johnny B (Johnney B), Monday, 8 August 2005 12:14 (twenty years ago)

ooh spacemonkey i am adding the languages one to mine.

― emsk ( emsk), Monday, 8 August 2005 12:16 (twenty years ago)

superpitcher

― cozen (Cozen), Monday, 8 August 2005 12:16 (twenty years ago)

ability to answer any question

― cozen (Cozen), Monday, 8 August 2005 12:17 (twenty years ago)

X-ray vision
Invisibility
Flight
Jedi mind tricks

― beanz (beanz), Monday, 8 August 2005 12:18 (twenty years ago)

yeah the ability to google properly

― stevie shaw (stevieshaw), Monday, 8 August 2005 12:18 (twenty years ago)

i'd also like ANIMEVISION.
no actual difference in visual ability, but i'd have really big, cute eyes.

― g-kit (g-kit), Monday, 8 August 2005 12:18 (twenty years ago)

i am gonna add that instrument one- not just to play, but have the ability of any musical genius if i so see it fit.

― battlingspacemonkey (battlingspacemonkey), Monday, 8 August 2005 12:26 (twenty years ago)

1. The ability to go anywhere in the blink of an eye (like bewitched) .. twitch of the nose, I guess.
2. Super strength
3. Ability to fly - that's just for fun though.

― Draw Tipsy, ya hack. (dave225.3), Monday, 8 August 2005 12:26 (twenty years ago)

of course- flying is for fun, and in dreams i'm always impressed and surprised at how easy it is and miffed that i never attempted it before...

― battlingspacemonkey (battlingspacemonkey), Monday, 8 August 2005 12:30 (twenty years ago)

The ability to open my mouth and have whatever song i have in my head at the time come out, as loud as I like, in full stereo. And flip cars over in parking lots just by looking at them. And 360 degree spatial awareness such that I no longer need corrective lenses except when I want to read, etc. That's about it. Oh, wait. Breathing underwater.

― TOMBOT, Monday, 8 August 2005 13:10 (twenty years ago)

The speak any language power v. super strength is the toss up I always get into.

The language thing would just be so freaking cool - you'd be the world's best tourist, and be totally able to get along anywhere you wanted to be.

The strength thing would be more practical if there were super villians. Also, you'd be able to smash, a la the Hulk, which, to be honest, looks really fun.

Damn toss up...

― Big Loud Mountain Ape (Big Loud Mountain Ape), Monday, 8 August 2005 13:13 (twenty years ago)

I've outgrown the old telephone jizz shots one.

― TOMBOT, Monday, 8 August 2005 13:14 (twenty years ago)

I would like The Phantom's 'good relations' with all animals too, thinking about it more. I'd still eat meat though.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Monday, 8 August 2005 13:27 (twenty years ago)

The ability to ask questions to the aether (God?) and have them answered in some satisfactory manner.

For example, you could ask - which would be the best way to procede in this situation? And the answer would come to you.

Or, you could ask, well, anything and be answered, if that makes any sense at all.

― , Monday, 8 August 2005 13:28 (twenty years ago)

What's wrong with google?

― beanz (beanz), Monday, 8 August 2005 13:39 (twenty years ago)

some things in life my child cannot be answered merely by google alone.

the depth and wealth of some questions requires a more robust and throuogh answer.

on the other hand you could get a magic 8 ball.

― battlingspacemonkey (battlingspacemonkey), Monday, 8 August 2005 13:47 (twenty years ago)

-wisdom
-flight(duh)
-time-travel, or at least the ability to have save & reload certain points
-full Jedi powers, and bitchin' Mifune-style robe

― kingfish (Kingfish), Monday, 8 August 2005 13:55 (twenty years ago)

Any of the Jedi Mind Trick/Force Push/Choke People With Fingers From A Distance variants. I am a classicist.

― The Original Jimmy Mod: A Negro (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 8 August 2005 13:57 (twenty years ago)

to be able to beam myself wherever i wanted to go. also, to be able to move things with your mind, and get stuff done...you know how you sort of half-awake fantasize about stuff that's very everyday but you don't have the energy to get out of bed for?

― juliaaa, Monday, 8 August 2005 14:00 (twenty years ago)

and to have some super powers i didn't know about so like every now and then i'd be all wow that was cool how did i do that?

― stevie shaw (stevieshaw), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:01 (twenty years ago)

the infinite improbability power. completely random but always works

― stevie shaw (stevieshaw), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:02 (twenty years ago)

What, no takers on teh PYROKINESIS? Well then, I will take up the TORCH as ilx's resident FLAMETHROWER.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:05 (twenty years ago)

some things in life my child cannot be answered merely by google alone.
the depth and wealth of some questions requires a more robust and throuogh answer.

on the other hand you could get a magic 8 ball.

Or Ask Jeeves?

― beanz (beanz), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:06 (twenty years ago)

Total control over time seems good, too. Not just to stop it or slow it down, but sometimes also to speed it up. Like, maybe if I'm cooking SUPERNOODLES and need the water to be boiling RIGHT NOW because Wolverine gets kinda AGGRO when he's hungry.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:07 (twenty years ago)

ability to time travel

and, if i didn't already have it, it would have been the ability to seduce a lady at my will with a gaze.

― ken c (ken c), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:17 (twenty years ago)

Being invisible would rock too. Combined with being able to walk through walls. Maybe not. What if I found out everyone hates me. :-(

― nathalie sans denouement (stevie nixed), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:20 (twenty years ago)

You ARE Rogue! ;)

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:20 (twenty years ago)

some of you are hella greedy with superpowers.

― g-kit (g-kit), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:22 (twenty years ago)

It should've been OPO.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:23 (twenty years ago)

I usually would pick being able to TELEPORT, but I changed my mind and I think maybe invisibility. You could SNEAK ONTO PLANES, steal money from people who don't deserve it, SPY ON PEOPLE. Apparently I'd use my super powers for evil.

p.s - when I have an actual question I ALWAYS use ask jeeves. "Dear Jeeves, how can I make my hair less poofy?"

― gunther heartymeal (keckles), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:31 (twenty years ago)

For all questions about hair, particularly hair dye, I *always* turn to ILE.

I also want elastic limbs.

http://freespace.virgin.net/colin.morrison/tfa/pics/players/tickle.gif

― beanz (beanz), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:44 (twenty years ago)

jeeves never has the answers you require

xpost

― battlingspacemonkey (battlingspacemonkey), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:50 (twenty years ago)

I need superpowers?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:51 (twenty years ago)

Yes, Stevem, but I would like it to be The League of Extraordinary Ladies!

― nathalie sans denouement (stevie nixed), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:52 (twenty years ago)

yeah, jeeves is crap. Also, if I'm going to ask a question I want him to give me an ANSWER, not a bunch of LINKS. SERIOUSLY. I just need an online genie instead.

― gunther heartymeal (keckles), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:52 (twenty years ago)

jeeves is touching narnia. he's so repressed he takes his anger out on us by just giving us links when all we want is ANSWERS.

― g-kit (g-kit), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:54 (twenty years ago)

I wish Jambi, the genie from pee wee's playhouse, would go online.

― gunther heartymeal (keckles), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:55 (twenty years ago)

google-head
key-finger
sex-eye
self-cleaning-undies

― Frogm@n Henry, Monday, 8 August 2005 14:55 (twenty years ago)

He could replace Jeeves.

― gunther heartymeal (keckles), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:55 (twenty years ago)

Sex-eye?

― beanz (beanz), Monday, 8 August 2005 14:57 (twenty years ago)

some of you are hella greedy with superpowers.
-- g-kit (kittenslikemil...), August 8th, 2005 3:22 PM. (g-kit) (later) (link)

dude, that's the whole point. is socialism your superpower or something.

― ken c (ken c), Monday, 8 August 2005 15:01 (twenty years ago)

1. Force field generation
2. Telekenesis
3. Death Ray in ring finger

― jel -- (jel), Monday, 8 August 2005 16:14 (twenty years ago)

" 1. ability to instantaneously jump to any point in time and space (with whatever i was carrying or in direct physical contact with included) by mental description alone (but it wouldn't work unless i knew specific enough details of the desired destination and there was no-one at the other end) though without the ability to intervene in what has/will happen, because that responsibility is too much for one person."

I've always wanted a similar power to this! I'd be invisible when I got there.

― chap who would dare to thwart the revolution (chap), Monday, 8 August 2005 16:22 (twenty years ago)

an off switch, so you can switch yourself off

That would be cool... hmm, but... NOT having an off switch was a superpower for Morpheus - not the Sandman character but a supervillain who battled Moon Knight (with The Thing, Nite Owl from Watchmen and The Flash, one of the few Jewish superheroes...)
http://www.brokenfrontier.com/ektron-content/mk2_0906.jpg
Morpheus couldn't sleep at all and that obviously made him crazy but it did leave him with the power to give people nightmares, not the nicest superpower but then that's why he was a supervillain, aai.

But I agree with Martin, if I had an off switch I'd probably use it once and for all pretty quickly. I've always kinda liked the image of the Silver Surfer, IMO one of the weirdest superheroes ever. So I'd board around the galaxy with silver skin.
http://marvelite.prohosting.com/surfer/surfwatch/surferv4/SSURF002_400clr_t.jpg

― angle of dateh, Saturday, 13 August 2005 17:56 (twenty years ago)

I've outgrown the old telephone jizz shots one.

what about the shitting in other people's pants one?

― luna (luna.c), Saturday, 13 August 2005 18:17 (twenty years ago)

LIQUID METAL TERMINATOR STYLE PENIS

― LeCoq (LeCoq), Saturday, 13 August 2005 21:43 (twenty years ago)

I'd pick only one. The only one. The U.S. of A.

― my name is john. i reside in chicago. (frankE), Saturday, 13 August 2005 22:49 (twenty years ago)

really actually seriouisly i would really like to have: the ability to find anything anywhere instantly.

― geoff (gcannon), Saturday, 13 August 2005 23:57 (twenty years ago)

i want the abilty to love.

― anthony easton (anthony), Sunday, 14 August 2005 00:14 (twenty years ago)

Pfft - this is easy. Impervious to all harm. Not the most visual or impressive, but it means you live forever and all those wieners out there shooting lightning bolts from their eyes and stuff can't affect you. You just shake it off, walk up and bop 'em in the snoot. HA-HA losermo! You shoulda picked impervious to all harm!

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Sunday, 14 August 2005 02:41 (twenty years ago)

Want underwater adventures? Go to it, you can't drown! Wanna fly for fun? Jump out of an airplane, what's the worst that could happen?

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Sunday, 14 August 2005 02:44 (twenty years ago)

i had this conversation recently and a friend of mine totally ruined the fun of invisibility when he pointed out that you would need to be naked all the time otherwise you'd just freak people out by being a chevy chase-esque pile of clothes walking around. but i guess since you'd be invisible who really cares?

as far as my favorite: teleportation, natch. flying would be cool for awhile, i think, but you'd probably get kind of tired/cold after multiple 10 hour flights and such. so i'd probably just lazily switch to teleportation after a period.

― Werner Herzog Eats His Vegetables (Plastic Gas Booby Trap), Sunday, 14 August 2005 14:53 (twenty years ago)

I did this as a questionnaire in high school for a yearbook page and the two answers that worked best for me were "inspector gadget arms" and "to be a beer".

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Sunday, 14 August 2005 17:17 (twenty years ago)

invisibility is very rub! you'd also be blind, since since you need your retina and cornea to absorb & focus light. pppfffthhh!!

― geoff (gcannon), Sunday, 14 August 2005 17:42 (twenty years ago)

per an early william gibson story: a gland that secreted cash + alcohol-based metabolism + shapeshifting

― geoff (gcannon), Sunday, 14 August 2005 17:44 (twenty years ago)

i asked the norwegians about this this w/e and one of them said "the world's biggest trousers".

wtf?

― emsk ( emsk), Monday, 15 August 2005 14:09 (twenty years ago)

dude, that's the whole point. is socialism your superpower or something.
-- ken c (pykachu10...), August 8th, 2005. (later)

dude. superbitchiness. mine eyes.

― g-kit (g-kit), Monday, 15 August 2005 14:15 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

Time travel.

And the ability to put my fingers in my mouth and whistle.

― Billy Dods, Monday, 18 June 2007 10:22 (eighteen years ago)

the ability to spontaneously change sex at will

― latebloomer, Monday, 18 June 2007 11:14 (eighteen years ago)

and shoot lasers from my genitalia

― latebloomer, Monday, 18 June 2007 11:17 (eighteen years ago)

i'd be called Mighty Hermaphrodite-y

― latebloomer, Monday, 18 June 2007 11:18 (eighteen years ago)

1. The ability to teach.
2. The ability rapidly to sift truth from lies.
3. Compassion for all living things.

― Aimless, Monday, 18 June 2007 16:09 (eighteen years ago)

Time travel, the ability to eat whatever I wanted and not gain weight, and the ability to never put my foot in my mouth.

― Sara R-C, Monday, 18 June 2007 16:25 (eighteen years ago)

the ability to stop time whenever i wanted, like that episode of Twilight zone

― Ste, Tuesday, 19 June 2007 08:38 (eighteen years ago)

Time/space travel
shapeshift ability
immortality
invincibility
perpetual youth (a bit too late for that one, but wtfe)

― Pashmina, Tuesday, 19 June 2007 09:02 (eighteen years ago)

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