Should we really Beware the Superman?

While having superpowers is depicted as being awesome, it can have its downsizes and even less than 'noble' heroes do abuse their powers. While there are stories stories that explore the conssequences of humans possessing near godlike powers, is really that bad to give normal people Superman levels of power? I actually turn to the Greek Gods for this, the Greek Gods are depicted as humans with supernatuaral powers who would often punish mortals for even the piettiest of things. I know you are ultimately repsonsible for how you use your powers but are superpowwred people that bad? or am I completely mssing the point of the trope?

"Analay, an original fan character from a 2006 non canon comic. Do not steal!"

Power corrupts; psychologically speaking, there's actually a causation between power and loss of empathy. Even when that power means nothing (for example, made "king for a day"), people's subconscious behavior actually changes when they believe themselves to be superior in some fashion. Give people superpowers (especially Class 3 Super Weight powers or higher) and you have a recipe for pure disaster.

As is the case with people, there are exceptions, but not enough to ignore the generalizations. And the problem with superpowers (or Persons Of Mass Destruction) is that Evil Only Has to Win Once.

edited 20th Jul '11 11:29:20 AM by KingZeal

Power does corrupt and absolute corrupts absolutely. This is a sad truth in television.

"Analay, an original fan character from a 2006 non canon comic. Do not steal!"

Yep. Even with a relatively altruistic person, there's the prospect of eventual psychological breakdown due to issues like Samaritan Syndrome, Chronic Hero Syndrome, Being Good Sucks, Heroic Fatigue, Lonely at the Top, Ungrateful Bastards, and Holding Out for a Hero. A normal person isn't going to be able to cope as well as a character with Contractual Immortality in a Status Quo Is God setting where he can usually Take a Third Option and avoid crossing the Moral Event Horizon.

Which is why superheroes need therapy. Far more than they're ever depicted of having. It is also why it's not that unreasonable for the government to have stockpiled kryptonite in order to take out Superman. (And then they get anvilicious with the corruption of the government/military by having them do something stupid with it repeatedly.)

Yeah, balance of power is an important thing. If someone gets power, and knows there's nothing that can stop them from doing a particular thing, why should they stop? And don't forget, even when you're not being deliberately selfish, it's easy for us to justify a lot of horrible things. Adding superpowers to that just magnifies the damage a person can cause.

On the other hand, there are different kinds of power, and aside from "Persons of Mass Destruction" like Thor and Pre-Crisis Superman, enhanced physical abilities aren't so bad. I would be much more afraid of Batman than Superman, because with his billions of dollars, inventive genius, and now his PMC of bat-themed vigilantes enforcing their conception of law across the globe....well, if he goes bad, Earth is particularly screwed.

Similarly, I agree with Greg Pak that the existence of the Hulk keeps the world safe from Bruce Banner. How many more gamma bombs would he have built had his career not been sidetracked via his big green alter ego?

We Are The Wyrecats Needs Tropes!

It's not the guy building the bombs who presents a danger to the world; it's the organizations willing to use them. Plenty of radioactive bombs have been built in the real world, but all they do these days is sit around unused. Actually using one is international political suicide. Given anything resembling our world's international political situation, the same would be true with gamma bombs.

And regarding the Hulk, the people of Marvel are lucky they live in a fictional setting. If not for handwaves, millions of them would be dead as a result of Hulk's rampages by now. In the meantime, if there are any non-destructive applications for gamma energy, the creation of the Hulk would be worse for PR for them than Three Mile Island and Chernobyl combined.

Especially Bats is more of a control freak than Supes, he has the money and the resources to make things like that happen. I am not sure if see this side of Batman a lot but still if he ever did go rogue, no force on Earth could stop him.

edited 20th Jul '11 8:38:00 PM by GAP

"Analay, an original fan character from a 2006 non canon comic. Do not steal!"

Short answer: Yes. Because he has power you don't have.

That's pretty much the end of the issue.

In reality, you're correct that Mutually Assured Destruction creates an equilibrium (if not a true state of peace) in regards to WM Ds. In superhero comics, the universes have gotten much darker, and villains murdering scores upon scores of citizens has become quite common. Even if Banner's bombs haven't been used on civilians (at least to my knowledge), tragedies like the Stamford Incident, Ezekiel Stane's string of repulsor suicide bombings, Norman Osborn blowing up a stadium full of civilians to set up the events of Siege, and Fear Itself indicate that scorched earth tactics are common amongst villains.

Also, keep in mind that Banner's gamma bombs have caused far more damage than the Hulk in an indirect fashion, given all the attempts to replicate the Hulk via gamma infusions. The Hulk, on the other hand, just wants to be left alone. Even the events of World War Hulk were him carrying out vengeance upon a few individuals who'd wronged him.

We Are The Wyrecats Needs Tropes!

It depends on the individual- and the type of powers.

Superman himself (in his classic takes) has been pretty much the exception (to the point The Devil itself tried to crush his spirit in the novel Miracle Monday as his existence provided people with too much hope. He failed btw. :) )Admittedly most people would find it hard not to exploit their powers for gain... by that same token, few would abuse them, if anything because they know they have to fit into a society and acting all abusive will just ostracize you. True criminals are the kind of people who just don't care about that.

Also, the kind of powers matter. Telepathy, for example, gives you a 'constant' temptation of reading other people's thoughts. It would make life SO much easier wouldn't it? But people would feel so violated for being mind-read even once. To say nothing of being Blessed with Suck with 'powers' like vampirism...

edited 22nd Jul '11 5:57:10 PM by Sijo

I think comic book fans are just always looking for reasons to be cynics, personally.

Power corrupts? I dunno, there are plenty of people who have guns, but don't go around shooting everybody. And most of that psychological stuff tends to reek of Jedi Truth. I say, Beware the Superman only if he's actually looking like a threat. Otherwise, nobody has ever gotten far by being paranoid.

edited 25th Jul '11 1:41:07 AM by MoeDantes

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Er, yes we have.

There's a whole list of Real Life examples on Properly Paranoid.

edited 25th Jul '11 1:45:22 AM by KingZeal

I don't have any speific examples but what about thoe rulers who rruled with absolute back in 15th or was ti 16th respectively? There has been people who shot each other with guns, the other day when I was going to work someone shot his ex-girlfriend's lover in jealous rage.

"Analay, an original fan character from a 2006 non canon comic. Do not steal!"

Truthfully, I'd like to see a story that has the Superman himself going Beware the Superman.

A good and descent man gains superpowers, and realizes the full implications of what he can do. He becomes so terrified of his potential, that he goes out of his way to never use his abilites for anything. Good, bad, minor things like getting a free lunch.

Society misses out on it own real life hero because it instilled a deep distrust of those who are different into them.

Having said that, it would ultimately depend on the person. With all the comic books that promote this attitude, I can picture some deciding their powers aren't worth it one way or another.

One Strip! One Strip!

Most stories which involve Superman undergoing an unwanted power boost deal exactly with that. In one story, Superman became a hulking monstrosity (in fact, not much unlike the actual Hulk) who lamented the fact that even a slight nudge might send the planet out of orbit or that he couldn't risk even coming within 20 feet of his wife without worrying about splattering her into bits.

It was handled in the 90s, shortly after the Return Of Superman storyline, so I'm not sure exactly how good the story was, but I'm just putting it out there that it's been explored.

Anyone here read Irredeemable? That's probably the quintessential example of this trope.

We Are The Wyrecats Needs Tropes!

I think the greatest untold Superman like story would go like this:

A Cthulhu Mythosy like being is sent to Earth as punishment for some crime he has no memory of, and is condemned to a human form, not remembering how to use his powers.

The twist is, by the time he starts remembering how to use his powers, he's been reading a lot of Superman comics.

Hell Hasn't Earned My Tears

Get competent writers on this NAO!

"Analay, an original fan character from a 2006 non canon comic. Do not steal!"

Already writing this as a children's book. Its called "The Legend Of Wilbur" and it's got the same plot as that but it's set in a world where the titular Cosmic Horror ruined history by trying to watch every Pokemon episode at once in 1998.

Hell Hasn't Earned My Tears

what?

One Strip! One Strip!

It's intended as a satire of how Grimdark pop culture became post 2001, hence it presents an alternate universe where the 90s didn't end as they would have normally and somehow said Cosmic Horror's making a difference in the world as a Superman fanboy makes the world a better place.

Hell Hasn't Earned My Tears

Giving normal people superpowers wouldn't be that bad.

Steve uses it for his own gain, who cares? If Steve can do that then society will change, but for the worst? Super Steve decides he wants to rob a bank, no substance known to man can stop him, he'll take all the money he wants...turns out Super Rob, the vault guard, has the same powers as Steve, only with better training an a better diet that steady income provides. Steve makes a fuss, rob kicks his ass, bank robberies just have higher collateral now.

But look, the construction crew have the psionic powers of Rockslide and the speed of Surge and can work longer without sleep, damage is fixed quicker. Society is now different, not worse.

Modified Ura-nage, Torture Rack

Then it turns out I have the ability to create black holes. Society is now gone. Evil Only Has To Win The Superpower Lottery once.

It's one of my favorite series. And it's one of the works I was thinking of when making my earlier point about how even an altruist faces the prospect of eventual mental breakdown if they get Superman-level powers. One of my other favorite examples is A God Somewhere

Sure. That would go beyond corruption into Stupid Evil. A person with a gun is Muggle Weight, Iron Weight at best. There are more readily available checks on someone with that level of power than on someone at Lottery Weight.

edited 27th Jul '11 12:59:14 AM by Tongpu

Assuming no one else has the power to defy gravity and disapproves of your acts, then yes.

Modified Ura-nage, Torture Rack