Need a superpower

[rancher of monsters]

So I'm an aspiring writer, and I'm working on a story about superheroes. The problem is I'm having trouble developing a power for my lead character. I want something that leaves them tough enough to battle monsters and junk, but weak enough where a batman styled person could take them out with some skill and the surrounding enviroment. Basically, I just want to know what powers you would find most interesting in a lead character. So, any ideas?

 

[rancher of monsters]

Oh, I forgot to mention the character is going to be kind of young, maybe late teens. I wanna keep the background story very simple so while minor gadgets are alright, most of this will have to be genetic or magical.

 

[Lord Legion]

Superpowers? Personally, I feel that's been done to death for a while.
Unless you make your main character really good at lying, and they trick everyone else into thinking that they have powers. That might be kind of original...however stay away from the obvious: The villian knows and is going to expose the fraud.

You'd have to fill us in on the mood of your story, whether it be light-hearted humor, or dark cyberpunk.

 

[AnarchyUK]

Fire and lots of it

 

[WolfThomas]

Hmm...off the top of my drunk head, what about invulnerablility and flight? But only while doing the latter. So to fight he needs a run up but if engaged in hand to hand he's defenseless.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Spider sense. Tingling!

How about regeneration? Not on the same level as Wolverine, but enough so that he can take a pretty nasty beating and get up the next day feeling fine.

 

[Jim Grim]

What's the character like? It would be much cooler if this super power also reflected their personality in some way.

 

[Merkavar]

pyrokenisis. Controlling fire with your mind. but dont let him create fire with his mind. so he needs to carry a lighter that sometimes doesnt work for suspense.

That way if he gets attacked and loses his lighter he is basically defensless.

also he carries a lighter etc but doesnt smoke.

So he can throw fireballs at people and make a swirling fire aura for protection

 

[Gruevy]

I don't think the power matters as long as you're able to write and set up conflict between the characters in an interesting way. While there were certainly some powers that I've found interesting, I wouldn't want to paste them onto any other character, because it makes them feel less unique.

That being said, I agree with having a power reflect the character's personality. Even better, you can make it so that their powers go against their personality.

 

[gazumped]

A site for rather inventive superpowers: http://dailysuperpower.tumblr.com/

Mostly fairly useless superpowers but it could spark your imagination. And it's a kind of fun site to look at anyway.

 

[PeePantz]

You should make it a duo. Two people who can revive each other after death. However, they can only revive each other. Both die? Tough shit. This can lead to very interesting stories.

 

[RatRace123]

Sonic Sneezes.

That's all I got right now. Still, that's kinda cool in its own right.

 

[Alon Shechter]

A Marine in a Predator suit with Alien (that is the aliens with little living tongues) DNA.

 

[nuba km]

the power to change his body according to what he has eaten for intense if he has eaten a part of a bee he can make himself grow a bee stinger and bee wings.

 

[BENZOOKA]

The superpower of keeping his eyes open when he sneezes.

 

[HyperionToASatyr]

Have you considered limited precognition? Like maybe his ability to predict the future is limited to the immediate future, and then only when he's in danger. Kind of like "spidey-sense," but even narrower. It'd give him an edge in a fight, since he'd be able to see what his opponents are doing before they do it, but a Batman-type character could still take him down with proper planning.

 

[bojac6]

So I'm an aspiring writer, and I'm working on a story about superheroes. The problem is I'm having trouble developing a power for my lead character. I want something that leaves them tough enough to battle monsters and junk, but weak enough where a batman styled person could take them out with some skill and the surrounding enviroment. Basically, I just want to know what powers you would find most interesting in a lead character. So, any ideas?

If you want to see creative super powers done right, read Alan Moore's Top Ten. Characters in that range from god level powers to patches of skin change color, but the ones in between are cool.

Examples to consider: Toybox - she basically makes toys behave like it's Toy Story. She goes to a crime scene (she's a cop) and opens up her toychest and says "I want a blood splatter analysis and every fiber picked up." So little green army men and nutcrackers and other toys come out, comb the area, and take care of it while she's interviewing suspects. It's really cool.

King Peacock - my favorite, he worships "Satan" who, in this world, isn't evil, just the Lord of the Material Realm. This gives him an innate understanding of matter and materials. So while he is just a very fit human, he looks at a building and instantly knows where a weak spot is such that a couple of rhythmic taps will cause it to fall down. Or where to put weight on a door so the lock just opens. It's a very subtle power, very creative, and a lot of fun.

Or maybe somebody like Jetlad, a normal human in every way, until he's in a fighter plane. Then he can out fly any 20 people. All his powers are related to flying a fighter, where he is untouchable, but on the ground, he's just a short, pudgy guy.