Superpower (ability)
Encyclopedia
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
term for a fictional superhuman
Superhuman
Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...
ability. When a character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
possesses multiple such abilities, the terms super powers or simply powers are used. It is most frequently used in pulp magazines, comic books, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, television shows and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
as the key attribute of a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
.
The concept originated in pulp magazines and comic books of the 1930s and 40s, and has gradually worked its way into other genres and media.
Definition
There is no rigid definition of a "superpower". In popular culture, it may be used to describe anything from minimal exaggeration of normal human traits, magicMagic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
, to near-godlike abilities including flight, projection of destructive energy beams and force fields, invulnerability, telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation, super-speed or control of the weather.
Generally speaking, exceptional-but-not-superhuman fictional characters like Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
, Doc Savage
Doc Savage
Doc Savage is a fictional character originally published in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. He was created by publisher Henry W. Ralston and editor John L...
, Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, and Green Arrow
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
may be classified as superheroes although they do not have any actual superpowers.
Similarly, characters who derive their abilities from artificial, external sources—the Six Million Dollar Man and his bionic limbs, Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
and his power ring
Power ring (weapon)
A power ring is a fictional object featured in comic book titles published by DC Comics. It first appeared in All-American Comics #16 .-Origin:...
and Iron Man's armor
Iron Man's armor
Iron Man's armor is the fictional powered exoskeleton worn by the fictional Tony Stark when he assumes his superhero role of Iron Man. The first version of the armor was created by Stark with the help of Ho Yinsen....
, and Captain Olimar's Pikmin may be fairly described as having superpowers, but are not necessarily superhuman.
Explanations in Fiction
In fiction, seemingly impossible superpowers of superheroes are sometimes given scientific, quasi-scientific, pseudo-scientific or outright supernatural explanations by writers. Most, however, are impossible with current technology and physical laws.Superpowers based on possible current or future technology, such as machine suits, rockets, bionics
Bionics
Bionics is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology.The word bionic was coined by Jack E...
and genetic manipulation for example, have their roots in science and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
. Superpowers based on Psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
and paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
powers, for example have their roots in pseudo-science. Other superpowers may be explained using mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
.
Origin of the term
The earliest known use of the word superpower was in 1920, in reference to the term for the powerful nation (see superpowerSuperpower
A superpower is a state with a dominant position in the international system which has the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests...
).
In comics, the first references to superheroes with superhuman abilities was at about the same time. At first, superpowers were first poorly described. Superhuman characters simply were able to achieve whatever the narrator or writer of a story needed him or her to do to fulfill its part in the story. This was also true in the early years of superhero comic books.
As the years passed and more characters were created, however, a greater variety of abilities was invented, in an effort to be distinctive. An example of this can be seen in the way Superman's powers
Powers and abilities of Superman
The powers of DC Comics character Superman have changed a great deal since his introduction in the 1930s. The extent of his powers peaked during the 1970s and 1980s to the point where various writers found it difficult to create suitable challenges for the character...
developed over the years. Certain comic book series were created specifically to explore the possible varieties of superpowers. Examples of this include DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
’ Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
(which included the concept of would-be members being required to pass tests to determine if their powers were useful) and Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
’ X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
series, where a school
X-Mansion
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe, the X-Mansion is the common name for Professor Xavier's mansion. It is the base of operations and training site of the X-Men and the location of a school for mutant teenagers, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, formerly Xavier's School for Gifted...
for training mutants to use their powers was a central concept. Characters with multiple powers, often copied or stolen from others, such as the Composite Superman
Composite Superman
The Composite Superman is a DC Comics supervillain, an enemy of Superman and Batman.-Joseph Meach version:First appearing in World's Finest Comics #142, June 1964, Joseph Meach was a diver who had fallen on hard times. In an attempt to draw publicity to himself, Meach set up a water tank on a...
or the Super-Skrull
Super-Skrull
The Super-Skrull is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #18 The Super-Skrull (Kl'rt) is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The...
also started to appear.
In the 1970s, role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
s began to develop, and soon superhero-based ones were developed as well. The game designers were faced with the dilemma of how to catalogue superpowers for their use in the games. At first the designers simply borrowed names and effects from the comics; however they soon realized that there was a redundancy of abilities as some characters' powers differed from others only in minor details like name or visible effects. The Champions
Champions (role-playing game)
Champions is a role-playing game published by Hero Games that is designed to simulate and function in a four-color superhero comic book world. It was created by George MacDonald, Steve Peterson, Bruce Harlick, and Ray Greer....
role-playing game took a radical departure in describing powers by their effects rather than their causes; for example a laser and a lightning bolt were both considered to be versions of the same power, named Ranged Attack. Another fact they realized is that some powers were simply more useful than others in game terms; to represent this, each power was given a "value" in a point system, with the more powerful abilities costing more to "buy". In addition, players were given options to modify their powers so each character's abilities would be unique. This system has since then influenced many other similar games.
In an attempt at greater realism, the causes and effects of superpowers have been considered more carefully by writers. The possible origins for powers include natural mutations, genetic manipulation, bionics, natural forces unique to a particular universe (such as DC Comics' Speed Force
Speed Force
The Speed Force is a concept presented in various comic books published by DC Comics, primarily in relation to the various speedsters in the DC Universe.-Empowered:...
or Marvel Comics' Power Cosmic
Power Cosmic
The Power Cosmic is a fictional type of cosmic energy that appears in comic books published by Marvel, most commonly mentioned in stories involving the cosmic entity Galactus and his heralds...
and even magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
). In the 1980s, Marvel Comics began publishing their Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is an encyclopedic guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications...
series, in which the powers of their characters were explained in great detail, often using scientific and pseudoscientific terms.
Eventually, the powers became a focus of the stories. Inspired by social science fiction, these stories went beyond the simple acceptance and use of superpowers in the roles of superheroes and supervillains and explored their effects in society at large. An example of this is the persecution of mutants in the X-Men series. An important difference is that science fiction usually posits superpowered minorities as having mainly the same kind of powers (for example, the telepaths in A. E. van Vogt
A. E. van Vogt
Alfred Elton van Vogt was a Canadian-born science fiction author regarded by some as one of the most popular and complex science fiction writers of the mid-twentieth century: the "Golden Age" of the genre....
's Slan
Slan
Slan is a science fiction novel written by A. E. van Vogt, as well as the name of the fictional race of superbeings featured in the novel. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction . It was subsequently published in hardcover in 1946 by Arkham House, in an...
) while in comics each superhuman is usually unique.
External links
- Superpower List - A growing list of user-submitted superpowers.
- Superhero Database: Superpowers
- 8 Super Powers, an online Wired MagazineWired (magazine)Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
article on how certain superpowers might work - The Physics of Superheroes, by James Kakalios- a book examining how the powers of several comic book characters would work if they were real.