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InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)C
Posts
4
Comments
119
Joined
2 yr. ago

  • I'm trying to answer everyone and you pointed out correctly something I didn't define well in my original post: I was trying to find either "believable" powers (in the sense of being well constructed) or "believable" origin stories. They didn't need to come from radioactivity only. The reason I was excluding mutants in my original post was that they have powers since they have a different gene, but that is a very "cheap" way of creating a superhero, since no other explanation is necessary!

    Wolverine (as pointed out in the first answer to your comment) is born a mutant and later on given an indestructible skeleton.

    Make no mistake: the post is not about superheroes being or not being cool because of their origin story or super powers. I really like Wolverine and Sabertooth!

  • These are all great answers. As discussed in another answer to a comment (the one on Poison Ivy and Mr Freeze), I agree that "believable" experiments gone wrong based on actual science provide a source of "believable" super powers.

    On the other hand: Ghost Rider and Spawn have really nice origin stories which also place restrictions on what they can do not to make the characters god like.

  • That's a great and involved origin story. Jack takes the mantle though he wants no part in it and becomes a superhero to protect and avenge his family.

    It's interesting to have superheroes who are born out of revenge, like the Punisher mentioned in another comment. I guess revenge is also part of the Spiderman lore, though it isn't involved in what makes him Spiderman in the first place (and also isn't shown acting out of rage, like the Punisher).

    I admit to not knowing Starman enough so I don't know if he's shown acting out of rage (like the Punisher) or of justice (like Spiderman)

  • Your comment nailed perfectly one of two the things I was aiming at with my post which I realized wasn't as well defined as I was hoping (the other thing being a colorful or original origin story, even if the power is unbelievable).

    The Phantom is a perfect example: he's got no superpowers, but he managed to create an immortality myth around himself which makes him scary to others. That's great!

  • Watchmen is a great answer! All characters are normal people, save for Dr Manhattan and, even if the source itself of his super power is "sketchy" (in that it involves a radioactive event that just makes it true, without real explanation), there is a long section showing us how he tried to reassemble himself very very slowly while learning how to use his new powers which makes for a great and detailed origin story.

    Doctor Strange is also a great answer since it taps into something that people have believed existing for centuries (aka magic) and Stephen Strange goes on to study it to save his own hands. It's a great origin story!

    Green Lantern is also awesome in that it's a very unexpected origin story with aliens from Oa and lanterns being used to give this incredible power. I would say it's unbelievable as a power (with respect to the restrictions I was thinking about in my post), but the origin story and lore is much more unexpected than so many other superheroes

  • That's right! In a sense, Batman is very grounded as a comic book in that several of the main characters (Batman and the Robins) all are well trained people but with no super powers, so they are believable!

    There is another answer below about Poison Ivy and Mr Freeze which I also liked and commented on and which (coupled with your answer) points to how much of the lore around Batman is well constructed (that is, characters and villains have a "believable" and well thought origin story)

  • I really like this. It has a similar (but different) feel than the answer involving Poison Ivy and Mr Freeze (which at the end I was abstracting as "believable experiments gone wrong with unexpected but somehow credible outcomes").

    In the case of para humans you're saying, powers are well constructed within the limits of the world they live in and are related to something traumatic (and not necessarily reversible) which gives them abilities related to the event.

    I admit ignorance in their respect and will look more into it. Thanks!

  • Hawkeye and Black Widow are examples of what I was looking for, thanks! They are normal people with extremely good training.

    Daredevil is one I was kind of ruling out in my original post since he gets his powers from chemicals spilled on him, so it feels a bit like a "deus ex machina" plot device, like being a mutant or an alien or touching something radioactive. EDIT: on second thought, you're right that it's known that if you (unfortunately) go blind your other senses somehow help you make up for the loss of sight and so it may be believable that by chance the chemicals he was wetted with could somehow heighten his senses, so actually Daredevil is more in line with what I was looking for than I initially thought!

    Poison Ivy and Mr Freeze are amazing answers! Poison Ivy is "believable" in that she's grown immune to poison because the mix of herbs she's taken "could" have an unexpected effect and Mr Freeze too is awesome in that he's a scientist trying to save his terminally ill wife with cryogenics and somehow the experiment goes wrong.

    Now you're also making me think about the very first episode of the Batman animated series where a scientist researching bats is turned into one.

    Your answer suggests that a source of "believable" origin stories are experiments gone wrong, if the experiments are somehow well thought and resembling actual science

    Edit: updated my thoughts on Daredevil after reading another answer on para humans in this thread.

  • Ahahahah! Great answer and a great comic. Being a parody comic, no one (not even the characters of the comic book) believe he can be real since he's grown to become a god like creature simply by doing a fairly normal workout. Genus is so pissed off when he learns about the source of Saitama's power

  • That's right! Moon Knight is a former mercenary (so believable training) with split personality. Then he also receives power from a god. This is also "believable" in that he is bestowed power after making a pact.

    Of course, the Punisher also fits the bill. He has no powers (like Batman) just lots of training and motivation

  • This is very distressing, but not unexpected... Trying to silence Coffeezilla is the only endgame here, despite claims of his poor reputation being smeared by a thorough investigation

  • Da real MVP

  • Off topic shout out: why not Chaco sandals for home and/or for going out?

    It's off topic, but OP mentioned having used sandals, so he can maybe consider them a good option

  • If you only need to look for slang expressions, that is...

  • I'm blue, da ba dee da ba dam...

  • Message from the whole Lemmy community: we hate you for having inb4-ed our collective standard joke answer.

    Signed: everyone but you 😜

  • Thanks for your words! I wish the same to you (your description of excitement is so awesome!)! Hang in there!

    What your words triggered in me are fairly old emotions. Those two bad relations happened many years ago and now am I with someone I hope will last (you never know, but fingers crossed)

  • Am so sorry to hear about this. Your message makes me wonder about two past relationships

    (1) In one I spent years with someone and it actually was a very toxic relationship, but I didn't realize it during the whole time. What happened was that when I got dumped, I thought I'd die and instead I got over it very quickly by noticing how much I'd lost of myself and how I was rediscovering of myself. It turned out I was able to flush it from myself in less that 6 months. It probably also helped I had finally found what I wanted to do for myself

    (2) About a year and a half after the previous relationship, I found someone I really wanted to be with and who made it incredibly hard to get together with. I worked so hard and then we got together. After a month together, she cheated on me with my (then) best friend of several years. It took me years to get over this and we'd been together for just a month. Somehow the fact I wasn't able to fully live this relationship hurt me way more than the previous long (but horrible) relationship.

    Finding things that you enjoy doing helps a lot, but mainly it's time that heals your wounds.

    Thanks for coming to my TED talk

    Edit: fixed grammar

  • The internet is fine, it's social media and the people using it that are toxic (aided by algorithms pushing people to give their own worst for all sorts of reasons)