My Ideal Superpower

Alright, readers, today’s post is going to be rather quick. It’s late as I’m writing this, but I still want to get something done. My goal for December is to be more consistent with content than I was in November, even though there still may be periods of drought here on Adventure Rules.

Anyway, while I was bored at work earlier today (you’ll find that workplace boredom is the source of many things that I think about), I was thinking about my favorite superhero characters and what superpowers I enjoy and would want to have. Now awhile back I posted a superpower quiz where your answers would decide your superhero archetype, but sometimes its fun to just imagine what powers you would choose on your own, whether they were the powers that best fit your personality or not.

There are a few heroes whose combination of powers I certainly wouldn’t mind having. Cole Macgrath from the inFamous series has some pretty cool abilities, his electrical powers giving him incredible versatility that allows him to travel quickly, restore power during blackouts, heal his body by draining electricity – a lot of abilities that would have some practical value when not being a superhero.

Another hero whose powers I would love to have is Danny Phantom. If you missed out on that cartoon, I’m sorry. It was wonderful. Anyway, Danny has the power to shift into a ghost form, allowing him to walk through walls, disappear, and fly. He was much more unique than the other guys. Anyway, ghost abilities have a lot of useful applications like avoiding awkward social situations, getting to where you need to be quickly, and even keeping you cool when the weather is too hot via cryokinesis.

Sensing a pattern yet? I like superpowers that are practical, that have applications in my day-to-day life rather than only being useful in the heat of combat or during a dangerous mission. Because let’s face it – even if I had incredible powers, chances are I would not be motivated to be a superhero. I’m trying to raise a family, and putting them in danger is not my style. Also, putting myself in danger is not my style. So if I had superpowers, I’d want them to be useful for my everyday life. With that in mind, what superpowers would I want?

First off, temperature control. This wouldn’t be a weather ability to the degree of Storm from the X-Men. I’d simply want to regulate my own body temperature so I could hang out at a comfortable 68-70 degrees in any weather conditions. Hottest day of the summer? Whatever. Blizzard hits the town? I’m good. If I’m being really greedy (and I am, because this is all theoretical so why not dream a little?) I’d like this ability as an aura that could affect an area as large as my house. Then my family would no longer have to worry about increased bills due to air conditioning or heat. Now THAT’s practical!

Next is time control. Again, I’m not talking on a super-powerful scale. In fact, I mainly want to alter my perception of time, not my actual movement through it. This would be similar to the way that the Song of Inverted Time works in Majora’s Mask. You see, at will, I would be able to slow down my perception of time, making the minutes and hours seem longer. Of course, I could turn it off when I don’t want time to be slow, and any aspect of my life I experience in fast time would literally go by faster. Working? Skip the most annoying part of the day with fast time. Cuddling my wife and son while watching one of our favorite movies? Slow things down and revel in the moment. I always find myself wishing that I could do this, so when designing my super-abilities I definitely want this on the list.

Finally, teleportation. The ultimate practical superpower. By being able to instantly appear anywhere on the planet (definitely being greedy with this one), I could shave so much time off for travel and even for getting ready. How great would it be to get extra sleep because you don’t have to factor in travel time when going to work? And coming home would be a snap because you avoid rush-hour traffic. When the family needs a day out of the house, you just whisk them off to the foreign country of your choice and make a day of it. Running late will almost never be a problem, and the time you’ll save by never having to drive, fly, or leave early for anything would be pretty valuable. That kind of thing adds up after awhile. This is definitely my favorite of the three powers I would select and if I could only have one, this is the one I would pick.

But enough about me. What powers would you want if you could choose your own? If you’d rather have them chosen for you, you can take the superpower quiz I posted awhile back and find out what kind of superhero you are. Feel free to discuss your quiz results or your own superpower selections in the comments.