forum Help!!! I'm writing superheroes
Started by @M.W.Poel
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@M.W.Poel

One of the stories I'm working on is set in a futuristic world where 50% of the population has superpowers. (The rules of how and what are still vague) And I have two problems with this story.

  1. the main character has the superpower indestructible body as long as it comes to force and really hard to damage body when it comes to fire and the likes. My problem with this is coming up with ways for her to utilize it in other ways than simply not caring for the guy shooting at her. Any suggestions on shenanigans she can pull or ways that it's very inefficient for her to have the power?

  2. Coming up with superpowers that seem kind of original. There is, of course, the super strength and super speed stuff but I want powers that might not be very useful and give way to problems and shenanigans beyond the "I'm a danger to myself and others" trope. What would you guys like to see?

Universe: Supers
Main character: Mista Ó Cathain (Ó Kane)

@Wry_Wyvern

So if supers have superpowers because of a chemical that alters their DNA, maybe there would be some way the chemical itself takes a toll on the body; maybe supers don't live as long as normal humans or have some kind of disease.
As for shenanigans, you could have her do reckless, dangerous things just for fun ("look guys I'm going to jump off this building!"). You also said her body is really hard to damage, but not impossible; does she know her limits? If not, discovering that she can actually be hurt would be a shock, and she would probably be more susceptible to pain than normal people as someone who's used to never being hurt.

@M.W.Poel

So if supers have superpowers because of a chemical that alters their DNA, maybe there would be some way the chemical itself takes a toll on the body; maybe supers don't live as long as normal humans or have some kind of disease.
As for shenanigans, you could have her do reckless, dangerous things just for fun ("look guys I'm going to jump off this building!"). You also said her body is really hard to damage, but not impossible; does she know her limits? If not, discovering that she can actually be hurt would be a shock, and she would probably be more susceptible to pain than normal people as someone who's used to never being hurt.

hmm, I hadn't thought about the negative effects for supers as a whole. Might be a good idea.

She didn't receive her powers until the age of 14, meaning that she isn't unfamiliar with pain and is indeed quite reckless. She did have time to figure out her limits but she maybe isn't aware of the exact border where something can hurt her. I like your idea that she would be shocked (or at least very confused) when encountering a situation or person that poses a threat.

@mckapo

If the skin is indestructible when it comes to force… reminds me of the Juggernaut, maybe she could get a running start, and smash through things.

@M.W.Poel

It's a good suggestion but I don't think she has the strength to do that. I'm also afraid that if I do give her the strength it would feel too much like "that one invincible superhero". Do you think it would work if she jumped out of a plane and crashlanded in the middle of the battle?

@mckapo

It's a good suggestion but I don't think she has the strength to do that. I'm also afraid that if I do give her the strength it would feel to much like "that one invincible superhero". Do you think it would work if she jumped out of a plane and crashlanded in the middle of the battle?

Well, I think the force of the impact would cause her skin to take on the indestructibility aspect, and she'd be fine.

So, is her skin like regular people's skin when there is no 'force' coming at her ?

@mckapo

One of the stories I'm working on is set in a futuristic world where 50% of the population has superpowers. (The rules of how and what are still vague) And I have two problems with this story.

  1. the main character has the superpower indestructible body as long as it comes to force and really hard to damage body when it comes to fire and the likes. My problem with this is coming up with ways for her to utilize it in other ways than simply not caring for the guy shooting at her. Any suggestions on shenanigans she can pull or ways that it's very inefficient for her to have the power?

What if she comes across someone with intangibility? Then her superpower would be severely limited fighting someone like this, because they could become intangible and then phase through her, there would be no force, and no way for her body to protect against that.

  1. Coming up with superpowers that seem kind of original. There is, of course, the super strength and super speed stuff but I want powers that might not be very useful and give way to problems and shenanigans beyond the "I'm a danger to myself and others" trope. What would you guys like to see?

I have a few superpowers (I try to make the powers affect the character mentally/physically depending on what it is) that are probably considered normal, but with a little twist (kind of)
Ice - Character can control/create ic, turn water and vaper to ice, but over time, icicles form on the body, like say the cheeks, the arms, and limits the movements (like say a foot started to become overtaken by the ice that the character generates internally, and now they have an extremely heavy foot. haha) and anyone within a close enough proximity will feel the effects of the ice/coldness
Heat - a character that can control heat; raise and lower temperatures (though nothing below like 90degress), they send out a subconscious heat wave constantly, and when emotionally unbalanced, this heat wave grows larger and more intense.
Electricity - character can control electrical currents (including bio electric pulses that humans give off), but with a constant influx of electricity, it messes with characters brain chemical whatever and so they are a little bit of a nutcase
Telepathy - character is able to read minds, but in the beginning, has very little control, and so it constantly suffering from migraines. Possibly wears noise canceling headphones at all times to be able to concentrate.
Time Manipulation - character is able to gather small specks of Time that are present everywhere (though must separate herself and go into a different state of existence to be able to see these Time particles. Then gathers them together, and with enough partcles, is able to slow down/speed up/stop completely time, but causes massive strains to the body to be out of the natural flow of Time. There could be many side effects and drawbacks with this ability.
Shadow Manipulation - able to teleport through the shadows, form shadows into solid objects. Also travels into a 'dark realm' full of terrifying things. Could also, having using ability more often than not, start to become a shadow slowly, like maybe an arm starts to turn wispy and maybe sometimes sticks him to shadows where he has to convince himself that he is not a shadow, but a human.

Universe: Supers
Main character: Mista Ó Cathain (Ó Kane)

@M.W.Poel

So, is her skin like regular people's skin when there is no 'force' coming at her?

Nah, she's basically like a 132 pound diamond with titanium armour although still looking and feeling like a normal human.
…And thank you. ^.^

@mckapo

Also, is the MC only indestructible-skin when someone with a bad intent is coming at her?
Because Im thinking, what if a friend playfully slaps her arm, and then their hand gets broken/sprained/bruised because of it?

@mckapo

So, is her skin like regular people's skin when there is no 'force' coming at her?

Nah, she's basically like a 132 pound diamond with titanium armour although still looking and feeling like a normal human.
…And thank you. ^.^

Like Emma Frost??? :D

@M.W.Poel

Oh, that's what you mean. No. She can't turn it on and off (or at the very least doesn't know how to turn it off) so its a permanent thing. It's why she's absolutely terrifying and her Archnemesis advice to everyone else is: don't do anything against her, don't trick her, don't engage in combat, just run and hope you're fast enough.

@mckapo

Oh, that's what you mean. No. She can't turn it on and off (or at the very least doesn't know how to turn it off) so its a permanent thing. It's why she's absolutely terrifying and her Archnemesis advice to everyone else is: don't do anything against her, don't trick her, don't engage in combat, just run and hope you're fast enough.

oooh sounds awesome.
Well, then the baddies need to get creative and find a super, or a tech, that attack through diamond strength humans.

@mckapo

One of the stories I'm working on is set in a futuristic world where 50% of the population has superpowers. (The rules of how and what are still vague) And I have two problems with this story.

  1. the main character has the superpower indestructible body as long as it comes to force and really hard to damage body when it comes to fire and the likes. My problem with this is coming up with ways for her to utilize it in other ways than simply not caring for the guy shooting at her. Any suggestions on shenanigans she can pull or ways that it's very inefficient for her to have the power?

What if she comes across someone with intangibility? Then her superpower would be severely limited fighting someone like this, because they could become intangible and then phase through her, there would be no force, and no way for her body to protect against that.

  1. Coming up with superpowers that seem kind of original. There is, of course, the super strength and super speed stuff but I want powers that might not be very useful and give way to problems and shenanigans beyond the "I'm a danger to myself and others" trope. What would you guys like to see?

I have a few superpowers (I try to make the powers affect the character mentally/physically depending on what it is) that are probably considered normal, but with a little twist (kind of)
Ice - Character can control/create ic, turn water and vaper to ice, but over time, icicles form on the body, like say the cheeks, the arms, and limits the movements (like say a foot started to become overtaken by the ice that the character generates internally, and now they have an extremely heavy foot. haha) and anyone within a close enough proximity will feel the effects of the ice/coldness
Heat - a character that can control heat; raise and lower temperatures (though nothing below like 90degress), they send out a subconscious heat wave constantly, and when emotionally unbalanced, this heat wave grows larger and more intense.
Electricity - character can control electrical currents (including bio electric pulses that humans give off), but with a constant influx of electricity, it messes with characters brain chemical whatever and so they are a little bit of a nutcase. Also, not good with electronics, and if coming across water or anything that could amplify/conduct the innate electricity, may get short-circuited and pass the fuck out.
Telepathy - character is able to read minds, but in the beginning, has very little control, and so it constantly suffering from migraines. Possibly wears noise canceling headphones at all times to be able to concentrate.
Time Manipulation - character is able to gather small specks of Time that are present everywhere (though must separate herself and go into a different state of existence to be able to see these Time particles. Then gathers them together, and with enough partcles, is able to slow down/speed up/stop completely time, but causes massive strains to the body to be out of the natural flow of Time. There could be many side effects and drawbacks with this ability. There is the possibility of disassociation with one's self, if having traveled to different times, or being very confused a lot of the time, or being unable to live normally without using abilities (like maybe slowing down time is kind of addictive)
Shadow Manipulation - able to teleport through the shadows, form shadows into solid objects. Also travels into a 'dark realm' full of terrifying things. Could also, having using ability more often than not, start to become a shadow slowly, like maybe an arm starts to turn wispy and maybe sometimes sticks him to shadows where he has to convince himself that he is not a shadow, but a human.
Emotional Manipulation - character can feel and read people's emotions, maybe through touch, or being close to someone, or maybe it depends on their relationship with said person, or all three together, and can also change them to what the character wants, but can also be overwhelming when doing so, and may take on the emotions of the person they are trying to manipulate (without proficient practice), maybe their touch is dangerous in the fact that if too much contact, then the person will be completely drained, go into a coma, pass out for a few days, or become a Dull Person for the rest of their lives, and in turn overloads the character with too much emotion, and a lot of things could come out of that
Probablity Manipulation - Like Jinx from Teen Titans, or Domino from DC. this is such an awesome power…

Universe: Supers
Main character: Mista Ó Cathain (Ó Kane)

@M.W.Poel

You really like superheroes, don't you? I'm not sure about the ice and the heat. The others are absolutely wonderful ideas. I'm definitely going to try to incorporate some of them.
….
Jinx is fabulous.

@mckapo

You really like superheroes, don't you? I'm not sure about the ice one and the heat. The others are absolutely wonderful ideas. I'm definitely going to try to incorporate some of them.
….
Jinx is fabulous.

Man I LOVE superheroes to the extreeeeme.
Jinx… should have done a 6th season, and shown a few of the awesome new characters they introduced at the end with Brother Blood. Like yes, Jinx and Kid Flash (so many fanfics written for these two haha) Cheshire… and that one awesome british goth girl that had abilities similar to Green Lantern

@M.W.Poel

I'm glad, you're a beacon of information and references. I mostly watch the anime my hero academia and like to research Marvel and DC lore, especially Marvel.

@mckapo

I like to have abilities that will constantly affect the super. Like superspeed, I feel you'd get ADHD because everything would be moving way to slow for you to function properly. idk haha

@mckapo

I'm glad, you're a beacon of information and references. I mostly watch the anime my hero academia and like to research Marvel and DC lore, especially Marvel.

me too.
im a superhero nerd with so much useless information haha

@mckapo

You really like superheroes, don't you? I'm not sure about the ice one and the heat. The others are absolutely wonderful ideas. I'm definitely going to try to incorporate some of them.
….

When you add more characters/superpowers, I would like to look at them(:
always interested in superhero/power stories

@M.W.Poel

sure, I'll leave the public setting on. feel free to comment here again if you have suggestions on improvement.

@Wry_Wyvern

Oh, that's what you mean. No. She can't turn it on and off (or at the very least doesn't know how to turn it off) so its a permanent thing. It's why she's absolutely terrifying and her Archnemesis advice to everyone else is: don't do anything against her, don't trick her, don't engage in combat, just run and hope you're fast enough.

So she's basically indestructible from the outside, but what about internal damage? What if she swallows poison or something? Can she get sick?

@M.W.Poel

So she's basically indestructible from the outside, but what about internal damage? What if she swallows poison or something? Can she get sick?

I'm going to say yes. At least if the poison disrupts the electric pulses between nerfs or something. If someone dropped a smoke bomb of poisonous gas she would have to Nope out of there fast. Food poison and drowning would become a thing too I suppose.