The whole some-people-have-them powers can be good or suck thing reminds me of Xmen.
I’d probably use my powers to get ahead somehow. Like, if I could walk through walls like Kitty Pryde I’d probably rob a bank. If I could hypnotize people I’d probably get on TV like a televangelist and get people to send me cash.
I think that makes me a villain.
I’d use mine the same way. Work within the system and come out looking successful the ‘legal’ way. I’d probably want something like Cipher’s power and be some kind of consultant solving problems for companies.
Those are actually their real names. Madonna was born Madonna. Prince was born Prince. We just don’t use their last names. A better example would be Charlie Sheen.
I don’t get it
Charlie Sheen’s real name isn’t Charlie Sheen. Same with Martin Sheen.
The Sheens are actually named Estevez- yes, they’re hiding their Latino roots to get ahead in Hollywood. Kind of a shame, but I understand why they do it.
Kasey: See what I mean by powers being a big temptation? You Bad Girl! 
As for me, I’d love to have telekinesis, mostly 'cuz I’m a lazy bum who prefers to have things come to him rather than the other way around. 
Plus it’s a very versatile power. And yes, I WOULD use it to help people, but secretly- I wouldn’t go around fighting crime, but if I saw, say, a carjack in progress, I’d telekinetically jam the thief’s gun, or his getaway car, etc. I would NOT let anyone know I had powers, not even my family.
Here are some examples of series with a “Powers in the Real World” setting that I forgot to list above:
The HEROES TV show; also THE 4400.
POWERS, a comic book about police detectives who investigate superhero-related murders; being adapted as a TV show, I hear.
GURPS SUPERS, part of the GURPS tabletop RPG series.
The WILD CARDS series of novels, about an alien virus mutating humanity and giving us superpowers.
There’s also a couple of movies coming that parody the superhero genre by having psychotic vigilantes that act like comic book characters but have no powers; KICK ASS and DEFENDOR are two of them.
Well, Michael Jordan made a career out of his flying powers.
I know you mean that as a joke, Rig, but it actually brings another point I forgot to make above: the ONE area of entertainment where powers would not be allowed would be in sports, because they might give an unfair advantage over other players. In some cases it would be obvious (no super-fast track runners allowed, for example) but even unlikely powers might give you an edge (for example, how could precognition help a racer? By knowing ahead of time when to accelerate and when to slow down!) More than likely anyone with powers would not be allowed to compete at all, and if you happen to be a sports star who suddenly gains powers, your career would end. Of course, a market for competition between supers might become its own media sensation…
Super sports would be cooler, forcing all those dumbass sportos to get real jobs.
Wil, judging by the current situation, I think supers would absolutely be in sport. They just wouldn’t need dope.
I would like to have the powers to see the true information. Basically, be able to pickup what is really happening in the world, not some statement debated by a bunch of different experts.
Best way to describe this would be able to access computer information remotely, like being able to hack data with my mind.
And, a good article Wil, but I would like to add something we talked about earlier: Religious groups.
You know a bunch of super-humaned freaks are going to draw the attention of demon-fearing zealots, who are going to either try to forcibly ‘convert’ the heros, or just give them a good ol’ fashioned stake burning
I’d probably get something like precognition and use it to ruin capitalism forever. I think that makes me a (people’s) hero.
PC Glenton raises a good point. What’s to stop certain powers from starting their own religion? Minority Report used precogs to stop crime but they could just as easily use their powers to avoid disaster and claim credit as prophets.
There would probably still be interest in non-super sports, the same way people follow non-professional sporting leagues. The non-supers might even have a professional league of their own. Also, why would super-athletes be any different in behavior from the regular athletes you seem to dislike so much? You’d basically just have “dumbass sportos” with super powers.
Actually, if they were competing with other supers, some probably would 'roid up.
This is a really interesting subject. I’ve always figured that people with superpowers would have to register with some kind of agency. Certainly some would refuse, for reasons both good and bad (my understanding is that Marvel’s recent Civil War epic tackled this issue, though I hear it didn’t do a particularly good job of it). People with combat-oriented powers might find themselves in special combat or law enforcement units. This may even be a requirement, depending on the government involved. Others could perform delicate scientific research beyond the means of normal humans.
PC: I did hint at the effects on religion in my first post, but didn’t want to discuss it then so as not to derail the thread too early. But yeah, all religions would certainly be affected by the sudden revelation of the existence of superpowers, especially in a random fashion. Imagine if supposedly normal people suddenly started performing “miracles” that only deities could do! In the comics even coming back from the dead is common (though few characters actually have that as a power, it’s usually some other circumstance that causes it). Either you would have a lot of “second comings” or religions would get shot down as having been based on superhumans and not gods all along. Neither of these things would make the religious communities happy. Holy wars were started over far less than this…
Even atheists might be affected spiritually. Suppose you do not believe in an afterlife, and then developed the power of Astral Projection? Whoops…
Destron: Another good point. Simply put, many powers are the equivalent of concealed heavy weaponry; they WOULD make people uncomfortable, if not outright paranoid. (Think about it- if you knew your neighbor not only owned a bazooka but carried it with him ALL THE TIME, wouldn’t you feel nervous around him even if you knew he was a nice, law-abiding citizen?) Registration would be definitely asked for, though in democracies there might be an outcry over violation of privacy rights. However (again, in democracies) people could not be forced to join the army or any other organization against their will; besides it would NOT be smart to tick off the one-man-armies. You do not want to start off a super-revolution ala The X-Men.
The religious reaction would definitely be interesting to see. Of course, speaking of it as a singular reaction would probably be inaccurate: it would differ right down to each individual congregation. Even comparatively united entities, like the Roman Catholic Church, would contain a host of differing opinions.
I don’t think that super powers would derail the faiths of many people. To use an extreme example, some people believe in faith healers as having gifts from God. Super powers would likely fall into the same category.
And also the same way they follow women’s basketball.
The thing is that anybody can be good at sports, those people in the NBA, NFL, NES, etc. are only there because of luck. I’m sure there are plenty of people that are just as good as them that don’t get the same opportunities, is my point.
Your second and third sentences rather differ in meaning. There are also people who didn’t seize their opportunities or coasted on their talent instead of working or just weren’t that good. If everyone had an opportunity to play that doesn’t mean they’d all turn into Weah.
Maybe.
I skimmed and read that as you’d hypnotize televangelists and get money from them.