L. Marcus Posted September 29, 2013 Report Share Posted September 29, 2013 My brother, being a little morbid, asked me today: "How many new parahumans (or whatevs) get themselves killed when their powers first show themselves? Like, take a guy that has superleap, and unwittingly jumps 200 meters straight up, panics, and lands on his head." Has anyone thought about this, or should I tell my bro to stay in therapy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Hiemforth Posted September 29, 2013 Report Share Posted September 29, 2013 Probably depends on the level of "realism" you want in your game, and what the tone is meant to be. If superpowers were real, it would probably happen a lot, and it may also happen quite a bit in a grim-outlook sort of world. But not so much in a four-color sort of world. "Superhero physics" would probably be more likely to win out in those cases... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2013 The Laws Of Narrative Necessity are a bitch. ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted September 29, 2013 Report Share Posted September 29, 2013 Technically Tony Stark should have ended up in the hospital after his first attempt to fly, in the movie anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grailknight Posted September 30, 2013 Report Share Posted September 30, 2013 Generally, super manifestation tends to include adaptation to one's own powers so direct fatalities are rare in most comics. Far more often, the new super will injure a tormentor or a friend accidentally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadrakas Posted September 30, 2013 Report Share Posted September 30, 2013 I see a new show for a Champions (or a Superhero World) Game: A 1'000 Ways to Die: Supers Edition! All showcasing Supers who die in stupid ways. ~ M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted September 30, 2013 Report Share Posted September 30, 2013 The Marvel Encyclopedia mentions that super humans have natural defenses that allow them to use there power effective. Sub-Mariner can survive the intense cold and high pressure of the oceans, as well as breathe underwater. His vision sees into the UV range, which is very effective underwater as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steriaca Posted September 30, 2013 Report Share Posted September 30, 2013 I honestly think this dosen't count, but I mention it anyways. John "Sunburn" Roberts had teleportation problems with his clothes when starting out. This earned him the nickname "The Milwaukee Flash". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinanju Posted October 1, 2013 Report Share Posted October 1, 2013 Technically Tony Stark should have ended up in the hospital after his first attempt to fly, in the movie anyway. Technically, Tony Stark should have died a number of times. Comics (and comic-based movies) tend to treat armor as if it made you tougher overall, instead of simply being a hard coating around the soft, squishy candy center. I don't care how tough the Iron Man armor is--if you fall twenty stories and hit the ground while wearing it, it is still going to kill you as inertia splatters what's left of you all over the inside of the undamaged armor. But I agree that the answer to the original question is: it depends on the level of realism you're going for. At one end, you've got classic comics, where pretty much nobody dies from gaining their powers. At the other end, you have the Wild Card virus, which rewrites your DNA if it manifests. Ninety (that's 90) percent of the time, this results in the subject dying horribly in the initial manifestation (usually brought on by an accident or some othe severe stress, in a nod to the comics). Of the survivors, 9 out of 10 will survive, but be physically (and possibly mentally) twisted, with all kinds of physical limitations, distinctive appearance, and possibly susceptibilities or vulnerabilities. They _might_ have some kind of power. Only one percent of Wild Card subjects will gain actual powers without any unfortunate physical mutations, and even then their powers can vary from laughably limited to awe-inspiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted October 1, 2013 Report Share Posted October 1, 2013 ... and of the survivors, those around them might not realize they are still human, and lash out in fear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boll Weevil Posted October 1, 2013 Report Share Posted October 1, 2013 Iron Man 2 quickly showed some causualties from miltary attempts to replicate the Iron Man armor in video footage shown behind a brilliant portrayal of Justin Hammer by Sam Rockwell - "He lived!". Robocop 2 had a similar montage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasha Posted October 3, 2013 Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 My brother, being a little morbid, asked me today: "How many new parahumans (or whatevs) get themselves killed when their powers first show themselves? Like, take a guy that has superleap, and unwittingly jumps 200 meters straight up, panics, and lands on his head." Has anyone thought about this, or should I tell my bro to stay in therapy? It really depends on the game world. There's a Dark campaign for Mutants and Masterminds where people do have power emergences that kill people. Though Usually Superleap Person has other powers that make it possible to Superleap without killing themselves. Fire Person has powers that make them immune to fire, Also it's not very heroic to hurt yourself with your new powers by accident (on Purpose saving someone is Heroic). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasha Posted October 3, 2013 Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 Technically, Tony Stark should have died a number of times. Comics (and comic-based movies) tend to treat armor as if it made you tougher overall, instead of simply being a hard coating around the soft, squishy candy center. I don't care how tough the Iron Man armor is--if you fall twenty stories and hit the ground while wearing it, it is still going to kill you as inertia splatters what's left of you all over the inside of the undamaged armor. For Stark, I just assume that the Repulser Tech also gives him the equivalent of Antigrav or at least counters Inertia inside the armor. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to withstand a punch from Thor or The Hulk without major internal injuries. (I think that Stan Lee would give me a No-Prize for this explanation) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted October 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 Massive padding inside the suit. Massive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted October 3, 2013 Report Share Posted October 3, 2013 His ego? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted October 4, 2013 Report Share Posted October 4, 2013 Ultimate X-Men covered this nicely, where a newly emergent mutant's powers killed everyone in town. They had to send in Wolverine to deal with the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted October 4, 2013 Report Share Posted October 4, 2013 Yeah, the angst factor plays a big part in that... everything from grimdark to just plain silly "I kill everyone I touch! NOoo!" to "I can fart soap bubbles? is that even a power?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted October 4, 2013 Report Share Posted October 4, 2013 Heck, this is what X-Men and New Mutants was (is?) all about. Nearly every one of them had some sort of traumatizing story about their powers manifesting. I can still recall Rogue's pretty vividly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted October 4, 2013 Report Share Posted October 4, 2013 Yeah, but Wolverine was sent in because the kid's powers couldn't get through his regen. Gave the kid a beer, listened to his story, told one of his own, and when it was over, Wolverine was the only one that walked out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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