Practical uses for superpowers

[RainDreamer]

So many of us have seen super heroes/villian with powers that breaks at least one law of physics or more, yet all they do with such unimaginable powers is to use them to fight each others and causing mass destruction in the process.

So, for all the people who has screamed to the screen/comic page "If I were them, I would do this!" Let's come up with more practical uses of super powers. Pick a superpower that an existing superperson in fiction has, and think of how to better use it.

I will start with Gambit from X-Men. His power is to transforming potential energy in any object into kinetic energy, allowing him to launch stuff, usually his cards with explosive result. But instead of playing with cards, he can easily launches objects to space with merely rocks, instead of expensive fuels. The only limit of his power is that it only work on skin contact, and the higher the mass, he longer it takes to transform. He can bring in a new age of space exploration, or even solve the energy crisis by transforming trash to explosive fuel!

 

Edited April 21, 2016 by RainDreamer

[kerbiloid]

Mars colonists can keep Magneto tied to a plastic chair and make him to rotate a huge generator producing electricity. Of course, in a standalone building separated from the main base.
Instead they from time to time bring to him food and water.

Storm can be used as an energy distribution and charging device. Magneto gives electricity, Storm distributes it.

Cyclops is a mining tool. He must live in a mine and melt the rock. The more he melts - the more he eats.

Toad (or how is called that lizard-like thing with sticky spits) can be used to patch holes in the inflattable modules envelope.
From time to time they can let him come in to breathe and sleep for 1-2 hours.

Wolverine cuts plastic for new inflattable envelopes and makes holes in the existing ones - just to keep Toad busy.

Mistique is on duty. As nobody knows, who is she right now and what she is doing, she is on every duty at once.
If something somewhere goes wrong, probably she hasn't done this right. Just because you can't be sure if this is somebody's else neglect.
So, it's her problem and care: how to keep all intact.

Edited April 21, 2016 by kerbiloid

[Atlas2342]

Does a suit with an AI that calls you "sir" count?

[PB666]

2 hours ago, RainDreamer said:

So many of us have seen super heroes/villian with powers that breaks at least one law of physics or more, yet all they do with such unimaginable powers is to use them to fight each others and causing mass destruction in the process.

So, for all the people who has screamed to the screen/comic page "If I were them, I would do this!" Let's come up with more practical uses of super powers. Pick a super power, and think of how to better use it.

I will start with Gambit from X-Men. His power is to transforming potential energy in any object into kinetic energy, allowing him to launch stuff, usually his cards with explosive result. But instead of playing with cards, he can easily launches objects to space with merely rocks, instead of expensive fuels. The only limit of his power is that it only work on skin contact, and the higher the mass, he longer it takes to transform. He can bring in a new age of space exploration, or even solve the energy crisis by transforming trash to explosive fuel!

 

My superpower would be focal E = mc^3. That solves the energy density problem for interstellar travel, now a simple fusion reactor does the job. 

[RainDreamer]

8 minutes ago, Atlas2342 said:

Does a suit with an AI that calls you "sir" count?

Well, that is not exactly a super power since we can probably get there soon. But I would say the kind of power core such a suit required that allow it to run the sophisticate AI, and capable of shooting pure energy blasts, as well as fly as fast as a hypersonic jet...that is pretty close to a super power itself, considering how small it is in size and the energy output it must have.

[Atlas2342]

15 minutes ago, RainDreamer said:

Well, that is not exactly a super power since we can probably get there soon. But I would say the kind of power core such a suit required that allow it to run the sophisticate AI, and capable of shooting pure energy blasts, as well as fly as fast as a hypersonic jet...that is pretty close to a super power itself, considering how small it is in size and the energy output it must have.

Well, it does have an arc reactor...If a reactor that small can power a suit, imagine a typical nuclear reactor sized arc reactor...

[Scotius]

2 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

Mars colonists can keep Magneto tied to a plastic chair and make him to rotate a huge generator producing electricity. Of course, in a standalone building separated from the main base.
Instead they from time to time bring to him food and water.

Storm can be used as an energy distribution and charging device. Magneto gives electricity, Storm distributes it.

Cyclops is a mining tool. He must live in a mine and melt the rock. The more he melts - the more he eats.

Toad (or how is called that lizard-like thing with sticky spits) can be used to patch holes in the inflattable modules envelope.
From time to time they can let him come in to breathe and sleep for 1-2 hours.

Wolverine cuts plastic for new inflattable envelopes and makes holes in the existing ones - just to keep Toad busy.

Mistique is on duty. As nobody knows, who is she right now and what she is doing, she is on every duty at once.
If something somewhere goes wrong, probably she hasn't done this right. Just because you can't be sure if this is somebody's else neglect.
So, it's her problem and care: how to keep all intact.

Ah, there is no heat component to Cyclops's optic blasts. It's only kinetic energy - he can't burn even a piece of dry straw with them.

[kerbiloid]

2 minutes ago, Scotius said:

Ah, there is no heat component to Cyclops's optic blasts. It's only kinetic energy - he can't burn even a piece of dry straw with them.

Oops...

OK, then he can gouge the rock with stones. The more rock pieces he gets - the faster he works.

[RainDreamer]

19 minutes ago, Scotius said:

Ah, there is no heat component to Cyclops's optic blasts. It's only kinetic energy - he can't burn even a piece of dry straw with them.

Can he blast away air fast enough to turn them to plasma?

[p1t1o]

37 minutes ago, Scotius said:

Ah, there is no heat component to Cyclops's optic blasts. It's only kinetic energy - he can't burn even a piece of dry straw with them.

Ke is very readily converted to heat, KE is dying to become heat, in some ways heat is KE.

Applying enough pressure against a hard surface, fast enough, could explosively vaporise dry straw, let alone burn it.

This is why train crashes are often weirdly firey, all that KE gets converted to heat during the impact, it can be enough to ignite solid metal structural components.

 

Anyhoo, my two cent:

I'm Silver Surfer, I offer an extreme nuclear emergency service where I will walk into a damaged reactor and repair it manually. I can be anywhere on the globe (including under the sea, submariners) very rapidly, and if necessary can manually disassemble an angry reactor and dispose of it, or any particularly hazardous components/wreckage, in the sun.

I also offer short trips around the bay area on my board.

[peadar1987]

Overpowered, physics-defying superheroes always annoy me! I can buy Magneto being able to control magnetism, but he should still need to obey Newton's third law to some degree. Lifting stadia and bending the Golden Gate bridge should be completely out.

 

[Raven Industries]

This is what Superman would do.

[Kertech]

Batman work out video (to fight fat you must become fat...)

 

Professor X could put targeted advertising right into a persons mind...

[RainDreamer]

7 minutes ago, Kertech said:

Professor X could put targeted advertising right into a persons mind...

Prof X can actually force them to buy things without them even have any memory of that. I find that power is more useful for education though. Telepathy allows exact understanding of one person on a subject to transfer to another without interferences. In a way, that is probably why he called is a professor. He can teach things very easily. Too bad we have only ever see him doing hijinks with it.

[kerbiloid]

24 minutes ago, RainDreamer said:

Prof X can actually force them to buy things without them even have any memory of that.

There is even more efficient way. Prof X can force them to pay money without buying things.

[ModZero]

The webcomic Strong Female Protagonist has a near-superman working as a firefighter. Invulnerability and super strength definitely come in handy. 

[YNM]

On 21/4/2016 at 8:50 PM, KerbalSaver said:

This is what Superman would do.

Ah, was about to post the whole comic !

[GluttonyReaper]

On 4/21/2016 at 6:08 PM, kerbiloid said:

There is even more efficient way. Prof X can force them to pay money without buying things.

Nah, this is way more fun.

"Hey, where's all my money gone!?"

*checks bank account*

"What!? I didn't buy that!"

*checks receipts*

"Oh. I guess I did."

[kerbiloid]

6 hours ago, GluttonyReaper said:

"Hey, where's all my money gone!?"

*checks bank account*

"What is bank account?"

[DDE]

Could someone get Kilgrave in here? This world needs a Doctor.