Poll Tomorrow you wake up with superpowers: what do you decide to do?

[Skipper]

Hello everyone. Recently on an italian FB group dedicated to comics, this particular question came up while discussing the concept of "Italian Superhero":

"If tomorrow you wake up with superpowers (nothing exaggerated, let's say like Wonder Woman), what would you do with it?"

Well, let's say that in the end the almost unanimous consensus was "I would ignore it and continue to lead my life as always". And even those who said they would try to help others made it clear that they would certainly not use them to fight criminals because:

1) we are not part of the police, we have not had the necessary training and we would risk making only trouble and ruining the work of real policemen.
2) the decision of which criminals to go to fight would be immediately co-opted by this or that political party. "You see, SuperWhatever agrees with our policies !!! The real criminals are [insert here the criminal category that for that political party would have priority over the others]".

Someone said, "Putting on a colorful costume and going to fight gangstars is something that Americans would do, Italians on average don't want to get noticed for these things."

So... your thoughts? What would you do?

 

[Coops]

I'd probably go with being a vigilante, they always dress better than standard superheroes, and deliver justice as I see fit.

 

[Tosk]

Depends on the powers, but I imagine I'd use them to both better my own life and to help others. Fight crime, avert disasters, etc.

 

[Skipper]

Okay, fighting the criminals. But what exactly would you do? Do you stand in the middle of a street waiting for someone to commit a crime? And are you sure what a "crime" is? Cops are trained for this and often make mistakes anyway.

I'd probably go with being a vigilante, they always dress better than standard superheroes, and deliver justice as I see fit.

For example?

 

[Skipper]

And do you know that by doing so you would become a criminal yourself? Because, even if I'm not very familiar with the laws of the various American states, I'm pretty sure that vigilantes aren't very popular with law enforcement.

 

[valkyrie013]

Depends on the power, but if it's the example of Wonder woman , cartoon version that can fly, slightly less strong that superman, invulnerable. Etc.
I'd live my life as normally as I can. Help where I can. Maybe a nike deal to pay the bills.
But go around actively patrolling a city .. Nope. I'd have a Batphone for the cops to call if needed.

 

[Skipper]

But go around actively patrolling a city .. Nope.

Yep. And you would also risk interfering with the cops' work. Imagine if you decide to arrest an undercover agent or someone that law enforcement was secretly following to get to his boss.

 

[valkyrie013]

Id be a "big picture/big problem" guy. If there's a standoff, skyscraper on fire, etc. Only time I'd intervene would be if I'm naturally there in my day.
Most days I wouldn't have anything to do.

 

[Coops]

Okay, fighting the criminals. But what exactly would you do? Do you stand in the middle of a street waiting for someone to commit a crime? And are you sure what a "crime" is? Cops are trained for this and often make mistakes anyway.

For example?

(Gets into role) I run with my instincts, my rules, my justice. Don't get in my way Skipper.

 

[RandyS]

Take over the world and make all of you, with one exception, my slaves.

What else IS there to do?

 

[Coops]

And, yes, I guess I'd expect to be breaking the law most of the time as vigilantism is of itself illegal but I actually think it's the only way of using powers that wouldn't be influenced by external forces, government (often corrupt on some level) or the police (often corrupt on some level).

As far as finding crimes to be dealt with I guess the internet would be a good starting point.

 

[Skipper]

Id be a "big picture/big problem" guy. If there's a standoff, skyscraper on fire, etc. Only time I'd intervene would be if I'm naturally there in my day.
Most days I wouldn't have anything to do.

If you do a superhero team call me, I like your super-work ethic.

And, yes, I guess I'd expect to be breaking the law most of the time as vigilantism is of itself illegal but I actually think it's the only way of using powers that wouldn't be influenced by external forces, government (often corrupt on some level) or the police (often corrupt on some level).

So at this point you would be forced to fight against criminals AND law enforcement.

Too much effort.

Take over the world and make all of you, with one exception, my slaves.

What else IS there to do?

And how exactly would you do it ..?

 

[valkyrie013]

Taking over the world .. To much hassle.

Just live in a nice isolated spot with my harem.. I'm good

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

I imagine most of us hoping to be a crimefighting superhero would perch on the rooftop in a big city and... wait. And get bored. And fall asleep. And do a lot of browsing on our phones. And not notice any crime because the chances of something happening in sight or earshot of the 1 spot we chose is probably pretty small.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

I would mainly focus on disaster relief, but also be open to helping police (or helping other projects, say infrastructure for poor countries, etc) if requested. And obviously if I'm bulletproof and I happen to see someone threatening people with a gun or something similar I'd put a stop to it. But I wouldn't go seeking out those situations.

Also, not to make to big a deal out of it, but how do Wonder Woman's powers qualify as nothing exaggerated? She's literally one of the most powerful superheroes in existence...

 

[Skipper]

Also, not to make to big a deal out of it, but how do Wonder Woman's powers qualify as nothing exaggerated? She's literally one of the most powerful superheroes in existence...

Ok, you are right. Probably someone more... I don't know... Luke Cage? Captain America?

 

[Skipper]

I imagine most of us hoping to be a crimefighting superhero would perch on the rooftop in a big city and... wait. And get bored. And fall asleep. And do a lot of browsing on our phones. And not notice any crime because the chances of something happening in sight or earshot of the 1 spot we chose is probably pretty small.

And really, people pay taxes. Why should one do the job that belongs to the police?

 

[Coops]

So at this point you would be forced to fight against criminals AND law enforcement.

Too much effort.

And how exactly would you do it ..?

For a start, a good chunk of the coppers are on my side as they see me as doing what they can't, damn lawyers, damn courts, damn corrupt criminal justice system! I'm not afraid of hard work if that's what it takes to clear the streets of scum.

My only concern would be an opposite number, equally powerful, rising against me and my methods...

 

[Skipper]

For a start, a good chunk of the coppers are on my side as they see me as doing what they can't, damn lawyers, damn courts, damn corrupt criminal justice system! I'm not afraid of hard work if that's what it takes to clear the streets of scum.

My only concern would be an opposite number, equally powerful, rising against me and my methods...

We have a story here

 

[Coops]

One thing I will need to weigh up is location, location, location. Nearly all my fellow vigilantes work in cities which enables the de facto method of movement - roof to roof. Also, the big cities are statistically where most crimes are committed. But I'm not a big fan of all that hustle and bustle and I feel there's an opening in the 'quiet village vigilantism' which would be unique and convenient for me for home. But of course, leaping from building to building using rocket powered ropeguns will look somewhat odd when I'm only 10 foot from the ground and there's probably less to do unless I'm prepared to travel around the county. So I need to do a bit more planning.