If you had to choose, what would be most fun and/or useful power from a movie, TV show, cartoon, book, games, or mythos? Include any drawbacks of the power that the source adds into consideration

Separating the silly and serious analyses would also be nice. (see various videos, articles, etc. on how certain superpowers would actually kill you, e.g. stopping time would mean you couldn't breathe as the air cannot move)

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[–] 14 points 6 months ago* (2 children)

Path to Victory, from Wildbow's web serial Worm.

It's a two-part power. The first looks into the future to determine the exact set of steps necessary to accomplish any given goal, if it is at all possible to accomplish in any way. The second makes you execute those exact steps with zero chance of deviation or error.

It only fails when interfered with by another power also capable of seeing the future.

edit for grammar

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    This would definitely be mine too. Particularly if it was still jailbroken, as in the book.

    In story, it could even cope with a lot of future sight powers. It was only the apex level ones that were on an even field with it.

    The only downside is the erosion of your free will. It's hard to make your own choices when this power is available to make them all for you.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago

    I feel like if you avoided giving it long-term goals you could still retain most of your humanity. You could also mainly rely on the divination aspect, and avoid the perfect-execution aspect unless necessary.

    Would still be the world's greatest crutch, but the sheer power it offers is too tempting.

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  • [–] 12 points 6 months ago

    Don't know but my dog is rubbing herself against the couch and I'm thinking she is working her way up from godess of static cling to godess of thunder.

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  • [–] 12 points 6 months ago

    Absolute control of atomic structures / telekinesis and psychic abilities.

    The grandfather in the book Slipt. Amazing story.

    This effectively allows:

    Change chemical structures, transmutation, cure/remove illness

    Cause strokes or embolisms from a distance with no evidence.

    Hey that building full of people I didn't like is now glowing from extreme amounts of radiation! Almost like the cement became a hugely unstable isotope suddenly. Weird.

    Within a few days, the world would be forever changed.

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  • [–] 11 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    I'll take a TARDIS, thank you.

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    [–] 10 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    Any universe? I'd like to be Bruce Wayne. Not Batman. Bruce.

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  • [–] 10 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    I want whatever Saitama from One Punch Man have. It not just super strength and speed, its also invincibility, mindcontrol-proof, illusion-proof, or any mumbo-jumbo-proof.

    If that's cheating, i want whatever King have.

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  • [–] 9 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    I don’t remember if you have to have been to a place before in order to teleport there, but if that isn’t the case, Jumper (movie) would be nice. No more commuting and no more borders/passports.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago

    Based on the books you need an exact sense of the place. Not just sight, but smell and feel. The place needs to absolutely unique, in your mind. The photos are primarily an aid to recall.

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  • [–] 9 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    I want Domino's luck. All the rest of your powers can get fucked. I'm god's favorite.

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  • [–] 9 points 6 months ago (5 children)

    I'll take omnipotence. Not sure what the drawbacks would be.

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  • [–] 7 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    Everyone constantly asking you to do something for them that they bloody well could do themselves.

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  • [–] 8 points 6 months ago

    The powers of the Flash is nice, except for the destruction left in the wake of his movements.

    Having the powers of Jumpers from the series by the same name seems to have good grounding as momentum is maintained during a jump getting passed the whole, earth and the solar system are moving not just earth rotating.

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  • [–] 8 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    The ability to predict the future by concentrating on it.

    Hello stock market.

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  • [–] 22 points 6 months ago

    Fictional universe, including Christianity? Omnipotence then

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  • [–] 7 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    Superman style flight would be pretty chill. The biggest drawback I can see is how hard it would be to keep a good pair of sunglasses.

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  • [–] 7 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    The not-selfish answer would be healing, with no arbitrary restrictions, preferably not attached to some divine power. Oh, you had leg torn off? Let me reattach that real quick. Got poisoned? I can cure that. You went blind? I can fix that...pass me some new eyeballs to attach.

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  • [+] 7 points 6 months ago (10 children)
  • [–] 8 points 6 months ago (9 children)

    The world will be pitch black :)

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago (7 children)
  • [+] 3 points 6 months ago (6 children)
  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago (5 children)
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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago (3 children)

    No I mean heat is the effect of moving atoms bumping into things

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  • [+] 1 point 6 months ago* (2 children)
  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago* (1 child)

    So really, at this point your superpower isn't just time, it's fucking with the entire fabric of the universe like it's your bitch. You could probably freeze the universe, then slot in the effects of your own parallel or created universe that fills in particles to agitate for temperature, photons to move again for light, etc. And somehow doesn't collide with everything in the frozen state.

    Your superpower is "A being that could be described as a god but gods are actually far inferior beings to what I'm talking about."

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  • [–] 13 points 6 months ago

    Omnipotence ofc. I will start by recreating logic itself such that it is possible for me to create a rock that is too heavy for me to lift it.

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  • [–] 6 points 6 months ago (4 children)

    Power to create anything, and I do mean ANYTHING.

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago* (1 child)

    Franklin Richards. Mr Fantasic's son. He can create whole universes and bend reality to his will. He is almost always a kid because at full power how are you going to write a believable conflict?

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    Always liked the saki or immortal king path of too op so has to actively nerf. So the conflict is not with others so much as within himself. Like godzilla trying to walk in NYC and not destroy anything cause he knows the value of life.

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  • [–] 6 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    Snap my finger, and all the narcissists, bullies, psychopaths, scammers, pedophiles, abusers of authority, and general dirtbags disappear and never come back. Imagine the world we would live in. Would be paradise.

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago

    Angel from Big O can literally rewrite reality.

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago*

    Shapeshifting, from anything

    but like, Alex Fierro's power from Magnus Chase, if I have to be specific lol

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago

    Super-speed if the speedforce was where the energy came from. Without the speedforce, running at those speeds would ignite the atmosphere and kill everything. Even if I ran slower, the food intake would be insane.

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    Shapeshifting.

    Doesn't need to be into any form, just "into your true form (and possibly back)" would be enough. I'm a wolf, lemme be a wolf, dammit, universe!

    Being able to shift back would be convenient for when human society inevitably demands you look like a human or be treated as an Unthinking Worthless Lesser Object. Until society figures out how awful that is and cuts it out.

    -- Frost

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    I've always been obsessed with the powers from Jumper. 100% that's what I'd go for every time.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    Maybe a Deathnote journal.

    Less violent option would maybe be mind control at a distance.

    If I could do a combo I'd have an eternal (meaning healthy, unkillable, etc) body with an ability to see up to 10 years in the future. Being able to wander anywhere and know when to be places to see major events or to help someone or be a stabilizing influence.

    Imagine all the skills you could pick up and the places you could go, the things you could do, the experiences you could have. I wouldn't want to be the one with my name on a discovery, but I'd like being in the background helping it happen.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago* (1 child)

    I'm okay with repeat content in general, but could we have this specific question a little less frequently?

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago*

    The drawbacks probably wouldn't be worth it, unless I underestimate my willpower, but having a power from an "in the planning phase" work I'm working on wouldn't be the worst. Specifically the power of the main characters chief rival.

    To keep it brief, he's pretty damn smart while also having long horns he can bend and contort like nothing. The catch is that the use of his power slowly kills him over time. He, like all the other superpower like users, is the result of the fusion of someone traveling to another dimension with someone else.

    Due to low willpower, the guy has full control over the host and I am a little worried my willpower wouldn't be able to outshine his. Then I'd be trapped inside a transformed version of my body without any control while a madman tries to recreate the transdimensional travel back to his dimension. All while my life is slowly drained away.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago*

    Wolfwalker would be pretty awesome. Become a wolf while I sleep. Might end up getting a lot more sleep!

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago

    I’m professor X now, let’s gooooo

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago (1 child)

    Dr Manhattan sounds neat Dr Manhattan. Not sure how I would/could overcome the possible loss of humanity.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago

    His powers are so weird, and they seem to come with an inherent existential depression. He’s super powerful yes, but if your powers feel basically unusable to you and don’t serve your values or morals I think you just end up living alone on mars no matter what

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  • [–] 0 points 6 months ago* (2 children)

    Deadly virus to destroy everything and start again

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