How to Create a Super Power for Your Super Hero

So you want to create a Super Hero/Villain do you but you don't know to go about it? Well, hopefully, I can help you with that.

It can be difficult trying to come up with a new Super Power for a Super hero or Villain because there are so many out there already. You can always have a Super Hero with Super Strength, nothing wrong with that, but it is a bit overdone.

These next few steps should help you think of a relatively new/unique Super Power, or at least a new take on an already existing one. Let's face it, we are all inspired by by the things we see and if you like certain comic book characters it is only natural you would like to use their Super Power for your own things. Sadly though we can't all create a character with pop-out claws, no... that's Wolverine's thing, we can't all shoot webbing from our wrists... that's Spidey's thing. We can't even create a bat related character because Batman's gone ahead and taken that one.

So what does that leave us? Goat-man? Terrapin Boy? Space Snail?

Not all is lost and with a bit of imagination you can get some pretty cool powers.

The things you need to consider when thinking of a Super Power are:

- Do they really have a power/ability or are they like normal humans (like Batman)?

- What type of power is it? Is it elemental (earth, wind, fire, water), physical (super strength, speed, agility),super natural (teleportation, long-life, fast healing), magical (curses, hexes,charms,spells,incantations)?

- How do they use their power? Is it controlled mentally? Does it manifest automatically? Does it work by touching someone? Looking at someone? Is it shot from the hands, eyes, chest or other other body part? Or is it summoned through a strange artefact?

- Does it have a colour? Some powers defy normal colour codes i.e. blue or purple flames.

- Does anything happen to them when their power is used? Human torch sets on fire, Storm's eyes turn white, Bruce Banner turns into the Hulk and so on.

Those are the main points to consider when thinking of powers. Now let's look at some of them more in-depth.

Look at the first point, 'is it really a power?' not all Super Heroes have abilities beyond the capabilities of an ordinary human like the example above, Batman. Other heroes without powers are the Punisher, Daredevil (technically, because he only has the power to see using echo location like bats and some people who have trained to hear how sounds echoes off of walls), Elektra (just a trained assassin) and Iron man (man in a robot suit).

Point two 'type of super power', as mentioned some powers are the control of elements, such as fire, others are more physical, like super strength. What I mean by the type of power is simply 'Is it the control of something or is it a physical attribute?'. You could quite easily have a character who combines two of these things and has flaming punches but that's it. They cannot control flames nor are they super strong.

The next point relates to the previous one. Heroes/Villains need some way to use their power for most it is an inborn ability and so they can use it whenever they want to again using super strength as an example. For some they have no control over their power (Cyclops for example who cannot control his optic beam or Darwin whose body adapts quickly to ensure survival in different situations) others require certain conditions to be able to use their power. Nightcrawler must be able to see where he is going to be able to use his power and Rogue must touch a person's skin to use her mutant power.

Colour you might think is a strange one but if your character has already gone beyond human abilities why not go further. Flames do not always have to red/orange they could be blue, purple, green or black. A good colour choice sets the power apart from reality and makes it more comic book like.

The last point is a small detail that can add to character. If something happens to them every time they use their power it makes them a bit more interesting. Storm's eyes always turn white which adds to her Super Hero look when in costume and fighting people. Bruce Banner turns into the Hulk, this is a radical transformation and Bruce doesn't have any control over the Hulk's actions. Human Torch sets on fire which really makes him stand out. It would be hard to miss a giant blaze of fire soaring past in the sky.

As you can see there are several factors to consider when thinking of a power. It is important to remember that you can use the same ideas as other people regrading powers like Super Strengh but you need to put your own twist on it to make it stand out from the others.

You can see some of my own ideas here at Chris' Comic Book Creations. Some are quite interesting and I believe unique ideas others may not be as unique but my own twists and stories behind them make them different.

Kurt Vonnegut on how to write a short story

The Future of the IRS Video Life-Log Identification Mandate

The other day, I was thinking about how difficult it will be in the future for us to know if someone who friends us online, at a social network is a real person or not. Further, how can the IRS know if a real person is filling out the form and it isn't someone trying to launder money under a false identity? Now then, the IRS allows for created persons or corporations, so there are many ways to already spoof the system.

It has also been noted that most all the forms that citizens fill out with our government have errors in them with regard to identity, perhaps the ratio is less with the IRS because folks are afraid to give false information. Nevertheless, as the government shares more and more information with itself, and the IRS, consider the ObamaCare healthcare mandate and how the IRS is taking the lead role in verification of enrollment, and you can see the problem here.

Indeed, I was considering all this the other day as I was headed off to bed and wondering what the government could do with all this bad data they've been collecting. I considered the concept of Vannevar Bush and life-log. If someone had a long-standing relationship with a social network from the time they were very young, chances are you could trust that it was an actual person. If not, you have to create some sort of a life-log for them.

After all, you are going to have to prove you are a real person at some point during your life experience, or you won't be permitted to participate in the modern amenities provided by the socialist utopia - Welcome to 1984, I mean 2024. If others had information about the individual, perhaps old videos posted, and many friends that they actually knew, then the "system" or "Prism" or some AI (artificial intelligent) algorithm could immediately identify them as a "real person" and not a spoof in the data.

Those that had not participated or had no data to look through, would be, anomalies in the overall data, and would either not be real people, or they would be false positives. If the IRS contacted a false positive, that individual would have to prove that they actually exist. If they couldn't prove that they actually exist, or didn't have any way to back anything up, then their account would be flagged. This might cause the government to not issue Social Security benefits, food stamps, allow them to license their vehicles, get a cell phone, or use any of the other services of government.

The next generation will be big data controlling organic humans. Let's just hope they don't control is to the point of extinction. No, I am not a conspiracy theorist, remember this was just contemplation and thought while falling asleep and going from lucid dreaming to REM.

Nevertheless, although the dream turned out fine in the end, it was rather scary during the interim process for all of our citizenry. Yes, this is how we make science fiction movies and screenplays. But just because it is a fictional thought, doesn't mean it will stay a fictional plot. Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Future Science Fiction Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net

The Elements of Short Fiction (Understanding Short Fiction Part 2)

Conspiracy Theory at the Salton Sea - A Short Fictional Story of Intrigue, Corruption and Deception

In 2019 there was a secret meeting between several socialist elites who'd been plotting for decades to take over the US. They'd had success getting folks elected or appointed to the highest offices and agencies in our government. They now control the top Ivy League law schools, and they run a good many of the largest US corporations. Basically they run the game. The meeting was secret because this time they were planning their final strategies.

They sat in the dimly lit room going over the final details. They were going to create a mega-disaster, blame it on Mother Nature, declare Marshall Law, suspend the constitution and forgo the upcoming Presidential Elections. No one knew of the plot, but someone had figured it out, a blogger, and they tried to label him as a conspiracy nut, but he'd gained too much popularity.

Worse, the plan had already been put into place. The Salton Sea had been denoted an "Alternative Energy Zone," and Geothermal companies had been pumping the sea water into deep emptied reservoirs and onto molten rock to break it up in a fracturing type method. Soon the San Andreas Fault would come alive, a 9.0 Earthquake was expected which would cause chaos, and an unheard of disaster. Unfortunately for them the blogger had written:

"I hereby charge those involved with this with a long-term conspiracy to create a situation whereby a giant earthquake will occur, and thus, use that disaster to control, forcing in government into greater power. We have little if any transparency with regards to these things here, we have questionable recently elected politicians who've been fast-tracked to higher office by the socialist-elite, and we can't put anything past them. Yes, there is thermal energy available, but only if the methods used are closed loop, if not, we could cause earthquakes, big ones, pay attention to this, you have been forewarned."

Little did anyone else know but the same socialist team had set up a bioterrorist attack in Washington DC using an imported virus from the Middle East, which would be put into processed food, and some water supplies. Also simultaneously, the conspirators set up a collapse of NYC's underground water supply system. All this would occur for the October Surprise. The FBI was running blind, and the NSA's special system to track communication had been shut down, and there were not enough details to bring up the conspirators up on charges, worse, all the enforcement agencies had also been compromised.

How does this story end?

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Future Science Fiction. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net

ECMA-Wempe

Keystone UAV Surveillance Drone Hacked Foreign Military and Crashed Into Pipeline - Fiction

The year is 2016 and the Keystone Pipeline has just been completed, America is still embattled in the Middle East and caught between several civil wars and a mess between Muslim sects. Although the US tried not to take sides, man-made redlines were drawn, redrawn and those lines are now drawn with blood. Not only has the US now taken sides, with what is expected to be the winning side, but Russia, China, and others have taken the other side, and the EU is trying to disengage anywhere that isn't in its direct strategic economic and energy interests.

Since, most of these battles and conflicts do involve energy, the US cannot remain neutral, and it appears George Bush Jr. was right when he told the American People that this addiction to foreign oil is bad news. He was right then and today, in the digital news, even more so. It's hard to say exactly how it happened, and if it is known, no one is saying, but there are some wild accusations and conspiracy theories from;

1. The Russians did it
2. The Eco-Terrorists did it
3. Chinese Hackers did it
4. Middle Eastern Terrorist groups did it

No matter who did it, one of the United States' in-country pipeline and energy security drones under contract to the Department of Homeland Security and working on a DOE (Department of Energy) mandate was hijacked by hackers and flown into the Keystone pipeline. It was crashed at a juncture above a underground flowing water reservoir. Now the water is contaminated, which will affect crops, livestock and drinking water for 4 states.

Apparently, whoever "did it" they seem to know a thing or two about geology, water resources, oil, pipelines, drones, and software. Worse, they must have known operational intelligence, such as UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) flight schedules, drone types, and weak areas of the system. Scary thought indeed. The pipeline was shut off quickly, due to special pressure sensors, so the amount oil escaping minimized, but still significant. The US has enemies globally, and there those who stand to gain from such an attack could fill a pocket sized thesaurus.

They used our surveillance craft against us, they took control of our robotic aircraft, but how? It turns out that this is not the first time, in fact, there have been several other incidents, and now all that information has been leaked to the public by a former DHS specialist who just signed a book deal, and it's all over CNN tonight. Too bad, this isn't back before everything changed in October of 2013.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Future Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net