PRPG:
Superhero Powers

Superman Needs a Dummy

October 18, 2017

Everybody knows Superman can fly faster than a speeding bullet, and that Spider-Man can fling webs and crawl on them. But there are a lot of superheroes in the worlds of comic books and movies—and they can do a lot more than fly and crawl fast.
Superhero Powers

SUPERMAN THE VENTRILOQUIST

This particular Man of Steel power doesn’t show up in any modern-day movie, but back in the 1940s, the Superman of the comics used this power relatively often: He could perfectly and clearly project his voice with his mouth closed. In other words, he had super-ventriloquism abilities. It was a great trick for fooling friends and enemies alike. He even used it on Batman, once. He nearly got the Dark Knight accused of witchcraft because he made others think a black cat was communicating with the Caped Crusader.

DEADPOOL CAN DRINK ALL HE WANTS

The 2016 Deadpool movie was a surprise hit, and it took the character into the mainstream public consciousness. As seen in the Ryan Reynolds film, Deadpool’s main superpower is that he is impervious to harm and has incredible healing ability. This extends to any outside substance being unable to negatively affect him much, be it junk food, drugs, poison, or alcohol. In one issue, he spends an entire day and then an entire night drinking…but he remains completely sober the whole time. (Kids, don’t try this at home.)

HULK BREATHE!

In a 1962 issue of The Incredible Hulk, the big green guy is taking care of business up in Canada, and one point uses his mighty power to jump into the atmosphere. On his way down, he turns back into his mild-mannered alter ego of Bruce Banner and hits the ground. Despite falling many miles, he survives the impact. Curious about the breadth of his powers, Banner re-Hulks out and, when he comes across a lumber camp, he blows the whole thing down with his powerful Hulk breath.

SPIDER-MAN IS BUGGING OUT

Peter Parker originally become Spider-Man when a radioactive spider bit him, giving him tremendous powers—as the TV theme song famously says, he can “do whatever a spider can.” Among the lesser-known gifts Spider-Man possesses is the ability to telepathically mind-link with spiders and insects. In other words, he can feel it when a spider is nearby, and then identify what kind of spider it is. (So in other words, Spider-Man can tell you a lot of spider trivia.)

THE POWER OF THE MIND

Wonder Woman is incredibly strong, of course, and she can even charge up her muscles to provide even more brute strength. How does she do it? She can transfer mental energy into physical energy. And according to old Wonder Woman comic books, it’s not one of her natural abilities—it’s a skill she learned through extensive training.