Superpowers (also super powers or simply powers) is another term for superhuman abilities, that is, any abilities that a human does not possess in real life. A superhuman is an entity with intelligence or abilities exceeding normal human standards The term is mainly used in superhero comic books but also in other media such as cartoons. A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a Fictional character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derring-do A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative The word cartoon has various meanings based on several very different forms of Visual art and Illustration. The term includes normal human abilities but at a level too great for a human to have, such as superhuman strength. Superhuman strength, also called super strength, super-strength or enhanced strength, is an ability commonly utilized in Fiction. It also includes abilities that might not be very impressive or useful, such as the ability to change the color of an object at will, as long as it is an act that humans cannot perform except perhaps with special equipment. By that same token, a character that derives his powers from equipment (such as Batman's tool belt or Green Lantern’s power ring or Iron Man's Armour Suit) is not actually considered to be superhuman. Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a fictional Comic book Superhero co-created This article is about the Green Lantern Corps weapon For the comic book characters see Power Ring (character. Iron Man is a Fictional character that appears in Comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Overview

"Superpowers" are typically considered fictional (or science-fictional); however, some powers are grouped by themes based on existing forces, such as the abilities of animals, the capacities of machines, or the forces of nature. Others are completely imaginary. Certain types of superhuman abilities, such as psychic powers, are believed by some people to be real. The word psychic (ˈsaɪkɨk from the Greek psychikos—"of the soul mental" refers to the claimed ability to perceive things hidden from the normal senses The scientific study of the paranormal investigates the possibility of their existence, though no conclusive proof has ever come to light. Paranormal is an Umbrella term used to describe unusual Phenomena or experiences that lack an obvious Scientific explanation Some scientists (and some science fiction stories) posit that humans may someday have superior powers through the use of bionics or genetic manipulation. Bionics (also known as biomimetics, biognosis, Biomimicry, or bionical creativity engineering) is the application of biological Genetic engineering, Recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation (GM and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct

The cover of World's Finest #142, featuring the Composite Superman, a character with over 20 different powers, in action. The Composite Superman is the name of DC Comics Supervillain, an enemy of Superman and Batman. Art by Curt Swan.

Originally, superpowers were poorly described. Superhuman characters simply were able to achieve whatever the narrator or writer of a story needed him or her to do to fulfill its part in the story. This was also true in the early years of superhero comic books. As the years passed and more characters were created, however, a greater variety of abilities was invented, in an effort to be distinctive. An example of this can be seen in the way Superman’s powers developed over the years. The powers of DC Comics Fictional character Superman have changed a great deal since his introduction in the 1930s Certain comic book series were created specifically to explore the possible varieties of superpowers. Examples of this include DC Comics’ Legion of Superheroes (which included the concept of would-be members being required to pass tests to determine if their powers were useful) and Marvel Comics’ X-Men series, where a school for training mutants to use their powers was a central concept. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company This is about the DC Comics superhero team For the animated television series based on this see Legion of Super Heroes (TV series. Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc The X-Men is a team of fictional Superhero characters in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. A mutant is an individual organism or new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of Mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA Characters with multiple powers, often copied or stolen from others, such as the Composite Superman or the Super-Skrull also started to appear. The Composite Superman is the name of DC Comics Supervillain, an enemy of Superman and Batman. The Super-Skrull ( Kl'rt) is a Fictional character that appears in Comic books published by Marvel Comics.

In the 1970’s, role playing games began to develop, and soon superhero-based ones were developed as well. A role-playing game ( RPG; often roleplaying game) is a Game in which the participants assume the roles of Fictional characters. The game designers were faced with the dilemma of how to catalogue superpowers for their use in the games. At first the designers simply borrowed names and effects from the comics; however they soon realized that there was a redundancy of abilities as some characters' powers differed from others only in minor details like name or visible effects. The Champions roleplaying game took a radical departure in describing powers by their effects rather than their causes; for example a laser and a lightning bolt were both considered to be versions of the same power, named Ranged Attack. Champions is a Role-playing game originally by George MacDonald, Steve Peterson, Bruce Harlick, and Ray Greer, published Another fact they realized is that some powers were simply more useful than others in game terms; to represent this, each power was given a “value” in a point system, with the more powerful abilities costing more to “buy. ” In addition, players were given options to modify their powers so each character’s abilities would be unique. This system has since then influenced many other similar games.

In an attempt at greater realism, the causes and effects of superpowers have been considered more carefully by writers. The possible origins for powers include natural mutations, genetic manipulation, bionics, natural forces unique to a particular universe (such as DC Comics' Speed Force or Marvel Comics' Power Cosmic) and even magic). In biology mutations are changes to the Nucleotide sequence of the Genetic material of an organism The Speed Force is a fictional concept presented in various Comic books published by DC Comics. The Power Cosmic is a fictional force that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics, being used to name a power primarily wielded by the cosmic entity Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a Conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events objects people and In the 1980’s, Marvel Comics began publishing their Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe series, in which the powers of their characters were explained in great detail, often using scientific and pseudoscientific terms. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is an encyclopedic guide which details the Fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications Pseudoscience is defined as a body of knowledge methodology belief or practice that is claimed to be Scientific or made to appear scientific but does not adhere to the

Eventually, the powers themselves became a focus of the stories. Inspired by social science fiction, these stories went beyond the simple acceptance and use of superpowers in the roles of superheroes and supervillains and explored their effects in society at large. A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the Villain character type commonly found in Comic books, Action movies and An example of this is the persecution of mutants in the X-Men series. An important difference is that science fiction usually posits superpowered minorities as having mainly the same kind of powers (for example, the telepaths in A.E. Van Vogt’s Slan) while in comics each superhuman is usually unique. Alfred Elton van Vogt (April 26 1912 – January 26 2000 was a Canadian -born Science fiction author who was one of the most prolific Slan is also the name of a character in Berserk (manga; for the Irish phrase see Slán Abhaile Slan is a Science Media outside comics has also begun to explore the concept of superpowers seriously, as seen for example in the TV Drama Heroes. Heroes is an American Science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring, which premiered on NBC on September

List of Wikipedia superpower entries

Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

This is a list of those superpowers that have their own article entries in Wikipedia. For a more complete list of superpowers, see List of comic book superpowers. In generalDO NOT ADD INFORMATION THAT DOES NOT CONCERN COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS

See also

• Category:Superhero role-playing games
• Category:List of comic book superpowers

External links

• Superhero Database: Superpowers
• 8 Super Powers- an online Wired Magazine article on how certain superpowers might work
• The Physics of Superheroes, by James Kakalios- a book examining how the powers of several comic book characters would work if they were real. Alchemy a part of the Occult Tradition is both a philosophy and a practice with an ultimately unknown aim involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of Astral projection (or astral travel) is an esoteric interpretation of a type of Out-of-body experience that assumes the existence of an " Astral Clairvoyance (from 17th century French with clair meaning "clear" and voyance meaning "visibility" is the apparent ability to gain Human echolocation is the ability of humans to sense objects in their environment by hearing echoes from those objects In generalDO NOT ADD INFORMATION THAT DOES NOT CONCERN COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS Extrasensory perception (ESP is the apparent ability to acquire information by Paranormal means independent of any known physical Senses or deduction from previous Flight is the process by which an object achieves sustained movement either through the Air (or movement beyond Earth's atmosphere, in the case of In Science fiction and Fantasy literature a force field or protective shield is a barrier made up of energy to protect a person area or object from A healing factor is a term used to describe the ability of some characters in Fiction to recover from bodily injuries or disease at a superhuman rate prod concern = Heat vision does not meet wikipedia notability standards for a work of fiction An illusion is a distortion of the senses revealing how the Brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an Infinite length of Time. Levitation (from Latin levitas "lightness" is the process by which an object is suspended against Gravity, in a stable position Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a Conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events objects people and Mind control is a broad range of psychological tactics able to subvert an individual's control of his own thinking, behavior emotions or decisions Omniscience (ɒm'nɪsɪəns (or Omniscient Point-of-View in writing is the capacity to know everything infinitely or at least everything that can be known about a character Precognition (from the Latin præ- “prior to” + cognitio “a getting to know” denotes a form of Extrasensory perception where in a person is said to perceive Psychometry ( Greek: ψυχή psukhē, "spirit soul" + μέτρον metron, "measure" is a form of Extra-sensory perception The term pyrokinesis is derived from the Greek words πυρ ( pûr, meaning "fire lightning" and κίνησις ( kínesis Reality warping in Superhero fiction is a superpower. It is the ability to reshape Matter and Energy, create or alter life and matter turn a Shapeshifting is a common theme in Mythology and Folklore, as well as in Science fiction and Fantasy. Spirit possession is a concept of Paranormal, Supernatural and/or Superstitious belief in which spirits, gods, daemons Superhuman strength, also called super strength, super-strength or enhanced strength, is an ability commonly utilized in Fiction. Super speed is the ability to travel (typically Running) at Speeds much higher than the Average speed for that form of Travel. The term psychokinesis (from the Greek ψυχή, "psyche" meaning mind soul heart or breath; and κίνησις, "kinesis" Telepathy ( Greek τηλε tele meaning "distant" and πάθεια patheia meaning "to be affected by" describes the purported transfer Teleportation is the movement of objects from one place to another more or less instantaneously either by Paranormal means or through technological artifice This article details time travel itself For other uses see Time Traveler. In Science fiction stories X-ray vision has generally been portrayed as the ability to see through layers of objects at the discretion of the holder of this superpower Wired is a full-color monthly American Magazine and on-line periodical published in San Francisco, California since March 1993