IGN: The Top 100 "Coolest" Superpowers Of All-Time
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Where would we be without super powers? The Avengers would have never formed, Bowser would go undefeated, and Heroes would have been a soap opera. Even though us normal folk will never have them, we can't help but wonder which would be the coolest to have?
That's the question that drove the creation of this list. Super powers are inherent to comic books, so a lot were culled from there, but there are also plenty to consider from video games, TV, and movies. So after many of the nerdiest meetings to ever take place, we settled on this list of the 100 coolest super powers.
Judging Criteria:
Gadgets and tech, like Batman's utility belt and Iron Man's armor, aren't special abilities, so Bruce and Tony will have to sit this one out.
Being really, really good at something, like Green Arrow at archery, isn't enough. It has to surpass normal human capabilities. It must be "super!"
It's the result, not the means, that define the power. So while magic is awesome, it's not a power by our guidelines. Magic lets you do cool things like conjure fire and fly, so Fire Manipulation and Flight are the powers, not magic itself. Sorry, Harry Potter!
The context of where a power is used matters. Superman on Krypton isn't superpowered, but on Earth he is because of the yellow sun.
This is a list of the coolest powers, which doesn't necessarily translate to the most powerful powers. While some are cool because they are powerful, a lot are cool because they are silly, unique, or would just be fun to use.
Publishing Schedule:
Monday, March 17: #100-81
Tuesday, March 18: #80-61
Wednesday, March 19: #60-41
Thursday, March 20: #40-21
Friday, March 21: #20-1
These are the 100 coolest super powers of all time....
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#100
Produce Bouncing Gold ?
Power: The ability to shoot golden ? out of one's body.
Notable Users: Goldballs
Is shooting gold ? cool? That depends. It's certainly cooler than having no super powers at all, but there are certainly better powers to be had (99 of them, to be exact). Still, producing gold ? from your body can prove useful for a distraction and allow your teammates to gain the advantage in a battle. Plus, you'll always be invited to skee ball night!
#99
Super Maggots
Power: Emit super slugs from one's body that in turn digest solid objects and transfer the energy to their host.
Notable Users: Maggott
Normally, spouting maggots from your body isn't the coolest. However, in Maggott's case, his super powered slugs are able to enhance his strength, stamina, and size by digesting objects in their path. Sure, it's really gross, but at least its got its benefits.
#98
Eat Anything
Power: The ability to consume all matter in any form.
Notable Users: Matter-Eater Lad
Forget the obvious benefits to having this ability -- which would eliminate the need for dieting, so bring on the cookies -- the real cool factor comes when you realize that there would be no situation that you couldn’t handle. Eat nuclear weapons, guns, knives, anything! Leave the technopath at home and just eat the bombs.
#97
Super Learning
Power: The ability to absorb information at an advanced rate, or even instantly.
Notable Users: Taskmaster, Kat (Alphas), The Flash
Talk about impressing your friends. Imagine being able to absorb knowledge at super speed. You'd be the king/queen of bar trivia! More importantly, you'd be an enormous asset to your superhero team; think of it like learning a new program inside of the Matrix. Can't fly that helicopter? Just use your power to insta-read the manual and boom! You super-learned how to be a pilot. -
#96
Explosive Farting
Power: The ability to turn one's flatuence into an explosive.
Notable Users: Abe (Oddworld), Wario, Fartman (Howard Stern)
If you've got to choose between super maggots, gold ? , and explosive farts, it stands to reason that explosive farts is by far the coolest power. Not only is it probably endlessly amusing, eating a greasy meal before a big fight would actually be considered a boon rather that a detriment. Just nab some Taco Bell on your way to the crime-in-progress and you're ready to go.
#95
Poison Generation
Power: The ability to produce and emit poison from the body.
Notable Users: Singed the Mad Chemist (League of Legends), Poison Ivy
Call it a toxin, call it posion, or call it venom, any way you slice it, producing a deadly substance from your body is a sure fire way to make sure that nobody messes with you. Hopefully it's not emitted in some disgusting way (see Maggott), but having poisonous barbs shoot out of your finger tips or being able to projectile toxic bile would be pretty neat.
#94
Channel The Devil
Power: The ability to conjure Satan and his skills.
Notable Users: Dante (Devil May Cry)
Talk about sympathy for the devil. While channeling Satan probably isn't high on your checklist of things you look for in a mate, it can come in handy when you're fighting an enemy -- especially if you're using the devil's energies against evil. Channeling the devil leaves the bearer with increased strength, super speed, and -- usually -- horns.
#93
Evil Projections
Power: The ability to call upon the Darkness to take out your enemies.
Notable Users: Jackie Estacado
The bearer of the Darkness has at his or her disposal the legions of Darklings, which they can use to utterly destroy their enemies. While the Darkness also offers increased strength and speed, projecting the Darklings allows them to maniupulate their surroundings and turn any situatuion to their advantage. -
#92
Persuasion
Power: The ability to convince others of anything.
Notable Users: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kayla Silverfox
Whether it's the good ol' Jedi Mind Trick or just a skill to modify your Diplomacy in D&D, the power of persuasion is all-powerful. Too often superheroes resort to fisticuffs to solve problems, but having persuasion means that one could get the ? work done with just their mind. It's not so much intelligence as much as it is charm.
#91
Communicate With Cities
Power: The ability to draw power from a metropolitan landscape.
Notable Users: Jack Hawksmoor
Not only would this power (presumably) give you a natural understanding of complicated subway lines, but it also lets you draw increased strength and speed from the cityscape. It's even been known to act on your behalf to protect you and your allies. That's pretty cool, just don't move to the country. Ever.
#90
Detachable Limbs
Power: The ability to remove your arms and legs at will.
Notable Users: Arm-Fall-Off Boy
One of the weirder super powers on the list but cool nonetheless, being able to remove your limbs at will gives you easy access to weapons: your own arms and legs! If you don't mind hopping on your right leg for a while, you can beat your opponent senseless with your left one. -
#89
Understand All Languages
Power: The ability to comprehend any and all languages.
Notable Users: Cypher, Wonder Woman
Forget wasting away in foreign language class in high school, having this power would not only give you an extra study hall period but it'd make you a natural ambassador for new civilizations, be they on Earth or some distant planet. Plus you'd never have a problem ordering meals no matter where in the world you might find yourself.
#88
Super-Powered Tattoos
Power: The ability to manfiest powers from body art.
Notable Users: Ink, The Tattooed Man
A subset of being able to manipulate ink, those with the ability to manipulate body art itself allows them to gain physical strength or even conjure the physical form of the tattoo. So, if you've got a tattoo of a hawk, you'd be able to either gain its ability to fly, or be able to make it appear and attack your opponents with its razor sharp talons.
#87
Insect Control
Power: Power to manipulate all manners of bugs.
Notable Users: Ant-Man
If you ask a group of people what they hate the most, a large percentage will probably respond "bugs." How cool would it be, then, to have utter control over insects and be able to use that against your enemies? You could send an army of ants to raid their stock of weapons, infest their hideout with termites, or just chase them away with a swam of terrifying wasps. The possibilties are endless.
#86
Pheromones
Power: The ability to generate pheromones that affect the behavior of others.
Notable Users: Stacy X, Daken, Spider-Woman
Typically we think of pheromones as a weapon that someone like Poison Ivy uses to seduce (and destroy) her enemies. That's one use, but pheromones can also put people to sleep, make them experience deep fear, or even wish for death. Generation of pheremones has a variety of applicable uses, and all of them are potentially useful in the vigilante game.
#85
? Rearranging
Power: Being capable of relocating the major organs within your body.
Notable Users: Shatterstar, Mystique
At first, this doesn't sound like a particularly thrilling super power. And it's not, really, but it is damn useful. Imagine getting impaled with the blade of an enemy, and being able to shift your internal parts around just right so that it's merely a flesh wound? Not a bad ability to have if you're going to be engaging in a lot of close quarters combat, particularly with sharp weapons involved. -
#84
Superhuman Invention Skill
Power: The ability to create advanced inventions with ease.
Notable Users: Forge, Sylar, Skyler Adams (Alphas)
Intuitively being able to invent complex creations opens up a world of possibilities for the user. If a particular machine, gadget, piece of technology, weapon, food item, or computer system doesn't exist: simply invent it! You'd be on the cutting edge at all times, and you'd push humanity to a new stage of evolution. Just be careful who you share your inventions with.
#83
Empathy
Power: The ability to fully comprehend the moods and emotions of others.
Notable Users: Swamp Thing, Lockheed, Lydia
While being an empath is most certainly a tough life to lead, feeling everyone's emotional highs and lows, empaths also make for powerful allies. It's one of the coolest powers to have because empaths will always understand; nothing you say can be lost on them or taken for granted. They'll likely know your feelings better than you do.
#82
Self-Confidence
Power: The ability to draw power from one's own self-confidence.
Notable Users: Gladiator, Dante (Devil May Cry)
What came first? The self-confidence or the physical strength? If you've got the super power of self-confidence, it's a chicken and egg scenario. It's a cool power because it drives you to be more confident in yourself, as the more confident you are, the better you will be. There's a life lesson in there somewhere.
#81
Mimic Other Powers
Power: The ability to take on the attributes of someone else's power.
Notable Users: Mimic, Hope
The power to mimic other powers is quite freeing if you're worried about being locked into just one power. With mimicry, there's always a new option to try, though we imagine the fun is only equal to how easily one acquires these powers. For example, some do it through touch, which requires close contact, while others can simply observe and copy. We'd prefer the latter. It's less dangerous that way.