Best (and Worst) New Powers

[t hedge coke]

Anyone lives long enough in the MU, they get some new powers. Maybe they last, maybe they don't, but they will get them.

Captain America had superstrength. Cyclops can calculate ricochets with exceptional precision. Doom can stick his mind in someone else's body. Aunt May was a herald of Galactus. Warpath can fly.

So, which new powers flipped your switch and which ones do you hope are forgotten and never addressed again?

[DurararaFTW]

Aunt May being a herald of Galactus, agent of shield or Spider-Girl or any of that should be forgotten if you ask me. Xavier, Emma Frost, the Cuckoos or Quentin Quire automatically having some telekinetic abilities since they are telepaths I very much could do without. On the same subject, I miss Psylocke being a precog rather then another TP/TK as well. Jubilee ahould be a mutant with plasma-based powers again. I miss Colossus' organic metal having a resistance to magic. It would've been perfect to remember right after Magik cut him off from his Juggernaut abilities to turn the tables on her. Instead she just left and instantly became a good guy again so we'll never have a decent end of that story. I wish Wolverine never had bone claws, it lessens to what degree Weapon X modified him. I'm not entirely sure what I prefer Wanda's powers to be like but it definitely shouldn't be shooting energy blasts at her opponent. Also Lady Deathstrike is a heavily modified cyborg, I don't like her just being treated as another regenerative mutant with sharp claws unless they actually reboot the character as such.

[Kieran_Frost]

Emma Frost's second mutation of diamond hard skin is hands down the best new power development I can think of (I'm also very happy with Moonstone's ability to turn invisible).

[WonderBoy]

I think one of the best power developments was when Kurt Busiek redefined Scarlet Witch's powers are more than simply probability altering hex blasts. Giving her the ability of chaos magic, and actually being able to weave spells and with time cast larger scale ones. She did some really great stuff in that run and it's one of my personal favourites. I'm hoping for a similar transition in the movies, after seeing Age of Ultron I can say her powers are awesome, but hopefully they'll have her discover chaos magic there too!

[t hedge coke]

Fantomex's power becoming illusion-casting like Mastermind is, for me, a lot weaker than his original parallel-processing brain, amazing lying skills, and having his nervous system outside his body.

The super soldier formula being more than just extra muscle in Cap is a great development. I'm not sure when tactical-awareness actually became a super power for him (and not just something that was innate and in practice), but it has a nice frisson.

[XPac]

One of the WORST IMO is T'Challa King of the Dead abilities. Having the power to get yelled at by your dead father has gotta be the worst super power ever. Not entirely sure it needs to be forgotten about... but it wouldn't be high on my list of super powers.

As far as best new power... typically I'm not a fan of power upgrades. For the most part I don't think they're needed. But one I did like was Luke Cage getting unbreakable skin. It gave him sort of a signature thing which other bricks didn't necessarily have. And anything that makes you stand out from the pack is a good thing, especially in a category as overcrowded as the strong guy one.

[t hedge coke]

One of the WORST IMO is T'Challa King of the Dead abilities. Having the power to get yelled at by your dead father has gotta be the worst super power ever. Not entirely sure it needs to be forgotten about... but it wouldn't be high on my list of super powers.

As a power, I think it has its uses, but the way it was applied onto him was... dumb. The last thing any African character needs is an excuse for "Waaahwaaah ancestors nature touch the ground of my people ancient ancestor... oh by the way we all worship ancient Egyptian gods or that spider god donchaknow?"

[mikelmcknight72]

Personally, I like Cyclops' power including enhanced spatial awareness. Least favorite? Archangel's blood having curative properties. If I recall correctly, there was a story that said mutants were immune to HIV/AIDS. I thought that was pretty dumb as well.

[Sutekh]

As far as best new power... typically I'm not a fan of power upgrades. For the most part I don't think they're needed. But one I did like was Luke Cage getting unbreakable skin. It gave him sort of a signature thing which other bricks didn't necessarily have. And anything that makes you stand out from the pack is a good thing, especially in a category as overcrowded as the strong guy one.

IIRC, diamond-hard 'unbreakable' skin was always his schtick, right from the beginning, which set him apart, and was a factor that allowed him to stand against people like Power Man (Erik Josten), who was ridiculously stronger than him (Wonder Man strength *plus* Giant Man size changing!), but just couldn't manage to hurt him, and was worn down in the end. His strength boost, on the other hand, felt unnecessary. Part of what made the Power Man / Iron Fist team so effective is that they covered for each other and fit together as a team like pieces of a puzzle. One had an unbeatable defense (diamond-hard skin and a never say die attitude), the other had an unbeatable offense (the Iron Fist), but neither of them had *both,* so it was like they were designed to be a team and work together.

Now he's just another tough strong guy in a universe crawling with tough strong guys. Ooh, how exciting.

Monica Rambeau's power up to go from 'can turn into energy along the EM spectrum' to 'can do anything so long as energy is mentioned when she does it' is one of my least favorite power ups.

Scarlet Witch going from amazingly effective hex bolts that cause bad things to happen to bad people to 'chaos magic' to 'reality manipulation' to 'can change all infinite multiverses with 3 words' was horrible.

[JoeWithoutFear]

Emma Frost's second mutation of diamond hard skin is hands down the best new power development I can think of (I'm also very happy with Moonstone's ability to turn invisible).

Yea. I do like this a lot!

[Myetche]

I liked the fact that when Kamala Khan was made a shapeshifter, the writer went all-out with it. Size-changing, strtching, appearance-shifting, this girl was powerful, but it worked because she was in a city where she wasn't competing with a thousand other superheroes and therefore was allowed to be the big fish in the pond.

But then the same writer took a good chunk of her powers away and now all Kamala can do is stretch limbs and grow small portions of her body (almost always her fists). What happened, Wilson? Did you get cold feet all of a sudden?

[PiercedMonk]

Beast's body continually shifting forms -- generally whenever a new artist takes over -- annoys the hell out of me. I'm glad he's no longer the four fingered blue Thunder Cat from Morrison's run, but Marvel really needs a style guide to dictate what Hank McCoy looks like.

Daredevil's sense of touch being so acute that he can determine colour based on the heat of the light being reflected back by a surface seems a bit much.

I thought all of Phyla-Vell's upgrades worked well. Kree Nega-Bands, to the Quantum Bands, to an avatar of Death as Martyr. It's a shame that final upgrade was just set-up for her own death and the surprise return of Thanos.

Speaking of Nega-Bands, everything about Noh-Varr's upgrade to Protector was terrible. The character already had a unique shtick, and he was criminally underused as part of the Dark Avengers. Then he got saddled with an awful Bachelo designed costume, and the name Protector. Was really happy to see him return as just Noh-Varr in Gillen's YOUNG AVENGERS.

[Sansomon]

I particularly liked the secondary mutation of Beast X-Men in a feline leonine form. Gave him an air of majesty.What is now a bestial character like The Beast from X-Men in the comics? Nothing. Simply official punching bag of any super-team. Today one man or woman, beast are always the first to be humiliated in any story are always the first to take some knockout for the telepath or telekinetic, to take a hundred punches a snap of some super-speedster, to be roasted by superheroes or supervillains with energetic powers, to be swallowed alive by shapeshifters, to be thrown into orbit by teleporters, to take humiliating beatings of super-humans with super strength, super-agility, and reflexes superhuman Acute Senses, claws and fangs, hyper-sharp,or all-powerful super-human like Thor, Hulk, Superman, Martian Manhunter and the obvious choice when "is to kill someone" in some super-team. Finished up all respect, value, and relevance that characters equal , The Beast had, which is regrettable because there was a time when superheroes equal the Beast were indispensable. Today? No more. Have their real excellence infallible killer Phoenix Entities Iron Man. For that we need a Beast, Sasquatch, Wolfcub or a Wolfsbane?