Superpower (ability)

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Comic book superhero Shazam uses magic to gain superpowers to apprehend criminals (left) and fly over pedestrians (right) in Shazam: Power of Hope (November 2000). Art by Alex Ross.

Superpower is a popular culture term for an imaginary superhuman ability. They are most frequently used in pulp magazines, comic books, science fiction, television programs, video games, and films as the key attribute of a superhero. The concept originated in American comic books and pulp magazines of the 1930s and 1940s, and has gradually worked its way into other genres and media.

Definition[]

There is no rigid definition of a "superpower." In popular culture, it may be used to describe minimal exaggeration of normal human traits, though it is often associated with supernatural abilities such as flight, super strength, energy projection and manipulation, force fields, invulnerability, telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation, super speed, or weather control.

Generally speaking, exceptional-but-not-superhuman fictional characters like Batman and Iron Man may be classified as superheroes even though they do not have any actual superhuman abilities. Similarly, characters with superhuman abilities derived from artificial, external sources, like the Six Million Dollar Man's bionic limbs, Green Lantern's power ring, and Tony Stark's Iron Man armor, may be described as having superpowers, but are not necessarily superhuman.

Explanations in fiction[]

In fiction, seemingly impossible superpowers are often given scientific, quasi-scientific, pseudoscientific, or supernatural explanations. They come from three sources: magic, technology, or the character's own nature (being an alien, a supernatural being, or a mutant). Superpowers based on possible current or future technology, such as mechanized suits, rockets, bionics, and genetic manipulation, are typically explained using science and science fiction. Superpowers based on psychic and paranormal phenomena, for example, are typically explained using supernatural/otherworldly ideas, parapsychology, or even pseudoscience. Other superpowers may be explained using mythology.

Depiction in popular culture[]

In manga and anime[]

Superpowers are a commonly used concept in manga and anime, particularly in the shonen genre. They are often featured in popular manga and anime such as Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, A Certain Magical Index, Hunter × Hunter, Naruto, and Code Geass. The types of powers featured vary from series to series. Some, such as Dragon Ball, feature many different characters who have the same types of powers; others, like One Piece and Bleach, feature characters with a wide range of different powers, with many powers being unique to only one or a few characters.^[1]

In anime the source of these superpowers may range from various sources like having alien DNA running through your veins, eating body parts of a person like their hair finger and even their spinal fluid as seen in Attack on Titan or simply being born with an ability or magic/chakra.

See also[]

References[]

External links[]

• Superpower List - A growing list of user-submitted superpowers.
• 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.