ch0wyunf47 Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Possibly the weakest team member I've ever seen in a comic book: Cypher, from the New Mutants. for reference: http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/c/cypher.htm He can translate. I especially love their description of why he's a mutant and not somebody who's just studied a whole lot. 'Really, he's powerful! Why don't you believe me? Where are you going?' Any other votes? I wasn't counting characters out of things like Watchmen, which only featured one 'real' super hero. -B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? The funny thing is, after seeing a bit of the new Batgirl and her ability to 'read body' language, I can't help but wonder if maybe Cypher had the potiential to be one kick butt martial artist... had he lived. Frankly, I could never get over Razorback... he drives a truck, has an 'electrified mane' ... so forth. http://www.fortunecity.com/tatooine/niven/142/profiles/pro03.html Oh, he also seems to have +25 PRE, only to defend against embarrasment (-1 and 1/2) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? I have a cipher in my current game (Or did. He's dead too!). He had the ability to translate things, eidetic memory, and could also make detailed recreations of things based soley on his ability to describe them. And I have a character that has telepathy based on the ability to sit and observe what people are doing (body language). But I'm getting off topic. Weakest hero.... I have to say, there's a character in Exiles right now who... I think his ability is... to have feathers and a beak? Yeh, I think that's it. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think I've seen him do anything yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Anomaly Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? A description of Zeep, The Living Sponge can be found on this page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? With appologies to other Legion fans (especially Hawksmoor!) What about good ol' Matter Eater Lad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Cross Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? Remember when an insane Brainiac 5 used the Miracle Machine (a gift from oneof the Controllers,I believe) to create a giant rampaging monster,who saved the day by being the only person who could destroy the Miracle Machine? that's right,it was (DUM DUM DUM) MATTER-EATER LAD!!! Triplicate Lass,on the other hand..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? Eugene Padilio, the Fabulous Frog-Man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewings Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? With appologies to other Legion fans (especially Hawksmoor!) What about good ol' Matter Eater Lad? When you stop to think about it, that's actually a very formidable ability. In the pre-Crisis history, he ate the Miracle Machine; even Mon-El couldn't destroy the Miracle Machine. Weak is one thing, bizarre or highly specialized is another. With Warlock's help, Doug Ramsey once defeated the Magus, and on another occassion he prevented Lila's Dyson sphere home from self-destructing. In one issue of "What If?" he became advisor to Illyana, Queen of Asgard, and helped bring peace to the Nine Worlds. I'd have to say the weakest super-hero I can think of is probably Robin, the Boy Wonder. He's a very intelligent adolescent jock with a bunch of neat gadgets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanguard00 Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? Eugene Padilio' date=' the Fabulous Frog-Man![/quote'] I loved him! Especially his pseudo-appearance on David Letterman way back in Avengers #mumble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNakagawa Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? It's gotta be Double Header, of the Legion of Substitute Heroes...Reserves. He has two heads. Oooh, I'm quaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocMan Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? Possibly the weakest team member I've ever seen in a comic book: Cypher, from the New Mutants. for reference: http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/c/cypher.htm He can translate. I especially love their description of why he's a mutant and not somebody who's just studied a whole lot. 'Really, he's powerful! Why don't you believe me? Where are you going?' Cypher was my favorite New Mutant. Unfortunately, they never came close to his potential. From a few examples, he could extrapolate an entire language and then express himself in that language. He could read body language like a billboard. But everyone considered him a liability in combat. Well isn't martial arts a form of body language? Hello, Marvel? He could have become a master martial artist in no time. Another example of why it sucks to be the Designated Angst Boy. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ch0wyunf47 Posted July 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? Weak is one thing, bizarre or highly specialized is another. With Warlock's help, Doug Ramsey once defeated the Magus, and on another occassion he prevented Lila's Dyson sphere home from self-destructing. In one issue of "What If?" he became advisor to Illyana, Queen of Asgard, and helped bring peace to the Nine Worlds. I'd have to say the weakest super-hero I can think of is probably Robin, the Boy Wonder. He's a very intelligent adolescent jock with a bunch of neat gadgets. Somehow, I'd still rather have Robin on my side. I would argue that being a relatively peak athelete with a handful of sweet gadgets (not to mention having access to most, if not all, of his mentor's resources) would be much more preferable to having something less useful than a babelfish (not to diss the babelfish). Cypher was esentially a human version of one except that he wouldn't fit in your ear, nor were there an abundant supply of him. I do agree that Robin is not super-powered, and thus has less powers than Cypher. That was kind-of my point though. I was struck by the low level of his mutant power. They basically said "because he does it in his sub-concious, he's a mutant, and not someone who's just really good at being a translator". -B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpira Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? Possibly the weakest team member I've ever seen in a comic book: Cypher, from the New Mutants. for reference: http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/c/cypher.htm He can translate. I especially love their description of why he's a mutant and not somebody who's just studied a whole lot. 'Really, he's powerful! Why don't you believe me? Where are you going?' Any other votes? I wasn't counting characters out of things like Watchmen, which only featured one 'real' super hero. -B That is kind of subjective isn't it? I remember not liking Doug Ramsey, whose only real power, it seemed, was that he could stop .357 ammuntion with his body. I had a friend that was totally distraught that the guy died. I think, now, that there are really no weak heroes, just weak writers. If you do not believe me, try to get your hands on a copy of JLA during Morrison's run. Darkseid is taken out by the Atom and Conner Hawke. Or how about Hitman. His powers were x-ray vision and telepathy (which gave him a migraine), but he was one cool cat. I might say the weatherman (from Stormwatch) was kind of lame but Warren Ellis got his hands on him and made him worth reading. Are we simply talking about lack of powers? Then we got Batman but he takes out Martians and anything that gets in his way as easy as mowing the lawn. How about Robin? Well, Tim Drake has knocked Shiva on her butt and proven his worth as a leader. So what is the criteria for the weakest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckg Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? The funny thing is' date=' after seeing a bit of the new Batgirl and her ability to 'read body' language, I can't help but wonder if maybe Cypher had the potiential to be one kick butt martial artist... had he lived.[/quote'] Cypher *could* read body language -- like newsprint. A little while before his death, he used it to break the bank at the Hellfire Club casino, in an issue where the Hellions took the New Mutants out for a night on the town, to try and 'loosen them up' a little. ... he just wasn't at all athletic. And neither he nor his writers thought of that possible application of his ability. BTW, Doug Ramsey wasn't totally useless. He could translate languages that he'd never heard before or studied before, almost instantly. He could translate alien languages that no human being had ever contacted before. He could think effortlessly in computer code, and hack even the strangest alien computers given a useful neural interface. In one particularly epic moment, he cracked the code on the DNA of Warlock's father, the Magus, allowing the New Mutants to slip him a sort of viral attack via Warlock's powers and render the Magus entirely helpless. And the Magus, remember, was a cosmic badass who could rip apart stars. (Note -- not the same Magus that is connected to Adam Warlock. Other guy entirely.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocMan Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? I do agree that Robin is not super-powered' date=' and thus has less powers than Cypher. That was kind-of my point though. I was struck by the low level of his mutant power. They basically said "because he does it in his sub-concious, he's a mutant, and not someone who's just really good at being a translator".[/quote'] Actually, I believe that Cypher's translation power was a very specific form of psi power. He could read the psychic imprint behind spoken or written communication and reconstruct the entire language. Not just the meaning of the samples he had, but the entire language. With enough examples of a written language, he could reconstruct the spoken version of the language, if it had one. He wasn't just a kid who was into languages who could think really really fast. Come to think of it, Cypher should have been able to pick up a phone, dial up a computer and "speak" to it in bianary. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightray Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? Beak (the guy in the Exiles) doesn't need mutant powers. He has a baseball bat. ooh. And if you're going to bring up the LSH for weak supers, you're looking in the wrong direction if you're thinking of Matter-Eater Lad. What about Porcupine Pete. Or Arm-Fall-Off Boy? Heck, I used to think Color Kid or Stone Boy would have been perfect for this thread, until the 5 Years After run when they'd learned to exploit their powers and they were seriously effective. Poor Arm-Fall-Off Boy was no where to be seen, though... Alas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEmerged Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? RE: Matter Eater Lad. My favorite MEL moment happened during a brief retcon LSH issue. The Executioner is swinging his Atomic Axe -- which could cut the pre-Crisis Superboy -- at a nearly-prone MEL. MEL decides on a novel defense and blocks -- with his mouth. MEL 1, Atomic Axe 0. Weakest Superhero Ever. That would be any superhero that used to have his/her own book appearing in another book after their own is cancelled. Take the Ray (DC) as an example: repeatedly in his own book we are reminded that when powered up he's pure energy unless he wants to be solid. We are treated to several scenes where solid object fly through him harmlessly. After his book gets cancelled, he gets punched by Batman while powered up and shot down by being grazed by a missile. Not hit by an exploding one, mind, just being grazed by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakboy6117 Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? I remember reading a genration X adaptation novel years ago which had razorback in it. He actually had a pretty cool mutant power he could drive any vehical as if he was an experienced pilot space shuttle alien fighter, formula 1 car or whatever. As for beak he rules, so far he has mauled beast stood up to a rampageing magneto and even iwth his freaky looks has the cutest kids at the mansion with his attractive girlfriend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? I wouldn't pick on Robin as the weakest non-powered super. I'd go for one of the other sidekicks who wasn't trained by Batman, and who doesn't have the range of neat gadgets. Come to think of it, there's Robin, and there's Robin, and there's Robin. Tim Drake may well be the best trained fighter. Dick Grayson probably had the best all-round training. Jason Todd was probably the lamest. That's not counting the various Robins from things like the Dark Knight Returns and so on. Personally, there is no way in the whole wide world that I would play a character with a name like "Sandy the Golden Boy". Eww... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest milton febles Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? To me, two stick out: Captain Ultra (faints at sight of a lit match) and X-men's Maggot(his death was'nt slow and painful enough for me). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapsedgamer Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? Pre-Apocalypse Angel. I have wings, and I can fly. OK, so you're a giant canary. Next!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom McCarthy Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? The earliest days of the Legion of Substitute Heroes would give us a veritable legion of contenders. Arm Drop Off Boy looked like a capable threat compared to Double Header. Porcupine Pete had lots of obvious potential, while Infectious Lass's inability to control her powers made her more dangerous to allies than foes. Stone Boy was just too funny (I mean really, he was invulnerable but immobile and insensate; in some SF stories, that's not a power, it's a prison). The Inferior Five also give us some strong candidates. But in the end, I've got to give the nod to Cheeks, the Toy Wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magmarock Posted July 16, 2004 Report Share Posted July 16, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? Pre-Apocalypse Angel. I have wings' date=' and I can fly. OK, so you're a giant canary. Next!![/quote'] I was going to say this, but you beat me to it. Mags Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WhammeWhamme Posted July 16, 2004 Report Share Posted July 16, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? To me' date=' two stick out: Captain Ultra (faints at sight of a lit match) and X-men's Maggot(his death was'nt slow and painful enough for me).[/quote'] Hey! Some of the more ridiculously powerful characters DIE at the sight of a lit match... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaiah_26_4 Posted July 16, 2004 Report Share Posted July 16, 2004 Re: Weakest Supers in books you've read? Molecue Man...what a wimp! Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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