Narratio Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... How about: Infectious Lass:Power to make people sick Porcupine pete:Shoots quills in any direction[no aiming] color lad: power to change color on anything. Plant Lad: Power:growth[on plants only] That was the entire applicant line up from an early Adventure comics "Legion of Super Heroes" story. Plant lad made it into the Substitute Legion of Superheroes as Chlorophyl kid and the rest became the Substitute's Reserve I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... How about: Infectious Lass:Power to make people sick Porcupine pete:Shoots quills in any direction[no aiming] color lad: power to change color on anything. Plant Lad: Power:growth[on plants only] any more suguestions on useless powers ReadWild CardsV.1 by Goerge RR Martin. IL - Wonderful power for a villain or black ops agent PorPete - Some value to a solo vigilante Color Lad - Can blind people by canging the color of their cornea, or kill them slowly by turning their skin transparent and letting the sun shine in Plant Lad - Vastly useful to any country that produces or needs food Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... IL - Wonderful power for a villain or black ops agent PorPete - Some value to a solo vigilante Color Lad - Can blind people by canging the color of their cornea, or kill them slowly by turning their skin transparent and letting the sun shine in Plant Lad - Vastly useful to any country that produces or needs food The ability to cause a temporary illness would be a great power - the only issue with the character in question was her lack of ability to direct the effects. All of these ended up Substitute Heroes, and all demonstrated the ability to succeed using the odd, not universally useful, powers they had. [Always wondered about the LSH membership standards - those guys don't make the cut, but characters like Chemical King, Bouncing Boy and Triplicate Girl get in...] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandi Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... Bouncing Boy apparently saved one of the founding members (Saturn Girl) from a surprise attack, which was probably good enough. I suspect Triplicate Girl was there because all the guys wanted to get a piece of that action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted July 21, 2006 Report Share Posted July 21, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... Find Direction: this power lets you find a direction---the direction you're facing, that is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narratio Posted July 21, 2006 Report Share Posted July 21, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... Nullify - Find Direction: Lets you stop a person with "Find Direction" from EVER finding the direction they are facing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewings Posted July 21, 2006 Report Share Posted July 21, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... [Always wondered about the LSH membership standards - those guys don't make the cut' date= but characters like Chemical King, Bouncing Boy and Triplicate Girl get in...] Chemical King was enormously powerful: He could speed up, slow down, or even induce almost any chemical reaction, to the point where he could set a steel gun on fire by accelerating its normal oxidation rate. Anyway, the Subs failed to make the grade either because they didn't have a unique power (Night Girl, for example, was a brick, but only when she was out of sunlight - they already had Superboy and Mon-El), or weren't able to fully control it (Infectious Lass, Porcupine Pete), or it depended on external items (Chlorophyll Kid needs existing plants or a supply of seeds). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted July 21, 2006 Report Share Posted July 21, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... Chemical King was enormously powerful: He could speed up' date=' slow down, or even induce almost any chemical reaction, to the point where he could set a steel gun on fire by accelerating its normal oxidation rate.[/quote'] He apppeared all of about four times because writers didn't know what to do with him. Anyway' date=' the Subs failed to make the grade either because they didn't have a unique power (Night Girl, for example, was a brick, but only when she was out of sunlight - they already had Superboy and Mon-El)[/quote'] The justification, I think, was the "only at night" limit. The unique powers rule was inconsistent, as membership by both Superboy and Mon-El indicates. [Night Girl was immune to kryptonite AND lead, so she was as unique as either of them] or weren't able to fully control it (Infectious Lass' date=' Porcupine Pete), or it depended on external items (Chlorophyll Kid needs existing plants or a supply of seeds).[/quote'] Polar Boy was also excluded for years, and Color Kid and Stone Boy never got membership (Stone Boy was offered, IIRC). They suffered none of these limitations (maybe Polar Boy suffered from lack of control initially?). Wildifre was reliant on his suit not being breached. Cosmic Boy was as reliant on ferrous metals as CK was on plants/seeds. Saturn Girl relies on minds. Blok was also just a brick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewings Posted July 21, 2006 Report Share Posted July 21, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... He apppeared all of about four times because writers didn't know what to do with him. The justification, I think, was the "only at night" limit. The unique powers rule was inconsistent, as membership by both Superboy and Mon-El indicates. [Night Girl was immune to kryptonite AND lead, so she was as unique as either of them] Polar Boy was also excluded for years, and Color Kid and Stone Boy never got membership (Stone Boy was offered, IIRC). They suffered none of these limitations (maybe Polar Boy suffered from lack of control initially?). Wildifre was reliant on his suit not being breached. Cosmic Boy was as reliant on ferrous metals as CK was on plants/seeds. Saturn Girl relies on minds. Blok was also just a brick. True, the memberships requirements did change over time. Wildfire was actually rejected initially becaues he couldn't demonstrate a unique power (his suit's allowed under the "life sustaining equipment" clause of the constitution), only existing ones; he describes himself in his spotlight issue as "a one-man Legion of Superheroes." Blok can communicate telepathically with other silicon-based intelligences (which Saturn Girl can't), and he can increase his density. And Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl founded the Legion. They predated the membership requirements Superboy's membership (and Supergirl's) was actually addressed in the Legion Outpost: Being in effect both permanent and honorary, his membership doesn't exclude others from possessing similar powers (Mon-El, Ultra Boy). There's also the "suitable character" clause to consider. Fire Lad was rejected because he was too much of a hot-head (pun unavoidable). And Stone Boy... well, if you were on the membership committee, wolud you induct a statue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... The ability to talk inanimate objects and hear their replies, except the power doesn't grant the object any more sentience that normal and only a slight physical "awareness". Basically they could tell you if someone or something was touching them at the time. The power has the range of your normal speaking voice. There's actually a couple of uses for this power that might come up. You could "speak" to the floor or carpet and see how many things were touching it (could be used to find an invisible presence or hidden object). You might also be able to speak with a building and see how many people/things are inside it, assuming there touching the floors or walls). If the gm counted everything in the building as one "object" this would be more useful. A better subject for this thread might be "find a use for a useless power". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... There was Chrysalis from Wildcards who's power was that her tissues were transparent but only her soft tissues, not her bones so she looked like a walking skeleton in the glasslike body of a beautiful woman. Or that poor Joker who's (arugable) power was the fact he was always on fire and he had just enough regeneration to offset the damage being done...and no immunity to the pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... There was Chrysalis from Wildcards who's power was that her tissues were transparent but only her soft tissues' date=' not her bones so she looked like a walking skeleton in the glasslike body of a beautiful woman.[/quote'] Good for frightening superstitious bad guys. You could have a fair Pulp Era career based on that "power". Or that poor Joker who's (arugable) power was the fact he was always on fire and he had just enough regeneration to offset the damage being done...and no immunity to the pain. One of the darkest, and most used, Human Torch variations. I remember the version in Marshal Law who ended up being used as a barbecue by street people. You could also share your agony by grabbing criminals, if you could see and walk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... Good for frightening superstitious bad guys. You could have a fair Pulp Era career based on that "power". True, I meant to mention you might get a boost on Pre attack but as soon you meet someone who's isn't scared easily or react to fear with violence... One of the darkest, and most used, Human Torch variations. I remember the version in Marshal Law who ended up being used as a barbecue by street people. You could also share your agony by grabbing criminals, if you could see and walk. Well, the character in question couldn't do much more than scream. I don't know if the pain of constantly being on fire without even the mercy of passing out wouldn't quickly drive most people insane. Wasn't there a version of this in Venture Bros? A Human Torch "homage" that burst into flames whenever he was exposed to air but unfortunately he felt it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... Well, the character in question couldn't do much more than scream. I don't know if the pain of constantly being on fire without even the mercy of passing out wouldn't quickly drive most people insane. Wasn't there a version of this in Venture Bros? A Human Torch "homage" that burst into flames whenever he was exposed to air but unfortunately he felt it? Yup, part of the Fantastic Four pastiche. Mr. Impossible - the full Reed Richards power set, the only member of the group who could do anything useful. Mrs. Impossible - Sue Richards homage. Only her skin was invisible, had to concentrate to keep her power turned off, only woman to ever find Rusty Venture attractive. Cody - Johnny Storm homage, in constant agony from his "power", sleeps most of the time in a chamber with no oxygen and (guessing) a face mask that feeds him just enough to breathe. Ned - Ben Grimm homage. No superpowers, but his body resembles the pre-rocky form of the Thing, and he's big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... Thanks. now I recall that episode. Weird and pretty dark, but then again: Its Venture Bros. Ok, the power is you have one huge pinkie finger that drags the ground behind you walk... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... Thanks. now I recall that episode. Weird and pretty dark, but then again: Its Venture Bros. Ok, the power is you have one huge pinkie finger that drags the ground behind you walk... Which turns out to allow you to press the release button on the death trap when everyone else's powers have been neutralized. Your power is the ability to grow eyeballs anywhere on your body at will. However, they can't see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... Which turns out to allow you to press the release button on the death trap when everyone else's powers have been neutralized. Your power is the ability to grow eyeballs anywhere on your body at will. However, they can't see. But your enemies don't know that and the agents fall for your "I've got you all covered!" bluff long enough for the team ninja to sneak by and rescue the captured scientist from Viper's nefarious nefarious "Brain Drainer" before the plans for the Novanic Plasma Cannon can be sapped from his mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Anomaly Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... For some other ideas, check out some of the names in this thread: Worst Sidekicks. Then, there's also this ability: Extra-Dimensional Movement, Through Time (1 second into the future, measured from when the power began activating), Extra Time: 1 second to activate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewings Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... There was Chrysalis from Wildcards who's power was that her tissues were transparent but only her soft tissues, not her bones so she looked like a walking skeleton in the glasslike body of a beautiful woman. Or that poor Joker who's (arugable) power was the fact he was always on fire and he had just enough regeneration to offset the damage being done...and no immunity to the pain. I seem to recall reading that the luckless Joker in question was shot "by persons unknown." Nobody ever found out who the shooter was because nobody wanted to have to prosecute them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... I seem to recall reading that the luckless Joker in question was shot "by persons unknown." Nobody ever found out who the shooter was because nobody wanted to have to prosecute them. Someone put him out of his misery, IIRC. Chrysalis was also killed later in the series, I think by Demise or the Astronomer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... Someone put him out of his misery' date=' IIRC. Chrysalis was also killed later in the series, I think by Demise or the Astronomer.[/quote'] Chrysalis was killed accidentally by Hyram Worchester, aka Fatman, in an attempt to protect Senator Hartman. At the time Worchester was suffering from a near nervous breakdown due to his subjugation by the mind controling Joker-Ace-Parasite Ti Malice. That was when the series was moving from Iron Age to Rusty Iron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... Chrysalis was killed accidentally by Hyram Worchester, aka Fatman, in an attempt to protect Senator Hartman. At the time Worchester was suffering from a near nervous breakdown due to his subjugation by the mind controling Joker-Ace-Parasite Ti Malice. That was when the series was moving from Iron Age to Rusty Iron. Huh, I'd forgotten that's how she died. Its been ages since I read the books though. I should problably re read them. I liked the character though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armitage Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... Inspired by a short-lived super-hero named Grasshopper I found while wandering Wikipedia. Leaping 2", MegaScale (1" = 1,000 km; +1); Upward Movement Only (-1) (Life Support sold separately) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... Huh' date=' I'd forgotten that's how she died. Its been ages since I read the books though. I should problably re read them. I liked the character though.[/quote'] She was a great character, and I love the first three books. Iron Age Supers as they should be done, imo. It started to fall apart for me in books 4 & 5, and I didn't enjoy more than bits and pieces of the rest. The problem they ran into (and it's a common problem in "grim & gritty" story telling) is that there comes a point when you've dragged a character through the mud past the point where anyone can care about him or her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pogo Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 Re: Wow....that is a useless power for sure.... Maybe not a useless power if you're in a Tales of the Floating Vagabond campaign, but otherwise not terribly useful: http://sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060722 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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