Doug McCrae Posted December 31, 2006 Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 Sparked off by assault saying he wouldn't allow nanotechnology in his game, here's a list of what origins/power sources I feel are acceptable in each era. I've probably missed a few but these seem to be most common. Some really dominate, the Silver Age is famous for its radioactive heroes and flying saucers for example while the Iron Age is very mutant heavy. Golden Age Special training in boxing and gymnastics Chemicals, particularly a serum or formula Scientific accident Magic Learning strange powers in Tibet Given or built a special vehicle Radiation Raised by animals Alien Robot Silver Age Radiation Alien Gadgetry, especially alien gadgetry Scientific accident Cosmic rays Struck by lightning Mutant Robot God Magic Bronze Age Alien or space god Mystical Horror monster – vampire, werewolf, demon etc. Gadgetry Mutant Taught kung fu Cyborg Genetic engineering Being the son or daughter of a superhero Iron Age Mutant Genetic modification Being the son or daughter of a superhero Cyborg Nanotechnology Special drugs Ninja training Mystical, especially Satanic Scientific accident No explanation for powers whatsoever, or amnesia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRavenIs Posted December 31, 2006 Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 Re: Power source or origin by era Looks good. Hadn't consider this in a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted December 31, 2006 Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 Re: Power source or origin by era Being from Atlantis, Paradise Island or some other "Hidden Land" works for all the pre-Iron Age eras. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transmetahuman Posted December 31, 2006 Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 Re: Power source or origin by era Here's a reorganization of your lists, which I thought was interesting. "What goes around, comes around" with a different name or spin... Special training in boxing and gymnastics Chemicals, particularly a serum or formula Special drugs Struck by lightning Scientific accident Radiation Cosmic rays Taught kung fu Ninja training Learning strange powers in Tibet Magic Mystical Mystical, especially Satanic Horror monster – vampire, werewolf, demon etc. Given or built a special vehicle Gadgetry Gadgetry, especially alien gadgetry Robot Cyborg Nanotechnology Genetic modification Genetic engineering | Mutant | Being the son or daughter of a superhero Being from Atlantis, Paradise Island or some other "Hidden Land" Alien Alien or space god God Raised by animals No explanation for powers whatsoever, or amnesia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Johnston Posted December 31, 2006 Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 Re: Power source or origin by era There's another Iron Age origin, the self-referential one where the characters get powers explicitly from being a figment of the imagination. This is of course mostly Moore characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiree Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 Re: Power source or origin by era Wouldn't Nanotechnology fit under a subsect of "Cyborg" - and with the same concept of Genetic Engineering and/or Bio-replacements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold Steel Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 Re: Power source or origin by era Wouldn't Nanotechnology fit under a subsect of "Cyborg" - and with the same concept of Genetic Engineering and/or Bio-replacements. Not really. Nano tech came around the 90's. Cyborgs first came in the 70's (Six Million Man). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Re: Power source or origin by era Not really. Nano tech came around the 90's. Cyborgs first came in the 70's (Six Million Man). Robotman was a "full body replacement" cyborg in 1942. He was revived in All Star Squadron in the 80s, and made a scattering of other appearances. A namesake appeared in the Silver Age, and has continued to appear at least sporadically to the present day. Incidentally, I'm a big fan of the Silver Age Robotman, and the Doom Patrol in general. I have a homage team in my CU, although I haven't bothered to name them yet. EDIT: Another Silver Age cyborg: Lightning Lad. He was given a metallic replacement arm in a 1965 story. He later was able to regrow a real one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Johnston Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Re: Power source or origin by era EDIT: Another Silver Age cyborg: Lightning Lad. He was given a metallic replacement arm in a 1965 story. He later was able to regrow a real one. Yes but Lightning Lad didn't get any power worth mentioning from being a cyborg. He just had a pretty good prosthesis. Wouldn't Nanotechnology fit under a subsect of "Cyborg" - and with the same concept of Genetic Engineering and/or Bio-replacements. Not as such. A cyborg is a person who has actually had body parts replaced with artificial replacements. The recently trendy nanotech characters have all their original parts, but nanobugs as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Re: Power source or origin by era Yes but Lightning Lad didn't get any power worth mentioning from being a cyborg. He just had a pretty good prosthesis. That was the theory. Apparently the reality turned out a little different. From http://members.shaw.ca/legion_roll_call/legionnaires/lightning_lad/ --- When Garth lost his right arm to the Super-Moby Dick of Space, Dr. Lanphier, the monster's creator, gave him a robot, metal arm (AD 332). A few months later, Garth was hypnotized by his personal physician, Dr. Hanscom, into becoming the super-powered half of his alter-ego, Starfinger. Powered by Garth's lightning power, Hanscom rewired the robot arm into producing a variety of super-powered effects: super-lightning (index finger), force-thrust ray (middle finger), any kind super-radiation: heat, Green Kryptonite, etc. (ring finger), freezing-ray (pinky) and power-neutralizer ray (thumb). By combining all fingers, he created a new effect: a power-distorting ray. With it, he turned Matter-Eater Lad to metal, shrunk Colossal Boy and made Light Lass super-heavy (AD 335). --- AD = Adventure Comics. There is no need to comment on the "Super-Moby Dick of Space" is there? It is interesting, though, that such a cheesy notion ties so directly into the far more interesting Starfinger plotline. I guess it's all just one big hamburger. Yet another Silver Age cyborg: Tharok, from the Fatal Five. We've adequately established the presence of Golden and Silver Age cyborgs, I think. They do seem to become more common over time, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Re: Power source or origin by era It looks like a rather good table to me, but I have to point out some IMO blatant omissions: a) "Cosmic Power" has been a steadily popular power source since Kirby. This does not necessarily mean gods, as it is often written to indicate a primordial power source tied to the very structure of the universe that may bypass or transcend personified gods Psi is another evergreen that has been around to soem degree since Golden Age, most definitely since silver; often it is used by mutants, but it's not restricted to them by any means c) In some Iron Age sources, the idea gets tossed around that some, maybe all, superpowers are powered by conscious or unconscious "reality warping" by one's mind, typically with throwing around some technobabble vaguely sounding like quantum physics. Often it is the mechanism that fuels the powers of mutants, by it's not resticted to them by any means (except in the settings where all supers are natural or artificially-induced mutants, of course). Some power sources often overlap (e.g. mutants and genetic engineering), but that's typical of the whole genre. Different writers often have different interpretations of nuances in a character's powers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug McCrae Posted January 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Re: Power source or origin by era Good point about Golden and Silver Age cyborgs, I'd forgotten about Robotman. Like mutants, cyborgs became much more common in the Iron Age. Another one from the GA and SA only is being 'evolutionarily advanced'. This usually implies increased physical ability and mental powers like telepathy. It was Superman's first origin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Desmarais Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Re: Power source or origin by era Very cool. I've been working on a campaign setting that spans (and differentiates between) the various comic eras (complete with plot-related reason for the changes in tone/mood from era to era). This type of stuff is great for keeping my creative juices flowing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.