Whitewings

Re: Golden Age Myth?

Re: Alternate Earth: Superman 2005 That's actually a very hard question to answer, because a world without the modern concept of superheroes would have to be drastically different from our own. However, some elements can be answered. First, the hero will need an origin. If he has genuine super-powers, the explanation will probably be pseudo-scientific because a "magical" or "religious" explanation will get too many people crashing down on you like so many neutron stars. You'll probably get something like "tapping into zero-point energy, the power of the expanding Universe itself," and either a spontaneous mutation or an extraterrestial origin for him. Possibly both; a really clever writer might have an alien race use tailored nanotech to rewrite the parents' DNA so their offspring will have these powers. If they're benevolent, or at least benign, then the couple will have value most of the world calls "good:" Respect for oneself and for others; the judging of situations based on experience and morality, using both reason and compassion; acceptance of personal responsibility for one's actions; the ability to accept that sometimes, there are no good solutions, only degrees of bad (but at the same time refusing to believe that there can never be good solutions, or that one should not at least try to find one). If the aliens are malevolent, then maybe our Superman is raised to be good in spite of them, or grows up to be good despite his parents' example. If he grows up to be amoral or actively evil, he's not a superhero. Most likely, this version of Superman would be like the early appearance of Superman: Able to "raise tremendous weights! Leap an quarter of a mile! Hurdle the Empire State building! Run faster than a bullet train! And nothing less than the explosion of a cruise missile can harm him!" In simple terms, tremendous magnifications of ordinary human abilities. An ordinary man can throw a baseball ten yard with trivial ease; Superman can throw a wrecking ball ten yards with trivial ease. If our hypothetical "Superman" does decide to adopt a distinctive costume, it would most likely be based on the outfits used for many extreme sports, meaning a heavy Spandex bodysuit and a helmet, just as the original Superman's was based on a circus strongman's. It will probably be black, with some bright colour for highlighting and a distinctive crest of some sort.

Re: Dr. Doom vs Iron Man The script for Star Wars reads: HAN SOLO: "She's the the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs." BEN: reacts to this blatant attempt at misinformation So despite what many people think, that line was not an expression of ignorance. It was *supposed* to be meaningless. I won't claim that Lucas has never messed up, but he didn't mess up with that line.

Re: Character question:Savant Buy teh appropriate skills (including professional skills) at high levels (including some 5 point skill levels), but not the usual knowledge skills. PS: Construction, but not KS: Architecture or SS: Materials Science. ANd put a physical limitation in place "Can only use science and engineering skills for direct construction."

Re: why u all sux Check my post on the previous page.

Re: Who would be in this group? Danny Phantom would be a good choice. Others might include Super Samurai, Isis (she was done in animation after her live-action series, so she qualifies), Web Woman, Hadji, and Sinbad Jr.

Re: why u all sux All languages and jargons serve three basic purposes: 1) Convey information 2) Identify members of a group 3) Exclude people who are not part of a group Pidgin English, as created in China, is a nearly pure example of purpose 1. Hacker jargon is a good example of purpose 2. "Leet" is an almost pure example of 3, as it includes no unique terminology and is extremely poor at conveying information; its primary and nearly sole function is to keep out "lamers," meaning anyone who actually types normally, and considers such things as spelling and grammar to be fundamental rather than optional. I have a very low opinion of "leet" and its users. You may have noticed this.

Re: Belief in magic by normals. To quote (approximately) the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" TV series: "Dad, look at the evidence. Mom's vomiting pins. [lists other not-scientifically-explainable things] Based on the available data, the correct, logical, rational scientific conclusion is that we've been cursed." If an honest scientist is confronted with enough evidence, he'll concede that yes, magic is real.

Re: Your character's theme song would be? Liane/Champion Wind: Almost anything cheery will do for Liane, but especially appropriate would be Peter, Paul, and Mary's "Weave Me the Sunshine." As Champion Wind... for my life, I can't think of anything more appropriate than the closing theme from "Battle of the Planets." And I mean "Battle of the Planets," not "Gatchaman." Ika: She's a timelost cave girl. "Land of the Lost" is too perfect. Amyrya: The only channeler ever to train in the Tower, get kicked out under permanent shield, free herself of it, be caught by the Seanchan and trained as a damane, then slip her own leash and lead a mass escape. She didn't believe in "impossible" things. "I Am A Pioneer," from Tenchi Muyo is utterly perfect. Kitahr: "God Save the People" from Godspell. Change "God" to "Sun," and you've got her perfect theme (she's a Zenith)

Re: A Modern League of Extroardinary Gentlemen I considered Ms. Deep, in some ways at lesat she'd fit better than Yomiko, but they need someone with all sorts of odd knowledge, and Yomiko fits that bill to a T.

Re: WWYCD:Little Girl Lost Most of my characters would react pretty much the same way in this case: Tell the girl and her parents that in a place far away, she has grandparents and other relatives who would probably like to meet her, and try to persuade her come back with them (assuming that the trip's not likely to be one-way). Don't mention the money, but do mention the opportunity for new experiences, and for education - including education in techniques she can bring back to her tribe if she so chooses. If she's truly determined, so be it, but you can expect them to pull out every argument they can muster.

Re: A Modern League of Extroardinary Gentlemen The sisters (Tam, Alex, and Celia) are from the series "Cat's Eye." Originally Japanese, I know the French version. They're basically theives, searching for clues to the disappearance of their father. Yomiko is from the anime and manga "Read or Die." She's the ultimate bibliophile, and she has the power to control and manipulate paper. She can create a giant paper airplane (that flies!) from the contents of her paper-filled suitcase, or stop a bullet with a business card. Angus MacGyver is from the TV series MacGyver. There are probably dozens of web sites for the show. Tom Swift Jr. and Tom Swift IV are from their respective Tom Swift novel series. Basically, they're scientific and technological geniuses, and extremely wealthy. Among other things, Swift Enterprises controls the biggest, richest iron mine in the world. By the time of Tom Swift IV, they've also built an O'Neill class space colony. Fred and George Weasley are twin wizards from the Harry Potter novels. They're extremly intelligent, decently educated, highly eccentric, very powerful, and wildly creative.

Re: A Modern League of Extroardinary Gentlemen I'd like to nominate my "modern League." Taking as my time frame the year 2000, my picks are: Alex, Tam and Celia, from "Signé Cat's Eye." Alex is social and inflitration, Tam for straight-up burglary, and Celia for tech support. Angus MacGuyver. Do I really need to spell it out? Yomiko Readman. She's a living library, and her paper powers are very, very formidable. Tom Swift Jr. and Tom Swift IV. The Swifts provide monetary backing, gadgets and devices Celia can't manage, and vehicles like the Sky Queen and the atomicars. Plus Tom IV is young enough to take the field, his grandfather isn't really up to field work any more. His father's not particularly useful. Fred and George Weasley. Those two are disasters looking for someone to happen to; just point them in the right direction.

Re: Superpowers that haven't been thought out... Granted, but nonetheless, in my conversations on the subject, this and the subsequent sequences are the most common basis for the belief that the "Carol" persona can shut off Rogue's powers.

Re: Superpowers that haven't been thought out... You mean Antarctic Vibranium. And what they use would have to be ceramic mining tools, old fashioned pick-and-shovel mining, with ceramic-reinforced wooden ore cart running on nylon tracks and wheels and light from chemical lightsticks. Heat could be supplied by radiators using non-metallic dry cells to push current through resistive ceramics via conductive plastics (we do have these today). The processing plant would have to use purely chemical means to refine the ore: Melt it in ceramic crucibles, apply various reagents, etc. And all of this has to be done with only wind power and muscle power, a strictly early 19th century tech level. Even when all this is done, you're still not home free, because you have to haul the stuff overland by dog sled across the most hostile and unlivable terrain on the planet, then transport it to market in fibreglass hulled sail freighters with no metal fittings at all. The living quarters can use metal, they just have to be far enough from the mine and the processing plant. But you can see why Antartic vibranium is hideously expensive.

Re: Superpowers that haven't been thought out... In Genosha, Wipeout negated Rogue's powers, and she was immediately gang-raped (it's only one panel, nothing graphic) and Carol takes over. She fights free, and she's in charge of Rogue's body for the rest of the stay in Genosha until Wipeout restores Rogue's powers. There's a bit of caption at this point that describes them as "still uncontrollable." So a lot of fans apparently assumed that the change from Rogue in charge to Carol in charge was Wipeout's doing, and Carol being in charge is why Rogue didn't use her powers. So when Rogue became the dominant personality again, it was assumed this was a direct result of Wipeout's actions, and Rogue's inability to control her power a fault in Rogue's psyche.

Re: Superpowers that haven't been thought out...

Re: Superpowers that haven't been thought out... I have the issue, and they weren't. Binary restarted the engines and it pushed her to her limit (though somehow he did manage to re-ignite the ring around Arkon's world - I don't have that issue so I can't comment on it).

Re: Person of Steel, Significant Other of Tissue paper Superboy is genetically engineered, which isn't what I call "normal means," meaning your basic sprem-and-egg methods (including IVF and the like).

Re: Person of Steel, Significant Other of Tissue paper

Re: Person of Steel, Significant Other of Tissue paper Actually, it's been established that homo sapiens and homo kryptonis (yes, I just made it up. Sue me) are fundamentally incompatible as far as reproduction is concerned. Homo kryptonis DNA is twelve-stranded, totally impossible to combine with two-stranded homo sapiens DNA by ordinary means.

Re: Masked Vigilantes In Trial

Re: Paper Burns! Yomiko's not blocking a lightsabre, she's blocking an electrically charged sword. Considering taht she can stop a bullet with a business card, or embed one in concrete, I'd say blocking a sword with banknotes is entirely consistent with her abilities.

Re: Why Kill At All?

Re: How do you feel about Superheroes that kill?