Living life as a superhero is rough; apart from all the civilians in constant need of saving, there’s all the scrutiny that comes from being in the public eye. If a hero’s work performance isn’t up to par, they’re accused of apathy, the death knell of any true hero. Then, there’s the restrictive spandex suits and long draping capes; appearing poised is enough work as is. Add to that the fact that few heroes boast conventionally useful powers, and it’s easy to see why so many choose a life of villainy.
Despite the lack of praise many of the following superpowers often receive, they’re actually quite resourceful. Whether they’re capable of eliminating many day-to-day tasks or they’re just really awesome to show off to friends, they definitely beat not having any powers at all.
Updated on July 29th, 2022 by Tanner Fox: Everyone would love to have a superpower, but, given the choice, most would likely opt for more conventional abilities such as super strength or super speed. The more daring might select something like omniscience or immortality, but very few would opt for anything as weird as liquid transmutation or technomancy.
Yet, the broad pantheon of superhero lore more often than not features individuals with less-than-conventional powers. From the ability to speak with the dead to the ability to control the weather, most heroes wield abilities that are only situationally useful.
Chi Manipulation
In times of great duress, the fortification of the mind can bring immeasurable serenity. The power of chi gained recognition in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the introduction of Doctor Strange, who recently starred in a second film. It also gained some notoriety when Iron Fist appaered in a Netflix series, but what secrets lie in the life forces of these characters that allow them to manipulate the flow of metaphysical energy in their bodies?
Reaching into the inner self to harness the spiritual properties of the mind, body, and soul can allow one to not only tap into a plane beyond mere human existence, but it can also enhance bodily functions beyond normal capabilities. Self-healing, superhuman strength, and pain resistance are just some of the bodily changes that may occur. In addition, some users have been known to project their inner energy outwards in a lethal blow or create optical illusions and tricks of the mind by accessing the spiritual plane.
Density Control
Density control isn’t an often talked about ability, but significant characters have used it over the years to change the concentration of an object. Notable names include the likes of Vision, who can use his powers to manipulate mass and become intangible, phasing through objects and eliminating the need for entryways of any kind.
Changing the density of an object has obvious offensive and defensive properties. If someone picks a fight, a hero may choose to increase their weight to become a concrete force, or perhaps they can become so light that incoming attacks go straight through them. Then there’s the ability to eliminate the burden of heavy objects, making something as large as a planet as easy to move as a pillow.
Dimensional Storage
Dimensional storage is a trope in both television and comic books that sees characters pull objects from a space where they wouldn’t typically fit. Such spaces are the result of spatial manipulation. This kind of magic offers an unlimited bag of tricks—quite literally—but, unlike Mary Poppins, heroes don’t actually have to rummage through their purses to find the needed item. When called upon, the item will appear, removing the hassle of spending half an hour to find it.
These pocketed dimensions are not limited to any pyshical location and can be applied almost anywhere. Whether it’s a portable bag, a pants pocket, or a closet, a hero can hoard anything so long as it fits through the entry point. There’s no need to worry about the weight of the objects in storage, either, as it’s floating in an unlimited space, eliminating the strain that comes with carrying it. It’s a trick that redefines the concept of packing light.
Empathy/Apathy
Empaths may seem like they’re just really good mind readers, but there’s more to their powers than just honing in on someone’s emotions. They have the ability to not only detect how someone is feeling but to replicate those feelings to know that person on a personal basis. It may not be telepathy, per se, but heroes with this ability can control how others are feeling, which would be a powerful tactic during interrogations.
On the flip side, there’s apathy, or the power to switch off all emotions. Its users can put on a stone face unlike any other, capable of throwing off anyone who might interpret their actions as a sign to worry. Not only could a person with this ability become the ultimate poker player, but, once again, they would be utterly unbreakable during interrogation.
Indestructible Digestion
At first, the ability to eat anything with very few constraints or limitations sounds like it could only earn a hero a notable place in the annals of hotdog eating contest history. However, while it doesn’t necessarily offer any major combat advantages when it comes to breaking into or out of things such as safes or prisons, it could be shockingly helpful.
It may be slightly disgusting, but this unique power is more useful than it may seem. No cell could ever hold he or she who consumes all, and no walled fortress could ever remain completely secure.
Bees
In the grand scheme of superhero-dom, the ability to control a swarm of bees, while unique, doesn’t seem to be all that useful. Bees are, more often than not, little more than a nuisance, and, unless a hero comes up against someone who happens to have an allergy, all they could really do is serve as an aggravating distraction.
However, Marvel villain Swarm took things a step further. An experiment gone wrong allowed him to transfer his consciousness into a swarm of bees, granting him the many advantages of an incorporeal form.
Liquid Transmutation
Liquid transmutation, also commonly referred to as self-melting, may sound like the unhappy ending the Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz received at the end of the movie, but it’s also a unique power that allows heroes to change up their physiological makeup and travel undetected.
Various comic book characters have exhibited fluid-like traits, from Mercury of the Marvel Universe to Brainiac in DC Comics, and all have managed to remain elusive while in their liquid states. Obviously, turning into a different state of matter comes with some major flaws; heroes always run the risk of being mopped up or washed away, but, on a brighter note, they can serve as a fly on the wall—or, more accurately, a drop in the bucket—eavesdropping on the conversations of enemies.
Mediumship
Perceived by some as a curse and viewed by others as a blessing, talking to the dead can take some getting used to. That’s because, depending on the issue at hand, heroes may or may not be able to filter out the voices of the deceased. Still, with all its hardships, seeing evidence of the afterlife would be a major perk for detectives or coroners.
In fact, noted comic book characters like John Constantine have made a career out of it. Plus, those who play their cards right could probably gather enough of a reputation to summon the dead at will, gaining many allies that won’t have to fear death in dire situations.
Omnifabrication
In the ‘80s, MacGyver showed people how to get out of sticky situations with little more than a rubber band, a paper clip, and an old piece of chewing gum. Since then, advanced inventing skills have only gotten better, with big-screen personas like Tony Stark showing off their knack for technology.
Advanced intellect and gifted intuition may sound like a totally unique superpower, but, given the unfathomable speed at which many of its users have been able to produce almost otherworldly inventions, it certainly isn’t useless. With the ability to craft absolutely anything with very little limitation, there isn’t much a hero couldn’t do.. As was the case with Tony Stark, almost any superpower can be reproduced with some well-drawn schematics and adequate resources.
Perfect Recollection
While some regular humans can claim to have near-flawless recollection skills, standard intellect simply doesn’t compare to superpowers. While some can remember certain things with a surprising level of detail, none could remember the exact layout of a building they’d only been in once or recall a single name from a briefly glanced-at roster of thousands.
Such a power could definitely help capture criminals and save lives. Remembering the layout of a crime scene or the specific speech patterns of a suspect could mean putting the right person behind bars. Everything that ever happened to a hero from the time they were an infant would be available for them to recall, and they would be guaranteed to never forget a face.
Precognition
What if the future isn’t pre-determined and a hero could look into all possibilities and decide the best course of action? Sure, it wouldn’t necessarily help in combat, but a unique power like this could put an end to all crime and conflict if used correctly.
There are burdens that come with such responsibility; the user would likely see every decision that could lead to their own death and suffer a paranoia related to making the wrong decisions. They would have to live with the sole knowledge of countless night-unfathomable tragedies that may not be preventable.
Reactive Adaptation
In the Marvel universe, the character Darwin is given the nickname The Evolving Boy for his body’s ability to naturally adapt to environmental threats. Whether it’s acquiring gills to swim underwater or learning to inhale smoke and toxic fumes without harming the body, the most difficult of tasks can be approached with ease and a general lack of safety.
A hero with this ability could see their IQ boosted significantly at a second’s notice by simply putting their brain to work, or they could adapt to any given superpower when the odds are against them. Jumping from a plane? Adopt the ability to fly almost instantly. Need to fit into a tight spot? With the proper stretching, a hero’s whole body can become almost elastic.
Acid Spewing
The ability to produce a powerful corrosive substance at will could be pretty useful, but, in the case of the X-Men’s Zeitgeist, it could also be pretty disgusting. Able to orally discharge an acidic substance capable of melting almost anything, Zeitgeist’s power is formidable, though he’s sometimes difficult to take seriously.
Yet, it’s an undeniably unique power, and, much like the ability to eat through any kind of matter, it would make gaining access to secure areas much less complicated.
Replication
Being in multiple places at once may not seem like the most unique power in comic book history, but, given the constantly evolving threats and fracturing universes of most Marvel storylines, it could be more useful than it seems.
There are multiple variations of the replication ability that have shown up in comics. The simplest, however, is biological cloning, or the splitting of the body into multiples, much like Marvel’s Multiple Man. In addition to making doppelgangers, some characters also have the ability to copy objects while keeping all the properties of the original copy intact. So long as the user keeps their secret well hidden from the world, they could theoretically live several different lives.
Zombification
A rarely-discussed member of the X-Statix, Dead Girl was a mutant who could only activate her powers posthumously. After her death, she was reanimated with a suite of new abilities, immortality and invulnerability being two of the most notable.
Few would think of zombification as a superpower, but Dead Girl wields an amazing gift few other heroes can boast. Capable of regenerative healing and able to resurrect the dead for a time, she has what it takes to become a major asset to her team.
Atmokenesis
One of the most well-known members of the X-Men, Storm is a mutant who boasts the ability to bend the weather to her will. Able to manipulate the temperature and climate of an area, cause precipitation on command, and call forth bolts of lightning, her power is not to be underestimated.
That said, the ability to control the weather isn’t exactly among the most common hero abilities, and, while useful, it does have a few limitations. Yet, unconventional as it may be, there’s no denying Storm’s efficacy in combat.
Self-Sustenance
The very things which make us human are also the things that limit us. On average, a single person will spend thirty-three percent of their lifetime sleeping. Take that number and factor in all the time spent eating, drinking, and using the bathroom, and those numbers only get more discouraging. But, if the body could sustain itself, doing away with all the standard necessities of survival, then a person would have access to one hundred percent of their life, which would drastically transform the way society looks today.
In all likelihood, removing a body of its restraints would open up the world to a longer work schedule, but someone with this power would also have more time for themselves. Yet, as is touched on in Watchmen, this god-like power could make a hero lose touch with their humanity.
Suspended Animation
While it’s technically not a real superpower, far surpassing one’s expected lifespan through cryogenics isn’t exactly a normal thing. Captain America is perhaps the most famous hero to have endured cryostasis, and he’s a rare example of such an event occurring outside of the realm of sci-fi.
The idea of suspended animation has been toyed with in the real world, and the ability to preserve a human body cryogenically would give many hospital patients hope as they waited for an organ donation or the next great medical revelation. However, there are obvious downsides to waking up in the future, the most obvious of which would be leaving loved ones behind and waking up in a foreign place.
Spider Powers
Given the prevalence of Marvel’s Spider-Man in comic book lore, spider-powers may seem like an awesome ability to have. Able to swing above city streets on webs and crawl across walls, Peter Parker’s powers possess almost unlimited potential.
However, were Spider-Man not as well known as he is, having all of the abilities of a spider might seem like an odd power. While things like super strength, super speed, or the ability to shoot laser from one’s eyes are established comic hero abilities, on paper, spider-powers sounds like it wouldn’t measure up.
Technopathy
In a world dominated by technological advancement, instantly being able to control and kind of mechanized instrument would be awesomely useful. While technopathy isn’t a popular superpower choice, it’s definitely one of the most useful.
Apocalypse, Ultron, and Brainiac are just a few of the comic book characters who have tapped into the powers of technology, and, with it, they were able to bring the likes of the X-Men, the Avengers, and Superman to their knees. It’s not just the World Wide Web that can be manipulated either; with such power, a hero or villain could operate any type of machinery and bend it completely to their will.
