Disabled Superheroes

>> You know, I'd like to see a superhero [or hera] who's power come about because of their disability.. not in a DareDevil sort of way, which is more a common origin, but more like: Well, for example, imagine a tetra-paraplegic with a powered exoskeleton controlled by brain/machine interface... now imagine she/he built that themselves and just kept tinkering with it. Add in a dash of super-science and give it tactical mounts for weapons... and boom, sort of ironman. <<

This is very close to what happened to Dr. Doohickey. See "Dr. Doohickey and the Problem of Locomotion" and "Dr. Doohickey and the Mad Science Scrambler."

The mostly-paralyzed superhero I have is a speedster named Cheersquad. He hasn't shown up on camera yet but I'm watching.

>> Or if you want to go down another route, given the sort of will-power that's needed to overcome disabilities and function in a world designed for able-bodied people, imagine that with even a touch of psi or magic! You ccould go a long way with a little of that and lot of stubborn. <<

I haven't done that one yet. It's valid in Terramagne; aside from an innate talent manifesting in puberty, another really common path is that it grows in very slowly adjacent to the person's passion or career. Super-Intellect, Super-Gadgeteering, and Telepathy or Empathy are especially prone to that. So anything that makes the person exercise their willpower all the time could blossom into Super-Will. And you might not even realize that was a superpower until you tried to deny them necessary services and got your ass handed to you.

Okay, yeah, I think I could make this work without falling into the supercrip LaBrea. Feel free to prompt for it.

Next Poetry Fishbowl is this coming Tuesday with a theme of "First Contact" (which may be interpreted classically or loosely). There should be a

*happydance*

Feel free to post whatever you think of! Sometimes I only have time to do one prompt per person. Other times it's dead slow and I like being able to double back for multiple prompts.

>> Hmm, what happened to Groundhog sounds awfully ironic. <<

In a way it's ironic. I have a few other characters who can't use their powers; frex, Cheersquad is a paralyzed speedster whose Super-Speed now only works for speed-reading and auctioneering. He used to drive a zoom ambulance until someone crashed into it.

What happened to Groundhog is an example of evolution getting ahead of itself. It doesn't have perfect aim. So as the percentage of superpowers in the population increases, it creates a pervasive problem: a majority of those with innate powers (rather than acquired by outside events) are born to ordinary parents. It is difficult or impossible for ordinary parents to meet the special needs of superkids. Sometimes that's fatal. Other times, as with Groundhog, it has crippling side effects. His parents honestly did the best they could for him, but like many parents of special needs children, some of their efforts went very wrong. I still give them credit for keeping him alive though.

>>I'm going to have to read more of your heroes fiction.<<

Polychrome Heroics has a series page.

Also, next Poetry Fishbowl is this Tuesday on a theme of "first contact." Feel free to come leave me prompts!

>> If superheroes are common <<

In Terramagne they are not common but are pretty well known. Many people with superpowers are "crickets" who hide what they can do. Others are "blue plate specials" who use their powers in ordinary jobs, not fighting supervillains. Then supervillains are the next-biggest group, and superheroes are the minority. The rate of superpowers appearing in the population is increasing.

>> you're going to get super-scientists and super-mages and some of them are going to develop super-healing <<

These things are all true ...

>> and then disabilities in general might be a thing of the past. <<

... but this is not. No matter how advanced your science or magic, there will always be some things it can't fix. Dr. Infanta talks about this in "Lifeyears."

Consider that superpowers create new disabilities as well as having the potential to fix old ones. Subwoofer's canine features create a terrible social handicap, and he got those (along with his superpower) from getting caught in supervillain/superhero crossfire.

>> Or a cosmetic thing where your replacement limbs look weird. <<

For an example of this, see "Dr. Doohickey and the Problem of Locomotion" and "Dr. Doohickey and the Mad Science Scrambler."