Superheroes are real

[Michael]

OK lets say that some superheroes get blasted into our world. Pick some and name the effect they would have.

[RMG]

For twp comics that give a good look at what a world with superheroes might be like, try Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming's POWERS and Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan's DEMO.

[David Howery]

hmm... well, there's only one true superhero who should be sent to our world.. that shining example of courage and manhood... that paragon of virtue... the Tick!! what would be the affect on the world? Lots of damaged buildings, I guess...

[Diamond]

The Tick! LOL! He was awesome... and I even liked the four or five live-action episodes Fox did...

There was a movie called 'The Specials', with Rob Lowe, about a second-rate superhero group constantly trying to get endorsement deals, action-figure lines, membership in better groups, and if time permits, fighting crime.

And don't forget 'Watchmen' by Alan Moore. Classic.

I think the superhero that would fit into OTL the best would have to be Batman - he has the kind of mentality necessary to survive 'real life'... I'm actually surprised that some rich crazy hasn't tried to become a costumed vigilante in reality, considering Western (especially US) Culture's fascination with superheroes.

[NHBL]

It would be interesting if Wonder Woman showed up. The political fallout could be interesting, and give a heck of a push for completeing such objectives as equal pay for equal work. Especiallt intresting would be the reaction of various societies worldwide that strive to keep women as second class citizens--certain middle eastern nations come to mind.
It might be really helpful to have her handy with her lassoo during the political debates--strictly volentary on the part of the candidates, of course, but we'd all know what a refuasl meant.

[G.Bone]

Wolverine....and...Xavier:?

[NapoleonXIV]

The first thing that would happen if ANY superhero was real would be instant and impassioned appeals for their help from every medical research facility in the world. One blood sample from Spiderman for instance, would probably give material for two Nobels and lead to insight into blood disorders worth years of research. Wolverine and the Hulk would revolutionise our understanding of healing and Daredevil give a whole new impetus and hope for the visually impaired.

[Melvin Loh]

The influx of the likes of Capt America, Ironman, Spiderman, Daredevil, the Hulk, Thor, the Fantastic Four, and other 'traditional' (ie white mostly Nordic) superheroes into this world would also lead to the necessity for superheroes from a nonwhite background such as the Falcon, War Machine, the Black Panther, Blade, Thunderbird, Marvel/Photon, etc, otherwise, as in the comics, there'd be widespread furor over the lack of any superheroes of colour.

[Fiji]

wasn't the Ironman suit once worn by a black man

and you can hardly claim the hulk and thing lack in colour :D

[Melvin Loh]

Hey Fiji, welcome onboard, I believe the Iron Man suit worn by a black man was for War Machine (his suit's actually silvery in colour as opposed to Iron Man's red and gold)- real name James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, Tony Stark's helicopter pilot IIRC and a VW vet.

BTW, I've been having some ideas on an IRON MAN movie, which'd involve Iron Man and War Machine teaming up against the Wrecking Crew.

[Diamond]

Did anyone ever read the 4-issue series called 'Marvels'? It came out about 6 or 7 years ago and the whole thing was gorgeously painted by Alex Ross.

It was told by a Daily Bugle reporter who was gathering info to write a book about the (relatively) sudden appearance of superhumans. The series put a very realistic spin on what the average guy on the street's reaction would be to superhumans.

There was also a 2-issue companion volume called 'Ruins' which was kind of a dark mirror. It was an ATL where every possible superhero had something horrible happen to him or her. The Hulk is a tumorous mass locked in a vault under a lake. Xavier is 'President X', an insane recluse. Wolverine is a shriveled old man suffering from some gross bone disease.

[Mr_ Bondoc]

As a comic book fanboy, some titles that would seem appropriate to the story are Stormwatch: Achilles , Powers , and Savage Dragon , wherein police and military officials would take a "shoot to kill" policy regarding any metahumans, or at the very least treat them as major pests to the law enforcement community. Before anyone screams how this is a cruel and unusual thing, usually reserved for X-Men paranoia fantasies, consider how often there is a battle scene wherein the superheroes and supervillians fight, in a scene out of Matrix: Revolutions , throwing each other through crowded offices killing hundreds of civilians.

[Michael]

Good point Mr Boondock, never really thought of the civilian casualties, really would turn the people against the heroes

[Chris]

Hey, I love Stormwatch, its well worth a read. That said, what if it was the Authority that turned up?

Chris

[Mr_ Bondoc]

Considering The Ultimates and The Authority the "shoot to kill" order would certainly be placed in full effect. Besides, can you imagine any world leader turning over the reigns of power to a group of self-proclaimed messiahs with a fetish for spandex? To make matters worse, consider the fact that you also have to deal with the occasional defense of,"It wasn't me that killed your grandma...It was my evil twin from an alternate universe." Or worse yet, "I am not responsible for the destruction of Metropolis, Superman, I was brainwashed by Brainiac with his "Mentallo" ray..."

[Michael]

chris over at changingthetimes.co.uk has updated his blog http://alternatehistory.blogspot.com/ and has pointed out some other points we have missed here, like how would the military react to super powered beings? Would they enact conscription? Or would the just experiment on finding ways of killing them or working around their powers?

[Chris]

Hi, glad to know i've got some satifsed readers.

Chris

[Mr_ Bondoc]

Something that may become a problem really quickly is the profile of most of the superheroes. Consider the fact, that with the exception of some very good titles,( e.g. Wonder Woman and The Uncanny X-Men) , most superheroes, typically fall intio the category of White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant (or at least Christian),Heterosexual, Male. Before anyone says that this isn't a problem, consider the fact that you have a WASP male going into a predominantly minority neighborhood, covered with a hood, beating the crap out of alleged criminals. Before you can say "O.J." or "Rodney King", imagine the usual "Batman" technique and roughing up and tackling a criminal caught on videotape...

[tom]

GURPS had a series of worldbooks set in the IST world based on this premise (they had to make up their own heroes and villains, of course).

[Diamond]

Good point Mr Boondock, never really thought of the civilian casualties, really would turn the people against the heroes

A few years back, Marvel had a series out called 'What If' (no idea if its still being published). As you can imagine, each issue dealt with a WI for some Marvel character.

The one that I always remember is, "What if the Punisher Killed the Marvel Universe". In it, the Punisher's wife and kid are killed by a battle between the X-Men and some enemy or other. Frank Castle, not yet the Punisher, puts a bullet in Cyclops' head and whacks Jubilee after they're less than apologetic.

On his way to prison, Castle is busted out by a group of past victims of superheroic battles. They commission him to kill every single costumed adventurer, hero or villain, on the planet. Period. And he does. Very dark, very good. By Garth Ennis, the guy that writes Preacher.

[Fiji]

I'm increasingly convinced that the ASBs are real, and not only that ... they're reading this forum!

case in point: a 17 year old Russian girl.
Apparently (and this has been verified by several doctors) she's got X-ray vision.
I give you the facts as theý've been reported in the Belgian news.

This girl is normal until she's operated on for a burst apendix.
Afterwards, she starts discribing internal organs to her mother.
Mom sends her little psycho to a shrink.
In one of the sessions, the girl points to the shrink's chest and goes, "hey, you have a lump there."
The shrink dimisses it at first but goes for a checkup never the less.
Sure enough, he's got a tumor exactly where the girl said.

Word gets out and eventually (mid januari, I think) the girl travels to the UK for some interviews and a TV appearance.
One of the interviewers had had a nasty car crash some years before and the girl was able to point out exactly where every single broken bone had been. She also spotted something tumor-like in the interviewers jaw ... only odly shaped. Turns out the interviewer has a titanium plate there.

She claims to be able to see into people but not through them. The effect doesn't work via mirrors (otherwise applying make-up would be a problem :D ) and it doesn't work on walls and stuff.

Seems like a classic example of one of the innocent bystander mutants that occasionaly appear in X-men comics.

So, we've got a real life example, so far she's being paraded around like a circus freak and she's trying to make money off of it (at least, it's her, not some sleazy "manager")

now, what would happen if more of these people appeared ... small stuff, like:
ultrasone hearing
partially gill like lungs
extremely efficient oxigen use
geiger counter sense

what then?

[Michael]

No "what if?" (my favourite comic) isn't published anymore but there is another one called exiles which is the same sort of thing, a team of mutants going into ATLs and trying to fix things, sort of like sliders.

Fiji, find some more, maybe she was experimented on by the russians ;)

Hey cris, why haven't you updated changing the times with a new story in a while?

[David Howery]

How about the Mystery Men? I'm not a big comic fan, but I did see they movie. They aren't really superpowered (I mean, come on... the Shoveler?!), but they certainly have some small talents above the rest of us mortals....

[Admiral Matt]

"You shovel better than any man I've ever known." lol