10 Superpowers you wish you had.

Admit it. At some point in your life you've run around the house in a cape, or at least thought about doing it. Don't worry. No judgment here. I know I have.
It's fun to imagine how different life would be if we developed superpowers of our own.
These are in no particular order.

10. Invisibility

With the power of invisibility you could vanish in the blink of an eye. You could sneak out of the house whenever you felt like it, sneak into movies, play pranks on your friends without them ever knowing it was you, and spy on them to find out exactly what they think of you. Of course, if you're the type to spy, you should probably brace for the worst.

9. Superhuman Strength

Impossible tasks would become simple. Stuck in traffic? Just get out of the car and carry it home. Bending pipes, throwing cars, and smashing through brick walls would be a great way to relieve stress. The movie "127 Hours" also wouldn't have been that interesting if the guy had superhuman strength.
"Oh my arms stuck under a boulder. I'll just move this out of the way."

8. Regenerative Healing

Whenever you would become injured your body would just heal itself within minutes. No broken bones. You would never get sick. Shotgun blows to the chest would become a thing of the past. You could even use your favorite bacon recipe at every meal.

7. Superhuman Speed

You'd be able to run from Cairo to Cape Town in less time than it took Kim Kardashian to divorce Kris Humphries. You could run circles around supervillains; making them too tired or frustrated to even bother with you. On the downside, there could be a slight increase in RUIs (Running Under the Influence).

6. Wall Crawling

Who didn't want to climb walls like Spiderman when they were small? No-one. Or no-one that I know. The proof? Climbing between doorposts and walls. With the ability to wall crawl you'd be able to cling to solid surfaces such as walls and ceilings.
 
5. X-Ray Vision

Not just being able to see peoples bones, but being able to see through different surfaces. As long as you'd be able to switch it on and off. There's nothing worse than seeing certain people you see on a regular basis, without their clothes on. You don't want to scratch your retinas out.

4. Flight

There's no need to introduce this superpower. It's the power every little kid dreams of having from the moment they first watch Wendy and her siblings take off into the night sky with Peter Pan. Imagine a world without traffic jams. Where you could travel anywhere on a whim, and see the world from a birds eye view. It's a bird. It's a plane. No; it's me, flying to the shop for bread and milk.

3. Mind Control

With the power of mind control, you could persuade your boss to give you a raise, demand an A from your professor (cough, Wendy, cough), and brainwash your parents into letting you quit school and go backpacking through Europe. You could pretty much do anything you wanted.

2. Time Manipulation

Ever wanted to turn back the clock? With the power of time manipulation, you could. The good times wouldn't race by like they'd never happened, and the bad times wouldn't crawl along at a snails pace.

1. Immortality

The only reason this is here, is so this list can cover all bases.
Immortality is a tricky superpower to have. Yes, you would live forever. But can you imagine being ten thousand years old? You would be bed ridden for the most of your life. So you'd probably need the power of youth as well. But then your knowledge and wisdom would be immense.

THOKK! Right in the Superheroes.

I hate superheroes. I never used too. I thought they were great. Superhumans fighting crime, and saving the world. But after 9 posts (I know it doesn't sound like much, but that's 9 weeks, and about 500 words per post. That's 4500 words about superheroes) I'm just so sick of it.

There's only so many synonyms for the word supervillian. And I'm sure I've used most of them, if not all. And the villian is always some guy that was either good and turned evil because of some girl that wouldn't fall in love with him, or he was thrown into a vat of acid - or something to that affect.

All superheroes have similar attributes. They're all experts in their professional fields, and have mastered some sort of martial arts. And their powers always include super strength, and a willing urge to save the world from any danger.

People seem to have this mind set, that if they can make the world a better place, they should. Fair enough, if they didn't it would seem a bit selfish, but does this justify putting ones self in harms way. Why not try recycling? Or something that doesn't try to kill you.

The other problem is that the Marvel and DC universes are so vast and so complicated, that if your target audience doesn't have an already working knowledge of superheroes and the worlds they live in, it becomes extremely difficult to try and explain every aspect of it without boring them into an early grave. There's also only a set amount of superheroes that the normal person knows about. After you've exhausted them, you then have to try and explain heroes that they've never seen or even heard about.
By the end of it all they hate your blog. You hate your blog. And the world is probably a better place without it.

I now have a huge respect for Stan Lee, and other comic book writers. They really have to be dedicated to continue to do what they do, like any profession, and still enjoy it.

A tip to anyone thinking about starting a blog - don't do a specific topic you like. Because by the end you're going to hate it, and are going to want to stab that topic over and over again. It's like over-listening to a song you like. It gets burned into your brain.
Then you start hating that part of your brain, and you try to figure out ways to kill it.

Green Lantern.

"In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power, Green Lantern's light!" - Hal Jordan

Green Lantern is no one superhero. The Green Lantern Corps are the intergalactic peacekeepers of the universe. Hal Jordan has only been the second human to become a Green Lantern. Their power comes from a ring powered by the energy of will.  Billions of years ago a race of immortals harnessed this emerald energy of willpower. These immortals, the Guardians of the Universe, built a world from where they could watch over all of existence: The planet Oa. They divided the universe into 3600 sectors. And a ring was sent to every sector to select a recruit. In order to be chosen by the ring, it's said that one must be without fear. Together, these 3600 recruits formed the intergalactic peacekeepers known as the Green Lantern Corps.

Oa has been the Green Lanterns home for countless millennium. It was created for them by the Guardians. The Guardians are immortals, among the most ancient of races. They are responsible for what the Green Lanterns are and all that they do. Since the beginning of time, the Green Lantern Corps has served as the

keepers of peace, order and justice throughout the universe. To be chosen to join its ranks is the highest of honours and the greatest of responsibilities.


Supervillians.

Of all the threats the Corps ever faced, the gravest was an entity of fear known as Parallax. Only the legendary Green Lantern Abin Sur was capable of capturing and imprisoning this beast, which he did on the lost planet of Ryut.

Will has always been the sole weapon of the Guardians, and the Green Lantern Corps, against the forces of darkness in the universe. But as that power began to seem insufficient a great debate arose among the Guardians. Should they exploit another source of power, one they had long since sworn never to be used? Fear. (Pause for dramatic effect.) But the power of fear was too unpredictable. The chance of corruption too great. And so they decided against it. All of them, that is, except one. Alone, this Guardian entered the forbidden chamber. He wanted to prove the light of fear could be mastered. His intentions were pure but his hopes were naive. Consumed by the yellow power of fear the Guardian became the very evil he had wished to destroy. He became Parallax. For the universe's safety and his own Abin Sur was charged with imprisoning Parallax in the Lost Sector. But he escaped. Feeding on the fear of others, he grew larger and more powerful. Parallax began to feed on entire planets and their fear, and he would eventually make his way to Earth.

It's said the Hal Jordan managed to destroy Parallax by throwing him into a sun.


Flaws and Attributes.

Hal is an expert pilot and has mastered the Green Lantern ring and it's powers. He is able to create anything he can think of out of pure energy, using his ring, as long as he has a strong enough will to do so. The strength of what he creates also depends on the strength of his will.

As for his flaws, the ring can run out of energy. If that happens, he's able to power it by touching it to his lantern. See where he gets his name from? The lantern is powered by the will of every living thing in the universe. If he were to lose contact with his ring, or if it were to run out of power he would be helpless. Luckily, if this were to happen he does have the other 3599 Green Lanterns to help him if need be. But they are in different solar systems to him.


Fun Facts.

- Hal's design was originally going to be a standard looking, straight-laced, handsome white guy with brown hair.

- They stuck with that design.

- Jack Black nearly played the role of Green Lantern, instead of Ryan Reynolds, in the new film.


Possibility of Green Lantern Existing.

The possibility of Green Lantern existing is pretty much the same as having Superman exist. If there is an infinite universe, there is a possibility that there are multiple planets with life forms on them. The only difference is that Hal Jordan is human, and Superman wasn't. 

As for the ring and harnessing pure energy just by using the power of will, that's a little less likely. But then again, if there is a life force with a much higher intellect than our own, it could be very possible.

I'll give Green Lantern a good old: "Yes. No. Maybe. I don't know! Why are superheroes so complicated?!

Captain America.

Americas one and only. The super soldier wrapped in the stars and stripes. That one man Nazi killing machine. He is, Captain America.

He is one of the highest selling superheroes of all time, and is as patriotic as a superhero can be.
His debut, at the same time as his county's entry into World War 2, made him an icon for children and young adults to look up to.

Once the creators, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, had their hero, they just needed a villain. The obvious choice? (Almost) Everyone's enemy during World War 2? Hitler of course. This idea was re-enforced by the cover of Captain America #1, which showed the new hero, dressed in red, white and blue, punching Adolf Hitler in the face.

When the war ended, Captain America seemed to lose his purpose. Within a few years he was retired, and a short lived superhero had finally become irrelevant. 
This all changed when the superhero group, The Avengers, started up. Captain America had a purpose again.

After being frozen for 50 years, the Captain was awakened by the group S.H.I.E.L.D who were in charge of getting the required members of The Avengers together. The included superheroes were, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Eagle Eye, Black Widow, and finally Captain America.

Supervillains.

The Red Skull; Captain Americas arch-enemy. Also an agent for Nazi Germany. You can't just have Hitler being the main enemy, he's not evil enough. You need a super evil, supervillian... with no skin or muscle on his face... and his skull's red... That'll make him evil enough.

The Red Skull debuted with Captain America in Captain America #1. Like many arch-enemies, he's always been there, fighting our hero.

The Red Skull, also known as Johann Schmidt, doesn't have any specific super powers but he is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, a strategic genius, political mastermind, and an expert marksman.
It is said that Joe Simon, while considering an appropriate villain for Captain America, saw a hot
fudge sundae melting and noticed how it was resembling a human figure in the process. Although Simon initially considered calling this character Hot Fudge, the cherry on top seemed to appear as an exposed skull and decided that the name, Red Skull, was slightly more appropriate for a supervillain.
This proves that inspiration can really come from anywhere, or that Simon was on drugs at the time. The fact that he was on drugs sounds like a more likely scenario.


Flaws and Attributes.

Captain America's a super soldier. That means that he's got all the usual abilities. Super strength, agility, and he's able to punch through walls. But out of his weapons, his shield is definatly comic book readers favourite.

It was originally designed to be triangular, but soon after it was made round instead. It was meant to represent both defense and a target, and when thrown like a discus, it also functions as a surprisingly effective weapon. A safeguard that draws fire and then fights back. It became the perfect emblem for Captain America.

As for his flaws, he was born in the early 1900s, and was later transformed into a super soldier to help America fight against Germany. That's all good and well, but when he's frozen for 50 - 60 years and awakened in the early 21st century he's not accustomed to the times of a modern America.
Can you imagine going to sleep in 2013 and waking up the next day in 2060. That's pretty much what he went through. But that seems to be his only flaw. His lack of knowledge about technology...and modern society.



Fun Facts.

- Captain America #1 is one of the world’s most valuable comics, with a near-mint condition copy valued at around $115,000 by comics price guide.

- Just like any self-respecting superhero, Captain America has a sidekick, James Buchanan ‘Bucky’ Barnes. He appeared alongside the Captain in the very first issue. At one point he even appeared in the Captain America costume in the Captains absence.

- Captain America's "secret" identity is Steve Rogers, a scrawny kid from New York deemed unfit for military service. After repeated attempts to join the Army just at the start of World War II, he volunteered for the "super soldier program", which transformed him into the pinnacle of human potential.





Possibility of Captain America Existing.

The super soldier serum that was developed by Weapons Plus, and used on Steve Rogers to turn him into a super soldier, enhances strength, speed, and stamina.

It is, essentially, steroids that you would give an elephant. But there's no need to continually inject yourself. The only problem is that the serum would somehow have to stay in Captain Americas body, even after he was frozen.

He would also have to be flash frozen(having the temperature around you drop at an extremely quick rate, allowing you to, hopefully, stay alive while also being frozen.)

These seem to be the only two problems in his creation.

Possibility of Captain America existing? A big fat 7 out of 10.

Superman.

Superman. Not my favourite of superheroes, but he still has to be done.

But why Duncan, why don't you like this Kryptonian superhuman?

I'm glad you asked. Well, little ones, this so called superhero has every superpower, short of shooting money from his armpits, you could possibly think of. X-Ray vision, superhuman strength, the ability to fly, and he's even bullet proof.

But that's not the only reason I don't like him. He's just so over-rated. You say to any person whose read a comic book, "I don't like Superman. I reckon he's over-rated, and is, honestly, a bit of a douche."
And they'll drag you into a 3 hour debate about how Superman's the best hero ever known. I feel odd saying that, as I've done it countless times, but with other superheroes.

Even his name! To be fair, comic book writers aren't the most imaginative(at times) when it comes to their superheroes names. But I'm sure they could've done better than Superman. I can imagine the conversation the writers would've had.


"What do you think we should call him?"
"Hmm.... Well he's a superhero..."
"Yes, we've established that."
"And he's a man..."
"OK if you're not gonna help, just say so."
"How about... SUPERMAN!"
"Really?? How could you ever have thought of that?"


Supervillains.

Superman's most iconic supervillain is Lex Luthor. He was originally depicted as a mad scientist, but later became a more industrialist business man, with vast amounts of money. This super genius has always wanted to kill Superman. He's always wanted too, but has never been able to achieve such a feat.

Lex has no specific superpowers other than his intelligence, and his money. But he did at one point create an exoskeleton type suit, that would help him battle Superman, one-on-one.

The only advantage Lex has over Superman is Kryptonite. If Lex made a suit out of Kryptonite, BAM no-more Superman.


Flaws and Attributes.

For those of you that don't know, Superman came from a planet called Krypton. Unfortunately, it was attacked by some other alien race. But luckily for Superman, his parents sent him to planet Earth before Krypton exploded.

Now Superman's only weakness is kryptonite, the substance that his home planet was made of. Now there's one problem when your hero only has one weakness. Every fight scene is always going to have the same formula.

Fight bad guy. Start beating bad guy. Bad guy shoves kryptonite in Superman's face. Superman starts to get weak. It looks like bad guy's going to beat Superman. But don't worry boys and girls, Superman is SUPER! And somehow Superman manages to beat bad guy, even when he's against the odds.

Ever wondered how Superman got his powers? Of course you haven't, no-one ever questions a Superheroes superpowers.

Well I'm here to tell you anyway.

Kryptonians don't normally have superpowers. When they're on Earth the atmosphere, apparently, has an odd effect on them so they start becoming superhuman, in a sense. So Superman's powers are all thanks to a combination of Carbon Dioxide, and Oxygen, with a little Nitrogen thrown into the mix.

So maybe, just maybe, other planets would have the same, or similar effect, on us....
I'm booking my flight to Mars right now.


Fun Facts.

- Superman has a supervillain called Ultra-man.

- When Superman first appeared in 1938, the comic said that he was incredibly strong, could withstand anything less than a bursting shell from a tank, and was able to leap 1/8th of a mile. But he wasn't able to fly.

- One of the all-time greatest good-guy superheroes actually began life as a big, bad, bald guy bent on world domination. Comic creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster first drew him as a villain in a January 1933 story called "The Reign of the Super-Man." It bombed, so they re-imagined him as a superhero; with hair.


Possibility of Superman existing.

If you subscribe to the theory that the universe is a giant dark place with billions of planets, and if life was possible on ours there is a chance that there's life on others; then there is a very big possibility that Superman could exist. Just waiting, on a planet called Krypton, for it to blow up so he can be sent here to gain superpowers and fight crime.

Maybe the Superman comics are a look into a possible future... Maybe there is in fact a time when a good guy, with greased back hair, frost breath, and an ability to melt metal with his eyes, will come to Earth and fight for the greater good...

Can you imagine how many cities he'll destroy...

Possibility of Superman existing: 8 out of 10.

Wolverine.

Wolverine is awesome, and I don't say that about many superheroes...except Batman. Wolverine and Batman are both awesome.

Wolverine has taken out helicopters with his bare hands. I suppose it is necessary to state that those hands do have 6 (3 in each), one foot long, blades that he can pop out at anytime.

He was originally born with bone claws, but his skeleton was later laced with adamantium - the strongest metal known to mankind - in the program known as Weapon X.

Weapon X was aimed at making, like any evil government program, super soldiers. Wolverine was chosen, particularly, for his ability to regenerate his health. Any injury he sustains is healed at a much quicker rate than normal. How quick he heals also depends on the severity of his injuries. A broken finger can fix itself in, about, 30 seconds. A rocket to the face could take a bit longer than that. The adamantium transfusion would have killed any normal human being.

Wolverine is also a mutant. The difference between mutants and normal superheroes is that mutants are born with their abilities. Instead of getting them from rolling around in radioactive waste or super power inducing gamma rays.


Supervillains.

Sabretooth, like Wolverine, is also a mutant. He has elongated canines, and claws that protrude from the tips of his fingers - like very sharp finger nails. Like Wolverine, he's also extremely hairy.
It is said, in the deep, dark corners of the internet, that Sabretooth is in fact Wolverines father. Whoa! Mind-blown! 

There are a few facts that make this a very likely possibility. Wolverine has never defeated Sabretooth in a knock-down, drag-out, kill-or-be-killed berserker fight. On that same note, every year on Wolverines birthday, Sabretooth has always managed to find him, no matter where he is, or what he was doing, and come within an inch of killing him. For no other reason than to remind him that he could.

Sabretooth has very similar attributes to Wolverine, such as regenerative healing, being generally over aggressive, and a reduced pain factor.
 

Flaws and Attributes.

Wolverine’s typical flaw is the fact that he can get very aggressive, even towards his friends. His regenerative healing has its limits too. If he loses too much blood, a limb, or a major organ he can die. But he is still able to take a shotgun blow to the chest, and remain standing.

His adamantium claws can also only be cut through by adamantium, as seen in his new movie. Whether that's a flaw or an attribute, I'll leave to the critics.

As for his attributes, he has been trained by the Japanese in almost every martial arts form known to man, he's a skilled weapons expert, and he doesn't age - again thanks to his healing factor.


Fun Facts.

- Wolverine first battled Sabretooth in Wolverine #10 in 1989.

- His birth name is James Howlett.

- He is one of the shortest superheroes in the Marvel Universe, standing only 5ft. 3in.


Possibility of Wolverine Existing.

For these blog posts, I always like to assume that there is some possibility that the superhero in question, does exist. But I'd just be fighting a losing battle with Wolverine. First of all, how the hell would you fuse a metal substance to someone’s skeleton? The metal would have to be in liquid form, thus be as hot as the devil himself, and then you would have to inject it into their bone structure. So, unless adamantium has the same melting point as mercury, the molten metal would turn the person into a pile of human mush. As for Wolverines regenerative healing; it could be possible if his DNA was fused with a star fish. Lamest superhero EVER.


Possibility of Wolverine existing; zero. Sorry.

Hulk.

Hulk angry. Hulk smash. Hulk like his purple pants.

I'm not saying that the Hulk is Bruce Banners angry, homosexual alter ego but it is funny to notice that the Hulk's always wearing purple pants, even when Banner hasn't been. It could be that, or it's just the fact that purple compliments big and green quite well. Or that Stan Lee (Hulks creator) stated that purple was the colour of anger and rage, and that it seemed an appropriate colour for a big, angry, green monster.

The Hulk has always been a favourite among comic book readers, and superhero-movie-watchers. The fact that he's unpredictable, and can completely destroy a city, is a fun aspect that hadn't been explored before his creation. His human half, Bruce Banner, is quite the opposite. This calm mannered, socially withdrawn, and emotionally reserved physicist transforms into the Hulk whenever he gets angry or succumbs to emotional stress.

Banner has always struggled to control the Hulk, but has, on occasion, managed to stop the Hulk and calm himself down; thus returning to Bruce Banner.

Stan Lee said that the Hulk's creation was inspired by a combination of Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.


Supervillains

General Thaddeus Ross made his first appearance in the comic book Incredible Hulk #1 in 1962, as a United States military officer. He is also Bruce Banners father in-law. If it wasn't enough to have his father in-law in the military, Ross was also head of the Gamma Bomb Project that turned Banner into the Hulk. And I thought my family was awkward.

Ross, not knowing that his son in-law was a big, green monster, created an obsession with the Hulk. Pursuing him for years. He eventually finds out that Banner and the Hulk are one and the same, and begins to hunt Banner as well. In 2008, Ross appears as the Red Hulk. He had transformed himself in order to better combat his nemesis. How he was able to do this is not entirely clear. Maybe he decided to expose himself to gamma radiation too; because that's entirely reliable to turn yourself into a big, angry creature of some sought.

Why doesn't Red Hulk have a mustache too?

Flaws and Attributes

Hulks obvious flaw is his anger, and whether or not Banner can control him or not.
Banner has also had serious mental problems even before he became the Hulk. To put it crudely, Bruce Banner is Hulks major flaw. It's easy to a kill a normal human, but try killing a creature that can lift 100 tons and destroy whole cities.

The Hulk possess monster like strength, durability, and has no need for oxygen. So, yes, he can fight in space.


Fun Facts

- The Hulks hobbies include smashing things, beating people up, and fighting the military.
- Bruce Banner's cousin became She-Hulk after receiving a blood transfusion from Bruce.
- Metal-clawed bad boy, Wolverine got his first full story in The Incredible Hulk #181 as a cocky Canadian in yellow tights.


Possibility of the Hulk Existing

The level of gamma radiation Banner was exposed to at the initial blast of the Gamma Bomb, would cause severe radiation sickness and kill him. A short lived superhero indeed. If it didn't kill him, it would create a great cancer risk for Banner. And a superhero on chemotherapy would be interesting, but he still wouldn't be able to do much.

An alternative origin, is that the Hulk could have been created through biological experimentation with adrenal glands and GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein). The adrenal glands would explain the Hulks immense strength as he gets angrier or when Banner becomes emotionally stressed out. The GFP would explain his green colouring.

The two giants going at each other.

Hulk existing? Possible. But not from the origin story that Stan Lee created.

Iron Man.

Iron Man. Also known as the billionaire, playboy, genius that is Tony Stark.

He is known, like knights of old, by the armour he wears. But unlike knights of old, his armour is adorned with heat seeking missiles, a chest unibeam, and jet thrusters in his boots. Yes, jet thrusters that can make him fly. Oh and don't forget the repulsor rays in his hands. The suit also gives him super strength and was also created to keep his damaged heart beating.

Tony Stark inherited his fathers billion dollar company, Stark Industries, when he died. This is how he's able to create these weaponised suits.

Stark Industries made its money from manufacturing and selling weapons, which Tony quickly came to regret when he's kidnapped by terrorists and asked to make them a bomb. Instead, he makes his first Iron Man suit.


Supervillains

I generally write about quite a serious supervillain, but Iron Man doesn't seem to have many. And it's also fun to change it up a bit.

Every superhero has a, sort of, evil doppelganger. Batman has Manbat. Yes they did just swap the two words around. Superman has Ultimate man; who looks surprisingly, exactly like Superman. And Iron Man has Titanium Man. This guy first appeared in Tales of Suspense #69 in 1965.

But seriously; did Stan Lee and Don Heck (both Iron Man and Titanium Mans creators), think comic book readers were a bunch of idiots. It's like a big, wet, slap in the face. I think they got bored and went,

"Hmmm, what's stronger than iron?"
"Titanium I think."
"Titanium Man?"
"Ya, that's good enough."

He's a lot stronger than Iron Man, but a lot slower. Surprise, surprise. And he was Russian too. This probably meant that the stories of Titanium Man vs Iron Man were products of the Cold War era. Each time they decided to battle, it suddenly became a matter of national pride.


Flaws and Attributes

Iron Mans flaws reside with his human half, Tony Stark. The fact that he has a severly damaged heart is a big issue. You know, that vital organ that pumps blood throughout your body. Tony's one doesn't work. He also, like many of the super rich, has a tendency to make rash decisions.

But being super rich can have its upsides. Such as being able to make a metal suit, become a superhero, and call yourself Iron Man. And while also having access to a large supply of weaponry, thanks to Stark Industries, he can outfit his suit with anything, short of an atomic bomb, he wants.


Fun Facts

- Starks artificial intelligence system, J.A.R.V.I.S, assists him in his superhero career, and stands for "Just A Rather Very Intelligent System."

- The Iron Man suit can lift over 100 tons when fully powered. Impressive, considering that the Hulks maximum lift is 100 tons as well (when he's calm).

- Iron Man turns 50 this year. Introduced in Tales of Suspense #39, in 1963 at the height of the Cold War, Iron Man was first conceived as an anti-Communist hero.

Possibility of Iron Man existing?

Quite possible. Most of the technology on the Iron Man suit, actually exists today. And the rest of it may, in some form, exist in the foreseeable future. The only problem is knowing what the affects would be on someones body and mind, from wearing a suit that greatly amplifies your movement and strength. It could be compared to being injected in the heart with a mixture of pure adrenaline, and steroids.

The suit would also have to run as if it was a part of the human body. Not just something you just put on, but connect straight to your brain.

But we should, hopefully, be able to see such technology in the not so near future.
You never know; maybe 50 years from now we'll have soldiers wearing Iron Man suits.

Iron Man: very possible.

Thor.

Thor; the Norse god of sky, thunder and fertility; half-brother to Loki, god of mischief, madness and evil; and son of Odin, god of poetry, battle, and death, and king of the Norse gods.

This blonde haired deity was adapted from Norse mythology by Stan Lee, and has become one of the most prominent figures in Marvel to date.
His weapon of choice has been a hammer, by the name of Mjolnir, from which he gains his powers. These include godlike strength, extreme resistance to injury, and being able to conjure storms and lightning.
Thor was banished to Earth by Odin, after waging war against a rogue race known as the Frost Giants.
He made his first appearance in Journey into Mystery #83, released in August of 1962.

"How do you make someone stronger than the strongest person? It finally came to me: Don't make him human - make him a god. I decided readers were already pretty familiar with the Greek and Roman gods. It might be fun to delve into the old Norse legends... Besides, I pictured Norse gods looking like Vikings of old, with the flowing beards, horned helmets, and battle clubs... Journey into Mystery needed a shot in the arm, so I picked Thor... to headline the book."
- Stan Lee describing the creation of Thor.


Supervillains

Loki is Thor's adopted brother and arch enemy. And to be honest, I dislike him. Not because he's a villain, hell if every villain was disliked, you'd never see any decent somic books or movies. Notice how I'm using the word 'dislike', instead of 'hate'. People are meant to hate supervillains, not dislike them. They're hated because they're trying to destroy the world. They're disliked because they're boring and they suck.
Other than him just generally sucking, he does have some cool powers. He's a Master Sorcerer, has superhuman strength, regenerative healing, and psionics(the ability to project his thoughts telepathically.)


Flaws and Attributes

Thor's main flaw, and attribute, is his hammer. Without it he's just a big, hairy guy that could probably beat any normal person to a pulp, but wouldn't be able to take on the likes of Hulk without it. He also refuses to adjust to modern ways, assuming that they should rather adjust to him. But what do you expect from an ancient god. His temper does also seem to get in the way. Not a bad thing when he's in a fight, but a very bad thing when it comes to decision making.
Mjolnir is his greatest asset, allowing him to conjure great storms and lightning at his will. It also cannot be lifted by anyone other than Thor. Yes, even Hulk. Yet he's still able to swing it around like a toothpick. He's also able to fly; if strength, durability, and regnerative healing wasn't enough.


Fun Facts

- Thor is described as the "strongest of all gods and men".
- Mjolnir means 'crusher', and is best known for being used to kill Frost Giants.
- Thors civilian identity was Donald Blake.


Possibility of Thor Existing

Thor is one of the Normans gods. They believed that lightning and thunder was their god fighting foes, or squabbling amongst themselves. They also believed that the greatest accomplishment in life was to die in battle, and go to Valhalla where you would dine with the gods themselves for the rest of eternity.
There's no arguing with that logic. So yes, I'll allow Thor to exist.

"Thor Odinson... You have betrayed the express command of your king. Through your arrogance and stupidity, you've opened these peaceful realms and innocent lives to the horror and desolation of war! You are unworthy of these realms, you're unworthy of your title, you're unworthy... of the loved ones you have betrayed! I now take from you your power. In the name of my father and his father before, I, Odin Allfather, cast you out!"

Spiderman.

Spiderman, Spiderman, does what ever a spider can. Or something to that effect. Anyway. It’s Spiderman everyone! (crowd cheers) Yaaay!

Spiderman is basically a normal guy, with genetically modified DNA. Simple really. And when this genetically modified superhero isn’t fighting bad guys, and stopping supervillains, he’s known as Peter Parker. A teenage, high school kid, with a passion for photography. This is odd, because normally the teenage superhero has an older father figure superhero to show the teenage protégé the ropes of the crime fighting scene. In other words, the teenage superhero always became the sidekick to some older guy with a cape. Spiderman, was the first of his kind that didn’t have this older superhero father figure.
Peter Parker only started wearing latex and fighting bad guys after his Uncle Ben was shot, in an attempted mugging. Sound familiar? All superheroes seem to have gone into fighting crime because of some kind of event relating to death. I wonder if supervillains become bad because they thought there were too many unicorns in the sky. Or maybe it’s just one big family business.
Parker vowed to seek vengeance upon his Uncles murderer, and thus began his web slinging days of justice.


Supervillains

Dr. Otto Octavius, more commonly known as Doctor Octopus or Doc Ock, has become one of Spidermans greatest foes. His alias comes from his four mechanical arms, that were attached to his torso, and were controlled by a brain-computer interface. They were originally created to assist him in his atomic physics research. The arms were supposed to be resistant to radiation, and capable of highly precise movements.
But incidently, during an explosive radiation leak, the arms became fused to his body; while also mutating his brain. He was thus able to operate the arms, by thoughts alone, without the need for a computer. This is what would push Octavius over the edge, and into the start of his criminal career.
Doc Ocks first appearance was in the comic book, The Amazing Spiderman #3, in July 1963.












Flaws and Attributes

Unlike Bruce Wayne as Batman, Peter Parker doesn't have a billion dollar company to support his crime fighting ways. He has to have a job, which is coincidentally, taking photos of himself, as Spiderman, and selling them to the Daily Bugle. Yet, not difficult, it still has to be done, which adds to his busy lifestyle. And like every hero, he also struggles to keep the people he loves, in his life. His on-off girlfriend, Mary Jane, his Aunt May, and his best friend Harry Osbourne. Harry is another one of Spidermans foes, known as the Green Goblin. An intense friendship right there.
As for his attributes, Spiderman has most of the abilities of a spider. Being able to cling to most surfaces, superhuman balance, and the ability to shoot webs. He also has superhuman strength and reflexes, and a subconcious sense of danger which is also known as his "spider-sense".
His webslinging depends on each comic book series and the different movie franchises. For example, in the first Spiderman movie trilogy he is able to shoot webs from his wrists, whereas in The Amazing Spider-Man comics, he needs a web shooting apparatus.


Fun Facts

- Spiderman’s webbing only lasts for about an hour.
- Peter Parker is a New York Mets fan.
- Peter Parker’s middle name is Ben
- On one occasion, Spiderman stopped an alien from tricking an entire generation into having unprotected sex.

Possibility of Spiderman Existing

You would think that being bit by a radioactive spider, and having your DNA becoming genetically combined with that of the spiders would be completely insane. But maybe not. If the attributes of the spider had been genetically enhanced by radiation, and the spider had enough venom to effect the entire human body, or a spider that's half the size of a human; but then the bite could just as easily kill you, as it could give you superpowers. How long the effects would last is also a factor.They would likely only last a day or two. The same amount of time as a normal spider bite.
Spiders share a significant portion of DNA with humans. So it would be a lot easier if you managed to breed 'spider-men', through a process of combining spider and human DNA in a lab. It seems in-plausible that a single spider-bite could have that much of an effect on a human being.
The possibility of Spiderman existing? Maybe. If you had a giant, radioactive spider. Or an expensive lab, with lots of people in white coats, and spectacles. But from a spider-bite? Very unlikely.

Batman.

This is the restart of Dude, where's my carnage. This semester I've had to find a theme, and after much deliberation I've decided to do Superheroes. Each week will have a new superhero, and include one of their supervillains, their flaws and attributes, some fun facts, and what the possibility is of that particular hero existing.

This is the start of Comic Strip Superheroes.


This week it's BATMAN!

Batman's awesome. He's got money. He's got a sweet car. A great hide out (which changes depending on what comics you're reading, or what movies you're watching.) And epic gadgets. He also has some of the best supporting characters around, including Alfred Pennyworth, Lucius Fox, and Commissioner James Gordon.
As I'm sure many people know, Batman is the billionaire playboy known as Bruce Wayne. As a child, Bruce was orphaned when his parents were killed during a mugging at gun point. He then went into the care of Alfred Pennyworth, the family butler. Alfred became Bruce's mentor and guardian, and has always played a large part in his crime fighting escapades.


Supervillains

Batman has many villains. Some of the more popular being Penguin, The Riddler, Bane, The Joker, Scarecrow and Two Face. The latter being apart of the newest Batman films, the Dark Knight Trilogy.
The Joker has been with Batman since the beginning. Since the very first comic book release. He has been played by, Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson and the iconic Heath Ledger. He has also been known as Jack White, but his original identity is unknown to all. He was first portrayed as a violent sociopath who murdered people for his own personal amusement. But has been seen, lately, as a trickster looking to serve his own case of anarchist judgement upon Gotham City. But what has been a constant throughout, is The Jokers desire to kill Batman.
"Madness is the emergency exit. You can just step outside, and close the door on all those dreadful things that happened. You can lock them away...forever." - The Joker.


Flaws and Attributes

Batman's fatal flaw, and only flaw it seems, is the fact that he's human. He succumbs to things such as grief, and pity. But also has to earn a living, while being Batman. This isn't that hard for billionaire Bruce, but it all adds up.
As for his attributes, there are many. For one, he has enough money to create his own custom arsenal of gadgets, weapons, armour and vehicles. Another is his knowledge and varied skills. He's had military pilot training, special firearms training, and he has several engineering degrees.


Fun Facts

- The inspiration for The Joker was Conrad Veidt, in his role as Gwynplaine in the 1928 silent movie, The Man Who Laughs.
- Batman's debut was in May 1939 in Detective Comics No. 27, entitled The Case of the Chemical Syndicate.
- Batman's wealthy alter ego was inspired by the 1920 Douglas Fairbanks film, The Mask of Zorro.


Possibility of Batman Existing

Batman seems like one of the most plausible Superheroes, when it comes to actually existing. But there's one problem. You would have to train for roughly a year before even getting to his level of fitness. That's a solid, full day of fitness. With one off day a week. And that's still a 33km run, with three to four hours of weapons training. Once you've spent a year just trying to get fit enough, you still have to maintain that physique, while fighting crime, eating well, and getting enough sleep.
Sounds like a massive effort just to fight a few bad guys, if you ask me. But then again, I'm just some guy with a superhero blog.
So, the possibility of Batman existing? Minimal.

Bunnies, Fairies, and Unicorns

 These ads were done for The Eagle Awards. What they do is, they give awards to the best print ads done by South African brands or companies. And to encourage great print advertising, they’ve come up with a great print campaign. I can’t imagine it being very difficult, seeing as the judges for these awards would have had some part in the creation of theses ads.

The headline is similar in each ad, but slightly different. The thing they all have in common is, “Every time you make a bad ad…” Which is then followed by, “…a unicorn dies”, “…a fairy loses her wings”, or “…a bunny commits suicide.”

These ads, although laced with a dark humour, seem like they would destroy, or at least alter, any pleasant dreams you’d ever had about majestic unicorns, bouncing bunnies or dainty fairies. And in a way, this is the point of these ads. To make you think, ‘Awww, I don’t want that poor bunny to commit suicide because of my advertising.’ But this only works if you’re currently involved in the advertising industry, in one way or another. But then again, that’s their target market; people in the industry. The only other group they’d need to aim at would be people who enjoy good advertising. But then these ads can speak for themselves.

This type of advertising can only be good for everyone. The ad agencies realise that if they’ve been slacking, they need to buck up and starting “making magic”, the consumers seeing these ads get a good laugh or an ‘awww’ out of it, and The Eagle Awards get more entries. All’s well that ends well.

P.S. This is my last post reviewing ads, and next month I’ll be coming back with a fully fledged theme. See you then…

"You're in the advertising industry. You're suppose to lie."

Something a little less serious.

PPC Cement is a South African company that produces ready mix bags of concrete. They have always prided themselves on the fact that you're able to get 15% more concrete out of each bag.

This simple, and fun campaign shows how much further that extra 15% of concrete can go. They've used the hands of extremely large characters, such as, Optimus Prime, King Kong, and Godzilla. The characters, like what many people would do when they saw wet concrete, have pressed their hands into it, and signed their name.

The advertising agency, The Jupiter Drawing Room, Johannesburg, South Africa, has made a fun concept with what is normally a boring product. The headline reads, "Get 15% more concrete from every bag." It seems they didn't put as much work into the headline, as they put into the entire idea and concept. Fair enough, it is a strong visual, but the headline could've explained the idea a bit more.

With this concept, you also assume that one bag of PPC Cement, covers that perticular sized area. It doesn't seem like that much. Yes it could fit Optimus Primes hands in it, but it still seems like very little. Maybe if you work with concrete, or cement, you would know if that was a large amount or not. This being their target market makes up for it, but they could've still exaggerated the size of the area a bit more. Or atleast made everything else around it look smaller.

They've also included dates on each concrete slab, maybe indicating when these perticular characters were created. None the less, these dates are unclear unless you decided to delve deep into their advertising campaign and are willing to search for it. Many people just paging through a magazine would've have bothered too.

All in all, this print ad campaign has taken a quirky perspective on a normally boring product, and have done quite well with it.

Press F3 for your Smith 'n Wesson Revolver.

You wouldn't think if you saw it, but this outdoor ad wasn't done by a South African agency. It was done by The Jupiter Drawing Room, New Zealand.
It's still based around South Africa, so I'm going to do it anyway.

These 'vending machines' were placed on university campuses and in shopping malls. The money went to the Gun Control Alliance, for a gun-free South Africa.

The headline reads, "This is how easy it is to get hold of a gun in South Africa."
The following copy reads, "Insert coin below. Your donation will go to the Gun Control Alliance, for a gun-free South Africa."

I, being a South African, am still quite offended by their over exaggeration. It's trying to create awareness about the gun problem in South Africa, but it isn't like walking up to a vending machine and buying one. It's solely aimed at an international market.

Even though this ad creates international awareness, it also make foreigners think "Is it that bad in South Africa? I'm no going there on my next holiday." It's driving away tourism, and it's just making us up-standing South Africans look bad.

Guns in South Africa are seen as a big illegal problem. People that have guns without warrants, or people that get guns illegally. In other countries, such as the United States, guns are on a much larger scale, but are sold legally. It seems it's only a problem if people have illegal guns, not the crime that guns create. The ad should have read, "This is how easy it is to get hold of a gun in the United States."

Other than driving away tourism, and giving off a bad taste of South Africa; the ad is very good. It creates awareness of something that many people wouldn't normally be aware of.

If this ad was done by a South African agency, it would've been very different. We wouldn't demean ourselves. But instead we got another country to do it for us.

What smells, hurts, and tastes like cough syrup?

Cough syrup, needles, seafood, and impending bee stings. These are just some of the things our mouths go through.

Wrigleys Orbit chewing gum has taken a new approach to their print advertising. With the release of their new 'fruity flavours', they have decided to veer away from the normal "bacteria eliminating" "fresh breath creating" benefit that their gum offers. Instead they've taken the perspective of our mouths and have tried to show what it has to put up with on a regular basis.

The headline, "Your mouth's been through a lot. Show it a good time.", gives you a taste , excuse the pun, of what Orbits new gum is about.

The 'fruity flavours', supposedly, give your mouth a break. From what it's used too. I can imagine the ideas the creative team would've had, before they got to their final campaign. 'It's like giving your mouth a vacation.' This would've likely ended up with the view of a mouth looking like a beach side resort. Mmm, chewing gum that tastes like sand.

I agree with the angle that they've taken. Instead of showing the effect of what the gum has on your mouth. Which can likely give off a bad view of the gum itself, if it's not executed properly. They decided to show the negatives of what your mouth normally goes through, for most people.

The idea is original and refreshing. Coupled with a brilliant visual execution and a good headline; makes it an all round ad campaign that other chewing gums can be envious of.

Wrigleys Orbit is seen as a global brand, and product; yet this campaign was created in South Africa. Yes that's right. Whoever said South Africans don't make good advertising, was either lying or just ignorant.

I'm quite glad to be part of the advertising industry in South Africa at the moment.
Unlike the UK and the States, where advertising is stagnating, South Africa is going full steam with innovative ideas and prospects. Don't get me wrong, there are very bad ads, like every country, but it's the good ones that are getting noticed and that's what matters.

"Thank God..." "I'll have..." "...the best beer in the world."

Beer. The social lubricant of many occasions. Beer brands are aimed very much at the male gender. Thus their ads revolve around men and their interests. A very large category of that, being women.

These three ads are done by three different beer brands, with the same concept behind it. How can these beer brands relate their product to men and their love of women.

Heineken decided to aim this particular ad at single men who try to buy different women drinks, and how they could accomplish this feat. Their two headlines being, “So, can I buy you a drink?” and, “Okay. I’ll have a beer.” This being the shortened version of a possibly, long conversation. Buying a woman a drink has always been seen as an opening to getting to know her, and in the end, possibly sleeping with her. This diagram, once you’ve looked at it, shows lots of humour into the female and male perspectives.

“So, can I buy you a drink?” – “If I say yes, will you go away?” – “How about this? If you don’t say no, I won’t not promise that I won’t not leave.” – “No means no.” – “So…maybe?” – “I thought they only let good looking people in this place. How did you get past the bouncer?” – “I believe it’s inner beauty night.” – “Okay. I’ll have a beer.”

The headline following the last statement, “One Choice Beer.” Is saying that Heineken is the only option. ‘You’re going to eventually get your girl with a Heineken’, was the reasoning behind it.

Goldstar has done a similar diagram effect but with visuals instead of one-liners. Each diagram, in the Goldstar ad, starts with a man or a woman, and follows with each genders thought pattern. Men are known to only think about the here, and now. Buy a beer. Find a woman. Sleep with her. And that’s it. There’s only one route and one anticipated ending. Men worry about everything else later.

Women on the other hand, can think years ahead. Buy a drink. Find a man. Sleep with him. And try to figure out the numerous possibilities after that.

The headline simply reads, “Thank God you’re a man.” A very simple insight into the thought patterns behind men and women.

Carlsberg has done something slightly different. The copy reads, “Carlsberg don’t do camouflage, but if we did, it would probably be the best camouflage in the world.”

The headline, “Probably the best beer in the world.”

Carlsberg has decided that their insight is that their beer is loved by men worldwide. They have a very loyal following. The ad itself is humorous, but makes you look for it.

You may have noticed the three floating beer bottle, behind the woman bathing. What you may not notice is the very slight off setting of parts of the shelves. This is because there are three men, camouflaged into the background, thus tying in with the copy and headline. The idea is simple, but it doesn’t have a specific point. Carlsberg is simply trying to create awareness about their product. What many alcoholic brands try to do with all their advertising.

These three different brands have all got the same focus point. Men and their interests in women.

Dangerous Dan is dangerous.

Today’s ads are for a restaurant in Toronto known as Dangerous Dans. The restaurant was dedicated to Dan Wooley by his grandson James McKinnon, the current owner. Dan was nicknamed Dangerous Dan because of his love of wrestling. Dan was also known to love his food. “He would eat just about anything you put in front of him.”

The restaurant is known to have the best burgers in Toronto. Their ads have thus focused on their burgers and other greasy foods. The restaurant hasn’t bothered to even try make their food look healthy, even in their ads. They’re aiming at people, large people, who love good food and can probably eat an elephant.

You can see in the ad with buffalo wings, that the headline is “Meat is murder/ tasty tasty/ murder.” This is making a mockery of people who are against the slaughter of animals. It may be murder, but it sure tastes good.

They’re saying that it’s okay to be obese, to be big, as long as you enjoy your food. “22% of/ Ontarians are/ obese. We can do/ better.” I love food, and I respect people that do, but blatantly promoting obesity is not my forte.

I can imagine that they got quite a few complaints about the ads once they were released, by vegans and vegetarians alike.

These ads may even disgust and nauseate a large part of the general public, but then that isn’t the targeted market, so it makes no difference.

Dangerous Dans has a very specific target market, and that’s large people who don’t care for their health and enjoy their food.