NationStates Jolt Archive

Alright, so as many summer movie fans know, Hancock premiers on Wednesday, with early showings starting tomorrow.

The premise is simple: a hard living, booze guzzling man with invulnerability, flight, and super-strength has hit a low, and now he must be rehabilitated before causing an even worse disaster.

But I ask a question. Can a man that has these abilities but uses them with only minimal restraint be called a superhero? The debate over Batman is whether or not he truly does have extraordinary abilities. But what about the other side? Does a superhero have to accomplish amazing things for the direct benefit of the public to be considered a superhero?

Discuss.

Alright, so as many summer movie fans know, Hancock premiers on Wednesday, with early showings starting tomorrow.

The premise is simple: a hard living, booze guzzling man with invulnerability, flight, and super-strength has hit a low, and now he must be rehabilitated before causing an even worse disaster.

But I ask a question. Can a man that has these abilities but uses them with only minimal restraint be called a superhero? The debate over Batman is whether or not he truly does have extraordinary abilities. But what about the other side? Does a superhero have to accomplish amazing things for the direct benefit of the public to be considered a superhero?

Discuss.

Slightly off topic but….I think it's pretty firmly established that Baman DOES NOT have any superhuman powers what so ever. He's just REALLY smart, REALLY fit, and REALLY dedicated

Can a Drunk be a Superhero?
Ironman.

you mean..

is a super hero a super HERO or a SUPER hero?

i say he is a SUPER hero. the powers are the overriding component as long as their is some desire to do good.

if this hancock character is just a guy with super powers who tries to go about his life without helping people or attracting attention he is not a super hero. but if he is less than successful in his efforts to help, he is still a super hero, just not a very good one.

Meh?

The line between Superhero and Supervillain has grown pretty blurry anyway, this really isn't anything new. Wolverine, for instance, is clearly not a model of conventional virtue, and he only occasionally works for the benefit of others... and frankly he hardly stands alone in that.

Now days the defining feature of a "hero" would seem to be a preoccupation with the defence of the innocent. Even that may not be consistanly true, Daredevil, Batman, and The Punisher may use this as an excuse, but vengance is also a large part of their modivation. And Kira (for those of you familiar with Death Note) is at best an anti-hero, dispite his desire to create a better, crime-free, world.

So yeah, why not...?

Ironman.

Damn! you beat me to it.

damn! You Beat Me To It.

:p

Slightly off topic but….I think it's pretty firmly established that Baman DOES NOT have any superhuman powers what so ever. He's just REALLY smart, REALLY fit, and REALLY dedicated

You forgot REALLY rich.

You forgot REALLY rich.

It's obvious that Batman is a tool of the bourgeois to protect their high position oppressing the proletariat in the class struggle in which communism will rise out of! /Andaras impression

Ironman.

Technically he's an Alkie, but that does lead to drunkenness so yeah.

Ironman.


Referring to a previous post, Ironman wouldn't, technically, be a super hero, since his "powers" are derived from the technology he is wearing. Much in the same manner as Batman.

Anyway, on the subject of the post. A super hero is someone with super human powers that uses those powers benefit mankind or those around them in a manner of good, regardless of the level or effort he puts into it. If said person uses their powers to benefit only themselves, or a small group of people at the expense of the greater populous they are considered a super villian.

From what I have seen of the previews, I believe Hancock would be considered a super hero, he is just a very poor one.

Referring to a previous post, Ironman wouldn't, technically, be a super hero, since his "powers" are derived from the technology he is wearing. Much in the same manner as Batman.


Batman doesn't have powers from his equipment. He's just extremely intelligent and a master of many martial arts.

When I'm drunk, I feel like a super-hero. Will that do?

NB Actually, I don't. But I thought I'd be the first to post that anyway.

Batman doesn't have powers from his equipment. He's just extremely intelligent and a master of many martial arts.

the only reason either of them are ever considered super heros is because that is the category their comic books fall into.

if such people existed in real life, neither batman nor ironman would qualify.

It's obvious that Batman is a tool of the bourgeois to protect their high position oppressing the proletariat in the class struggle in which communism will rise out of! /Andaras impression

Actually, let's use that for Iron Man. After all, he originally was a super hero dedicated to fighting oppressive communism, and I think of any super hero, Andaras would hate him the most. He's a super wealthy defense contractor to the government of the largest capitalist nation on the planet. Wayne has been made to embrace the 'no-kill' policy in all of his business deals, and after Lex's stint as president he's severed ties with the government. Not to mention the fact that Andaras' well articulated speech reminds one of the Mandarin, and not the Joker.

And Iron Man is a super hero, since he enhanced himself with the Extremis Protocol, basically infusing his body with nano-tech.

As for Batman, he does possess exo-suits, but prefers not to use them.

Maybe I should add a poll for the John Hancock question...

Batman doesn't have powers from his equipment. He's just extremely intelligent and a master of many martial arts.

that is why "powers" was in quotation marks. Much like Ironman doesn't have powers from his suit either. He is just extremely intelligent at the use of technology to simulate powers. Much in the same way that Batman does.

Hm...can a superHERO be a drunk?

Yes, I think--as someone else said--it has more to do with the will to do good than the goodness of the person himself. ^^; Yes.

How much beer does it take to get a super hero drunk? That is a more important question.

How much beer does it take to get a super hero drunk? That is a more important question.

Depends what their power is and if they are from Ireland or Russia.

Depends what their power is and if they are from Ireland or Russia.

Let's say Russia.

Let's say Russia.
Multiply the number of beers needed to add up to a bottle of vodka than multiply by 5.

Unless he is a hero that can break it down real fast or something. Or similar anti-drunk powers.

But I ask a question. Can a man that has these abilities but uses them with only minimal restraint be called a superhero? The debate over Batman is whether or not he truly does have extraordinary abilities. But what about the other side? Does a superhero have to accomplish amazing things for the direct benefit of the public to be considered a superhero?

Discuss.
first one must define the terms SuperHero as well as Hero. would it be baised on their actions, the Results of those actions, or the motive behind those actions?

Slightly off topic but….I think it's pretty firmly established that Baman DOES NOT have any superhuman powers what so ever. He's just REALLY smart, REALLY fit, and REALLY dedicated
true, same can be said for Ironman, Nick Fury, Nightwing, etc...

yet with the constant showcasing of Batman taking down those with 'super powers' it's questionable if Batman doesn't deserve the handle of 'super hero'.

after all, let's look at his characteristics that would be 'above that of normal men'.

Wealth: Given ALL of his gadgets as well as his spendtrift ways (to keep up the illusion of 'millionare playboy') his wealth can be deemed "inexhaustable'.

Generating Income: considering how many adventures keep him out late at night, or even off planet, his ability to generate wealth without keeping a constant eye on his BoD and other investments is superhuman.

Healing abilities: No matter what injury, he always heals back up to full. even after having his back broken by Bane, he's back and doing his normal acrobatic feats.

Super Intelligence: how many forms of martial arts does the Batman master, add to that the weapons he uses (even if you exclude firearms that's still alot) add to that criminology, law, science (chemestry, natural, computer, etc), liturature, and even trivia... and that's not going into maintenance of his batmobile, batboat, batcycle, batplane, the bat cave in general which would touch upon construction, architecture, electronics, etc...

and let's not forget the business skills needed to keep his wealth up.
all while keeping his body to the peak of Olypian performance...

so everything being equal Batman is a SuperHero. After all, you don't see Robin/Nightwing taking down Superman, nor do you see Sgt Rock battling super skrull.

:D

that is why "powers" was in quotation marks. Much like Ironman doesn't have powers from his suit either. He is just extremely intelligent at the use of technology to simulate powers. Much in the same way that Batman does.

Batman doesn't simulate powers, though.

Multiply the number of beers needed to add up to a bottle of vodka than multiply by 5.

Unless he is a hero that can break it down real fast or something. Or similar anti-drunk powers.

You forgot to take into account the modifiers for the hero's constitution score. Also, you need to check to see if they have drunkenness as a skill.

Alright, so as many summer movie fans know, Hancock premiers on Wednesday, with early showings starting tomorrow.

The premise is simple: a hard living, booze guzzling man with invulnerability, flight, and super-strength has hit a low, and now he must be rehabilitated before causing an even worse disaster.

But I ask a question. Can a man that has these abilities but uses them with only minimal restraint be called a superhero? The debate over Batman is whether or not he truly does have extraordinary abilities. But what about the other side? Does a superhero have to accomplish amazing things for the direct benefit of the public to be considered a superhero?

Discuss.

I'm ashamed of myself for quoting the wisdom of a Disney film, but...
"Having super-powers doesn't make you a superhero. Sometimes it only makes you a jerk."

There was a novel by a guy called Austin Grossman called "Soon I Will Be Invincible." The opening soliloquy by the villain is a rundown on the statistics of the super-power census. It says of the approx 1600 superpowered beings in that universe only a handful are either heroes or villains. Of those who are human, most are civilians who are either really good at their jobs or really good at something unmarketable.

Hancock, from what I've seen in the promos, is like a grizzled cop whose job is technically to save people and fight crime, but on a personal level he's just a depressed angsty jerk.

Multiply the number of beers needed to add up to a bottle of vodka than multiply by 5.

Unless he is a hero that can break it down real fast or something. Or similar anti-drunk powers.

Worst Super-Power ever. And I played Boogerman (http://www.amazon.com/Sega-Boogerman-Pick-Flick-Adventure/dp/B0007MF1DC) and watched Mystery Men.

anyone who spends all day drunk is a hero in my eyes :)

anyone Who Spends All Day Drunk Is A Hero In My Eyes :)

Rofl!

Alright, so as many summer movie fans know, Hancock premiers on Wednesday, with early showings starting tomorrow.

The premise is simple: a hard living, booze guzzling man with invulnerability, flight, and super-strength has hit a low, and now he must be rehabilitated before causing an even worse disaster.

But I ask a question. Can a man that has these abilities but uses them with only minimal restraint be called a superhero? The debate over Batman is whether or not he truly does have extraordinary abilities. But what about the other side? Does a superhero have to accomplish amazing things for the direct benefit of the public to be considered a superhero?

Discuss.

Does Jackie Chan's "drunken master" (http://cdn.thingsasian.com/ta2006/2/4/8/4/24847_feat.jpg) count? I know he doesn't have superpowers but his martial arts and pain resistance make up for it.