supers and strength
Mar. 26th, 2023 07:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
marycatelliHow strong are your supers?
This is a really important question, turning on various powers -- including super-strength -- and the number of supers, in which, actually, there is not strength in numbers.
Well, except for the rarest of cases, where the supers happen to think alike. Other than that, it's more likely that authorities, or others, can deploy divide and conquer.
First of all, the question is whether the supers' powers are useful for fighting, in what way they are useful, and how powerful are they, relative to mundanes. If supers are all powerhouses equivalent to Superman, the only tactic that would work is divide-and-conquer. (Some modification if one or more is a Gadgeteer who can make super-equipment, but not much.) If, on the other hand, supers are weak enough that they can feasibly and reliably be brought down by a well-trained mundane team, the question is how much it takes: a country, a large city, any city, even any town. Whether the expense is worth is part of what must be factored in.
There also has to be the damage consideration. The ideal way to bring down Superman is a sneak Kryptonite-powered attack. Two Supermen duking out is one of the highest possible damage to a city. Or a planet. Part of feasibility is what it costs you during the fight itself, not just training the super-hunters
What effect this has on the politics and power structure will vary, of course. It may even be entirely in the background. But there are many plots and themes for which it will be in the foreground, though with varying degrees of importance.
This is a really important question, turning on various powers -- including super-strength -- and the number of supers, in which, actually, there is not strength in numbers.
Well, except for the rarest of cases, where the supers happen to think alike. Other than that, it's more likely that authorities, or others, can deploy divide and conquer.
First of all, the question is whether the supers' powers are useful for fighting, in what way they are useful, and how powerful are they, relative to mundanes. If supers are all powerhouses equivalent to Superman, the only tactic that would work is divide-and-conquer. (Some modification if one or more is a Gadgeteer who can make super-equipment, but not much.) If, on the other hand, supers are weak enough that they can feasibly and reliably be brought down by a well-trained mundane team, the question is how much it takes: a country, a large city, any city, even any town. Whether the expense is worth is part of what must be factored in.
There also has to be the damage consideration. The ideal way to bring down Superman is a sneak Kryptonite-powered attack. Two Supermen duking out is one of the highest possible damage to a city. Or a planet. Part of feasibility is what it costs you during the fight itself, not just training the super-hunters
Not all powers are equal. Superstrength is dangerous. Invisibility or teleportation even more so. Magically growing plants or ability to see the past, less so.
What effect this has on the politics and power structure will vary, of course. It may even be entirely in the background. But there are many plots and themes for which it will be in the foreground, though with varying degrees of importance.