"What superhero stereo type is your favorite?" Topic

(from the wiki)
In superhero role-playing games, such as Hero Games' Champions, Green Ronin Publishing's Mutants and Masterminds, Cryptic Studios' MMORPG City of Heroes and Champions Online, superheroes are formally organized into categories or archetypes based on their skills and abilities. Since comic book and role-playing fandom often overlap, these labels have carried over into discussions of superheroes outside the context of games:Plastic Man's shapeshifting abilities have often been used for humorous effect.

* Armored Hero: A gadgeteer whose powers are derived from a suit of powered armor with no super powers that means they are not a "super"hero; e.g., Iron Man and Steel.

* Blaster: A hero whose main power is a distance attack, usually an "energy blast"; e.g., Cyclops, Starfire, and Static.

* Brick/Tank: A character with a superhuman degree of strength and endurance and, for males, usually an oversized muscular body; e.g., The Hulk, The Thing, Colossus, Master Chief, and Citizen Steel. Almost every superhero team has one member of this variety, a point X-Factor's Guido Carosella noted when he took the codename "Strong Guy" at a reporter's suggestion that this was his role in the team.

* Elementalist: A hero who controls some natural element or part of the natural world; e.g., Storm (weather), Magneto (magnetism), Swamp Thing (vegetation), the Human Torch (fire), Iceman (ice), Aang (air, water, earth, and fire).

* Gadgeteer: A hero who invents special equipment that often imitates superpowers but have no super powers themselves, meaning they are not a "super"hero; e.g., Nite Owl, Batman, and Iron Man.

* Ghost: A hero with 'ghost' type powers: either invisibility (such as Invisible Woman); or intangibility (such as Kitty Pryde); or both (such as Martian Manhunter, Deadman and Danny Phantom).

* Healer: A hero who is able to quickly recover from serious injury; e.g., Lobo, Wolverine, the Hulk, and Deadpool. This may also be a hero whose primary ability is to heal others; e.g., Elixir.

* Mage: A hero who is trained in the use of magic; e.g., Doctor Fate, Doctor Strange, Zatanna.

* Marksman: A hero who uses projectile weapons, typically guns, bows and arrows or throwing blades; e.g., Green Arrow, Hawkeye and The Punisher.

* Martial Artist: A hero whose physical abilities are mostly human rather than superhuman but whose hand-to-hand combat skills are phenomenal. Some of these characters are actually superhuman (Iron Fist, and Daredevil), while others are human beings who are extremely skilled and athletic (Batman and related characters, Elektra, and Shang Chi).

* Mecha/Robot Pilot: A hero who controls a giant robot, a subtype common in Japanese superhero and science fiction media; e.g., Megas XLR, Big Guy.

* Mentalist: A hero who possesses psionic abilities, such as telekinesis, telepathy and extra-sensory perception; e.g., Professor X, Jean Grey, and Raven.

* Paragon: A hero who possesses the basic powers of super-strength, flight and invulnerability. They are considered to be one of the most powerful of the superhero types: consisting of such heroes as the extraterrestrials Superman, Martian Manhunter; the magically-fuelled Captain Marvel; the relatively unknown Invincible; or even mythological gods such as Thor.

* Possessed: A hero who harbors an entity inside of him/herself; e.g., Etrigan the Demon, Ghost Rider, Spectre, Naruto.

* Rider: A hero who rides either a powerful vehicle, like Ghost Rider or the Silver Surfer; or rides a unique creature, like Shining Knight.

* Shapeshifter: A hero who can manipulate his/her own body to suit his/her needs, such as stretching (Plastic Man, Mister Fantastic, Elongated Man), or disguise (Changeling/Morph, Mystique). Other such shapeshifters can transform into animals (Beast Boy), alien creatures (Ben 10) or inorganic materials (Metamorpho).

* Size Changer: A hero who can alter his/her size; e.g., the Atom (shrinking only), Colossal Boy, Giganta, Apache Chief (growth only), Hank Pym (both).

* Slasher: A hero whose main power is some form of hand-to-hand cutting weapon—either devices, such as knives or swords, (Elektra, Blade, Katana) or natural, such as claws (Wolverine).

* Speedster: A hero possessing superhuman speed and reflexes; e.g., The Flash, and Quicksilver.

* Mastermind/Super Genius: A hero possessing superhuman/superior intelligence or intellect; e.g., Professor X, Batman, Forge, Brainiac 5, Mister Fantastic.

* Teleporter: A hero who is able to teleport from point A to point B to point C, etc; e.g., some teleport due to their own body chemistry, Nightcrawler, others teleport via telekinetic energy Mysterio II, others for unknown reasons (Jumper).

* Time Manipulater: A hero possessing either a natural, magical or scientific control of time. This could be either time travel like Waverider or Doctor Who, time stop like Tempo or both like Hiro Nakamura who can also teleport.

These categories often overlap. For instance, Batman is both a skilled martial artist and gadgeteer, and Hellboy has the strength and durability of a brick and some mystic abilities or powers, similar to a mage. Wolverine fits into both the slasher and healing categories. Very powerful characters—such as Superman, Thor, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Dr. Manhattan, and the Silver Surfer—can be listed in many categories. Flying, super-strong, invulnerable heroes such as Superman, Captain Marvel and Thor are sometimes in a category all their own, known as "Paragons" or "Originals" (as they were some of the earliest heroes in comics). Another possibility is that Superman is a "Paragon" and a "Blaster" (heat vision and super-breath), Captain Marvel is a "Paragon" and a "Mage" (the Power of Shazam), Thor is "Paragon" and a "Elemental" (weather manipulation) and Hancock is a "Paragon" and a "Healer" (immortality), or perhaps even the Martian Manhunter (Paragon, Ghost, Blaster, Shapeshifter, Size Changer, Mentalist, Mastermind and Healer). So, in esscence, the Fantastic Four consists of a Shapeshifter/Mastermind (Mister Fantastic), a Ghost/Mentalist (Invisible Woman, an Elementalist (the Human Torch), and a Brick (the Thing).

Tough call as there are so many options and cross overs…but I prefer street sweeper level games so the Martial Artist is always a welcome choice for me.

I like the idea of the extreme physical guy with special abilities that deal with hand to hand.

I like street level heroes too… so I prefer the guys who are just talented/trained… and maybe a bit crazy.
Eddie Current was an old favorite.
The original version of The Shadow and The Spider.

This Eddy Current? link

Yeah, I find that superhero gamers tend to be street sweepers or four color types.

I like both, but I think a new look at Pulp, a Modern Pulp would go far. Sin City did a great job of skirting this theme.

Most characters are your toughs, strong, guys, shooty/stabby types…but add in some nice flavors of magic/voodoo/etc., supernatural, robots, and whatever else you might like…but keep it under the radar, let the media assume it is something else…fun times.

***************

But that should not affect anyone's choice, I am curious which stereo type really calls out to you.

Way too deep for this time of night but I will give it a shot.
My first thought was Batman along the lines of Val Kilmer not George Clooney. Someone along the lines of Joseph Campbell's hero quest. The tormented anti-hero hero with a dark side. He is neither home in the modern metropolis or dark underbelly of the recesses of the underworld, but moves with apparent easy in both. He is a powder-keg capable if extreme violent action just below the surface but with a softer side deep within. He longs for a simpler existence a "dark opus about Thailand or fly fishing in Montana". Or maybe on my own out on the ranch killing rattle snakes with a short spear, or facing a coyote or boar with a single shot cross bow.

VR
James Mattes
(currently dreaming of staying 5 miles North/Northwest of the dead center of nowhere Texas.)

I think I would go with a blaster, although my favourite heroes never were that, I think more of them rank in the 2nd tier than any other single category.

Martial Artist, Gadgeteer, or a Brick

I like Gadgeteer, like Batman, in various incarnations.

I also like Jeb Stuart in the Haunted Tank. Sort of a Gadgeteer with a big gadget I suppose.

Mike "Bunkermeister" Creek
bunkermeister.blogspot.com

big boobed bikini babes

A mix of these:

* Gadgeteer: A hero who invents special equipment that often imitates superpowers but have no super powers themselves, meaning they are not a "super"hero; e.g., Nite Owl, Batman, and Iron Man.

* Martial Artist: A hero whose physical abilities are mostly human rather than superhuman but whose hand-to-hand combat skills are phenomenal. Some of these characters are… human beings who are extremely skilled and athletic (Batman and related characters, Elektra, and Shang Chi).

is appealing since it gives you options that can reflect my mood during games. It's more about playing games, having fun being the character, and semi-role playing than efficient winning for me. What's the fun of multiple personalities if you can only show one in public?

These can be extremely interesting but can be simulated by the Gadgeeter to a large degree:

* Speedster: A hero possessing superhuman speed and reflexes; e.g., The Flash, and Quicksilver.

* Marksman: A hero who uses projectile weapons, typically guns, bows and arrows or throwing blades; e.g., Green Arrow, Hawkeye and The Punisher.

* Blaster: A hero whose main power is a distance attack, usually an "energy blast"; e.g., Cyclops, Starfire, and Static.

Interesting for one-off games would be:

* Armored Hero: A gadgeteer whose powers are derived from a suit of powered armor with no super powers that means they are not a "super"hero; e.g., Iron Man and Steel.

* Size Changer: A hero who can alter his/her size; e.g., the Atom (shrinking only), Colossal Boy, Giganta, Apache Chief (growth only), Hank Pym (both).

More important is the history of the character. I like the hero who opposes directly political extremes (Communist/Leftist/Fascist/"Radical Islam") or sheer power grabber/messianic types (Kaiser, FDR, the Mahdi) – often using a religion or political excuse for their thirst for power.

Heroes from about 1918 through 1968 make the most interesting games for me. I like current stuff but too much political baggage to deal with in campaigns set in "now."

I started off with Superman/Batman as a kid but the Fantastic Four got what little money I had as a child that went to comics (I really found Military History and Sci-Fi (Andre Norton in various pseudonyms) books a priority until JRRT came along with his books and got me attracted to Fantasy.)

Gracias,

Glenn

Blaster/Street Sweeper. Black Bolt was always a favorite

Has to be the Punisher…. his super power was extreme grumpyness

I like the ones whose powers are limited mostly by their user's creativity. Green Lantern and Firestorm come to mind. Hard to work into a game, but fun to play.

I don't see a category for "The Bondage Fairies" tho they could count as Angelbarracks "big boobed bikini babes", in a relative way, of course.
Otherwise I'm with Cke1st in being a Green Lantern fan, tho I also enjoyed The Blue Beetle,a Gadgeteer type, which I suppose describes the Green Hornet (+ Kato as a Martial Arts side-kick, pun intended).

For the "creative" superhero, perhaps these might work:

* Elementalist: A hero who controls some natural element or part of the natural world; e.g., Storm (weather), Magneto (magnetism), Swamp Thing (vegetation), the Human Torch (fire), Iceman (ice), Aang (air, water, earth, and fire).

Using an element or an energy/material…most systems allow for a power pool. With focus the super can create several effects. Allowing for creativity, if this were a game I was running I could work this in by requiring a package of skills/related minor powers to make the pool work…so a power blast might be less powerful than Blaster Boy but this hero could also do tricks and other applications that Blaster Boy could never do.

The same would apply to these:

* Shapeshifter: A hero who can manipulate his/her own body to suit his/her needs, such as stretching (Plastic Man, Mister Fantastic, Elongated Man), or disguise (Changeling/Morph, Mystique). Other such shapeshifters can transform into animals (Beast Boy), alien creatures (Ben 10) or inorganic materials (Metamorpho).

* Size Changer: A hero who can alter his/her size; e.g., the Atom (shrinking only), Colossal Boy, Giganta, Apache Chief (growth only), Hank Pym (both).

In a lower power game or a street sweeper, it would be easier to balance the game with "body creativity". If you are making a big hammer with your hand rather than an energy hammer at distance, that can catch fire, and hits a passing plane…it is a bit more manageable…but still fun in the sun.

I'd choose Paragon because I always wished I could fly. Martial Artist is my second pick because I'm a big Bruce Lee/Chuck Norris/Bill Wallace type fan. If I could go back in time and change some things then Time Traveler would hit the top of the list

Martial Artists, particularly the low-end but powered ones. My favorite comic book supers are Captain America (Martial Artist/Brick), Daredevil (Martial Artist/Mentalist), Iron Fist (Martial Artist/Blaster), Luke Cage (Martial Artist/Brick), etc. Definitely a fan of the Marvel street-level supers.

Of the comics I read and have read most of my life, I think Spider-Man is the most super-powered of them all, and compared to the whole spectrum, Spider-Man is really third or forth tier when it comes to actual power levels. He's also really hard to classify. He's basically a Martial Artist (no actual style, just superhuman speed, reflexes and strength) with some gadgeteering (web shooters), some mentalism (danger sense) and weird movement powers (wall-crawling, swinging). I think its his general outlandishness that contributes to his enduring popularity.

I am with you on this subject…street level superheroes are my favorites also.

I am all for having the powers that you want when making player characters…but it is a much easier process to game with street sweepers rather than Earth movers and shakers.