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Adam Schulman
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 22 July 2017
Posts: 1717
Posted: 15 April 2018 at 6:14pm | IP Logged | 1 post reply

Actually, no. If there is not enough moisture in the air, Bobby runs a risk of serious dehydration.

***

I'll try to clarify.

I don't get how Bobby can create ice without water being present. If he was wearing a suit that shoots water -- like Pyro of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants wears a suit that shoots fire -- and he then turned the water into ice and did all the things he does with it in the comics, that would make it easier to suspend disbelief. 

But even if it's summer and there's not a cloud in the sky, Bobby can make ice "out of nothing." At least in every X-Men story that he's in that I can remember. 

(To be honest, I always found Iceman to be the least interesting X-Man -- his personality was, ironically, too much like Johnny Storm's.)
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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132224
Posted: 15 April 2018 at 6:22pm | IP Logged | 2 post reply

I'll try to clarify.

If there is not enough water "around", Bobby draws it from his own body. Which can be extremely dangerous.

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Adam Schulman
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 22 July 2017
Posts: 1717
Posted: 15 April 2018 at 6:30pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply

Ahhh. I didn't remember that. Yeah, that's very, very dangerous. Thank you. 
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Michael Hogan
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Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
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Posted: 16 April 2018 at 7:44am | IP Logged | 4 post reply

...foreign languages are almost like code...
•••

A popular misconception. Foreign languages, except those with the same roots, can be utterly impenetrable. Remember, for instance, that it was the accidental discovery of the Rosetta Stone that opened Egyptian hieroglyphics to us, after literally centuries of fruitless study.
__________________________

Very true, sir. I was thinking that, superficially, if you don't know a foreign language it is as unintelligible as code. Besides, that would be a cool comic book power.
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Jean-Francois Joutel
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Joined: 06 November 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 315
Posted: 16 April 2018 at 8:18am | IP Logged | 5 post reply

Foreign languages, except those with the same roots, can be utterly impenetrable.

------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------

True. It reminds me also of how the American Navajo code was the only unbreakable code in WW2. That was because it wasn't a cypher, but based on a language spoken by a very small community of native Americans.
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John Popa
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Joined: 20 March 2008
Posts: 4368
Posted: 16 April 2018 at 10:32am | IP Logged | 6 post reply

I do think there's a sense (which I'm guilty of as well) of thinking a power is more 'useful' based on how much it helps in a fight. Phantom Girl's a good example - being intangible has all sorts of uses when one needs to get inside someplace that's otherwise impenetrable. But if it's just a brawl, no, she's probably not as useful. But that's where writers get to be creative!
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Peter Martin
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Joined: 17 March 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 15771
Posted: 16 April 2018 at 12:25pm | IP Logged | 7 post reply

Peter M. - I could think of a dozen powers off the top of my head that are pretty useless, but they'd be extremely silly (e.g., the power to project darkness... but only during a solar eclipse.)
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Eric, perhaps I should have clarified that I meant any power that has appeared in a comic, as opposed to inventing a useless power for the purpose of being useless.

The context of Patton's 'most useless super-power' was assigning that label to an extant superhero and it was within that context that I was commenting.


Edited by Peter Martin on 16 April 2018 at 12:25pm
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Eric Sofer
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Joined: 31 January 2014
Location: United States
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Posted: 16 April 2018 at 4:41pm | IP Logged | 8 post reply

Peter - Got you. Yeah, I'm thinking now of super powers and heroes already around... and what I come up with is powers that are still kinda silly - I'm thinking Invisible Boy, the Inferior Five, the Legion of Substitute Heroes, maybe a couple others. And - as you noted - they're still better than nothing. It remains with the writer to MAKE the situation and character interesting.

Oh, and I couldn't agree with you more about Rogue. She seems to me to be the girl mutant hostage. If, in the comics, she didn't have Ms. Marvel's powers, she would be entirely useless with respect to her powers. I mean, the only useful aspect I could think of is stealing the power of someone who's unconscious... and that sounds kinda hazardous.
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William Costello
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Joined: 30 August 2012
Location: United States
Posts: 734
Posted: 16 April 2018 at 7:10pm | IP Logged | 9 post reply

Kate Leth and Brittney Williams created a mutant character for their recent Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat reboot. His name is Federigo Ravina and he had the power to control bedbugs. Ultimately, he uses the power to help residents in Patsy's neighborhood get rid of their bedbugs.

Because of powers like Ravina's, I don't spend too much time actually thinking about whether the powers are "useless." After all, CW Legends of Tomorrow ended its season 3 with a giant BEEBO toy smushing the Season 3 villain, Mallus (and TV critics loved it!!) For example:  https://uk.news.yahoo.com/legends-tomorrow-season-3-episode- 031739349.html
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