Nonhuman Superpowers?

[ysabetwordsmith]

We watched the new Godzilla  movie today.  (Good kaiju  movie, excellent special effects and references to other movies, overblown emotional yanking in some places.)  It got me thinking about the breadth of superpowers in Terramagne, the setting of my series Polychrome Heroics.

Are superpowers restricted to humans alone -- and if so, why -- or can other species have them also?  


My thoughts include:

* Humans share a lot of DNA with other species, especially mammals.  This leans toward innate powers appearing elsewhere.

* Radiation and some other factors are increasing the rate of mutation, and thus in this setting, the prevalence of superpowers.  Look at the mutated sealife, for example.  Environmental factors are likely to affect multiple species, not just one.  Imagine visiting Chernobyl only to discover that one of the elk has Laser Eyes.

* Superpower manifestation based on the effect of extraordinary circumstances on human will is unlikely to occur in nonsentient species.

* Superpower manifestation based on higher powers is unlikely to occur in nonsentient species.

* A sperm whale's brain averages 7.8 kilograms.  Imagine one with superpowers objecting to how humans treat the ocean.



* Some comics have really gotten into mutated, uplifted, or otherwise modified animals.  This includes everything from natural mutation through accidental enhancement to mad science experiments.  The results range from cringeworthy to awesome.  

* Having something like telepathic trees mindwiping loggers, or superpowered mice in a house, would expand the number of stories that could be told without relying on a human supervillain.  (We've HAD superpowered mice here; they are nerve-wracking to deal with.)  While mad science could already provide such things, that implies very different plot structure than naturally occurring cases.

Discuss.

Comments

Re: Thoughts

[p_cocincinus]

Healthy processing: definitely more work. Also it can produce interesting, thought-producing conversations (see also: the entire "Love is for Children" series, haha; you're very good at writing adults trying to react like adults and not sitcom characters) however, I see a distinct difference between plot (something that happens) and drama (a way in which something happens). Tony working through his trauma by participating in game night (plot!) is not the same as Tony responding to his trauma by getting into a shouting match and slamming the door (drama!). Drama is more interesting to film, so there's more of it. (And then you have cultural side-effects, like my husband not realizing how dysfunctional his family of origin was because they acted just like a sitcom family. [They really do; it's weird. If I want to figure out how my mother-in-law will react to something I just have to think about sitcom moms from the 80's and it'll be pretty close.])

Then again, I had to stop reading Mercedes Lackey books when half her interpersonal plots could be solved by the participants having a damn conversation. I've lost all patience for characters whose lives would be profoundly simpler if they read Captain Awkward. XD

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Healthy processing: definitely more work. Also it can produce interesting, thought-producing conversations <<

Yes, exactly.

>> (see also: the entire "Love is for Children" series, haha; you're very good at writing adults trying to react like adults and not sitcom characters) <<

Thank you!

>> however, I see a distinct difference between plot (something that happens) and drama (a way in which something happens). <<

Oh. I thought we were talking about drama in the theatrical sense (opposite of comedy) rather than histrionic sense.

>> Drama is more interesting to film, so there's more of it. <<

Gods, NO, I hate that kind of drama. I hate it in real life and have very little tolerance for it in entertainment. I consider it a flaw, in the same category as buckets of blood, nekkid boobies, or cheesy special effects -- something that directors whip out when they don't know how to create real substance. Turn it off.

>> (And then you have cultural side-effects, like my husband not realizing how dysfunctional his family of origin was because they acted just like a sitcom family. [They really do; it's weird. If I want to figure out how my mother-in-law will react to something I just have to think about sitcom moms from the 80's and it'll be pretty close.]) <<

O_O *everything is spiders*

>> Then again, I had to stop reading Mercedes Lackey books when half her interpersonal plots could be solved by the participants having a damn conversation. <<

:( Not all of the later books are like that, although I do miss the glory days. The Elemental Wizards series is very plotty.

>> I've lost all patience for characters whose lives would be profoundly simpler if they read Captain Awkward. XD <<

Agreed.