There are several possibilities available when selecting a super power for one's self. This post is my contribution to the study--perhaps if you can see my motivations, it could help you to choose your own. Afterall, heroes and super heroes are popping up everywhere these days.
But come to think of it, unless you're a mad scientist whose had his funding pulled and you turn your dangerous project on yourself in a last ditch effort to salvage your work--then you really don't get to pick your power, it gets chosen for you by birth, or accident.
But let's say that you did have a choice--what would you choose?
Now this is just me, but I think shape-shifting would create a disconnect and discontentment with my true self. I think it would be hard to keep your bearings as you change appearances. It might even alter your identity in the process. This is not for me.
And other then self-defense, I'd have no need for shooting rays, unless I wanted to fight crime, which I don't.
Invincibility would be nice, but it's kind of boring unless you're involved in a lot of fights or reckless behavior and are often about to die or actually do die. Not my cup of tea, so I would only need this power as I got old. But who wants to sit on a power that long?
Psychic powers would be cool! Mind control of others and the ability to 
read people's minds would be great fun. But after a month or 45 days, it might become overwhelming and disconcerting. I don't know if I'd like to know what everyone thinks of me, really. They probably think I'm a nice guy inside their heads, but maybe they think I'm boring and they just laugh at my stories to be nice. Or maybe they're actually thinking about something else while I'm talking? And what if I can't focus on telling my story because their thoughts are distracting me? Then I'd have to use mind control to get them to pay attention! This would mean that their reactions to me would be fake and controlled by me. And what's worse, knowing that someone is being fake, or being fooled because they're humoring you? I'd rather be humored by a good faker than know that I'm being faked--especially because of mind-control. So I might as well stay as I am.
Magnetic powers like Magneto would be good for "world domination," but so many things are made out of plastic these days so I wonder if magnetic powers would only get you "continent domination" at this point. And there's always so much anger and aggression in the faces of those who use this power, I'd think you'd get headaches a lot. No thanks.
X-ray eyes always intrigued me, but then where's the mystery--to anything? Imagine Christmas... Yuck.
Super-sight usually comes paired with super-hearing, I guess because it would throw your balance off if you could see your friend really far away but could only watch their mouth moving.This would be a nice power to try on for a few days, but I would get too easily distracted. Wouldn't you want to find out if the person you were talking to was really more interesting than the other 676 people you could see and hear from where you were standing?
Super-speed doesn't suit me, I'm methodical and laid back and have no interest in getting anywhere too soon.
Super-strength has its advantages for sure, and it usually gets bundled 
with other powers. But strength on its own usually comes at a price. For instance, you typically have to be green and go through a lot of clothing, or be made of orange rocks and get depressed easily. So, no.
Flight would definitely be tempting--maybe a little scary, and it seems like a lot of work. You would constantly be going against wind currents and having to land softly after traveling at great speeds, which would be hard on the legs. You'd also have to account for the temperatures from ground-level in your starting location to air-level (freezing) to ground-level at your destination. You'd need to have a backpack at all times, and I like to travel lighter than that. I don't even like to carry a wallet. Also, you'd have to travel alone mostly, and you'd be very exposed--what if it rains, or someone wants to take target practice?
So I think invisibility is the thing for me--I can be myself, no one has to know, and I can turn it on or off whenever I want. If the burden of being invisible gets to be too much and I don't like hearing what people really think, or I'm bored--I can just stop being invisible for awhile. If I want to find out what it looks like in the kitchen of the restaurant I'm eating in, or want to see what other professions are like, or want to learn just about any secret--invisibility would take care of it. The one disadvantage is you really couldn't tell anyone what you knew--it would blow your cover and make people unlikely to talk openly. I also don't know about the clothing thing. Many times, beginning invisiblers have to strip to not be seen--and then what happens with your clothes? And then you have a situation like with the flying where you're cold, or you can't go solid again because you're not wearing anything. The good news is that most people with this power seem to learn how to make their clothes disappear eventually, so there's hope.
Genius! I enjoyed this post. I think the shape shift thing has alot going for it.
Posted by: Steve | October 27, 2006 at 03:02 PM