If I was Spitfire

In this one I'm going with a relatively underpowered Marvel Comics superheroine known as Spitfire.

Background

Jacqueline Farnsworth was a British aristocrat who derived her powers from a combination of a blood transfusion from the android Human Torch and a vampire bite. The two catalysts theoretically activated latent powers within her. Using her new found super speed she saved the life of the Human Torch and became a member of the Invaders the world war two super team that the android belonged to. She has returned in modern times rejuvenated by another blood transfusion by the Human Torch android but I'm not using that version of her. I'm going with her golden age self. Mostly because now she's displaying vampire traits when she's angry and her power level was greatly enhanced.

Description

Spitfire is a short, athletic, blond woman with blue eyes. She wears a yellow costume with red boots and "gauntlets" as well as a large, bird inspired, red mask and flowing red cape.

Powers and Paraphernalia

Spitfire has superhuman speed able to run at fifty miles per hour and the appropriate adaptions including reflexes, specialized strength, stamina (she can run at her top speed for up to half an hour before tiring and for hours at lesser speeds), agility and durability to go with it. Also according to Marvel's official database when she runs she leaves a trail of "non-damaging fire" however I can't find an actual depiction of that anywhere...not even in Marvel's official database.

If I was Spitfire

I live in a small town. Being able to sprint off at fifty miles per hour for up to half an hour is more than suitable enough to get me anywhere in this town quickly. Now the "for hours at lesser speeds" part also interests me. Being able to run at say eighteen miles per hour (which I assume would be her "cruising" speed) for a number of hours is very handy. I could run to my sister's cottage and back experiencing little to no fatigue. That would be awesome. Okay sure you could get there faster than me by car but I wouldn't care. There are very few things like the thrill of being able to run to everywhere you want to go in a reasonable period of time.

So you might guess for me it would be more about the freedom of the speed then about anything else. I wouldn't become a super hero. I would go about my regular life only I would enjoy it more. I would change things in my life of course. I would explore more than I do. Like I said one of the big draws for me is the "for hours at lesser speeds" aspect of the powers. I might even take up parcour. After all super speed would lend itself to enhanced jumping as well, not to mention the enhanced resistance to impact making it less dangerous to land ridiculously dangerous jumps.

I'm thinking if nothing else I would become a professional athlete. Either boxing or maybe soccer. Mind you if I go the route of marathon runner then I could probably score some really sweet endorsement deals for shoes. Marathon running would let me enjoy the freedom of running far better but it might not satisfy my competitive nature. I like the "in your face" type of competition where you can trash talk while you're competing.

Thank you for reading.

If I had the Greatest American Hero's Super Suit

I'm of course talking about the the famous "magic jammies" given to Ralph Hinkley by altruistic aliens who like to make sure Earth and possibly other planets have a protector.

Background

The suit is a piece of alien technology made by a species far more advanced that humankind whose purposes is to grant its wearer super powers in order to save mankind from itself. It is either handed down directly to the chosen protector such as with Ralph Hinkley or from protector to protector as in the case of Ralph Hinkley to Holley Hathaway.

Description

Despite Ralph Hinkley's insistence that the green aliens only make the suit in one style the suit's appearance has changed from when he wore it to when Holley Hathaway wore it. When Ralph had it, it was red from tunic length shirt to boot with silver or black trim on its cuffs and collar as well as the boots' trimmings around its rim and a second false rim along the top of the foot and heel. Where as Holley's suit is strictly red from unitard to boot without any trimming. Either version comes with a symbol on its chest in red that resembles the Chinese character for "center" or alternately a stylized pair of scissors on a white field defined by a circular black outline. In either versions the belt is silver with silver trim and the same symbol on the buckle as on the chest only colored in silver and black instead.

For either of them the cape is black with red trim. They differ only in their length. Ralph's was short descending to his posterior and Holley's was longer descending to the back of her knees.

Powers

The full extent of the suit's powers are unknown since Ralph lost the instruction book when he first received the suit and lost a second copy of it after trying the first power they looked up in it. I should say that the instruction book seems to be more than just a book. It was a computer that acted as a secondary control mechanism for the suit as well.

The following is the known list of powers granted by the suit: super strength (he saved a space shuttle, they weigh over one hundred tons), super speed (not quite sure what his top speed is), "Invulnerability" (he developed amnesia colliding with a train carrying a radioactive payload so he's not truly invulnerable but was otherwise unharmed), flight (greater than M.A.C.H. 2 since he was able to catch up to and catch missiles fired at a jet carrying his future wife), "Holographic Vision" (a catch all power that permits him to see through time and space for such things as precognition and remote viewing which works especially well when he has something to get "vibes" off of), invisibility, telekinesis, pyrokinesis (at least he can cause things to catch fire), it permits him to perceive and pass through dimensional portals but doesn't seem to be able to generate them himself, life-support for hostile environments that would otherwise be lethal, shrinking (with help of the book, allegedly can be used on a target other than the wearer), voice amplification, communicate with animals, mind control (after exposure to high amount of radiation), super breadth (he has sucked up toxic gasses from a room once).

If I had the Greatest American Hero's Super Suit

If I had the super suit I'd play superhero no ifs ands or buts about it. I'd already have a super style costume and superhero style mission so why not. The green aliens don't allow you to keep it if you aren't doing any good but they are very good at giving you second chances at keeping the suit if you make mistakes. I'd also study that instruction manual backwards and forwards before anything else so I had a good idea of how to use the suit properly then on top of that I'd train with it regularly to make sure controlling the suit and it's powers are second nature to me.

Since the aliens require that the suit user also have an adviser to help him or her decide how to use the suit properly I'd make sure to pair up with a former international criminal seeking to redeem him or herself. They could give me the best insights into how the criminal mind works and give me a better idea of how everything is connected in the world and who the major players are. With a weapon as powerful as the suit you don't want to be making errors on who you're stopping or inadvertently help the wrong people. Like I said in the Thor entry I'm not above taking out those who think the lives of others are theirs to sacrifice to fulfill their greedy agendas. I just like to make sure I have the right people first.

I would mainly use the super suit to intervene on the behalf of civilians during wars and to prevent man made disasters. As part of that I would go on a daily patrol which would consist of some flights off planet to see if I have to protect the Earth from extraterrestrial threats including not only aliens but asteroids and other cosmic debris as well.

I'd make sure to keep myself in top shape. It wouldn't do for me to drop dead of a heart attack while performing my heroics. Also if I'm going to wear such a tight fitting body suit I'd might as well look good in it. Of course saying that I'd do most of my heroic work invisible and most likely by flying into range and using a combination of telekinesis and the holographic vision powers to manipulate the scene as subtly as possible so no one would know I was manipulating the situation.

If I was Thor

Reading through a list of Golden Age super heroes I came across a character called Thor. Not to be confused with the Marvel Comics' Thor.

Background

Grant Farrel was a laid back homebody type of a guy who had no need to engage in "foolhardy adventuring" just for the sake of foolhardy adventuring. This annoyed his girlfriend Glenda who complains about it through out the whole date they have in the first issue of the comic book and that he sucks and eventually she ditches him for a much more charismatic and "daring" man. Grant goes home and contemplates killing himself because his life sucks. Earlier Thor god of thunder and Ruler of Valhalla was talking with a fellow god saying that the world needs a champion and that he has decided to bestow his power on a worthy mortal to be a champion to his fellow mortals. I assume he's moved by Grant's plight and appears to him telling him he has work for him to do and whisks him off to Valhalla to train him in the use of Thor's powers and his magic hammer.

Note:

Unlike Superman who spent years trying to win over Lois Lane who was in love with his super identity, when Glenda tells him he'll never be like the godly man she met, Grant tells her, "That's too bad" and breaks up with her.

Description

When Grant Farrel transforms into Thor he becomes a tall (at least a head taller than anyone else in panel with him) and powerful looking, long haired, blond (he was blond to begin with) man dressed in a manor similar to his benefactor except where the god Thor's costume is red Grant's is blue. The costume consists of a metal helmet with disks of each side possibly representing ram horns as well as a cape and shorts and knee high boots. They would both fit in at a gay pride parade especially the god Thor with his handle bar mustache.

Powers and Paraphernalia

Thor the god of thunder gave Grant Farrel the power to transform into a powerful version of himself with the Thunder God's powers. According to the comic book this means he has super strength, the power of flight, the ability to project what I assume is lightning and the ability to control the weather. To travel to Valhalla or to cover great distances quickly he rides on a lightning bolt. He is depicted as surviving unharmed from beeing hit by multiple explosive shells fired from anti-aircraft guns unlike the spies he was bringing to justice (however it should be noted the guns belonged to their side of the conflict so one could consider it a form of ironic justice). One would assume that Grant is a skilled hand to hand combatant since I can't imagine that the God of Thunder, greatest of Asgard's warrior's would let someone go out in the world using his name and hammer without making sure he could fight well first.

Thor also gave him the use of his magical hammer Mjolnir. This is the greatest weapon known to the Asgardians. It's two most notable features is its immense weight and indestructibility. Mixed with Thor's super human strength it allows him to do such things as destroy three tanks with one throw. Another important feature of the hammer is that it returns to Thor's hand after he throws it. I haven't read enough about this character yet to know if like the mythological one his hammer never misses its target.

If I was Thor

Well what does one do with the power of a God, especially if it's the power of The God of Thunder? You become the wealthiest mercenary in the world. I'll explain, not only are you physically more powerful than virtually any weapon known to man, you have divine weather control. Think about this. Bad weather grounds jets and prevents travel as well as can disturb communication. Think about hurricane Katrina or the Ice Storm of 98. They destroyed communications and homes and caused those who weren't killed to have to huddle together in disaster shelters. Now imagine that kind of weather under someones control and that can be summoned at their whim. Canada, Russia and the United States are geographically huge countries but imagine the rest of the countries in the world that aren't. One consciously guided hurricane could wipe one out completely. Not to mention how a relentless thunderstorm can wipe out an electrical grid permanently. We haven't even gotten to the raw physical powers yet and already we can hold the world ransom with Thor's powers.

Now that doesn't mean I would hold the world ransom it just means if you want to be a power in the world you'll have to hire me. The price of course would be whatever I wanted it to be. It wouldn't be that hard to convince me to give a substantial discount to a country who is unjustly attacked. The big problem for me is that it wouldn't be long before politicians who call for war without care for those who they send in to battle or who they kill realize that despite my power level I'm by no means a weapon of mass destruction. I prefer only to strike at those who I believe are truly guilty. This mean they can get a lot done before I sort it all out and if worse comes to worse they can hide behind human shields. It doesn't mean that their personal assets are so safe. I can also justify assassinating someone intent on starting an unjust war. For me it's not right for someone to get away with their life while they destroy the lives of hundreds of thousands.

The thing is I'm no monster and I prefer to be the champion of those in need rather than just some person filled with "righteous rage" killing everyone who they think deserves death because they don't bother to find out who is actually responsible for the wrong that needs to be righted. To that end while breaking those unfortunate eggs to make the omlette that is Justice I would build myself a network of informants to make sure that when I use my powers on a grand scale that I know full well what is going on and that I don't break anymore of the "eggs". With that level of power you carry a lot of regrets with you over the costly mistakes you make while finding out how to function in the world. I may do more than build a network of informants. I might actually cultivate a small trusted group of advisers. The world doesn't lack for people who want to do the right thing and have already set up resources that would be valuable for me to make use of to that end.

Thanks for reading.

If had the Arabian Knight's Equipment

For this one I'm going with the scimitar, carpet and sash belonging to Marvel Comics original Arabian Knight Abdul Qamar.

Background

The first known appearance of these items was in the thirteenth century when Abdul's ancestor had possession of them. Where they actually come from or who created them doesn't seem to have ever been established. They could possibly have different creators and have been acquired individually. Since they have been used by people other then those related to Abdul it might be safe to assume that whoever created them didn't create them specifically for the Qamar family.

Description

The scimitar is your standard looking "arabic" scimitar made of some kind of golden colored metal. The pommel seems to resemble the head of a bird with rubies for eyes.

The carpet seems to be a plain red carpet with tassels all the around it. It's large enough for two adults to stand on comfortably.

The sash is four feet long and is as red and featureless as the carpet. It is typically worn as a belt.

Powers

Before going into each item individually I would say that a trait common to all three items is that they bond with their user until either he or she is dead or until they relinquish possession of them.

The Scimitar

It is indestructible and is capable of slicing trough steel, stone and other equally durable materials. It can project bolts of force whose intensity is mentally determined by it's wielder. It's maximum amount of force is unspecified but has proven strong enough to blast through stone walls. Possibly as a security measure anyone who does not have it's owner's permission to touch it will find themselves struck by a discharge of magical force. It is especially harmful to magical beings.

The Carpet

It is also indestructible. It and can fly under its owner's mental command. Its top rate of speed and maximum altitude are unknown. Since the Arabian Knight wore no special protection when he rode it he kept his speed to no greater than ninety miles per hour and never flew higher than twenty thousand feet. Aside from a being a great way to get around it can be mentally directed at a distance and used as a weapon. It can be used to smother someone, strike like a whip or even roll up and caused to bludgeon a target into submission.

The Sash

Being made from a material similar to the carpet it is also indestructible. Also like the carpet it is animated by mental command but is unable to fly. It is however a handy tool. Unlike the carpet it can be commanded to stretch out to ten times its normal length. It can be used to ensnare targets and bind them. It is can also be commanded to function as an effective whip and to assist in climbing. Like the scimitar it is especially effective against magical creatures so much so that it can free a person it is wrapped around from possession by a magical creature.

If I Had The Arabian Knight's Equipment

In all honesty this combination of magical artifacts runs the risk of making me really lazy. The sash alone would corrupt me. It would make a great set of extra arms and hands or even feet and legs. I'd wear it all the time. I'd be more than pleased to have only it. A forty foot reach is really handy mind you I would wear it as a belt and end up with the ends of it being two arms with up to roughly an eighteen foot reach each. Where I live now that's long enough for me to use it to get anything I want in the kitchen and living room while sitting in the comfort of my recliner.

On the other hand I would also use it in ways that would keep me in really good shape. If nothing else I would use it for resistance training. I would cause the sash to provide resistance to my movements not unlike walking with weights or using a bow flex. Also it would be fun to use it to climb trees, rocks and buildings. I bet I could use it to throw snow balls in the winter.

Since I don't have a car so the magic carpet would make a great everyday vehicle. Mind you I'd be as stealthy as possible about it since I wouldn't want everyone to know that I have one. I would definitely use it to get to places I couldn't get to climbing around with the sash.

As a twist and in order to keep my flying carpet as secret as possible I would use it as the "engine" for other means or transportation. Well mostly I would make shells and pretend they are customized "super vehicles" like Nite Owl from the Watchmen's owl ship. Mind you I say that 'cause I'm watching that movie while I write this. What I originally though of doing was making a flying canoe with it or a go-cart or maybe even a carpet propelled carriage so I could ride inside protected from the elements. It gets cold up here in Northern Ontario. It would also be nice to have a place for cargo. I not sure what the carpets maximum payload is. I haven't been able to find that information anywhere. Now that I think of it I might use the carpet in conjunction with my recliner and the sash and be very,very super lazy. "What? What I want is out of reach or my sash. Carpet bring me closer." Yep super lazy.

Now for the sword. I seem to have a certain knack for fighting but I'm by no means a violent person. Although I do have my moments of "Do your worst 'cause when your done it's my turn and I guarantee you you're not gonna like it." There will however come a time when someone does something stupid and is going to need a beat down. Mostly however the sword would end up being a useful tool. If it can cut through stone and metal I can sure use it to chop down trees and split wood for fire at my sister's cottage. Much to a lot of weapon collectors' dismay I would use it to carve images into the abundance of rock faces that dominate the area I live in.

I think the sword would also be great for landscaping. When you can project bolts of magical force with controlled intensities well you have the means to level ground and pulverize stones into pebbles. Big boulders that are buried beneath the ground are huge nuisances when your trying to dig a basement or a swimming pool or even trying to level out ground.

Mind you the sword is designed to fight off magical, evil threats so there is a good chance that at some point I might be sought out by such things. I mean if the sword, sash and carpet existed then I'm sure the things they were created to battle would too. I won't lie one of the first things I would do upon getting the sword is take sword fighting lessons. I'm not one to own a weapon and not know how to use it properly.