The world has been obsessed with superpowers for years. We’ve all seen the classic powers, and with the rise in superhero movies, there’s a demand for new and unusual abilities. We’ve seen flight, speed, strength, mind control, teleportation, and more. Occasionally, a character will appear with a bizarre power in comics, TV, or movies. Sometimes, the power may not be helpful in a fight; it may just be entertaining or artistic.
A writer’s imagination is the only limit to the bizarre things superpowers can do. With that in mind, let’s power through a list of the ten weirdest superpowers ever conceived.
Omnilingualism
The ability to speak any language, or as Thor calls it, “all-speak,” can come in quite handy and is often invaluable. Imagine traveling through space without a universal translator; how would you ever accomplish anything? Alternatively, being someone who can talk to anyone, anywhere, at any time would be great.
The X-man Cypher could speak any language and decipher any code, written or spoken. Shazam and the Tooth Fairy from Rise of the Guardians also have omnilingualism, which makes sense because she has to visit homes all over the world. Joseph Petrelli has this power, and his son, Peter, has mimicked it.
The character known as the Traveler has it, as does Jason Bourne. Alex the Alien, from Invincible, can speak telepathically with a natural translation, which also gives him this power. While it’s not mentioned very often, it’s made known subtly, and more than a handful of fictional characters use it.
Indestructible Digestion
One of the most rarely heard of yet indispensable powers ever dreamed up is an indestructible digestive system. Matter-Eater Lad from DC’s Legion of Superheros is most notable for this power in the comic book universe; however, many animated characters have been known to swallow a bomb or two.
Warner Brothers characters like Daffy Duck and Wiley Coyote have eaten live dynamite and walked away. Scoob-Doo, Mr. Vultner, The Hulk, and Ben-10 all have indestructible stomachs. A rare live-action example of a humanoid eating pretty much anything can be seen in The Orville.
In season one, episode six of the McFarlane Star Trek spoof, Lt. Commander Bortus demonstrates the durability of the Moclan stomach for the rest of the bridge crew gang. He eats glass, a cactus, and a fork; it’s almost unbearable to watch, but it is a cool superpower… if you’re stuck in the desert.
Liquid Transmutation
Imagine you’re Batman, and you just punched some bad guy in the face, and he turns into a puddle of mud. Clay Face is a character that can turn into a liquid-like substance with the power of liquid transmutation. From X-Men, Mercury notoriously uses it to move through heavily protected areas undetected. Brainiac has survived in a fluid state, and Plastic Man appears as a reddish water puddle.
There are drawbacks, of course, to being liquid, such as being mopped up off the floor, something almost destined to happen to Plastic Man. While self-liquid transmutation is rare, it is more common than object-liquid transmutation. In the TV series Heroes, Zane Taylor could turn any solid object into liquid. Of course, Sylar killed him, ate his brain, and stole that power for funsies.
Technopathy
The comic book pages and TV lore have many more technopaths than one might think. While Micah Sanders (Heroes) would say he doesn’t control technology but merely speaks to machines and asks for their help, Adam (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) would definitely admit to bending technology to his will. Technothapy involves talking to or controlling technological hardware, whereas cyberpathy focuses on the software. Viral (TMNT), Neo (The Matrix), Ultron (Marvel), and Brainiac (DC) all have varying levels of technopathy.
This power is scary for villains, especially considering civilization’s increasing dependence on technology. Conversely, for heroes, this is another invaluable power. Technopaths can not only control machines but can resurrect them from the dead as well, instantly diagnosing and fixing every machine from a power drill to a tank.
Density Manipulation
A handful of heroes and villains can change the density of their bodies. Vision (Marvel), for example, can become dense enough to withstand otherwise devastating blows, or conversely, he can become utterly intangible so that an attack goes right through him with no effect. Other characters with this ability include J’onn J’onz, Firestorm, and Thunder of the DC universe, plus Duck Zhang (Gone).
One hero uses her density manipulation to create a secret identity. Big Bertha, an obscure Marvel character and member of “The Great Lakes Avengers,” has a secret identity named Ashley Crawford, a model with a gorgeous figure. When she’s fighting crime, she transforms into the super strong and obese Big Bertha. Density manipulation itself may not seem that bizarre, but becoming obese so people don’t recognize you is weird.
Reactive Adaptation
The world of the X-Men has brought a wide range of impressive and creative powers. Darwin, like his namesake, evolves, but he does it instantaneously. His body instinctively reacts to his environment to survive. While many characters, such as Amazo, Doomsday, The OMACs (DC), and The Hulk (Marvel), have displayed aspects of reactive adaptation, none have it to the degree of Darwin. Depending on his situation, he will grow wings, turn to iron, or change in size instantaneously.
This power could potentially make a character immortal, although it doesn’t always work out that way. Adaptation isn’t only for defense; adaptive combat allows the character to take the best form to defeat a given opponent. This ability is also long lasting; once through a specific experience where an adaptation was necessary, characters will display that adaptation more frequently. It may seem like a fundamental superpower, but seeing Darwin grow gills on his neck is just plain weird.
Dimensional Storage
It may seem like a basic superpower, but seeing someone pull a broad sword out of a change purse is weird, even in fiction. Characters like Ramona Flowers (Scott Pilgrim) typically make use of dimensional storage by way of magic. However, this is another power used by classic toons like Bugs Bunny, who seems to have a never-ending arsenal of weapons and toys at his disposal. Hermione Granger used an undetectable extension spell to turn her beaded bag into a “bag of holding.” Mary Poppins is another character with this power, although her origin story doesn’t disclose whether or not it’s a superpower like Flowers or a spell like Granger.
This power is extremely rare, and only a handful of characters have been known to wield it innately, such as The Spot (Marvel), Green Lantern (DC), and Lion (Steven Universe). The extra space can typically be used for anything, although most people use it for weaponry.
Empathic Influence
Empathic powers appear quite often in science fiction. Anyone who has ever seen Star Trek knows of Betazoid empathy. However, the ability to control others through empathy is relatively rare. One example is the creatively named Empath of Marvel Comics. Empath, aka Manuel Alfonso Rodrigo de la Rocha, can affect large groups of people simultaneously. This allows him to exert varying levels of empathic control over them, ranging from subtle manipulations to a complete negation of emotion that reduces them to a zombie-like state where he can command them with little effort.
Others, like Mantis (MCU), can use their empathic abilities to make others happy or fall asleep (more handy in a battle than you might think). It may not be the superpower known as telepathy, per se, but heroes with this ability can control how others are feeling, which would be a powerful tactic during interrogations.
Conditional Powers
We now know that there are nearly infinite powers out there, but what’s even weirder than talking to a toaster is only being able to do it under certain circumstances. Take the Whizzer, for example. In season 2 of Marvel’s Jessica Jones, viewers meet an overweight schlub of a guy who can move at super speed only when scared. He can’t do it unless he thinks he’s about to die.
The Wonder Twins (DC) can only activate their powers when touching each other. Then they can shapeshift Jayna into any animal in the universe, and Zan… can become water, frozen or otherwise, such an oddly specific power. Spider-Man (Marvel) can produce poisonous stingers when he meets a natural enemy of a spider. Samson from the Bible only has super strength until he cuts his hair; Aki Hojo and Hanasaki Haru can create money out of thin air, but only when they flirt with each other. The conditional power is one of the oddest things in literature.
Reality Changing Muscles
The DC super-powered team, Doom Patrol, has some odd powers and encounters even odder friends and foes. Flex Mentallo may have the most oddly specific superpower ever created. Who needs infinity stones when you’ve got biceps? When Flex was still a “mac” instead of a “man,” he was bullied a lot while on the beach. Tired of being scrawny, he was approached by a man who had a TV for a head and smoked three cigarettes at a time.
The man gave Flex a coupon to fill out to get a body-building book, Muscle Mystery for You. The instructions in the book turned Flex into the muscled strongman he is now, and he learned that when he flexed one type of muscle, he could alter reality. From small, subtle changes no one would notice to huge adjustments, reality is just a flex away from change for Flex Mentallo and the weirdest superpower ever created.
From speaking every language to bending reality with muscles, the world of superpowers never ceases to amaze. Which of these weird superpowers do you find most fascinating? Share your thoughts below!
Which of these weird superpowers do you find most fascinating? Leave your comment below!
