I looked down at the bumper to see white lantern flash and it got me thinking. There are a number of powers that "the chosen one" for being essentially good. And since i am not an expert in this i can only point to two examples, green lantern powers and captain marvel(guy with lightning bolt and says shazam). Superman is all about being fair, good , kind, wise etc. So if we were to put all these origin stories in a realistic world where superman is already mister nice guy (he doesnt have to be a superhero yet) wouldnt all the powers just go to him? Personally, the fact that he already has powers should be irrelevant. To be honest, i dont care enough to go check for other such chosen one powers and their requirements...(blue beetle??) but when can we expect superman decked out in everything.
Superman
Character » appears in 60 games
Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, Superman is the last son of the planet Krypton and sworn guardian of Metropolis.
superman should get all the powers
Superman is already hard character to characterizes. It is hard enough already to relate to someone who is invincible, and giving him any more super powers wouldn't help.
@Seedofpower: yes, i agree. But that is not what im asking here.
If you take all the powers that chose their owners and put all those people who would get picked and Superman in the same room, would the chosen ones get their powers or would it go to superman?
To flesh out my analogy.
Imagine a room where there are pedestals with each power and or object (ex. green lantern ring). If you bring in Hal jordon and Superman and have them stand there, which person would the ring go to? I am wondering how many of those powers would go to superman.
this is not about what makes sense in a story or keeping someone from being too powerful.
This is just one of the consequences of having a singular(sorta' =/), cross fiction universe. Some things just break down when you think about them too hard lol.
IMO there are two answers to this question, fictional and practical(read: boring)
My FICTIONAL answer would be that superman is NOT the ideal candidate for these "chosen one" powers and wouldn't be chosen.
As for your two examples:
Hal Jordan:
A green lantern ring chooses it barer based on their willpower, not their kindness, empathy, or dedication to truth, justice and the american way. Haj Jordan has more willpower than Supes so the ring chooses him
Capt Marvel:
Superman as a candidate for SHAZAM's powers fits a bit better, kindness, empathy, justice, etc. But there is also a supernatural element involved here, and everyone knows superman is weak to magic.
lol, seriously though, this can be hand waived by some mystical "Fate" BS. Superman simply isn't the "Right" person, for whatever reason. maybe there would come a time when Billy Batson is more "Gooder" than superman? Being a child at heart (literally) means he see's the world in more of a black and white sort of way. Good Guys and Bad Guys. Something is ALWAYS right or ALWAYS wrong. where as superman, would have a more conflicted view of the world.
The Practical answer of course is that these characters have origins outside of the interconnected DC universe. most of them started in their own books or appeared in one other hero's book as a side character. when they were created there wasn't the potential problem of them ever running into eachother. or even existing on the same planet. Most of the time in what i read(at least what i think is good) most characters exist in their own little worlds anyway, metaphorically speaking, unless the writers deem otherwise of course.
@xcrox: So to link back to my analogy, if placed in a room with superman and Hal, you believe that the ring will undoubtedly with confidence, it would go to Hal?
I feel like it wouldnt be that cut and dry. The best thing is, i googled "green lantern Superman" and i found a thread on Comicvine from 2009 asking the same question. And i learned there that apparantly, Superman was a green lantern as some point. So, im not so sure the willpower power levels are cut and dry.
http://www.comicvine.com/superman/29-1807/why-isnt-superman-a-green-lantern/92-387511/
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