There are several characters who possess extraordinary powers (especially in Stephen King and M. Night Shyamalan creations), but they never made the extra effort to put on a mask and cape and use their powers to fight evil. I call these people selfish, because as we learned in Spider-Man, with great power comes great responsibility, yet these folks don’t really use their powers to their full potential.
Here are eight characters with remarkable powers who should be superheros.
1 Cole Sear The Sixth Sense
Being able to see and talk to the dead has major advantages when it comes to solving crime. Even in the movie, The Sixth Sense, Cole finds out from a dead girl that her mother had poisoned her. Now take Cole, put a cape and mask on him, set him out into the world, and he can solve all sorts of cold cases by talking to murdered people and hunting down their killers.
Dress this girl in a burqa, send her to Iran and have her single-handedly destroy its nuclear arsenal with her telekinetic powers. That would be so much more useful than getting revenge on jerks at a high school prom.
3 Charlene ‘Charlie’ McGee Firestarter
Just like Carrie, another Stephen King creation from this list, the possibilities with Charlie are the same. The Taliban will burn in hell on earth as we set this girl loose in Afghanistan on a secret mission to become a child slave to those fanatics.
4 Eric Gibb The Boy Who Could Fly
Perhaps the most obvious one on the list. Though he’s autistic, Eric has perhaps the most amazing powers as he can fly around Manhattan and capture fleeing criminals.
5 Sookie Stackhouse True Blood
Can someone explain to me what a girl like Sookie Stackhouse is doing working at a dive bar and hanging with vampires when she could be out solving mysteries? Reading people’s thoughts can lead to much good, and not just knowing to give a customer more ketchup. This girl can be the ultimate superhero spy and provide oodles of intelligence to law enforcement. Plus, she’s not the only one with these powers. She met another guy who could do it, who worked as a bellhop at a hotel.
This guy actually is a superhero, but it takes quite a bit of convincing on the part of Elijah Price, who is (SPOILER ALERT) the villain. His powers? Physical strength, something I’m sure he would’ve noticed before lifting weights with his son one day. Also, extra-sensory perception, so he can get a sense of immoral acts of people he touches. What to do with him? Simple, let him be an undercover agent for the SEC, set him loose to shake the hands of Wall Street bankers, and let him uncover some of the greatest Ponzi schemes and incidents of corporate fraud to save the economy from taking.
7 Johnny Smith The Dead Zone
Yet another creation from Stephen King, Johnny can see the someone’s future by touching objects that belong to that person. He winds up (SPOILER ALERT) preventing a nuclear holocaust through drastic means, but had he strapped on a cape and mask and went about it differently, he could have used his powers to prevent other future tragedies, as well. Like what happened in The Stand.
8 Danny Torrance The Shining
Like the kid in The Sixth Sense, Danny has the ability to detect supernatural spirits, but also to talk to others with the same talent no matter where they are. But how can Danny be a superhero, you ask? Good question. I’m thinking that he can be sent to places where atrocities have been committed, and to investigate unsolved aspects of those crimes and identify the elusive people who committed them. If these adventures turn into an Indiana Jones-style chase scene, I’m sure his power to talk to others will come in handy.
Anyone who grew up as a Washington Bullets fan in the 1980s has very few fond memories. The team was a disgrace, and to a large degree, can still be considered a disgrace. But there was one player in particular who stood out, and that was Sudanese shot-blocking specialist Manute Bol. I’m fairly certain he’s the only player in the NBA to have killed a lion with a spear.