Magic Power vs. Super Power (an essay on my dorkiness)

Don't you hate it when someone else makes you think? Over at Corky's Log there is a post about another post at Cynical_Bastard's (which was actually interesting and I may start following that blog too) about which would you rather have magical powers or super powers.

Well, interestingly most people said magical. I say interesting here even though it's NOT all that interesting if you are thinking of Harry Potter powers. You can do almost anything with magical powers like in the Harry Potter books. All the everyday crap you have to do like cooking and cleaning would be a flick of the wrist. Transportation? The Flue Network is cool, hop in the fireplace and go to someone else's fireplace. But apparating would be great. You could NEVER be late for work. 6:59, pop, I'm at work. Leaving at the last minute is OK (yeah, I leave late daily. I'm addicted to the internet.)

However, what kind of magic are you talking about when you make a blanket statement like "Would you like magical powers or super powers?" One series of books that I LOVE is the Xanth Series by Piers Anthony. He has magical characters. However, most of them have ONE magical ability. There is a girl who can change the color of her hair and her twin sister that can change the color of other peoples' hair. Ok, there are good talents too, like Bink has the talent of protection from magic. Dolph can change his form; which is cool too. But seriously, what's the point in having a talent like changing your eye color. While cool, it's not particularly useful.

Then there are super powers. What is a super power? Like the United States? No, like a super hero. But just because you are a super hero (or even super villain) you don't necessarily have a power. Seriously, Batman has no super power. He is the best of everything. He's extremely smart, agile, and obviously strong. I think he's a ninja or something (actually, I don't know much about Batman Begins as I fell asleep for the movie, but I heard something about ninjas). Green Lantern doesn't have a power, he has a magic ring that gives him power (different rings get their power differently). And not to just pick on DC comics, I'll look at some Marvel people too. Captain America, like Batman, is ultimately an amazing human that trained himself to be above and beyond everyone else.

And then how do the ones with powers get them? Does it matter? If it comes from a symbiotic suit (Venom), you were born with it mutant style(most of the X-men), an experiment gone wrong (Hulk, Morbius), a weapon made by the government (well, he was a mutant first but he THOUGHT he was a weapon - Wolverine), a mishap of some sort like being bit by a spider or a space accident (Spidey, Fantastic Four) or an alien (Superman) does it matter? I guess not.

But seriously, I think the real questions are: If you could have a power of some sort what would it be and how did you get this power? Would you use it for good, evil, or just everyday stuff like doing the dishes? Would you be part of a team or a loner?

(I'll make another post when I decide what my answers would be).