What flavor of Superhero do you like?

[Water Bob]

Totally out of curiosity.

Do you like your superheroes to be real people with no special powers (that are, of course, the epitome of the human being)? Batman (smart, well trained, and lots of gadgets), Hawkeye (master archer), and Nick Fury (soldier to the superheroes) come to mind.

Then, there are the normal type of superhero--those imbued with superpowers or use technology to make them superhuman. Spiderman (bit by a radioactive spider, making him tough, giving him spider-sense and climbing ability), Iron Man (suit makes him superhuman and allows him to fly), and Wolverine (mutant with healing ability that allows him to take punishment and adamantine skeleton/claws).

And last, there are the ultra-superheroes. These are those superheroes that are so powerful, the other two types cannot compare. I'm thinking of Superman, of course (an indestructable alien), the Hulk (big, green, indestructable monster), and Thor (a Norse god).

Which is your favorite type?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I like them all, depending.

 

[sabrinathecat]

I like the one with a good story.
Without a good story, what they are, who they are, what they can do is irrelevant. Might as well play Super Munchkin as watch the movie/read the comic.

 

[Kramodlog]

Wow, like there is no differences between option 2 and 3.

Power up, champ.

 

[The_Silversword]

Well, technically, Iron Man IS a normal human.

 

[Cyclone_Joker]

The character matters much more than the power level. All power level does is change the enemies and require a bit more careful writing. I mean, do you really think Iron Fist would be terribly different at much more than a cosmetic level if he didn't have his super magic whatsits? Do you think the Punisher would be more tolerable if he had super strength instead of guns? The most important thing for me is heroism, for the hero to at least make the effort to make the right choice. Because, really, when I want to read about superheroes, I want to read about superheroes, not sociopathic douches.

And this is one of the reasons why New 52 is utterly atrocious.
Silver:
Dude, Iron Man hasn't really been normal since Extremis.

 

[Morrus]

Yeah, the power level doesn't matter to me in the slightest (if you, as a professional writer, find it too "hard" to write for higher power levels, then write something easier). Batman and Superman both rank at the top of my list, and they couldn't be more different in terms of power levels.

 

[delericho]

All of the above. As others have said, it really depends on the story.

It does appear that scriptwriters have an easier time writing a compelling story for heroes who are closer to the human end of the scale (same as game designers seem to find it much easier to write for low level characters than epic-level ones), but there are no guarantees either way - "Superman II" beats "Batman & Robin" every time.

 

[Water Bob]

Good and bad stories can be had by all. That's not the question of the thread or poll. The question is, if you had to choose, which of the power types do you favor the most. You can like or dislike all of them, but which is your favorite?

Let's assume that the stories are outstanding for all three types.

Just pick the one that appeals to you most.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Voted for Ultra Hero, just because I know they'll get the least amount of votes. As pretty much everyone else has said, it entirely depends on the story. For me, my personal favorite was Green Lantern in the late fifties/early sixties when he was doing science fiction stories as often as fighting super villians.