What would it be like if supers, who were solitary and territorial at begining, gradually organized themselves into a society/circle/organization?

[doctorbadwolf]

'd find arguments like "Can there exist a truly good Super?" in the way that we have real-world arguments like "Can ethical billionaires exist?" - think about how certain writers emphasize Superman's alien nature: yes, he uses his abilities for altruistic purposes and the protection of humanity, but what if he didn't? - this is the justification for Lex Luthor's actions, most of the time.

Thst is a troubling parallel. Billionaires cannot be ethical because billions of dollars cannot be gained and kept without unethical actions.

People in this scenario are simply super by nature, so if we are avoiding depriving them of free will and thus personhood, we cannot assume that supers will become unethical or corrupt by virtue of having superpowers.

In Sanderson's Steelheart, for instance, violence, extreme heirarchal thinking, anti-social personality disorder, are all part of what is changed about a person when they become super, except for a rare few who can share their power, or who are able to avoid using their power basically at all. We even see a super character become a worse person temporarily when forced to use her power, and then go back to normal as time passes without her using her power.

So in that world, it is ethical to hunt down and kill all supers who cannot share their power or not use it, and to monitor those who are capable of being normal.

But that isnt the premise ITT.

I do wonder why OP thinks that supers would act so differently from other humans though. If they are people they will act like people. Very much including letting charismatic people who arent the strongest or smartest take leadership.

As for Superman, that is a weakness of a lot of his comics, that they try to make him not a person. It defeats the purpose of the character.

 

[Staffan]

This whole premise sounds a lot like the RPG Aberrant. In 2018 (1999 in the original version), a space station exploded, and in the years following people with weird powers ("Novas") start appearing. (The space station was not actually the source of these events – it exploded because one of the first novas to "erupt" was on it and couldn't control their powers.) Some work for various governments, others form organizations dedicated to Nova self-segregation or supremacy, and yet others become mercenaries or go into business for themselves. Many use their abilities for the betterment of the world, such as inventing cold fusion, cleaning up the environment, or figuring out better space tech (this is not a Reed Richards is Useless setting). There's nowhere near 1 million of them however – at the time the RPG is set, in 2028, there are ~2,000 of them.

The game is part of a series of games set at different stages of the same timeline. Eventually, a large portion of the Novas start developing antisocial tendencies (it is unclear how much is a direct result of being a nova and how much is a billionnaire-style superiority complex) while growing in power, leading to wars both between the novas (now often referred to as Aberrants) themselves and between novas and normal humans. Eventually, China delivers an ultimatum: either the novas bug off from Earth or they'll turn their orbital nukes onto the planet and glass it.

Or like the augments in Star Trek. Superior faculties, superior ambition.

I think Star Trek augments are significantly below "super" status. As in, Khan can do a one-handed throw of a man across a room, but not a car.

 

[Anonym]

I do wonder why OP thinks that supers would act so differently from other humans though. If they are people they will act like people. Very much including letting charismatic people who arent the strongest or smartest take leadership.

For the leaders, charisma is far less important than strength and wisdom————Donnie the TACO is a very charismatic president,he have 75 million fanatic fans who firmly believe in every word he says, but look at what he done?

this is the consequence of people putting charisma before strength and wisdom.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

For the leaders, charisma is far less important than strength and wisdom————Donnie the TACO is a very charismatic president,he have 75 million fanatic fans who firmly believe in every word he says, but look at what he done?

this is the consequence of people putting charisma before strength and wisdom.

Which is what people do.

And strength and intelligence are even worse measures of a leader.

So you can either be believable and consistent with human behavior, or make the behavior of people fantastical which makes the experiment less interesting.

 

[Koloth]

Unless something about becoming a Super also changed normal human psychology, there would be all sorts of groups. Some might be a Justice League type. Others will be an Injustice League group. Some might become part of outlaw gangs roaming the county side doing pretty much what they want. Think outlaw motorcycle gangs that have little reason to fear normal law enforcement. Still others will remain loaners, either from preference or fear.

Don't overlook what the 'Normals' will do as the supers become known. John Ridley's Those Who Walk In Darkness is one possibility. At first, the normals accepted the supers as most supers did good things. Then San Francisco was largely destroyed by supers for some reason. After which the super vs normal wars began in the US. And as will happen during conflicts, technology advances meant that many supers became vulnerable to new weapons and techniques. A variation on the same theme is the frequent conflicts between X-men and normal governments.

 

[Umbran]

For the leaders, charisma is far less important than strength and wisdom————Donnie the TACO is a very charismatic president,he have 75 million fanatic fans who firmly believe in every word he says, but look at what he done?

Mod note:

We have a strict no real-world politics rule on this site. Please take your commentary elsewhere.

 

[Reynard]

Let's not forget the people that would just go on being people -- living, loving, working, playing.

 

[Anonym]

Let's not forget the people that would just go on being people -- living, loving, working, playing.

It does not preclude the emergence of a more cruel and evil caste system and slavery if supers with a sense of justice do not organize to fight against such tendency.

 

[Reynard]

It does not preclude the emergence of a more cruel and evil caste system and slavery if supers with a sense of justice do not organize to fight against such tendency.

Unless we are talking Superman level supers, this isn't something likely to occur. First, even if the supers were all evil, that doesn't mean they would be aligned. Second, 8000 to 1 odds tips it in the humans' favor.

My point was that if super powered people emerged and were even distributed throughout the global population, the number interested in being "Supers" would probably be pretty small.

Unless, again, there is some force directing them or some element of superdom that drives certain behavior (the territorial predators of the OP as an example). And if that's the case, there's nothing to theorize about. The truth is whatever the story demands.

But humans, even those with means and power, remain human.

 

[Omand]

Hello,

I don't think I can add too much to what has already been said, but I do have a question for the OP.

Why do you keep bringing up the Ottoman Empire Jannisary Corps as an example of a new ruling class? The Janissary's were never the full rulers of the Ottoman Empire. They were highly placed, but still considered slaves and organized by outside forces (from the ruling nobility) and subject to severe discipline (including many mass executions/decimations when they rebelled). If you are using our current (well 1999) real world as a template here I don't think Supers or Normals would be using the Janissary Corps as a model for organization or ruling.

Cheers