Zed vs. The Superpowers 2
ReinCarnivorous on May 6, 2024
Plus is another of Zed's half-siblings.
She's the epitome of an(other) issue I have with the tropes of the superhero genre.
Almost every character I've ever seen who absorbs or replicates another's powers seems to automatically know how to use them!
In some cases, like Marvel Comics' Gideon can use them better than the super that they belong to!
Now, Rogue has an excuse. She absorbs powers but also the mind of the power user. She gets instant knowledge, memories and experience, but not every power duplicator has that skill! They just seem to automatically know what they're doing. That annoyed me.
So, a few years ago when I created Plus for another superhero project, I did it under the conceit that she gets the powers, but not instant knowledge. She has to keep a power and practice with it to gain XP.
When she duplicates a new power, she loses the first one, but it's like riding a bike (after years). If she regains an old power (like, say, superspeed), she'll be shaky at first but get back in the groove soon enough.
But when she duplictes a NEW power that she hasn't had before she starts from scratch. It's a disaster every time as she rarely gets to hold on to a power long enough to “get good”.
Damoinion at 12:47AM, May 7, 2024
I like your take on duplicators. I've also seen it done where the duplicator gets reasonable use of the basic functions of a power but but not enhanced abilities. There's a good example of this in Dave Barracks webcomic Grrl Power, in the very early intro pages, starting at the 1st page.