Most Useful Superpower

I’ve tried to levitate objects with my mind, it might come in handy if I was ever incased in ice hanging upside down with a lightsaber out of reach. You probably have too. We’ve all dreamed of soaring through the sky, unintentionally ruining the readings on air traffic control’s screens. The Spaniards, alchemists and Egyptians searched for a fountain of youth, or immortality, and are not the only ones. But a life that never ends, is not necessarily an enjoyable one. Almost everyone wants to be stronger, richer or invulnerable but the most useful superpower available (not necessarily the most powerful ability) is super speed.

The Flash taps into the speed force to accomplish feats that no other hero is capable of and enhance his civilian life. When a nuclear bomb is set off in North Korea, the Justice League watches in horror at the devastation (JLA #88). Before the mushroom cloud reaches maximum destruction, half a million lives are saved, due to the light speed travel of Wally West (JLA #89). As Batman is reaching for a Batarang, Green Lantern attempting to summon the necessary will and Superman lags behind…The Flash is able to outpace, outmaneuver the entire team.

There is never enough time, unless you can do everything at super speed. When the Flash sets out to accomplish a task it is done, usually within seconds. After the bridge between Keystone City and Central City was destroyed, the towns were cut off from the outside world. Instead of workers toiling for years to reconnect the twin cities, The Flash speed-read a construction book and built the necessary lifeline between the two metropolises (The Flash: Crossfire). The largest barrier to entry to accomplish chores, tasks and duties is that there is something better to do with our time. While moving at near light speed; doing the dishes, building a fence and picking up groceries take seconds…leaving plenty of time for movies, comics and games.

Impulse was naïve, arrogant and ignorant. Despite his speed force capabilities, Deathstroke was able to shoot out his kneecaps. In response, Bart Allen read every book in the San Francisco library within a night (Teen Titans #4). Bart is unique amongst the speedster in being able to retain everything that he reads. Complete and total recall, would allow him to become the smartest person on the planet. Imagine, every book you read, notes you studied, websites you viewed being able to keep track of perfectly. Combining a ridiculous level of speed with all the world’s knowledge unlocks near limitless possibilities.

Super speed offers large scale offensive opportunities along with the support abilities mentioned. Flash’s punches are sonic booms, his ability to build momentum before hitting mimics super strength and the constant movement means no one will lay a finger on him (pretty much every Flash appearance ever). From a utility standpoint, super speed would allow you to be anywhere in the world when you wanted. You could experience the greatest sights, occurrences and be there as history unfolds at every occurrence. When the entire world is a second away, everything feels within arm’s reach.

If you read minds, you could discover something you didn’t want to know. If you learned how to shoot laser beams, it would be cool but wouldn’t help with anything else in your life. Magic is tricky and always comes with a price. But being able to tap into the speed force and all the abilities associated with it could enhance every aspect of your life. That’s not even counting the over the top comic book capabilities (okay…I did list a few already) such as; time travel, stealing speed, super healing, vibrating through walls, generating heat and processing information faster than all the world’s computers.

Level Up, Friends!