Note from JayJay: Here’s a look into our creation process. We used to compile these lists to help us come up with characters and story ideas. We did a few of them over the years, but these are a couple of later ones that were commited to computer, unlike earlier ones which were hand-written and may be lost to time.

Types of Origins and Powers

Origins

Magic

  • Magical object (Aladdin’s lamp, the Philosopher’s Stone, Ruby Slippers, the Witchblade, etc.) 
  • Magical being (wizard, genie, Tinkerbelle, etc.)
  • Magical creature (horses like Shadowfax or Pegasus, dragons, monsters) 
  • Changelings (Selkies, mermaids, fairies)
  • Mythological
  • Supernatural (Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, mermaids, etc.)

Science or pseudoscience

  • Invention (Iron Man’s armor, Batman’s utility belt, the Batmobile)
  • Mutations (including my idea, retroviral disease)
  • Aliens
  • Time travelers (with technology or creatures: Dr. Who, Terminator and dinosaurs)
  • Robots
  • Machines
  • Monsters (Venomm, Frankenstein’s monster, Godzilla) 
  • Mental powers (Nightmask, Professor X, Saturn Girl) 

Hidden Civilizations: (the Inhumans, Shang-ri-la, Pellucidar)

No powers: “self-made” (martial artists, detectives, marksmen) 

Religious/Angels/Devils/Demons: (Spawn, Hellboy, the Spectre, Mephisto—keyword: non-denominational)

Genius

Powers

  • Adaptation
  • Agility
  • Aim (Bullseye)
  • Animal powers
  • Animation of unliving objects
  • Annoyance
  • Astral projection
  • Biotech
  • Bouncing
  • Causing disease
  • Chaos power
  • Charisma/leadership
  • Cold
  • Communicating with natural world (Geomancer)
  • Computer skills
  • Consume energy
  • Consume matter
  • Control over energy
  • Control over matter
  • Control time
  • Copying traits, powers (Absorbing Man)
  • Courage
  • Creature control
  • Cyclical power (Night Girl, Hour Man)
  • Danger sense
  • Death touch
  • Demon-housing (Negative Man, THIA)
  • Density control
  • Disintegration
  • Elemental properties (Metal Men)
  • Emotional control
  • Energy transmutation (Dazzler)
  • Fire
  • Firing energy (electricity, light, sound, gravity, magnetism, radiation, force) 
  • Flying
  • Force field, manipulating force fields
  • Forensic skills
  • Gravity control
  • Group consciousness
  • Growth
  • Healing factor (self)
  • Healing others
  • Hunter
  • Hypnosis
  • Illusions
  • Immortality
  • Influence (Voice, Purple Man)
  • Inhabiting (Deadman)
  • Intangibility
  • Intelligence
  • Interdimensional travel
  • Invisibility/stealth
  • Invulnerability (full or specific)
  • Jekyll/Hyde (Hulk, Ghost Rider)
  • Luck/probabilities
  • Manipulating elements, chemicals, transforming into substances (Metamorpho)
  • Memory
  • Mental Powers (empathy, telepathy, telekinesis, etc.)
  • Metabolic control
  • Mimickry
  • Navigation
  • Physical alteration, i.e., stretching
  • Physical perfection
  • Plant control
  • Power by food or pills (Popeye, Roger Ramjet)
  • Power negation
  • Prediction
  • Radar/sonar sense
  • Seduction (the Sirens, Charma)
  • Self-duplicating (Triplicate Girl)
  • Shadow casting
  • Shapeshifting
  • Shrinking
  • Skills of any kind
  • Soldiers
  • Speed
  • Stealing powers, energy (the Parasite)
  • Stink/stench (Skunk)
  • Strength
  • Super-senses
  • Technological intuition/command (Ax)
  • Technology
  • Teleportation
  • Thief
  • Time travel
  • Total body control
  • Transforming into energy, matter (Sandman, Metamorpho, Hydro)
  • Translation
  • Tulpa (thoughtform) creation
  • Wallcrawling
  • Watcher/recorder/archivist
  • Weather control
  • Wishes

Motives

Positive motives (usually)

  • Altruism
  • Chosen by higher beings (Shazam, Spectre)
  • Debt to society/guilt (Spider-Man)
  • Destiny (Superman, Harry Potter) 
  • Duty (Sgt. Rock, Policemen)
  • Earning a living (Power Man, Booster Gold) 
  • Environmentalism (Captain Planet)
  • Fix the past (Back to the Future, Terminator)
  • Fun
  • Hereditary heroes (it’s all in the family—Rai, the Phantom)
  • Justice (including Robin Hood/resistance fighter situations)
  • Loyalty 
  • Love
  • Responsibility
  • Self-preservation
  • World-preservation

Negative motives (usually)

  • Addiction 
  • Art’s sake/creative expression (the Joker, Master Darque)
  • Attention
  • “Fun” (twisted)
  • Megalomania (world conquerors, dictators)
  • Nationalism
  • Prejudice/hate/racism
  • Quest for immortality 
  • Revenge
  • The Seven Deadly Sins
    • Anger
    • Envy
    • Gluttony
    • Greed 
    • Lust
    • Pride
    • Sloth
  • Vampirism
  • “Because I can” (using super-gifts for good or bad)
  • Opportunity (chance to do something good or evil)
  • Religion (Warriors of Plasm)