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List of comic book superpowers

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Superhero fiction invariably features characters with superhuman, supernatural and/or paranormal abilities, often referred to as "superpowers", also spelled "super-powers". Below is a list of many of those that have been known to be used. Some of these categories overlap.

Please note: This is a list of powers/abilities, not a list of superheroes by their power/ability.

Contents

Energy Powers

Energy Beams

The ability to generate or transform various forms of energy into a "solid" or concussive beam of energy.
Examples: Cyclops and Nexus

Energy Blasts

Various forms of energy that are expelled from the body.
Examples: Vision and Havok

Energy Manipulation

The ability to control and generate various forms of energy.
Examples: Thanos and Argent

Entropy Projection

Ability to cause potential energy to become kinetic energy.
Examples: Jinx and Gambit

Force Fields

Energy shields, often invisible or translucent, produced as a form of protection.
Examples: Invisible Woman and Raven

Radiation Control

Ability to control, generate, or absorb a certain form of radiation.
Examples: Captain Atom and Radioactive Man

Kinetic abilities

-kinesis, from Greek "kinesis", movement, motion, is a suffix that denotes movement. (The word Kinesis itself similarly indicates movement, particularly in biology.)

Additionally, words ending in "-kinesis" are occasionally coined in fiction to indicate hypothetical parapsychological abilities relating to movement or specific forms of environmental manipulation.

Most are specialized forms of psychokinesis.

Aerokinesis

Ability to control or generate air and wind.
Examples: Red Tornado and Wind Dancer

Atmokinesis

Ability to control and mentally affect the weather.
Examples: Weather Wizard and Storm

Biokinesis

Ability to control biology. Biokinetics can heal, alter their body composition and other things relating to the living body.
Examples: Elixir and Masque.

Chlorokinesis

Ability to control or animate plant life.
Examples: Poison Ivy and Swamp Thing

Chronokinesis

Ability to affect the flow of time, slowing, accelerating or even stopping it.
Examples: Zoom and Sway

Cryokinesis

Ability to reduce the kinetic energy of atoms and thus reduce temperature, often used to control, generate, or absorb ice.
Examples: Iceman and Mr. Freeze

Electrokinesis

Ability to control, generate, or absorb electrical fields.
Examples: Electro and Static

Gravitakinesis

Also Gyrokinesis Ability to manipulate and/or generate gravitons and gravitational interactions.
Examples: Graviton and Freefall

Geokinesis

Ability to control the classic element of earth; sand, stone, rock, lava, and/or dirt.
Examples: Terra and Sandman

Hydrokinesis

Ability to control, generate, and/or absorb water.
Examples: Hydro-Man and Aspen Matthews

Magnetokinesis

Ability to control and/or generate magnetic fields.
Examples: Magneto and Doctor Polaris

Molecukinesis

Ability to mentally manipulate molecules and objects on a molecular level.
Examples: Molecule Man and Mr. M

Photokinesis

Ability to control, generate, or absorb photons (particles of light).
Examples: Doctor Light and Dagger

Psychokinesis

Also Telekinesis Ability to manipulate and control objects with the mind. An extremely powerful psychokinetic might be able to control individual atoms.
Examples: Jean Grey and Raven

Pyrokinesis

Ability to control the kinetic energy of atoms to generate, control and/or absorb fire.
Examples: Fire and Human Torch

Sonokinesis

Ability to mentally manipulate sound waves.
Examples: Klaw and Songbird

Umbrakinesis

Ability to mentally access a dimension of dark energy (the Darkforce Dimension in Marvel Comics, Shadowlands in DC Comics) and manipulate it. An umbrakinetic may be able to create solid forms or travel via this dimension.
Examples: The Shade and Obsidian

Mental/Psionic

Animation

Power to bring inanimate objects to life or to free a person from petrification.
Examples: Mr. Mxyzptlk and Life Lass

Astral Projection

Ability to separate and control one's astral body. Sometimes a form of telepathy or magic. See also Possession, below.
Examples: Rachel Summers and Raven

Astral Trapping

Ability to cause an astral projection to stay on the astral plane, usually in one specific place.
Examples: Shadow King

Clairvoyance and Clairaudience

Ability to perceive events that are taking place elsewhere or sense places that are not in view. Clairaudience is the auditory equivalent of this.
Examples: Mar-Vell and The High Evolutionary

Cross-dimensional Awareness

Ability to detect actions and events in other dimensions. This is occasionally used in comics as an awareness of the fourth wall between the characters and the artist or audience.
Examples: Deadpool and She-Hulk.

Danger Sense

Ability to sense personal danger. A limited form of clairvoyance.
Examples: Spider-Man and Daredevil

Empathy

Ability to read, sense, and/or control the emotions and/or feelings of others.
Examples: Lena Luthor and Empath

Illusion

Ability to alter or deceive the perceptions of another. Usually visual, may be caused by mental powers or holograms and other light-based illusions.
Examples: Mastermind and Mysterio

Magic

Ability to use supernatural forces to varying degrees. Often used to simulate other powers, such as reality warping, mind control and elemental attacks.
Examples: Doctor Strange and Doctor Fate

Mediumship

Ability to see and communicate with the dead (ghosts).
Examples: Lionel Zerb

Mind Blast

Ability to overload another's mind causing pain, memory loss, loss of consciousness, vegetative state and/or death.
Examples: Professor X and Psylocke

Mind Control

Power to control the actions or reasoning of another.
Examples: Maxwell Lord and Professor X

Omnilingualism

Ability to decipher any language.
Examples: Cypher and Starfire

Photographic Memory

Ability to recall the past with great accuracy and in seemingly unlimited volume.
Examples: Oracle and Kid Flash

Possession

Ability to control of another person’s body via astral projection or mind transfer. A specialized form of Mind Control.
Examples: Nocturne and Karma

Power Negation

Ability to cancel out superpowers and/or mutations.
Examples: Leech and Parasite

Precognition

Ability to perceive the future. Sometimes it is only expressed in vague dreams while asleep, other times it is clear and occurs at will and when awake.
Examples: Destiny and Dream Girl

Probability Manipulation

Ability to alter probability, causing unlikely things to happen or likely things to not happen.
Examples: Black Cat and Scarlet Witch

Psychometry

Ability to relate details about the past and/or future condition of an object, person or location, usually by being in close contact with it.
Examples: Longshot or Adrienne Frost.

Reality Warping

Ability to change reality itself.
Examples: Franklin Richards and Proteus

Summoning

Ability to summon creatures or beings to assist the summoner.
Examples: Shade and Wicked.

Super Intelligence

Intelligence far above genius level.
Examples: Brainiac 5 and Leader

Technopathy

Ability to control technology with the mind.
Examples: Sage and Cyborg Superman

Telepathy

Ability to read the thoughts of, and to mentally communicate with others.
Examples: Captain Comet and Professor X

Physical

Accelerated Healing

Ability to heal rapidly from any injury; the rate of recovery varies from character to character.
Examples: Hulk and Wolverine

Changing Armor

Armor capable of changing from one form to another, or changing pieces of the armor into tools or weapons.
Examples: Venom and Witchblade

Density Control

Ability to alter density. Manifested in two primary forms - intangibility and invulnerability.
Examples: Vision and Martian Manhunter

Duplication

Ability to create physical Doppelgängers.
Examples: Madrox and Triplicate Girl/Triad.

Echolocation

Ability to determine location of items in the environment by use of reflected sound waves, whether generated by the character or ambient sound.
Examples: Daredevil and Man-Bat

Elasticity

Ability to stretch and contract one's body. Often seen as form of shape-shifting.
Examples: Elongated Man and Mister Fantastic

Elemental Transmutation

Ability to alter chemical elements, changing them from one substance to another. May be limited to self-transmutation.
Examples: Metamorpho and Element Lad

Enhanced Senses

Enhancements of sight, smell, taste, touch, and/or hearing.
Examples: Wolverine and Daredevil

Immortality

Ability to live forever. This may be complete immortality in which the character cannot be killed in any way, or simply an inability to age normally, or even only be killed in specific ways (i.e. decapitation).
Examples: Apocalypse and Mr. Immortal

Invisibility

Ability to effect light waves to render the user unseen to the naked eye.
Examples: Invisible Woman and The Invisible Man

Invulnerability

Imperviousness to harm.
Examples: Superman and Juggernaut

Liquification

Ability to turn partially or completely into a liquid.
Examples: Aspen Matthews and Hydro-Man

Molecular Dissipation

Ability to cause solid objects to lose their molecular cohesion by absorbing the energy in their atomic bonds.
Examples: Darkseid

Natural Armor

An unusually tough and durable outer shell or skin.
Examples: Thing and Colossus

Natural Weapons

Physical attributes such as claws, sharp teeth, quills, spines, and other qualities usually associated with animals.
Examples: Marrow and Sabretooth

Phasing

The ability to become intangible by moving one's molecules between the molecules of other objects without harm to either.
Examples: Shadowcat and Apparition

Pheromone Manipulation

The ability to generate and control pheromones and thus control others .
Examples: Wallflower and Poison Ivy

Photographic Reflexes

Ability to mimic any athletic or martial arts movement after seeing it once.
Examples: Taskmaster and Prometheus

Self-Explosion

Ability to explode ones body mass and reform.
Examples: Nitro and Damage

Separation

Ability to separate parts of your body and have them act of their own accord.
Examples: Rockslide

Shapeshifting

Ability to change appearance and/or body structure. May be limited to human forms or animal forms. May be able to take on the abilities of the altered form.
Examples: Mystique and Beast Boy

Size Shifting

Ability to increase or decrease one's size, possibly accompanied by an increase or decrease in body mass.
Examples: Atom and Hank Pym

Sonic Scream

Ability to use one's voice in a manner of offensive and/or defensive ways.
Examples: Banshee and Black Canary

Sublimation

Ability to transform into a gaseous or mist form.
Examples Amelia Voght and Gas Girl

Super Accuracy

Ability to be an incredible marksman.
Examples: Bullseye and Deadshot

Super Biting

Ability to bite through even the toughest of solid objects.
Examples: Matter Eater Lad

Super Speed

Ability to move faster than usual.
Examples: The Flash and Quicksilver

Super Strength

Above normal physical strength.
Examples: Hulk and Superman

Superhuman Reflexes

Ability to react faster than a normal human.
Examples: Spider-Man and Catwoman

Transportation

Electrical Transportation

Ability to convert oneself into conductive energy and travel through electrical lines, often entering through devices such as televisions, electrical poles, or computers.
Examples: Livewire and Air Wave

Flight

Ability to fly self-propelled through the air.
Examples: Superman and Angel

Gliding

Ability to ride air currents.
Examples: Atom and Storm

Levitation

Ability to use the mind or another gravitional replusion/negation method to lift off the ground.
Examples: Raven and Jean Grey

Pocket Dimension

Ability to create temporary pocket dimensions or access permanent 'small' dimensions.
Examples: Magik

Portal Creation

Ability to create wormholes in time and/or space.
Examples: Blink and Spot

Super Jumping

Ability to jump higher and/or leap farther than a normal human.
Examples: Toad and Spider-Man

Teleportation

Ability to move from one place to another without occupying the space in between.
Examples: Nightcrawler and Ambush Bug

Time Travel

Ability to travel through time.
Examples: Flash and Hourman

Wallcrawling

Ability to stick to and crawl on walls.
Examples: Spider-Girl and Scorpion

Miscellaneous

Molecular Absorption

The ability to molecularly bond with and take on the properties of any object the user touches.
Examples: Absorbing Man and Grunge

Object-based Powers

Powers derived from an object, such as armor, jewelry, weapons, and wands.
Examples: Green Lantern and Iron Man

Poison

Ability to assault others with one or more varieties of toxins, with widely disparate effects.
Examples: Poison Ivy and Wallflower

Power Mimicry

Ability to copy or absorb another's powers and skills.
Examples: Mimic and Rogue

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
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