Your Poll Position for the week is:
To be clear, the world of the comics character is real. You would continue living your life here in our reality, but you could go into a cyber tank and take control over the target's body, which would lie inert and lifeless while you were not jacked in. So basically it would be their body and your mind, but only while you're awake and in the pod.
So given that, let's talk about what selection you'd make.
- Green Lantern: They key here is that you're literally taking over the entire being, so it's not like you're "running" Hal Jordan (or whoever the hell is running the ring nowadays) -- it's you in their body. So the question would be whether or not you personally have the willpower to be a GL. Your consciousness and willpower, not Jordan's, will be behind the power.
- Batman: Like GL, this sounds good until you think about what makes Batman THE BATMAN. It's not so much the toys or the money, it's that brilliantly dark and implacable mind. You put Bruce Wayne's consciousness in a twelve year old girl's body, and I guarantee you the criminal underworld would be cowed within six months. On the other hand, you give me the Batmobile and utility belt and inside six months it'll be wrecked and I'll have accidentally hanged myself from a building while trying to swing away.
- Hulk: On the other hand, there's not much skill or will involved with being Big Mean Green. Or Red. Gray. Purple? Whatever, even a nimrod like me could be an effective Hulk, as I am capable of remembering the Hulk Prime Directive: SMASH!!
- Lobo: Lobo's got a nice power set, a great bike, and tons of contacts who know how to have a good time. If you're the hedonist sort, this is a compelling choice. On the flip side, he's also got a rather intimidating enemies list.
- Punisher: The key question here is whether the skills of firing a gun are instincts built into the body (in which case you'd be fine) or if they're primarily mental (in which case you're not). Regardless, I always thought Frank Castle's life was pretty damn depressing, and I can't imagine having to live it even by proxy.
- Spider-Man: Spider-Man's powers seem pretty straightforward to master, or at least to get familiar enough with for you to be able to survive. He's got a modest but livable real life that I could understand. It wouldn't be that different from being me, only with the benefit of some pretty cool super-abilities. A very tempting choice.
- Superman: Unlike Batman or GL, almost all of Superman's powers are built in to the body. So even if they take a while for you to master, who cares, you're invulnerable! However, Superman doesn't need to sleep, but you do. So those eight hours a night while you're catching Z's back here in the real world, Metropolis, Lois, Jimmy, and the rest of the world are without its mightiest defender.
- Thor: Thor's got awesome powers, worshipers, a kingdom at his beck and call, and few responsibilities otherwise. On the down side, he's got gods and monsters hungry for his head. He also has a lot of responsibilities as king, and would probably be awakened during the night while you were crashed out. Not a problem if you don't actually give a crap about a bunch of spoiled Asgardians, but responsibility is responsibility, you know?
- Wolverine: Logan, of course, has no responsibilities. He's a free agent mostly, able to do what he wants when he wants. He can't be killed, and he kicks ass, and he gets to smoke cigars.
From a fun standpoint, I'd probably be Wolverine. You have to love his powers, and he doesn't have a lot of the baggage that goes with it. You'd be able to make a new (fake) life with him, leaving behind the baggage of his personal past, without taking on a lot of responsibilities.
Superman has the sweetest power set, of course, but I don't think I could take leaving the world without help for however long each night or day. Plus you've got the whole reporter job, villains hungry to take you out, Lois nattering on all day, blah blah blah.
But I'd probably choose Spider-Man. He's got a pretty decent regular life, he lives in a cool city and has access to all the normal-people things you'd want in a life while not out super-heroing, and his powers are fun.
Which would you choose, and why?
