Our "Poll Position" question this week is:
Because even when a hero dies, his powers ought to live on. Discussion after the jump.
Let's take a look at our options, O Mighty Chooser:
- Aunt May: She was so popular last time, I had to bring her back for this one. She may have missed out on being Iron Man's newest armored henchgranny, but let's face it -- osteoporosis and getting slammed around in a big metal suit don't exactly go well together anyway. Having Captain America's strength, health, and agility, however, is a whole 'nother story. Even if she'd had the Stark armor, she'd be out of it most of the time, leaving her still vulnerable to attack, necessitating yet another rescue from someone whose time would be better spent saving the rest of the world. Captain Maymerica, however, can take care of her own self all the time. Plus think how much fun it would be to have super-powers when fighting prescription drug companies or the Medicare bureaucracy. AARP needs a hero too, not just America!
- Daredevil: Matt already has some heightened physical abilities, but he's nowhere near Captain America level. This would make him extraordinarily strong and resilient, while keeping his incredible radar vision and heightened senses. In terms of sheer bad-assery, Daredevil with Cap's powers plus his own would be pretty amazing.
- General Ross: Imagine Captain America with all the resources of an Army general, whose only purpose in life is to kill The Hulk. That would be a fun story to read.
- Hawkeye: Can you tell I think Hawkeye's a ridiculous character? At least the purple-clad version, the guy in The Ultimates (at least, the Millar-Hitch version) is awesome. Which when you think about it, is pretty close to what regular-Hawkeye with Super Soldier powers would be. Cap can have his dinky shield, give this guy all that ability PLUS a killer set of arrows and you'd finally have a character you could take seriously. Assuming he also got a Complete Super-Hero Costume Makeover, of course. Maybe he could call Amber Love as part of the deal!
- Nick Fury: I love Nick Fury, both the regular half-pirate White Guy version and the Samuel L. Jackson Ultimates version. The guy's driven, determined, intelligent, ruthless, and effective. Give him actual super powers on top of that, and you'd have one hell of a weapon.
- Professor Xavier: Finally he gets out of that effing chair and kicks some butt!
- Punisher: Does Frank really need to get even more ability to kill people? Really?
Looking through the list, then, I'd probably go with ... hmm, this is kind of a hard one. I find myself torn between Ross and Fury, apparently I have a thing for a man in a uniform. The General Ross concept has great storytelling potential, in terms of a guy so driven by hate and the desire to protect his daughter, frustrated that he can't take on her tormentor personally, finally given the chance to get the power he'd need. I mean, don't get me wrong, Hulk would crush him regardless, but it'd be fun to watch.
And Nick Fury's just already such a bad-ass, it's hard to imagine him even more involved in the direct physical stuff. But he'd be a genuine fighter for good, whereas Ross would probably cross over into semi-villain-hood.
So I'd probably go with Nick Fury, Agent Director Enforcer of S.H.I.E.L.D. Who would you pick?
