Superpowers // Current

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7 months ago

Dominic Monaghan Doesn't Want To Read Your Mind

We ask Dominic Monaghan of X-Men Origins: Wolverine the most obvious question possible: What superpower would you like to have,... more

chapinyoung
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7 Awesome Super Powers (Ruined by Science)

Sometimes I just like to drift off into a fantasy about being a superhero for the day as I attach my imaginary cape, to my... more

Skyscraper08
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Superpowers: Comics and Politics

If you woke up tomorrow with superpowers, what would you do? Would you dedicate your life to the betterment of mankind? Would you plot domination to rule the world? Would you attempt to ignore your powers and live a normal life?

In comic books and movies, superpowers usually refer to an individual’s abilities; strength, flight, invincibility. However this is the real world- genetic mutations impair us, radiation makes us sick, and no alien beings have come to earth (yet.) We still have superpowers though- I’m talking about the “superpowers of the world”- the countries around the earth who’s influence, economy and authority shape global events everyday.

America has long been known as a superpower. Is it any wonder then that we are the producer of so many stories where super powered beings struggle with their might? Perhaps “With great power comes great responsibility” is not just the motto of our pop culture heroes but the concept of our foreign policy as well. We have the largest economy in the world, the largest military in the world and the largest notoriety in the world, thus, the question has been asked again and again: what level of involvement should America have in other countries? To what extent should we impose our will for what we believe to be right, good, and true?

When George W Bush had declared Iraq, Iran and North Korea an “Axis of Evil”, he stirred imagery that’s deeply ingrained in American society. Evil needs to be fought back by the forces of good- it’s why Captain America fought the Nazis, why Batman fights the Joker, why the X-Men fight Magneto, even if they are misunderstood, criticized and hated by others. The battle of good vs. evil is so prevalent in humanity’s history is has been called a “universal part of the human condition.”

We have entered a new era now, with an administration that is trying to set a different course for America. President Obama has abandoned the idea of the “Axis of Evil” and even the terminology “enemy combatant”- but this obviously does not mean the end of war nor the end of our self imposed responsibility to the rest of the world. The question isn’t “Will we continue to fight for what’s right and good”, it’s an exploration of what IS right and good to begin with.

As everyone with super powers has had to do, we have to reevaluate our methodology, principals and place on this planet. As everyone with super powers has been, we are challenged to find new resolve in an ever changing reality that questions, critiques and confronts us. We could use our power purely for self benefit, as Spiderman attempted to when he first realized his abilities. We could declare ourselves superior and kill those we deem a threat, as Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants do. We could shirk the responsibly, as Superman does when he retreats to the Fortress of Solitude. More probable though is that we will continue the battle of good vs. evil, whatever that should mean to us at this particular point in our history.

So I ask again to you, the reader: What would you do?

“Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met.”
-Barack Obama

“Sometimes I feel like I'm out there fighting all alone. Sometimes I feel like giving up. But, then I remember that what I stand for is more important than anything else.”
-Superman

“Together, you and I will identify and confront America's problems. Together we will figure out what we are and what we can be. Together we will define the American dream and make it an American reality."
-Captain AmericaIf you woke up tomorrow with superpowers, what would you do? Would you dedicate your life to the betterment of mankind? Would you... more

DeliaTheArtist
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38 comments

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8 months ago

do u really have superpowers?

pretty cool story- well done...made me laugh...click on the link for the video to play

cyman01
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6 comments

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11 months ago

The art of invisibility

Invisibility is probably the most sought-after superpower. While we haven't figured out how to be completely invisible so... more

abbym0308
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27 comments

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1 year ago

China's Communist Party approves rural land reform - Boston.com

BEIJING—China's communist leaders have approved a key rural reform that for the first time will permit farmers to lease... more

bedeboop
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1 year ago

Video: The future of US power

John Mearsheimer, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, is a leading international relations theorist and... more

contactkatrinaford
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3 comments

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1 year ago

China in Vancouver Part I

Greg Crompton went out on the streets of Vancouver to see how young Canadians are reacting to China’s emergence as a global... more

gregcrompton
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1 comment

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1 year ago

While the US Looks Eastward Brazil Is Emerging as a Nuclear Superpower

On Thursday, July 31, Brazilian authorities gave the final go ahead to the civilian nuclear power company, Eletronuclear, to continue construction of the country's third nuclear power plant. Though the decision to revitalize the 22-year-old nuclear reactor, Angra 3, came late last year, plans were finalized in July by the government's environmental regulatory agency. Eletronuclear, a subsidiary of the state-owned energy firm Eletrobrás, plans to begin construction in February.

Brazilian officials must constantly address the country's still inadequate supply of energy if they hope to see Brazil continue on the path to becoming a superpower. For this reason, together with several major new discoveries of oil deposits off Brazil's coastline, a confident President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva hails the developing nuclear initiative as one that could ensure an increased supply of energy to the population. However, there are grave political and economic implications of any turn to nuclear energy that he is taking, that should not be overlooked or minimized.

Eletronuclear representatives pledge to strictly comply with the 60 conditions put forth by the Brazilian government to ensure the safety of the plant now under construction. Environmental activists warn, however, that reviving the construction of the Angra 3 plant, which was aborted in 1986, is neither environmentally safe nor is it fiscally or politically sound.

Greenpeace activists held a demonstration in late July outside the Ministry of the Environment's headquarters in Brazilian capital Brasília to protest the decision of Roberto Messiah, president of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Resources, which granted the permit for the further construction of Angra 3.

Its detractors cite the health risks posed by potential leaks, such as the ones discovered at French power plants in July that resulted in contaminated drinking water, and Brazil's flawed radioactive waste disposal program that allows for an insufficient number of repositories for hazardous waste material. Radioactive waste is currently being stored at the plants themselves, while Brazilian officials determine a more concrete long-term plan of action.On Thursday, July 31, Brazilian authorities gave the final go ahead to the civilian nuclear power company, Eletronuclear, to... more

TravG73
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1 year ago

Food Fight

A special cut of the viral video Food Fight directed by Stefan Nadelman which shows the animated history of American centric... more

ksimpson
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3 comments

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1 year ago

Who's the superpower now?

Nineteen years ago, the fall of the Berlin Wall effectively eliminated the Soviet Union as the world's other superpower.Less than a month ago, the United States similarly lost its claim to superpower status when a barrel of crude oil roared past $110 on the international market, gasoline prices crossed the $3.50 threshold at American pumps, and diesel fuel topped $4. As was true of the USSR following the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, the USA will no doubt continue to stumble on like the superpower it once was; but as the nation's economy continues to be eviscerated to pay for its daily oil fix, it, too, will be seen by increasing numbers of savvy observers as an ex-superpower in the making. the fall of the Berlin Wall spelled the erasure of the Soviet Union's superpower status was obvious to international observers at the time. The relationship between rising oil prices and the obliteration of America's superpower status is, however, hardly as self-evident. So let's consider the connection.The fact is, America's wealth and power have long rested on the abundance of cheap petroleum. The United States was, for a long time, the world's leading producer of oil, supplying its own needs while generating a healthy surplus for export.Oil was the basis for the rise of the first giant multinational corporations in the U.S., notably Exxon Mobil, the world's wealthiest publicly traded corporation. Abundant, exceedingly affordable petroleum was also responsible for the emergence of the American automotive and trucking industries, the flourishing of the domestic airline industry, the development of the petrochemical and plastics industries, the suburbanization of America, and the mechanization of its agriculture. Without cheap and abundant oil, the United States would never have experienced the historic economic expansion of the post-World War II era.Domestic oil production reached a peak in 1970 and has been in decline ever since with a growing dependency on imported oil as the result.According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Energy, the United States is importing 12-14 million barrels of oil per day. At a current price of about $115 per barrel, that's $1.5 billion per day, or $548 billion per year. This represents the single largest contribution to America's balance-of-payments deficit, and is a leading cause for the dollar's ongoing drop in value. If oil prices rise any higher in response, perhaps, to a new crisis in the Middle East our annual import bill could quickly approach three-quarters of a trillion dollars or more per year.While our economy is being depleted of these funds, the oil regimes on which we depend for our daily fix are depositing their mountains of accumulating petrodollars in "sovereign wealth funds" (SWFs) state-controlled investment accounts that buy up prized foreign assets in order to secure non-oil-dependent sources of wealth. At present, these funds are already believed to hold in excess of several trillion dollars; the richest, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), alone holds $875 billion.The managers of these funds naturally insist that they have no intention of using their ownership of prime American properties to influence U.S. policy. In time, however, a transfer of economic power of this magnitude cannot help but translate into a transfer of political power as well. Indeed, this prospect has already stirred deep misgivings in CongressNineteen years ago, the fall of the Berlin Wall effectively eliminated the Soviet Union as the world's other superpower.Less... more