Superman

[Roman Virtue]

DC is by far the more powerful of the Big Two! I've seen many builds in many systems in which Thor, The Hulk and other 'mighty' people in Marvel are weaker than the Big Blue Boyscout.

The reason? Who knows, maybe DC wanted to say, "Ha-ha, Ha-ha-Haaaa-ha, we're stronger than yoouuu are!"

This however is why I like M&M, you can have two character, doing the same damage, but have one be able to lift more than another! There is Enhanced Strength (which gives your your base lifting and damage) and Super Strength (which is all about the lifting of weight). You have both powers of you want too!)

This type of structure (or at least added power) could work well for SAGA in relation to converting character from other systems.

[zayhen]

Hey,

Superman is a 20 on strength. That's for sure.
He is not only a strong guy. He's the strongest DC hero. He makes things impressive with his super-strength.
Just remember that nearly all his powers come form his incredible strength.

[oninowon]

Not sure if Superman is THE strongest DC character. I think he may be the strongest character living on Earth. I'm not all that familiar with the DC universe though.

[Siroh]

Wow, I decided to get back into SAGA and I find a post with my superman writeup in it. I'm Byron btw.

I know this is years late but to address the question about why Supes always gets rated as 20 or higher is because he is considered the strongest mortal being on Earth, and one of the strongest beings in the entire universe. He also routinely lifts humongous things like oil tankers and space shuttles.

For the most part, he often uses only 15 or so intensity strength when fighting, because he pulls his punches all the time. He only really uses his massive strength score to lift things, and his modern origin has him landing an out of control space shuttle as his first act of heroism. It's not that he strains himself and can lift such heavy objects, but when he needs to do something non-violent with his strength he just does.

I think this is illustrated extremely well by the final episode of Justice League Unlimited. When he does cut loose it's like something few other heroes could possibly match. Actually it's very much like the Hulk's fights in World War Hulk except for most of those the Hulk was holding back, the last fight however is like Superman pushed to the limit.

If it helps you any I rated Captain Atom at 19, Captain Marvel at 19, Martian Manhunter at 17, Orion at 20, Power Girl at 18, my revised Superman at 23 all the time, Wonder Woman at 17, Black Adam at 20, and Darkseid at 22. I never did finish that roster book though, gaping holes in the villain side.

[e-mail]

[madtitan]

Not knowing much about the SAGA version of Marvel Superheroes but I know there is much debate on how to stat DC Heroes beside Marvel because their power level are gauged on a different scale it seems. I think when it comes to statting Superman you have to take him for his bare bones abilities as oppose to moments that come off more as story elements rather than being represented in his stats. Also depending on the era in which you are creating him his abilities and stats would vary.

[siroh]

Aug 2, 2008 23:08:58 GMT -5 @madtitan said:

Not knowing much about the SAGA version of Marvel Superheroes but I know there is much debate on how to stat DC Heroes beside Marvel because their power level are gauged on a different scale it seems. I think when it comes to statting Superman you have to take him for his bare bones abilities as oppose to moments that come off more as story elements rather than being represented in his stats. Also depending on the era in which you are creating him his abilities and stats would vary.

Well, Spider-Man has difficulty lifting a car on most days, which would mean he should only have an 11 or 12 Strength, but he's always considered stronger than Luke Cage, who can certainly lift a car. My philosophy is you look at what they can lift or damage without pushing. It doesn't matter if they continually pull their punches, because Spider-Man does that too. It matters where they start to strain on a given day. And to keep Spider-Man's player from pushing every episode when he needs a feat of strength but there isn't a herald of Galactus to punch out, or a collapsing building to hold up, he has a high strength score.

Also, a netizen on a list I frequented decades ago pointed out and proved to me that Marvel artificially lists their heroes as shifting, lifting or destroying less in official statistics to make them seem more realistic. Thor and Superman can both hold up a collapsing high rise. Neither of them has to push to do so. They aren't less powerful than DC characters, their press just says they are.

Sometimes the writers get a chance to express the power of their characters in realistic terms. I remember when Thunderbolts had Moonstone state that she could easily lift a large falling passenger jet, but that it would basically snap in half if she did. One of those can weight in excess of 300 tons, and she isn't that high on the strength scale.

I am trying to use the following scale:

Strength	Weight	Character Example
1	50 lbs.	small child
2	100 lbs.	Aunt May Parker
3	150 lbs.	Dr. Strange
4	200 lbs.	Human Torch
5	300 lbs.	Quicksilver
6	400 lbs.	Cyclops
7	550 lbs.	Silver Sable
8	750 lbs.	Daredevil
9	1125 lbs.	Kingpin
10	1500 lbs.	Captain America
11	3.3 tons	Darkhawk
12	12 tons	Beast
13	35 tons	Luke Cage
14	200 tons	Moonstone
15	1.5 kilotons	Namorita
16	10 kilotons	Rogue
17	50 kilotons	She-Hulk
18	150 kilotons	Thing
19	300 kilotons	Thor
20	600 kilotons	Hulk
21+	800 kilotons or more	enraged Hulk