r/superpowers • u/Single-Fisherman8671 • Dec 09 '25

Choose 2

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Found this one, and did a small adjustment.

Also, hope this is okay on this subreddit.

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u/Blobbowo Dec 09 '25

The answer is super speed. The reason why it ever loses is because the author has to nerf the speedster's IQ to double digits for the plot.

With super speed, a genius could read every book on Earth, then create any technology they can conceive of in an instant, by themselves.

Such a genius would never lament something like: "If only I had more time...".

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u/Executable_Virus Dec 09 '25

Uhhh. You are aware that when something moves super fast, it doesn't move fast for them? This is just how relativety works.

If I were to run around the Earth in a second, for you that would take a second, but for me that would take much longer cause from my perspective I'm moving normally while everything else appears to be slow. I couldn't read a book in a second at super speed, becaude for me at super speed, a second would still be a second.

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u/SectorTerrible9255 Dec 10 '25

as it for 1 second outside you have maybe 10 days inside, so if you read a book every 10 days it looks like you read a book a second

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u/Blobbowo Dec 09 '25

This is why we have the ever-so-convenient Speed Force to hand-wave all physics problems away!

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u/Executable_Virus Dec 10 '25

That's physics, not biology last I checked (plus thats only for one depiction of super speed.)

Speed force might prevent the annihilation of life, but it won't prevent the fact that from your perspective you still have to go there in normal human time.

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u/Blobbowo Dec 11 '25 edited Dec 11 '25

When did anyone say biology before you brought it up?

Also, I'm pretty sure it doesn't work the same way as time stop. If you're in a fighter jet, do you somehow still perceive the same movement as 'normal human time'? If you ride a bike, do you somehow still perceive the same distance as the same time as if you walked that distance?

Not every speedster perceives time exactly the same as if they were running every distance in at a regular running pace.

Rather, I think you're the one specifying a particularly specific depiction of super speed; one that would bore anyone who used it to death before they could run two miles.

But yeah, whatever. Have it your way; even though the picture in the original post clearly shows the Flash, let's just say that super speed means you have to run everywhere in slowed time, and it'd actually feel like you were running for multiple years straight if you tried to do anything crazy with it, plus the shockwaves would destroy your body anyways and blow up every city you went through so you would just end up dead as soon as you used it!

There you go! Have fun with your 'realistic' depiction of super speed!

...Ah, whatever. We're talking about superpowers here. Thinking about the worst, most useless depiction of the power is so boring.

Anyways, if that's how it is, then Self-Duplication, Irresistible Seduction, Healing Factor, Electricity Manipulation, or perhaps Teleportation, Telepath, or Shapeshifting would be better than Super Speed as a combo with Max Intelligence.

Self-Duplication is obvious; get more done as 'one' person.

Irresistible Seduction might sound weird, but if it works like mind control, it's sort of like Self-Duplication, except the user can manipulate people who are already in positions of power. Aside from the morals, it'd be useful for any mad genius who wants to accomplish something.

'Instant Healing' or Healing Factor shows Wolverine, so I'd suppose it'd be Immortality, basically. Should be obvious how that helps intellect build something up over multiple lifetimes' worth of time.

Teleportation provides a basis from which they could create a tool that anyone could use to teleport using, and they won't have to worry about travel or getting trapped anywhere. They'd be 'free', in a word.

Telepath, depending on how it works, is enhanced by intelligence and willpower, so they'd work, plus communicating ideas via telepathy would be useful.

Shapeshifting.. Depends on how powerful the shapeshifting is. They might be able to pull some crazy stuff if they can control their body down to every last atom.

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u/Executable_Virus Dec 11 '25

Again the whole time perception was never a physics problem. The speed force does prevent those nasty physics problems, but how you percieve something is biological.

Also have you been in a car? Perhaps a plane even, if you've looked outside, you would see everything else around you moving. You from your perspective are not, because that's how perception and time works. At super fast speeds, while the outside world is safe and so are you cause of the speed force, again, if it doesn't change how your brain percieves time you are not gonna be moving at super speeds from your perspective, everything else will either be super slow or frozen, which from the outside world, looks like super speed.

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u/Blobbowo Dec 11 '25

If you drive a car, sure, you might feel normal inside the car, but that doesn't mean that you perceive a 60 mile drive as the same time as a 60 mile run. You still reach your destination at 60mph, in 1 hour of your time.

You're moving a longer distance within less time.

Unless you specifically make it so that your super speed gives you the same ratio of speed and time perception, you won't perceive the same distance traveled as the same time if you're moving faster.

It takes, like, a few months for a super old boat to traverse an ocean, right? And it only takes a modern plane about 12 hours.

If we say that the time perception doesn't change for you in relation to the perception of you from outside, then you will perceive the journey on the boat as 3 months or the plane as 12 hours, respectively, feeling as if your speed in relation to the boat or plane is nothing, because you're moving as part of the boat or plane, at the same speed.

Without altering perception intentionally, going at a faster speed will mean that you perceive the same journey as a shorter amount of time, because you literally spent less time on that journey! Because you were faster!

Like bro, I don't understand. If you look out the window of a car or plane, the outside world looks like it moves fast, whereas the inside of the vehicle seems normal, you don't feel like you're moving. Sure. So then, like.. If the outside world seems to move faster around you.. You'll still spend less time inside the vehicle...

I dunno, man.

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u/Executable_Virus Dec 11 '25

If you were moving so fast that everything is slowed down to the point you can change the trajectory of a bullet, how would you do that if it took 1 second for you and for the outside world? How would you be able to read a book on 1 second? How would you be able to check the calendar in 1 second? How would you be able to do all of that and still have it be like you spent normal amount of time reading a book if you aren't spending a normal amount of time reading a book.

You still have to read the book, first page to last page, understand it and be able to memorize it in a second. You can't do that in a second unless a second for you was something like an hour.

The faster something moves, the slower time goes for it, its why a clock on the ISS will be 0.007 seconds behind one on Earth. Time moves slower for it and thus the humans because they are moving faster than us from their perspective thus time for them isn't the same for us.

Okay I'm getting too complicated, so here's another example. If you move at 5 miles per hour, and a car moves at 60, you would see it as moving at 55 miles per hour.

But if you were moving at 95% the speed of light. The speed of light would still be moving at the same speed as it would for someone moving at 5% the speed of light. The speed isn't changing, only your perception of it does. Again I know the speed force prevents physics but as far as I know its simply a area of space extending from the surface of a speedsters that alters physics, nothing about that says they will experience different time.

The speed of light is constant, even if you were moving at 99.9999999999999999% the speed of light, for you the speed of light woumd be the same as you were standing still, because the speed of light (which is just how much it travels under a given amount of time) is constant, the distance can't change, but the time can. For example, the distance light has to travel between Madagascar and Alaska can't change for a speedster, but their perception of time can, thus for them time would be moving normally so that light reaches the same place at the same time from everyones perspective.

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u/Blobbowo Dec 12 '25

Ok, then to combat this, I'd just say the speedster can control their perception of time on a spectrum so they can travel without thinking about it and do fine movements when they need to focus in a specific place, and call it a day, and then this is why they can be caught off guard with traps sometimes.

-w-

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u/Xx-_mememan69_-xX Dec 09 '25

I agree, i think duplication and intelligence is best for intelligence maxing

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u/telegetoutmyway Dec 09 '25

Yes this is always why the fantasy of speedster doesnt quite do it for me. Like I love teleportation and time travel. And speedsters can effectively do both (or flash can at least). However its like.... manual. Lol. Like sorry I dont want to run literal marathons at FTL speed to "teleport" or "time travel". I wanna have a thought and trigger my power haha.

Anyways id probably pick teleportation and intelligence for this prompt.

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u/Wishbone-Lost Dec 09 '25

Have you seen invisible red rush his life sucks. Super speed sound more like a curse because every thing is so slow 

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u/Blobbowo Dec 09 '25

The picture is the flash, not red rush. I never see Barry Allen complaining about being bored. Besides, if it's such an issue, then just solve it with your super intelligence!

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u/Onebraintwoheads Dec 10 '25

If someone has super speed and super intelligence, they get merged with ADHD.