Judging__Eagle wrote:Chiming in on SFP, re: Max's total lack of intelligence (or creativity) with the power to
buff other supernatural characters.
Appreciably, the fact that it's possibly a "highest" tier power means that his ability to buff would not only grow with practice, but would develop
new powers; possible the sorts of powers that would impress as stupid and rockheaded a character like Max. Finally, there's a good likelihood that his "useless" power could catapult even "tier 4" Biodynamics to tier 1 capabilities.
The fact that someone who comes from asymmetric financial power; and can't see a and purpose in a
value multiplier as a means to create even greater asymmetric financial power... is more a product of the writer's lack of understanding of... well... humans. Especially the mindset of capital gain focused humans. If you have
an advantage over everyone else in the business or financial sector, to ask the audience to believe that they won't not leverage it is cognitively dissonant content.
The idea that the ability to make super powers more super is an "advantage" that can be leveraged is idiotic. Especially if it's a permanent boost from a one-time interaction. He can't take it away or control how they use it. He's basically living super-soldier serum. Every C-list supervillain who heard about him would be after him for a boost to A-list status, and probably would be willing to go beyond arm twisting and ocean dumping to get it (then probably kill him afterward so no one else gets boosted). Every Darkseid or Apocalypse would want him dead rather than have him around with the potential to create a rival.
If he could boost people for an hour, or a week, or only if he's touching them, he'd have leverage. But "hey dude, I'll give you phenomenal cosmic powers but you have to pinky promise not to murder me after I do it" is not leverage. Even if he could boost his ability to the point that he can take away or blow out powers wouldn't give him leverage, it just increases the size of the target on his head a thousand fold. If his ability became public, the best case scenario would be spending the rest of his life imprisoned in the Hall of Justice. The cushiest prison cell with the nicest guards in history, but a prison nonetheless. That's probably the right thing to do to Max, honestly, but you can't fault him for wanting to avoid it.
Allison proves all of his fears to be true. His power doesn't put him on a throne, it puts him in a prison at the mercy of any thug who has an idea about how he can benefit them. The fact that she was right to do it and the result was about as morally pure white as possible with zero drawbacks doesn't change that. What if the next person to show up is Amanda Waller? What if Walller puts a gun to his head and forces him to boost her stable of telepaths so they can read every American's mind and root out terrorism once and for all?
He's allowed to be sad about his power. He wanted flight, or shapeshifting, instead he's the most dangerous piece of gym equipment on the planet.