I'm working on a vigilante (his name will be Lockdown) that has the ability to cancel any special powers from a person he makes eye contact with, pretty much like Eraser Head from My Hero Academia.
The thing is, I'm not satisfied with only stating that he can cancel powers, so I'm trying to figure how this could "cientifictly" work. Since all powers at My Hero Academia are derived from Quirks, it's easier to explain.
Since Champions Lore has a lot of derivative powers, I'm trying to justify how Lockdown would cancel powers. Right now I'm inclined to state he can only cancel non-magic powers.
The best explanation I have so far is: upon eye contact, Lockdown sends spontaneous telepathic suggestions to the person's brain, forcing it to block the power's manifestation. The telepathic suggestions are continous, so if he blinks or lose sight of the person, the block ends.
Any suggestions and feedback are welcome.
@bulgarex if you know any similar CO hero or villain that can do this, please let me know!
Comments
FWIW that sounds like a perfectly acceptable comic-book-science rationale by itself; but there is lore precedent to support it. While I can't call to mind any official heroes or villains with that type of power, there is technology which essentially does what you describe -- the "power negators" employed at Stronghold and other super-prisons. They project energy fields which prevent the use of any superpower within the area they cover.
According to the Stronghold source book p. 55, the power negator works on two levels. "First, it affects superhumans neurologically, preventing them from "accessing" or "triggering" their powers even though they know they have them. Second, it somehow alters the fabric of reality such that even if a superhuman could access/trigger his powers, they would not function."
However, the negators are less reliable against magic. "Magic by its very nature defies and warps reality. That means no device, no matter how well designed, can always fully cope with the possibilities of the arcane. Stronghold frequently consults with mystic superheroes... and has them place wards and guards on the prison to keep magically-powered supervillains under control, but even so about half of the escapes and escape attempts that have occurred during the life of the prison have involved magical power in one way or another." (SH p. 57)
What I would suggest is that Lockdown could have been a Stronghold security guard during an escape attempt, which cost the life of one or more of his friends at the prison. But during the escape there was an accident with one of the power negators, which somehow imbued Lockdown with the ability to generate one or both of its effects. No longer willing to just stand guard over such dangerous villains, Lockdown decided to use his new power to take the fight to them.
My issue with the Stronghold power negators is that it specifies superhumans and has a neurological effect.
Does this assume that otherworldly beings would have to have a similar neurological structure to humans for that technology to work?
I think I recall reading somewhere that it essentially reduces those in its range to "normal human". Would the system need to know what is "non powered" for an extra-dimensional being, or would it be easier to resort to magic?
I've always played it off that otherworldly beings might just feel stifled or partially suffocated by these effects but still able to use their abilities to some extent and would require additional measures to deal with them fully.
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However, the Stronghold books make the point that some superhuman abilities are natural qualities which don't require consciously accessing them, such as having claws or horns, and hence aren't affected by the negators. Prisoners with such features require additional physical restraints to render them harmless. Also, some prisoners have greater than normal resistance to the negators, either inherently, because they build up a "tolerance" to them over time, or their powers are just too strong for the negators to fully suppress. And we've already noted the exception for magic, which is often the rationale for superhuman abilities among extra-dimensionals. So there's plenty of justification to say that certain beings may not be susceptible to power negation, or are at least less affected by it.
In the final analysis the power negators are a plot device to allow a place like Stronghold to exist as a feature of a supers setting. As such they work because they need to work, however one chooses to explain them; and they don't work under whatever circumstances would promote an interesting adventure opportunity.
I think it's nice to have restrictions about the negation, makes crossing paths with characters less susceptible to it way more fun and challenging RP-wise.
Well heck! You shoulda' just asked! I still got loads of arbitrary questions on my mind!
Swords and Shields!
Plant Abilities!
A bit less cooler, but still representing the character powers.
"Blockdown" isn't an accepted English word AFAICT, but whatever works for you.
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Blockdown
I'll try to think about some other suitable names
I'll give it some more thought.