Meta-Humans

[Ordinary Guy]

How do they get their powers?

Are they born with them, or come into contact with something?

I was wondering this while watching the episode with the cop who could replicate a meta-humans powers and was killing them with it.

I mean on Smallville it's so easy to figure out how someone got their powers.

It'seither Meteor rocks or Lexcorp.

[TimTwoFace]

Hmmm...on BOP I'm not so sure how they got superpowers. Some of them (like Dinah) seem to be born with their powers, yet others (like, oh, I dunno, Clayface, for example) get them through chemical baths and whatnot. I'm not sure what the difference between a "metahuman" and someone with superpowers is, though. That means Superman is technically a metahuman, right?

How did Helena get her "powers" anyway? Apparently Catwoman had metahuman powers back in the day; that's news to me, unless they're saying that she has a mental connection with cats or something. And just what are Helena's powers? Aside from being strong, a good fighter, and doing that eye thing, I don't see how she's any different from any other person with good training and weird contact lenses.

-Tim

[Jade_GL]

I assume it's like the comics where metahumans have a special meta-gene. It's genetics.

What I don't understand is saying Half-metahuman. From all of my comics reading, you either are metahuman or you aren't. There is no middle of the road. You either have this genetic makeup or you don't have the gene.

I think it's different if you're an alien. Take the Superman example. He came from a planet where everyone had these abilities, if they were just exposed to yellow sunlight. Of course, they weren't. If everyone on a planet has the powers, does that make it a gentic anomaly? I guess when you contrast that with regular humans.

I don't really get why Helena is a metahuman, or half metahuman. She looks to me to be a perfectly trained fighter with superb tracking skills and the like. The only thing is her strange eyes. Batman is a better hand to hand fighter, but is not metahuman. If her only powers are martial arts and being able to jump and land better than normal people, that's pretty lame. Mainly because Batman does those things consistently and doesn't need to be super powered.

Catwoman was a meta in the show back story I guess, but I don't like that part of the show. I guess I'm picky. :D

So, if the show follows the same logic of the comics, meta-humans have a special gentic makeup, a "meta-gene" that gives them abilities.

[Patrick Bateman]

And just what are Helena's powers? Aside from being strong, a good fighter, and doing that eye thing, I don't see how she's any different from any other person with good training and weird contact lenses.
Well, she has jumped down 5 stories and landed without breaking her legs. :rolleyes: I guess her ability is that she's fairly invulnerable?

[Barb Gordon]

It's basically the same thing that goes for the X-Men, they're just born with it. Some people are born with the meta gene and it comes out as they mature. But they can't just happen to get it from someone else. The cop guy was born with it, I'm assuming, and only till later realized what was the cause of his "headaches". Helena is just super strong and agile, moreso then even the most trained person could be....and her eyes do trippy things, that seems to be her meta ability.

~Barb

[Steven C]

Well, she has jumped down 5 stories and landed without breaking her legs. I guess her ability is that she's fairly invulnerable?

Batman does that all the time. He isnt a Meta-Human.

[Terminatah]

Originally posted by Steven C
Batman does that all the time. He isnt a Meta-Human. Batman uses grappling hooks.

The term "mutants" indicates people who have inherently atypical DNA because they are simply born that way. The term "mutates" indicates people born regular, but whose DNA is later mutated by a means such as radiation. I'm pretty sure the metahumans fall into the mutant category (born that way).

I posted my opinion on the whole metahuman thing in the Birds of Prey "Prey for the Hunter" Talkback (Spoilers) (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?postid=505262#post505262) thread. Here it is again, for those who are interested:

The thing that made Batman cool was the fact that he had no superpowers. He was just a good detective who could fight really well. Not even his villains had special powers -- and those who did, inherited the powers a specific way. They weren't born mutants like the majority of heroes and villains in "Birds of Prey" (not even Catwoman). I mean, what is this, X-Men? Now the writers can just pull any power of their asses and attribute it to metahuman genes? I think the idea of "metas" is such a cop-out.

It's also uninteresting. Hell, if I had superpowers, I might want to fight crime too. But to see a guy with no superpowers going out and taking on villains and gangs all by himself? That rules because it takes gigantic balls.

-Terminatah

[Patrick Bateman]

Batman does that all the time. He isnt a Meta-Human.
Besides the grappling gun, as Terminatah said, he also glides with his cape. He doesn't just jump straight down like Huntress did.