Crisis in Superhero Audition [In the Lab]


You last heard me talk about Superhero Audition in this post, and its numerous extra edits. I've settled on a much more streamlined concept for the game: You and the other players are city council members voting on the city's new official superhero. Voting occurs in a series of elimination rounds, like American Idol. In each round, you have a new hypothetical crisis to base your vote.

A kitten is stuck in a tree! Who would be rescue it most gently?
Aliens steal Earth's moon! Who can bring it back?
An earthquake strikes California! Who can help the entire Pacific coast at once?
Orpheo the Necromancer summons a a ghost army! Who can defeat his magic?
The children's hospital hosts a charity event! Who's most popular with kids?

I asked the crowd on Google+ for some of their own ideas on crises. Nothing is too absurd! You know how silly the Silver Age was after all. I want a wide variety of situations, from small street-level stuff to giant global threats. Here are a few of my favorites, in some cases refined or reworded for consistency.

Chrono-Tom stopped time! Who can re-start it?
Shuteye sprays sleeping gas over the city from his blimp! Who can stay awake?
Cretaceous Z released all the animals from the zoo! Who can round them up?
The President's daughter is secretly a villain! Who can convince the president?
That child is about to be run over by that run away car! Who can save him?
A puzzling series of locked-room murders strike the city! Who can solve them?
Poseidon floods Manhattan as his underwater city! Who can hold back the sea?
An ancient space creature returns to Earth to lay its eggs! Who can turn it away?
Reboot is trying to rewrite history! Who can convince her to leave things be?
A mob boss is on trial! Who can convince the jury to put him behind bars?
Peaceful aliens visit Earth! Who is the best ambassador for Earth?
It's time for the Halloween costume contest! Who wins?
California is falling into the Pacific Ocean! Who can save it?
Pirates boarded the International Space Station! Who can get them out?
Cromax turned the world's leaders into apes! Who can restore their humanity?
Condenso shrinks the heroes to the size of mice! Who can still save the day?

Can you come up with any more crises? I need many, many more.

Photo: CC-BY-NC NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

Comments

  1. John GoldenOctober 26, 2011 at 8:49 AM

    -The world's most powerful superhero has turned evil/been mind controlled/affected by weird radiation... who can save him/stop him?
    -Which superhero could found the most cohesive and well functioning super team?
    -Which superhero could be counted on to never provoke public outrage?
    -Which superhero will take care of the worst psychopaths ... you know, permanently?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Daniel SolisOctober 26, 2011 at 9:47 AM

    More:

    A school bus and a puppy dangle from a cliff, but only one can be saved! Who saves the puppy?

    Supervillains are forming an underground network! Who can investigate undercover?

    The internet has come to life and knows what everyone's been watching! Who is the most innocent?

    World leaders sign an anti-nuclear treaty! Who can be trusted to disarm the world's nukes?

    A poor father resorts to robbing banks! Who would hide his family from the law?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cloudster47October 27, 2011 at 1:26 AM

    I'm a little brain dead at the moment and can't come up with a complete concept, but something along the lines of Evil Twin Skippy, complete with pointy beard?

    I have 3-4 hours of driving on Saturday and I'll have my voice recorder, so maybe something more substantial will come to me then.

    ReplyDelete

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