Up, Up, and Away?

My primary experience with superheroes comes from the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited cartoon series by Bruce Timm. To date, I think it has the best writing and character development of any superhero related story across any medium. I also appreciate one concrete story continuity which is why comic books and other adaptations are less appealing to me. Here is a list of some of the best superheroes featured in Justice League and their powers.

1. Hawkgirl - Shayera Hol

Hawkgirl is my favorite superhero of all time. She is one of the best developed cartoon characters in television history in my opinion, and on top of that she is a total bad ass. Her main power is sustained flight which is a trait of all Thanagarians (her alien race). She also wields a mace of Nth metal which is electrically charged and resistant to magic. She has detective skills that rival Batman and can hold her own in a fight with Wonder Woman.

2. Green Lantern - John Stewart

John Stewart is one of many members of the Green Lantern core, a group of warriors who keep the peace in the galaxy. His power comes from his ring, which allows him to manipulate green energy blast into any form that his imagination allows. The energy enables space travel without a suit and flight.

3. Martian Manhunter - J'onn J'onzz

Martian Manhunter is often over looked when it comes to the Original Seven members (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, GL, Flash, MM, and Hawkgirl) of the league, but he is one of the most powerful. He is the last surviving Martian and has the powers superhuman strength and speed, flight, regeneration, some invulnerability, telepathy, and shapeshifting.

4. Wonder Woman - Diana of Themyscira

Wonder Woman is a bad ass in any form. She has super strength, speed, agility, durability, and flight. She is incredibly skilled in hand to hand combat and has bracelets that can deflect bullets and a magic lasso.

5. Flash - Wally West

The Flash is one of the most likable heroes in the show. His sense of humor and ability to act as the conscience of the team were important. He has the power of super speed.

6. Doctor Fate - Kent Nelson

Doctor Fate is a member of the extended league. His main power is magic. He can also teleport between locations (including different dimensions) at will.

7. Vixen - Mari

Vixen is an example of the exceptional writing of the show. She was the obstacle for the romantic relationship of Hawkgirl and Green Lantern for the final seasons of the series, but she was also an incredibly likable character. Her pendant gives her the power to mimic the abilities on any animal she can think of. For instance, she can run fast like a cheetah or have the strength of an elephant.

8. Aquaman - Arthur

Aquaman is the ruler of the undersea city of Atlantis. His powers include the ability to breathe underwater, super strength, and the ability to communicate with creatures of the sea.

9.  Black Canary - Dinah Lance

Black Canary is incredibly skilled in hand to hand combat and has an ear shattering sonic scream.

10. Fire

Fire's powers are sort of self-explanatory. She can turn into living green fire at will that she can freely manipulate and can fly.

Invisibilty or Flight? Flight, duh!
I personally disagreed with the views presented in the American Life documentary. In it, most people agreed that invisibility is the power that most people would want and that they would use it for evil reasons. I can understand certain aspects of that because there are definitely instances where I would want to be invisible, but honestly flight just sounds so much more fun. Think about it. With flight, you could simply visit any place in the world you wanted on a whim. Day to day travel would be easier. Invisibility just doesn't sound nearly as practical as flight. I'm to clumsy and loud to be a successful criminal and I don't think even invisibility could fix that. The only con with flying is you'll be that dude who can fly now and people will expect you to use your power for good. I'm not saying that I would use my powers for bad, but I would probably just want to use the power for me. I think that I have some desire to become famous which is probably why I picked flying because people would know my name if I was the only person in the world capable of self-sustained flight. I think in the end, the documentary turned into a debate over whether humans are innately good or evil and boy I hate those debates.