(side note : the comics are the "canonical" source fo superman so forgetting them is not viable).
>
>I don't believe that I've seen Xena fail to wield her sword like a master or
>7of9 fail to see the logic of a situation. Also, there's the whole thing of
>skills previously relied upon and believed to be infallible suddenly not
>working. (please don't correct me on points of Star Trek or Xena history!)
TV characters fail when the script demands it.
>
>The other thing about Superman is that he's an established Hero and a
>starting skill of 17, 13, 1W or 5W would be quite ridiculous to force on one
>of those. Perhaps he's a bad example but there have been skill figures
>quoted for proper Heroes (note the capital), demi-gods and gods. These
>Heroes (and greater) I mention are always Narrator characters are they not?
>
>So would be Superman.
I agree with that, the problem is forcing a mechanic onto abilities that don't really fit. Superman could "always" run much faster than any normal human and in any normal situation could guarantee doing so. His speed can not be accurately represented by a human-level ability that had the *potential* to increase beyond human limits nor by one that only worked occasionally.
In short, Hero Wars puts limits on abilities that mean that you cannot do Superman as a starting character - only someone with weaker abilities (many or perhaps all of them, the same as a normal human's) and massive growth potential or somebody with unreliable versions of the same abilities.
The one possible area of weakness is the GM setting too low Resistances for abilities that "work" by overcoming the World's resistance.
-- -- "The T'ang emperors were strong believers in the pills of immortality. More emperors died of poisoning from ingesting minerals in the T'ang than in any other dynasty" - Eva Wong _The Shambhala Guide to Taoism_ Paul K.
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