Neutral Superwomen

Most superwomen on this site seem to end up either becoming ‘professional’ heroes who go out looking for people to save and villains to fight, or alternatively then end up as monsters supervillains causing death and destruction for fun. However I’ve been thinking recently it might be interesting if there were more stories featuring ‘neutral’ superwomen. Those who don’t want to become a hero but have enough morals to avoid descending into villainy. They might help when something happens in front of them or use their powers to get ahead at work but won’t go looking for trouble or hurt anyone.

Probably on the lower end of the power scale (lift a couple of tonnes, runs fast as a car, immune to bullets etc), especially in a setting with other superhumans, either openly using their abilities at work etc or keeping them a secret. It could make for some interesting slice of life stories similar to the current She-Hulk show.

What do you think?

I think Julia in La Porte Caves is a good example of this. She has inherited her superpowers with the amazing, imbueing Nourishment, and does not want to leave the Nourished Land, for obvious reasons.
Of course, there is ongoing disagreement with Howard, but she is adapting well and getting on with her life with an attempted balance of neutrality. The same could be said of the much more experienced Nourished Ruth, who appears to be just enjoying life with her unlimited powers.

 

Piper in Tolerable Cruelty is decidedly neutral
Lady Z in Diary of a Toy is... complicated.
Melody in SSU is neutral as well. I think a lot of my non-commissioned writing do not firmly belong in either good or evil.

I feel like there are two ways to define “neutral“ in this context.  Either “just going about my business” neutral or “will side with heroes or villains based on what they feel like/their agenda requires,” a la Deadpool or Black Adam.

The Highlander wrote:

However I’ve been thinking recently it might be interesting if there were more stories featuring ‘neutral’ superwomen. Those who don’t want to become a hero but have enough morals to avoid descending into villainy. They might help when something happens in front of them or use their powers to get ahead at work but won’t go looking for trouble or hurt anyone.

I think a lot depends on the power and the setting.  If someone really wants to remain neutral, they probably want to keep their powers a secret; so anything too conspicuous, like flying, is out.  I think there might be more story possibilities with powers that aren't immediately obvious, shapeshifting, mindreading, telekinesis, those sorts of things.  

The Highlander wrote:

Most superwomen on this site seem to end up either becoming ‘professional’ heroes who go out looking for people to save and villains to fight, or alternatively then end up as monsters supervillains causing death and destruction for fun. However I’ve been thinking recently it might be interesting if there were more stories featuring ‘neutral’ superwomen. Those who don’t want to become a hero but have enough morals to avoid descending into villainy. They might help when something happens in front of them or use their powers to get ahead at work but won’t go looking for trouble or hurt anyone.

Probably on the lower end of the power scale (lift a couple of tonnes, runs fast as a car, immune to bullets etc), especially in a setting with other superhumans, either openly using their abilities at work etc or keeping them a secret. It could make for some interesting slice of life stories similar to the current She-Hulk show.

What do you think?

 

A lot of people are focusing on the good/evil aspect of this. But it seems to be the main focus of this isn't that axis, it's just not being an active hero or villain, but trying to live a more "ordinary" life.

Looking at it this way, Jessica Jones could fit this description. She doesn't want to put on a suit and be a hero. While she's on the side of "good" (so isn't neutral in that sense), she does NOT want to be a "super-hero" and really wants to avoid tussling with super villians (just don't threaten her family or you'll get mamma bear). She just wants to live her life and run her PI agency (and now in the comics also be a wife/mother), while fully supporting her husband who doesn't want to wear spandex, but does want to be a working hero.

She does get pulled into situations where she uses her powers, but sometimes she's really reluctant to even fly.

At various points in her life the other Jessica, Jessica Drew has come close to this too, but usually falls back into putting on her costume, something Jones never does. (There is a sliding scale on this sort of thing.)

And there was a comic "The Loners" which was about ex-teen super-heroes in a support group to help them to NOT be heroes and cope with living their day to day life and handling their super powers.

But there is a wide variance of stories about this. Heck, at the end of the Invincible comic there are a whole slew of Vitrumites (Invincible's version of Kryptonians).. and they blend into the planet and hide. And in learning to live normal human lives, end up changing and becoming more "human". (Just like what happened to Invincible's father). Lots of interesting spins there, ex-warriors moving into a peaceful life (some with love and happiness, etc).

So I think there is a LOT of interesting ground to cover and many ways to go at this problem. When you add in the neutral to good/evil, that also adds in a lot of interesting alternatives. But I think just wanting to be an ordinary person leads to a lot of stories.

As on the good and evil axis, everyone talks about power corrupting... and this more on the "but does it?" side of that. There are a number of stories where the most powerful hero everyone thinks is dead, and they're just hiding out living a normal life as they no longer want to be a hero (this happens in Megamind when Metro Man quits).

Or Charlize Theron in Hancock.

So there are a few examples of this already .. and I think it's a great area for stories!

Well thought out and eloquently put as always!