I Just Want to Be Special: Difference between revisions

* In ''[[Astro City]]'', the villain Mock Turtle spent his childhood trying to find his way into a magical world like Oz or Narnia or Wonderland. As an adult he became an engineer and finally snapped and became a supervillain after learning that he wouldn't be allowed to pilot the battle suit he had created. His childhood [[The Vamp|sweetheart]] may have had something to do with it as well...

** "The Tarnished Angel" indicates that most B-grade supervillains suffer from this. They're often ordinary folks who come across some sort of [[Applied Phlebotinum]], then try to leverage it into riches and power.

{{quote| '''{{spoiler|Amy}}:''' What else you got?<br />

'''Xander:''' Say it with me now. Fe Fi Fo...<br />

* Jerry, the guy who finds the HERO dial in the first issue of ''[[Dial H for Hero|H-E-R-O]]''. This is a guy who became suicidally depressed at the mere sight of Superman, that's how severe his envy was. What's worse? He soon discovered that even with powers, he was no Superman and that there wasn't any point; his entire storyline is told through his call to a suicide hotline.

* An issue of ''[[Rising Stars]]'' was dedicated to a young man who, in a bid for attention, claimed he was one of the "Specials" (113 kids who were in-utero when a giant energy shockwave hit their small midwest town, imbuing them with superpowers as they got older). However, since all the other Specials could "feel" one another, they knew he wasn't one, and encouraged him to recant his tale. Finally, this was all brutally subverted when he gave his life saving a girl he liked from an oncoming, out-of-control truck. All the Specials went to his funeral and remembered him as one of their own.

** This was essentially a remake of an earlier issue of ''[[Tenth Muse|10th Muse]]'' - with the important distinction being that, unlike Jane, Barbara/"The Wombat" lives in a world where superheroes are actually real. Well, that and {{spoiler|Jane is schizophrenic and didn't know she was killing those people. Barbara knew ''exactly'' what she was doing.}}

* "[[I Just Want to Be Special]]" practically defines [[Lex Luthor]]'s character. He resents and envies people with superpowers in general and [[Superman]] in particular, both for their powers and for receiving the respect and adulation that he believes he's entitled to as a one-in-a-million 12th level intellect genius. Everything he tries to make himself more special than them never works. Being a brilliant inventor and businessman? Didn't work. Trying to kill them? Didn't work. Masquerading as his own son through cloning and starting his own super team? Didn't work. Becoming President? Didn't work. This reached a head in ''[[Fifty Two]]'' when he started his "Everyman" Program that offered exo-gene treatments to other people who also wanted to be Special. Though his initial goal seemed to be building a superhuman army that he could control (while making real superheroes seem less special in general), [[Villainous Breakdown|Lex gets increasingly frustrated]] when repeated testing confirms that he is incompatible with his own treatment. He goes so far as to {{spoiler|turn off the Everymen's powers on New Year's at midnight while thousands of them are flying in the skies of Metropolis - and promptly start falling to their deaths}}. When it turns out that {{spoiler|he ''was'' compatible all along and that his head scientist Dennis lied about it because Dennis rightfully believed Luthor couldn't be trusted with superpowers}} Lex immediately {{spoiler|gives himself a copy of ''Superman's'' powers}}. When Lex fights {{spoiler|Steel}} in a later issue, he {{spoiler|[[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown|thrashes Steel with the powers of Superman]]}} and is absolutely ''giddy'' about it.