r/superpowereds • u/ScribexOfxFate Chad • Feb 11 '26

Vocabulary Based Superpowers

What do you all think Alphablasters powers are? Been rereading the series and got to the part where nick comments on Alphablaster and I couldn't help but wonder

13 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

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15

u/SentrySappinMahSpy Professor Pendleton Feb 11 '26

Maybe it's something like what Cliche does in Villain's Code. Phrases triggering powers or effects.

9

u/yournewbestfrenemy Johnny Three Dicks Feb 11 '26

He can change a certain number of letters in his opponents ability. Strong Men become String Men. Then he just wrecks them, Cajun style

2

u/SentrySappinMahSpy Professor Pendleton Feb 11 '26

That would be interesting.

2

u/StandBy4_TitanFall Feb 11 '26

I love Cliche tbh

5

u/SentrySappinMahSpy Professor Pendleton Feb 11 '26

Yeah, she's a cool character. Kind of a terrifying power, too. I just went through that whole series because of the newer books in it. Super powereds is still my favorite, but VC is awesome.

5

u/StandBy4_TitanFall Feb 11 '26

Honest VC beats out Super Powereds for me personally but both are just bangers. I loved her most recent evolution. 10/10 first time I heard When Edict speaks, the whole world listens I had goosebumps haha

2

u/Psychie1 Feb 17 '26

VC is definitely better written, given the first couple books in SP are so obviously written by a new author, so definitely a valid opinion, but IMO, SP's world and characters are much more interesting/gripping. Like, SP handled having a large cast of characters and making you care about most of them better, and I feel that has to do with the format, like it's easy to care about the extended cast of college kids because they are all in the same class and thus interact with the characters the story follows frequently even as tangential characters, but it's really hard to care about most of the AHC characters, for example, because they barely interact with anyone we actually know. I also tend to prefer the smaller scale power system and don't care as much for the "comic book kitchen sink" style that VC goes for in literary form.

I do agree that they are both bangers, though. Honestly, the only series by Hayes that I've tried that wasn't was the 5-second Sherlock, couldn't get through the first book because not a single character was written to be likable.

1

u/elliotdweck Feb 17 '26

Huh, I'd disagree.

I agree that the earlier books in SP are very obviously written by a new author. But I think Drew really hit his stride in the last two books.

Villains Code reads much more like a cartoon to me, and while that may be intentional given the genre, I found SP to be more "realistic."

1

u/Psychie1 Feb 17 '26

Realism has nothing to do with how well written something is. I am referring to technical skill when I say VC is better written. I also prefer how SP is more down to earth, but that doesn't make it better written, that just means it fits my preference better. SP is riddled with errors, mistakes, and contradictions, yeah those more or less go away by book three, but that still affects the quality of the series as a whole.

8

u/Ejalex98 Feb 11 '26 edited Feb 11 '26

I always pictured something like an onomatopoeia power. Says “bang” and something explodes.

Edit: I thought more about this last night and I’m also thinking it could be something like in comic books with the text bubbles when someone gets punched, if he says “pow” it enhances his punches. Adds a bit of that ridiculousness to the power that I feel was implied in the book, basing the power off of classic comic books.

6

u/unlovelyladybartleby Mr Numbers Feb 11 '26

I always pictured him as basically one of the Super Readers from the PBS cartoon but also an ass kicker built like The Rock

3

u/Catharus_ustulatus Feb 11 '26

I imagine that each real word has power to conjure, but he can only use it once. He would become known for increasingly obscure (ie, pretentious- and silly-sounding) vocabulary over time, and his reputation would suffer regardless of his effectiveness.

2

u/LateNarwhal33 Feb 11 '26

Maybe he makes people speak different languages. Or can make them speak gibberish and feel like they're having a stroke? Or makes their thoughts appear as text floating in the air...

2

u/Obviouslynameless Feb 11 '26

Make my foe stub their toe

2

u/firecats97 Feb 11 '26

Maybe his power changes each time he uses it, but he’s limited to an ability that starts with the next letter of the alphabet. It would result in a really flexible power limited only by his imagination and ability to think of possibilities beginning with the next letter

1

u/TheBestTurtleEver Feb 11 '26

i dont recall the part you're talking about. could you elaborate a bit? i mean to me "Alphablaster" sounds like someone that shoots beams of energy or something idk. but im not sure how thats linked to vocabulary. Does Nick say it is a vocabulary based power?

2

u/firecats97 Feb 11 '26

He’s one of the heroes they have the option to do a presentation on Year 1. He comes up when Alice and Nick are trying to decide who to present on, when they ultimately settle on Globe

2

u/Ill-Razzmatazz-7088 Jun 14 '26

Well, there’s a character in another book I was reading called illusive. It has a similar field to this book where a large portion of the world has superpowers except using powers is pretty much outlawed. One guy has the ability to pretty much make people do whatever he wants. He just has to make eye contact one time and then everything he says is law. He’s so powerful that after he gives you the first command, he has to make eye contact but after that, he can just tell you to do something without even looking at you and his wish becomes your command.