Which would you rather be chosen by; Mjolnir, Green Lantern Ring, The Wizard Shazam, or Galactus?

Be chosen by Mjolnir and become a Norse thunder god, or maybe by a GL ring and be a space cop that glows. Or maybe touch the staff and say the name of the wizard Shazam and become his protector of the Earth from magical threats. Or you could accept the burden from Galactus and become a herald who basically is a space God onto innocent planets' populations to feast on.

Which would you rather be chosen by?

Out of those options, I'd probably go with the Wizard Shazam.

The Shazam powerset (particularly the speed of Mercury and the wisdom of Solomon) would be very useful in everyday life.

The costume can be magically transformed to look like regular clothing, so you could be fully powered (superstrong, invulnerable, etc) while still looking like your normal self.

And since most of the powers are just increased human stats, you could make subtle use of them in front of other people without giving away the fact that you have superhuman powers.

No need to whip out a conspicuous warhammer or glowing green contructs every time you want to do something 'super', and no need to become the thrall of a world-devouring space god.

1) The Power Cosmic is the better choice of the four, b/c every herald ends up ditching Big G, and having the powers of any of these heralds is totally awesome (Silver Surfer, Morg, Fallen One, Stardust & Terrax). 

2) Mjolnir is a great weapon that will allow you to become Thor, but take away the hammer and your back to your normal self, and besides if the sixty second is added then your in trouble.

3) GLRing is also great, but if you don't have a strong will power your totally screwed, and the green energy can be siphoned from energy users.

4) The Power of Shazam is not ok in my book, and although I like Billy Batson, shouting "SHAZAM" all the time is kinda lame, and the fact that a telepath can prevent you from saying the word is bad, or a matter transmutater can transmute your mouth into nothing is going to prevent you from using your powers.

 

 Not sure why you threw in the  infinity gauntlet in but it  would be the greatest  possible weapon in the universe.  

The G.L. ring. It provides high levels of protection, attack energy, space flight of universal level. Holy Molly! Classic Mjolnir with the power of Thor would be fantastic as well and more powerful than the ring. The current version however may be my own worst enemy and may desert me for any reason whatsoever. This version drops down to last in a hurry. Still the difference is personal preference on my part. Shazam would be great just not quite on the level of the first two in the fun category. That critique may be why I would choose G.L. over Mjolnir as well. The Power Cosmic sounds great but going by your stipulations I would not like taking Galactus around the universe eating planets. Wouldn't like having my memory altered either though if it happened I guess that objection would be moot. If freed then it moves to the top of the list.

The Surfer didn't ditch Galactus for years. How many deaths was he complicit in during that time? And are you really cool with looking like a freak and having no genitalia for the rest of your life? (I'm assuming those things don't apply to you already.)




You could prevent those things by just staying in your super powered form all the time, like Black Adam. There's no time limit that I'm aware of.

Mystical Superman powers and higher awareness, how can I refuse.

"I am made of things your philosophy will never comprehend." -Loki

The Shazam power is self-contained, and doesn't rely on external weapons or equipment. You get godlike strength, speed, durability, and flight, enhanced senses, and a special intellectual power to tap into if needed.

Now the only caveat is you have to answer to the wizard, and if he feels you are abusing his gifts, he can take them away as easily as he gave them to you.

Of course if you're a good, upstanding person, and don't let yourself get a big head, you'll be okay.

While the power levels and utility [especially in real life] can be debated, I'm not sure I want a 'boss'. If I'm 'chosen' by Mjolnir or the ring then their definition of worthy is me being myself. As for which of those two I chose it depends on if the GL ring comes with a GL corps or if Mjolnir comes with other Asgardians.

Only Drax the Legend can quote Drax the Legend. NT · Drax the Legend

Great, until the gods that lend a portion of their power to the spell, are going through some fluctuation.

Yeah, I wouldn't want the 60 second limitation or have to worry about charging a ring, or losing the implement that gives me powers.

My gut reaction was becoming a
herald, but while I like internalized power, I would want to look normal....if that isn't an option, refraining from saying a word is the next best...

For me, one of the most important considerations here is how well each powerset can be integrated into a relatively normal human existence. I think the Shazam powerset easily tops the list in that regard.

Another consideration is the possibility of an extended lifespan. You'd get one for sure as a Herald of Galactus, but at a heavy cost, because you really can't have anything resembling a normal life anymore, looking anything like Galactus' other Heralds.

You definitely don't get an extended lifespan with a GL ring.

You might get one with Mjolnir, if you stayed in your godly form all the time, but again, you can't really maintain anything resembling a normal life anymore, looking like a version of Thor. Even if you wear normal clothes (like Sigurd Jarlson), you'll still be an unsually tall, musclebound blond, with a warhammer that you can't be parted from for more than sixty seconds. I'm assuming that limitation would be in place, since it was for every other mortal wielder of Mjolnir.

I think you would get an extended lifespan with the Shazam powerset if you stay in your super powered form most of the time, and that powerset does allow you to maintain your normal appearance, more or less. You might end up more muscular than you were previously, which is unlikely to be a bad thing if you're male.

GL ring may be able to extend lifespan somewhat....didn't Guy give himself peak human strength with it?

As to herald, it may depend on what your base power is...if you could choose shape-shifting or something, maybe it would work...

But yeah, I want to have the power all the time, and be able to pass for a normal guy.

I'm not familiar with that incident, but I imagine a GL ring can effectively enhance the wearer's strength in some fashion (Batman used one that way in JLA: The Nail, although that's an Elseworlds story). The thing is, is effects produced by a GL ring are always temporary, so far as I've seen. They last as long as you keep willing them to, or as long as your ring charge lasts, whichever ceases to apply first. And if Kingdom Come is any indication, Hal Jordan appeared to be aging like a normal human there.






Has any Herald ever been given a choice as to what their powerset would be? My impression is that it's always been a take it or leave it proposition.

I feel being chosen by Galactus would be the worst. Being the herald of genocide on a planetary scale would be the worst.

Look Raist bunnies...

As to GL things being temporary...true, except for things that physically change the actual world around it....like if I knock down a tower, the tower stays knocked down. If I use the ring to mix mortar, and simultaneously lift bricks and mortar to build a wall, then the wall I built will stay up, because the alteration was made with the power, but wasn't in and of itself using the power.

So if my enhancement physically changes the cells so that leaving them alone in the new, altered state, I could see de-aging etc.

Protection from disease, healing of chronic issues, etc. would likely have a prolonging effect even without intervention....now, that might mean you're more likely to hit 110 years old, or even get into the 120's (I think 120 is about the max any human has ever lived), but I don't think it would let you live to 1000 or anything, or have no degradation without expressly de-aging yourself, which may well be within the capabilities of the rings, at least classically....GLs don't have a history of being very creative with the rings, after all....Hal was the first to use red shifting to fight yellow, for instance....

So, being creative with the ring, it may not be as bad as some other items, but there are still limitations that wouldn't be present with the power of shazam...

So you wouldn't likely get a choice, but if you had a predilection as a master of disguise, you might get lucky. I wouldn't bank on it though....

and passed up on those that were inhabited....so he chose Morg, who wouldn't have the same sort of reluctance....so there's an out, kinda...

and Mjolnir might come with strings attached too.

We know Black Adam was able to go rogue, and heralds always get free after a while.

Personally, I'd rather have base Asgardian physiology without having to transform, even though the others are much more powerful. If I could get the power of Thor without being tied to the hammer....or even the power of Thunderstrike, with no need to stay in contact with the mace every 60 seconds, I'd go for that.

All in all, I tend to agree with SD because the power of Shazam is the one with the least intrusiveness i.e. tied to an object, direct boss intervention, ability to live a 'normal' life, while still being REALLY powerful....and being able to go rogue like BA is a possibility

but I'd trade the raw power for not changing back under any circumstances or being beholden to a boss....

I will of course decide mostly based upon the second criteria!

My question to you my old nemesis, don't you think that the Surfer with all his powers couldn't change into his normal form with all the experience that he has through out the years.

I believe this will answer your obnoxious comment lmao.

Once he was free of Earth, the Surfer remotely converted the board to energy, recalled it to him, and reformed it in space. The Surfer has displayed the ability to shed his silver skin and revert to his original appearance as Norrin Radd, masking the Power Cosmic and allowing him to be more inconspicuous when needed.

The example of the Silver Surfer is why I choose him.

Heralds never stay with Big G for a while, and as far as wanting to look human, the Norrin Radd is the Silver Surfer with the power cosmic.

The Surfer has displayed the ability to shed his silver skin and revert to his original appearance as Norrin Radd, masking the Power Cosmic and allowing him to be more inconspicuous when needed.

Power of thor or the power of Shazam!

agreed, a sleast other 3 gives you options to battle only bad guys!

Surfer, to my knowledge is the only herald I have seen do this.  Can Firelord? 

This all sounds fine in theory, but if there aren't any practical examples of a GL permanently enhancing their physiology -- and I'm not aware of any -- then I wouldn't bank on that being an option.




Neither would I.

Norrin, Fire Lord and Frankie Ray are more humanoid than the rest.

I do believe that Frankie in a mini series with Hercules, she was able to turn back into her human form.

nt

It's interesting that a hero/villain performs one amazing feat, or use a power they haven't used for 20+ years, and that automatically propels them to a high status despite scans and evidence to the contrary. I don't know what is worse, selective feat picking that has only been done once or twice 20, or more, years ago or ignoring evidence from scans or the lack thereof. We need to stop putting our favorite heroes/villains on pedestals and start putting them where they really belong. But it's evident that people never will because they would rather accuse others of cherry picking feats, when they don't, and being 'morally superior' when they aren't. I guess being honest and as fair as possible only opens one up to being the target of childish accusations and fault finding by those who insist on acting petty and childish. What happened to a good debate between two civil, mature, adults?

I certainly don't think Stan Lee intended him to have that ability, otherwise why wouldn't he have used it, rather than wearing a trenchcoat, hat and shades in order to walk among humans undetected?






No offence or insult was intended. Just an attempt at dry humour.




Yes, the Surfer has clearly done this. Only under Dan Slott, as far as I'm aware, but nevertheless he has done it.

However, if you were to become a new Herald of Galactus, you shouldn't expect to get his exact powerset. So far as I've seen, Galactus has never made two Heralds that were exactly alike. Each new Herald had a different appearance and somewhat different powers from the ones before. Some powers like superhuman strength and durability, flight, and some form of energy manipulation are common to most or all Heralds, but the ability to revert to their original appearance isn't something that any Herald aside from the Surfer has clearly demonstrated. That being the case, you absolutely shouldn't count on receiving that ability as a new Herald. It's a big gamble, at best.

Also, even if you did get the Surfer's exact powerset, look at everything else that came with the bargain the Surfer got. He had to leave his home planet and the woman he loved behind, in order to spend decades helping Galactus devour worlds.




Is that powerset so much more valuable to you than all the others on offer in this thread, that you'd be willing to do all that to get it? Are you assuming you could somehow wriggle out of working for Galactus at all, without him stripping you of your powers, or outright killing you as punishment? He certainly intended to kill the Surfer the first time the Surfer disobeyed him. The only reason he didn't is because Reed Richards -- with the guidance of the Watcher -- threatened him with the Ultimate Nullifier. You might not have the FF and the Watcher to help you out like that, so that's another big gamble.




Furthermore, even if you got the Surfer's powerset, and somehow got away with not having to serve Galactus at all, you wouldn't be invulnerable whenever you removed your silver coating. The Surfer showed that he could reattach a severed arm by putting it back in place and then recoating himself, but what if his head had been chopped off instead? Or what if he'd been shot or stabbed in the brain? Could he have still used his powers to heal himself under those circumstances, or would that potentially have killed him? Without clear answers to those questions, you'd be taking yet another big gamble there.