The most common hypothetical question about superpowers is, "Which power would you rather have: flight or invisibility?"
Nick Corrigan didn’t react well to losing his job.
RYAN CODY/ Viper Comics
A close second might be, "Would you use your powers for good or evil?"
Adam Cogan doubts most people would choose the former. "Human nature doesn't necessarily dictate a leap between getting superpowers and becoming a superhero," he said.
Cogan is the writer of Villains, a miniseries about an unemployed guy who blackmails his neighbor, a retired supervillain, into teaching him the tricks of the trade. But Cogan said his characters aren't pure evil – out to destroy the planet, in other words.
"These guys are thieves with a supersuit," Cogan, 35, said by phone from his home in North Carolina. "They're not out for any of that very comic-booky stuff. They're just out to make some money, and they're willing to do it illegally."
So what would Cogan – whose day job is designing video games for Vicious Cycle Software – do if he had the power of flight?
"I don't know how compelled I would feel about going out to save people's lives and run into burning buildings," he said. "Really, I think I would just go on a lot of flying joyrides."
Dan Koller
COGAN'S FAVORITE BAD GUYS
Major Toht from Raiders of the Lost Ark: "The only thing more villainous than a Nazi is a psycho sadist Nazi who squeals like a girl. I'm sure he made even his goose-stepping cronies break out in goose bumps."
Magneto from the X-Men trilogy: "Ian McKellen does a wonderful job embodying the spirit of Magneto. There are moments when, despite his obviously twisted worldview, I found myself agreeing with some of his principles."
Brick Top from Snatch: "This pig lover is 'sweet enough' for me."
Saruman from the Lord of the Rings trilogy: "Christopher Lee is the only guy I would buy putting the smackdown on Gandalf."
Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) from Deadwood: "He's a very sympathetic villain, despite being another murderous, pig-feeding gangster. He's got a sense of humor in between the f-bombs. Now if only he'd clean that union suit."
