December 27, 2024 • 30 mins
If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpower to be–and what would you call yourself? That’s what we asked kids for this special end-of-year episode, and we got some amazing answers! Some kids want to fly. Some want to go back in time. One wants to be able to draw everything perfectly the first time. And a surprising number of kids want a super ability to do math!
Stories about humans with special abilities have been around for as long as humans have been telling stories. But the word superhero is only about 120 years old. The first known use of the word was in 1899, but the term became more mainstream in 1930s comic books and movies. Now, superheroes are all over the pages of books and both the small and big screen. Give this episode a listen and think about what YOUR superpower might be!
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Unknown (00:00):
Music.
Jane (00:20):
This is But Why
Public. I'm Jane Lindholm
Melody (00:25):
And I'm Melody Bodette. All year long, you send us
questions about things you arecurious about, and we find
interesting people with answers.But at least once per year, we
ask you a question.
Jane (00:36):
This year for our end-of-year episode, we asked
you (00:39):
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
And what would you call yourselfif you could have any superhero
name?
Melody (00:47):
And you all delivered! You've been sending us so many
responses, and today we're goingto hear all of them. Superheroes
are kind of having a moment, soit's no wonder we've also gotten
some questions from you aboutsuperheroes recently.
Asher (01:02):
I am seven years old, and I live in Berrien Springs,
Michigan. How did superheroes inbooks get started?
Jane (01:23):
There have always been stories of people with special
powers. The themes popular insuperhero stories, like battles
between good and evil,characters needing to learn
about who they are and use theirpower wisely, those kinds of
stories have been around for aslong as humans. Have been
telling stories.
Melody (01:42):
The word superhero is really only about 100 years old.
Superheroes got their start withthe creation of comic books in
the 1930s with the Phantom,Superman and Batman, and they've
been popular ever since.Superhero movies have been
around, really, since thecreation of comic books, because
both became popular at the sametime.
Noah (01:59):
I'm Noah, and I am seven, and I live in Marlborough,
Connecticut. Are superheroesreal?
Jay (02:07):
I am Jay. I am five years old, and I live at Texas. And
how do superheroes fly?
Liam (02:14):
My name is Liam. I'm six years old. I live in Iowa Falls.
How do superheroes getsuperpowers?
Melody (02:23):
Superheroes are, unfortunately, not real. They
are works of fiction. That meansthey are an art form that
explores imaginary people andstories. At least as far as we
know, no humans can fly on theirown or see through buildings or
pause time.
Jane (02:37):
But the good thing about that is that you can imagine
your own superhero stories, andyou aren't limited by what can
actually happen in real life.
Melody (02:46):
You can create whatever powers you want to give your
superhero. And many superheroeshave a pretty cool origin story
about how they went from being anormal human to getting their
superpowers. Superhero storiesare really fun to read.
Jane (02:59):
And it can be even more fun to imagine ourselves with
superpowers. So we asked youwhat superhero power and
superhero name you would have ifyou could invent--or be--a new
superhero?
Calen (03:11):
Hi, my name is Calen, and I'm six years old, and I'm from
North Carolina, Chapel Hill, andif I had a superpower, it would
be to bring stuff to me.
Dusty (03:26):
My name is Dusty. I'm 25, still a kid. I live in America,
and I love But Why. If I had asuperpower, it would be to
duplicate objects, like toys.The name would be DupliGooey. I
could share things that I love,and there'd be a little less
fighting over stuff, peoplelike,
Millie (03:46):
Hi, my name is Millie. My super power name would be
Pinky, and my super power wouldwould be Pink Blast. And it
would knock over criminals. Itwould even text a few things,
and it would knock offbuildings, knock off trees,
knock off really strong thingslike that. And my outfit would
(04:07):
be a pink cape, red boots and apink skirt with a red star on it
and a pink shirt.
Hannah (04:15):
Hello. My name is Hannah. I am six years old. I
live in Istanbul. I want to besuperhero. Lift the things that
are so heavy.
Jane (04:31):
Ooh, wow, lifting things that are really heavy. I love
that idea, because it's both asuperpower and super practical.
But Melody, I really liked allof them. Like, if we could make
things duplicate so nobody couldfight. Or I like Calen's, where
you could zip things right toyou. So if I'm sitting on the
couch, I could just zip a glassof water right to me without
having to get up.
Melody (04:52):
Oh my gosh, that would be so useful. I'm sure so many
people would love that one.
Jane (04:55):
Especially adults.
Melody (04:56):
Yes. All right, let's hear a few more of you.
Superpowers. Hello.
Jordan (05:01):
My name is Jordan. I'm 10 years old, nearly 11. I'm
Charlie (05:02):
My name is Charlie, and I'm five years old, and I live
from Saint Michael, Barbados,and if I had a superpower, it
would be to control theelements. And my superhero name
would be Anita Arrow Spark.
(05:22):
in New Hampshire. My superheroname is Sparko, and my power is,
I wish my power was, um, flyingand being invisible.
Jason (05:34):
My name is Jason. I'm six years old. I live in Los
Angeles, California. Mysuperhero name is Scorpion. His
power is to use the electricityto slash things in half. [Hums a
theme song for Scorpion.]
Ava (05:54):
My name is Ava. I live in, Syosset, New York. I'm eight
years old. My superpowers wouldbe flight, invisibility and
X-ray vision, and my superheroname would be Amazing Ava.
Jane (06:05):
Amazing Ava. And Amazing Ava mentioned invisibility. That
was a really popular power thata lot of you wanted, starting
with Benjamin.
Benjamin (06:15):
My superhero name is Invisible Man, and I'm going to
be invisible for my superpower.
Ashur (06:25):
My name is Ashur. I'm eight years old. I live in New
York City, and my superpower,that I wish would be a thing, is
sussness, which is you can blendin with your surroundings and
(06:45):
become a material so that youcan be the best at hide and
Dashel (06:50):
Hi. My name is Dashel. If I had a superpower, it would
seek.
be invisibility, and his namewould be Dashel.
Ryan (07:02):
Hi, But Why! My name is Ryan. I'm nine years old. I live
in Wilmington, Pennsylvania. Mysuperhero name would be
Invisigirl and my superpowerwould be invisibility.
Alice (07:12):
Hi, my name is Alice. My superpower would be invisibility
and my name would be Invisigirl.
Matilda (07:22):
My name's Matilda. I live in Croydon, England, and my
super name would be the FastGirl that can turn invisible. I
can run so fast no one can seeme, and I'm invisible.
Miles (07:42):
My name's Miles, and I live in Indianapolis, and I'm
six years old, and if I were asuperhero and had a superpower,
I would be Batman and beinvisible.
Holden (07:59):
My name is Holden. I'm nine years old. I live in Salem,
Oregon, and my superhero namewould be Sir Invisibility, and
my superpower would beinvisibility.
Kendra (08:10):
Hi, I am Kendra. I am almost seven. I live in
Vancouver, BC, Canada. Mysuperhero name would be
Chameleon Kendra, and mysuperpower will be blending into
my surroundings.
Melody (08:26):
I was having a hard time deciding if invisibility and
blending into your surroundings,kind of like camouflage, were
the same thing. But either way,it seems like a lot of us want
to find a way to disappear, butto also be able to know what's
going on. I likes that.
Jane (08:40):
And a lot of you wanted to be called Invisigirl. Want to
know another superpower a lot ofkids would love to have?
Melody (08:45):
Is it flying?
Jane (08:47):
It's flying.
Emmitt (08:48):
My name is Emmitt and I'm five and a half years old.
My superhero name is Super Baby,and I would get flying in
seconds!
Zelda (08:59):
My name is Zelda. I'm seven years old. I live in
Norwalk, Connecticut. If I had asuperpower, it would be flying
with the birds in the clouds,and my super name would be
Supergirl.
Liam (09:18):
My name is Liam. I'm five years old. My super name is
Leaping Liam, because mysuperpower is flying.
Hi, my name is Borena, and I'mfrom Iran. My superpower name is
Karen, and my superpower isflying.
Dax (09:45):
My name is Dax. I'm six years old. I live in Fitchburg,
Wisconsin. In my specialability, I want to fly with
wings.
Jane (10:00):
I used to have daydreams about being able to fly. Well,
it was actually kind of likesort of flying. I could leap
into the air and then float highabove for a really long distance
before coming down and thenleaping right up back again. I
would love to be able to fly.Melody.
Melody (10:18):
I mean, that would be cool, but that definitely isn't
the superpower that I would wishfor, but some of you had
superpowers I'd never eventhought of.
Asher (10:27):
My name is Asher, and I'm nine years old, and I live in
Michigan, and if I had asuperpower, my power would be to
draw anything I wanted perfectlythe first time, and my superhero
name would be The Drawer.
Emmaus (10:43):
My name is Emmaus. I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and
my superhero name would be SuperBoy, and my super power would be
lovest, kindest and strongest.
Sophie (10:57):
Hi. My name is Sophie, and I live in Arlington,
Virginia. I'm eight years old,and if I was a superhero, my
name would be Agent Red, and mypower would be that I can shoot
lasers.
Matthew (11:11):
My name is Matthew, and my super name would be Blazer,
and my super power would be Iwould be the best soldier.
Sid (11:21):
My name would be Cobalt and my car would be supersonic
speed.
Melody (11:25):
That last one was Sid, who lives in the United Kingdom.
So many of you wanted to be ableto either turn into animals or
be able to talk to animals, andthat's one that I would want,
Jane.
Jane (11:35):
Me too! Can you imagine, Melody, just being able to talk
to animals and understandeverything they're saying, or
turn into one when you wantedto? It would be so cool.
Remy (11:43):
Kia ora. My name is Remy. I am from Auckland, New Zealand,
and I am seven years old, and mysuperpower would be talking to
animals, and my super name wouldbe Pink Girl.
Emma (11:58):
My name is Emma. I'm 12 years old, and I'm from
Burlington, North Carolina, andif I could have any superpower I
wanted, I think I would like tobe able to turn into an animal,
whenever I wanted to.
Santi (12:10):
My name is Santi, and I'm from Columbia, and I live In
Oregon. Here's borrow and mysuperhero name would be
Crayskell, and my power would beturning into a ginormous
crayfish.
Janetta (12:31):
Hello. I'm Janetta. I'm from Mexico City. I'm seven
years old. My super power wouldbe that I could talk with the
stingrays. And my superhero namewould be Stingray.
Nicole (12:43):
My name's Nicole. I'm seven years old. I live in
Berumuda, and if I had anysuperpower, it would be to
communicate with animals, toturn into animals, and to ride
on animals.
Nelli (13:03):
Hi, my name is Nelli, and I'm seven years old, and I'm
from Melbourne, Australia, andif I was a superhero, my name
would be The Rainbow, and mysuperpower would be to turn into
any animal I want.
Charlotte (13:21):
Hi, my name is Charlotte. I'm eight years old.
I live in Westchester,Pennsylvania. My superpower name
is Lily, and my superpower is toturn into animals and to talk to
animals.
William (13:34):
Hi, my name is William. I'm five and 11/12ths. I am from
Martinez, California, and if Ihad a superpower, I would want
it to be talking to animals.
Henley (13:44):
Hi, my name is Henley, and I'm six years old, and my
superpower would be talking toanimals. And why I'd be talking
to animals is because so I canknow what they want because,
like, basically dogs, they'rebegging. I don't know what they
want, so then, like, I couldtalk to them, so then I know
(14:07):
what they want.
Zinny (14:08):
My name is Zinny. I live in Stevenson, Washington. My
superpower would be to turnpeople into animals. And my
super name would be ChickenFingers, and my age is four.
Jane (14:24):
I love the name Chicken Fingers as a superhero name,
Melody.
Melody (14:27):
So, so cool.
Jane (14:30):
For all of you who want to communicate with animals, did
you hear our recent interviewand episode about how animals
talk to each other and howresearchers are working on
understanding what they'resaying so that we know more
about animal communication? Iknow you can't magically turn
into an animal or magicallyunderstand what they're saying,
but maybe you can, in real life,become a scientist who studies
(14:53):
them someday.
Melody (14:54):
Here are a few more superpowers that didn't really
fit in a category.
Lyra (14:58):
My name is Lyra. I'm 8 years old. I live in Ithaca, New
York, and my superhero namewould be Lyra, and then my
superhero power would be I canspeak any language that is spoke
to me.
Zoya (15:10):
Hi. My name is Zoya, and I live in California, Los Angeles,
and my superpower is gonna betransforming into Wonder Woman,
Ellie (15:22):
Hi, my name is Ellie, and I'm five years old. I live in
Columbus, Ohio. If I had asuperpower, it would be
shrinking and my name would beShrinker Girl.
Memo (15:33):
Hi. My name is Memo. I'm from Oakland, California. My
superhero would be calledNutcracker, and its power would
be nutcrackers!
Arav (15:46):
My name is Arav and my superpower name is Q, and I like
building things tall, up to thesky.
Sigri (15:56):
Hi. My name is Sigri. I am six years old. I live in
Minneapolis, St Paul. If I had asuperpower, my superpower would
be knowing everything. And if Ihad a superhero name, my name
would be Sigri.
Jane (16:16):
Knowing everything. Isn't that what your adults already
do, they know everything?
Melody (16:21):
No.
Jane (16:23):
Yeah, that's absolutely not a superpower of most adults.
I think we actually feel like weknow less now than we did when
we were kids. So that might be agood one for a lot of the adults
listening.
Melody (16:32):
But if you knew everything, would you still be
curious? There wouldn't beanything to learn.
Jane (16:37):
Yeah, I guess that's true. Okay, maybe I'm okay with not
knowing everything.
Melody (16:41):
Coming up, more of you superheroes.
BREAK (16:43):
BREAK
Jane (16:45):
This is But Why
Lindholm.
Melody (16:49):
And I'm Melody Bodette. Usually you ask the questions.
Today, you're answering thequestion. We asked what your
superhero powers would be, andwe're loving hearing your
creative ideas.
William (17:00):
My name is William. I'm four years old. I live in Cape
Town. My superpower is magnetic.Super Magnet. It takes things
that are magnetic.
DanNing (17:15):
Hello. My name is DanNing. I'm six years old. I
live in Fort Lauderdale,Florida. My superpower will be
to invent anything that peoplewith good intention want. My
superpower name is Serena.
Finnigan (17:28):
My superpower is gonna be, uh, being stretchy. It's
been sticky. And there's a superpower that makes villains be
destroyed.
Jane (17:41):
Ooh, lots of superpowers in comic books and movies are
designed to destroy villains.That's a good one. But sometimes
we're just looking for powersthat are super cool or just
otherwise useful. Like asurprising number of you want a
super ability to do math.
Sally June (17:59):
My name is Sally June. I'm six years old, and I'm
from West Texas, and mysuperhero name would be
Mathemeta, and my power would besolving numbers really fast in
my head,
Luca (18:16):
My name is Luca. I'm from Ashley, Canada. I'm five and a
half years old. My superheroname would be Math Master, and
he could solve math problems inhis head in seconds.
Micah (18:30):
My name is Micah. I'm 11 years old, and I live in
Hudsonville, Michigan. Mysuperhero name is Super Math
Solver. I can solve any mathproblems in an instant.
Emerson (18:45):
I'm Emerson. I'm eight years old. My superpower would
be solving math equations inseconds, because I really like
math, and I got an A+ in math.
Melody (18:58):
Congrats on that. A+ Emerson. Some of you wanted
powers relating to your eyes.
Ula (19:04):
My name is Ula. I'm six years old. I live in Perth,
Australia. My superhero name isGlowy, and my superhero power is
I can see in the dark.
Lyra (19:17):
My name's Lyra I apply two years old. I live in Monsbury,
the UK. My superhero's name isBlazer. He can shoot lasers from
his eyes.
Jane (19:30):
That's a good one, but always use your laser-shooting
powers for good, not evil. Someof you wanted the ability to
mess with time.
Adrien (19:39):
Hello. My name is Adrien. I live in Colorado. I'm
11 years old. My superhero namewould be Time Stop. I have the
ability to stop time, dowhatever I want while time is
frozen, and when I snap myfingers, I would time would go
back to normal. Bye.
Mythili (19:56):
My name is Mythili. I live in Redmond, Washington. I'm
six years old, and I want to beable to time travel with the
characters and Magic Tree House.
Carys (20:11):
My name is Carys. I live in Monkton Vermont. I'm eight
years old, and my superheropower would be that I could go
back in time and talk to myself.
Katrina and Harold (20:21):
Hi, I'm Katrina, and I'm 10 years old.
Hi, I'm Harold and I'm eightyears old. We live in South
Carolina. If I had a superpower,it would be telekinesis, to move
things with my mind withouttouching it. Also I would be
called Blaze. If I hadsuperpower, it would be to
rewind and fast forward time.And my superhero name would be
(20:45):
the Time Rocket.
Melody (20:47):
What about moving yourself with just your mind?
Teleporting is when youdisappear in one place and
immediately appear in another.
Taarun (20:54):
Hello. My name is Taarun. I am nearly seven years
old. I live in Brisbane,Australia, and my superpower
would be teleporting throughspace and time. And if I had
held someone's hand, they wouldbe teleported too. My super hero
name would be Teleport.
The Bullen sisters (21:14):
Hi. We are the Bullen sisters. My hero name
is Luna, and my powers are tofly and teleport. My superhero
name is Lounder, and my powersare to fly and shape shift.
Zoe (21:28):
My superhero name is Bubble Blaze, and my super powers
teleporting. My real name isZoe, and I'm seven years old,
and from Orange, Kansas.
Jade (21:38):
My name is Jade. I'm eight years old. I live in Maraga,
California, and if I would havea superpower, I would like to
teleport.
Jane (21:48):
From teleportation to telepathy, the ability to read
minds.
Fade (21:54):
Hi, my name is Fade. I'm seven years old, and I live in
Dallas, Texas. I would like mysuperhero name to be Sasha, and
I like my superhero power to betelepathy.
Ruby (22:06):
My name is Ruby. I'm six years old. I live in Moraga,
California, and I want mysuperpower to be to read
people's minds.
Melody (22:15):
Jane, can you read my mind?
Jane (22:16):
Only when you're annoyed with me!
Melody (22:18):
That would never happen. Some of you want to control
elements like water and fire orto control the weather.
Cecilia (22:25):
Hi, my name is Cecilia. I'm nine years old, and I'm from
Fall City, Washington, and if Iwere to have a superpower, it
would be to control water.
Alexis (22:39):
Hi, my name is Alexis, and I'm five years old. I live
in California. My super namewill be Super Rainbow. My super
power will be freezing peoplethat are bad and fire.
Unknown (22:54):
How super power is frozen.
Ben (23:00):
Hi. My name is Ben, and I'm eight years old, and I live in
Jakarta, Indonesia, and mysuperhero name name is Moon
Slayer, and his power isshooting thunderstorms and be
(23:21):
invincible.
Claire (23:22):
My name is Claire. I live in Gross Ille, Michigan,
and I am seven years old. Mysuperpower would be to control
the weather so I could make itsnow, so I can make snowmen all
the time.
Freya (23:36):
My name is Freya. I'm seven. I live in England, and my
superhero name will be TurtleGirl, and my power will be to
change the weather. Bye.
Jane (23:49):
Controlling the weather would be so useful, Melody. I
think if that was a real power,it would be very much in demand
if we were all picking our superpowers.
Melody (23:58):
Yeah, but don't you think a lot of kids and you
know, maybe some adults mightuse that to get some snow days
so they don't have to go toschool?
Jane (24:05):
Well, that's true. All right, we have a few more that
didn't fit into any specificcategories, but we still love
them. Here we go.
Tom (24:13):
Hi. My name is Tom. I'm nine years old. I live in
Melbourne, Australia, and if Iwas a superhero, my name would
be The Changer, and my powerwould be shape shifting.
Melody (24:23):
You know, I thought shape shifting would be much
more popular.
Kai (24:27):
My name is Kai. I'm six years old, and I live in
Fitchburg, Wisconsin, and mysuperpower is I can eat
marshmallows all day long.
Melody (24:38):
I'd really love that power. I suppose I could eat
marshmallows all day long, butthat would definitely give you a
stomach ache.
Elizabeth (24:45):
My name is Elizabeth. I live in St Albans, Vermont.
I'm four years old, and mysuperpower is to fly and freeze
everything into ice and turneverything into ice cream.
Megha (25:05):
My name is Megha. i two years old and my superpower is
to zip-zap to Disneyland.
Elliot (25:19):
My name is Elliot. I live in Seaton, and I am now 10,
and if I had a superpower, itwould be rapping really fast,
because then I could have lotsof money and be successful. Oh,
and my name would be RappingRobin.
Jane (25:40):
A lot of people have had a lot of success at rapping, and
that's one that you could maybedo with some extra practice. You
don't need a superpower at all.
Carina (25:48):
My name is Carina. I am seven years old, and I live in
Newton, Massachusetts. Mysuperpower would be what I think
of, it would appear right infront of me, and my name would
be The Wishmaker.
Georgia (26:05):
My name is Georgia. I am six years old. I live in
McLean, Virginia, and mysuperhero name and power would
be breathing underwater. And myname would be Merlinda.
Neomi (26:21):
My name is Neomi. I'm eight years old. I live in
Everett, Washington. And if Icould have any superpower, I
would want to be able to climbon walls and ceilings. And then
when I came back down, peoplewould be like, "Where were you?"
And my superhero name wouldprobably be Super Neomi.
Rafael (26:36):
Hi, I'm Rafael. I am seven years old. I live in West
Reading, Pennsylvania, and mysuperhero is named Gilbert, and
he can breathe on the water, andhe can fly and and he could
travel through stuff that humanscan't travel through.
Nia (26:56):
My name is Nia. I am five and a half years old. I live in
Redwood City, California. Mysuper hero name is Magical Lion
Wolf. My superpower would be tomake wishes.
Amiri (27:16):
Hello. My name is Amiri, and I'm eight years old. I live
in Limerick, Ireland and and mysuperhero name would be The
Imaginator. And my superpowerwould would be to turn things
that aren't real to reality.
Melody (27:34):
I love that one, turning things that aren't real into
reality, things that come intoyour imagination. That's an
opportunity I think we all haveto create something new. Sure,
we're limited by technology andthings like that. You know, we
can't fly on our own, but we canget into a plane and travel all
around the world. It's amazingto think that flying for humans
wasn't even possible back whensuperheroes as we know them
(27:54):
today were invented. And nowhumans have not only flown all
over the world, we've been tothe moon. That's pretty cool.
Jane (28:01):
It is pretty cool. And I guess it's like, you have to
imagine it as a superpowerthat's almost unbelievable
before you can create thereality of it. So some
superpowers were magical backwhen people invented them, and
now we've found ways to makethem real, even if it's not
exactly what we imagined in thecomic books and movies. I really
(28:23):
wonder what the next century isgoing to bring. Are we going to
be living in houses filled withrobots? Or maybe someday humans
will be living on Mars? I guessthere's no way to know, but we
can imagine anything, and here'ssomething else to chew on before
we end the episode, it's truethat a lot of the superpowers
we've talked about today aren'treally possible. They're just
(28:46):
fun to imagine. But when weexpand our definition of what a
superhero is, there are lots ofways to be a superhero for real.
guess that's a good way to end the episode, Melody. Our
instruction to you as we end theyear and end the episode is to
(29:13):
think about a way that you couldbe a real superhero in your own
community, family or life.
Melody (29:20):
That's a great idea, Jane. That's it for this
episode. Thanks so much toeveryone who sent in a
superpower. If you have aquestion about anything, have an
adult record you asking it. It'seasy to do on a smartphone using
an app like voice memos. Thenemail the file to
questions@butwhykids.org
Jane (29:39):
But Why is produced by Melody Bodette and me, Jane
Lindholm, at Vermont Public.Joey Palumbo produces our video
series for YouTube. Our thememusic is by Luke Reynolds, and
we're distributed by PRX. We'llbe back in two weeks with an all
new episode. Until then, staysuper!!
Music.
Jane (00:20):
This is But Why
Public. I'm Jane Lindholm
Melody (00:25):
And I'm Melody Bodette. All year long, you send us
questions about things you arecurious about, and we find
interesting people with answers.But at least once per year, we
ask you a question.
Jane (00:36):
This year for our end-of-year episode, we asked
you (00:39):
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
And what would you call yourselfif you could have any superhero
name?
Melody (00:47):
And you all delivered! You've been sending us so many
responses, and today we're goingto hear all of them. Superheroes
are kind of having a moment, soit's no wonder we've also gotten
some questions from you aboutsuperheroes recently.
Asher (01:02):
I am seven years old, and I live in Berrien Springs,
Michigan. How did superheroes inbooks get started?
Jane (01:23):
There have always been stories of people with special
powers. The themes popular insuperhero stories, like battles
between good and evil,characters needing to learn
about who they are and use theirpower wisely, those kinds of
stories have been around for aslong as humans. Have been
telling stories.
Melody (01:42):
The word superhero is really only about 100 years old.
Superheroes got their start withthe creation of comic books in
the 1930s with the Phantom,Superman and Batman, and they've
been popular ever since.Superhero movies have been
around, really, since thecreation of comic books, because
both became popular at the sametime.
Noah (01:59):
I'm Noah, and I am seven, and I live in Marlborough,
Connecticut. Are superheroesreal?
Jay (02:07):
I am Jay. I am five years old, and I live at Texas. And
how do superheroes fly?
Liam (02:14):
My name is Liam. I'm six years old. I live in Iowa Falls.
How do superheroes getsuperpowers?
Melody (02:23):
Superheroes are, unfortunately, not real. They
are works of fiction. That meansthey are an art form that
explores imaginary people andstories. At least as far as we
know, no humans can fly on theirown or see through buildings or
pause time.
Jane (02:37):
But the good thing about that is that you can imagine
your own superhero stories, andyou aren't limited by what can
actually happen in real life.
Melody (02:46):
You can create whatever powers you want to give your
superhero. And many superheroeshave a pretty cool origin story
about how they went from being anormal human to getting their
superpowers. Superhero storiesare really fun to read.
Jane (02:59):
And it can be even more fun to imagine ourselves with
superpowers. So we asked youwhat superhero power and
superhero name you would have ifyou could invent--or be--a new
superhero?
Calen (03:11):
Hi, my name is Calen, and I'm six years old, and I'm from
North Carolina, Chapel Hill, andif I had a superpower, it would
be to bring stuff to me.
Dusty (03:26):
My name is Dusty. I'm 25, still a kid. I live in America,
and I love But Why. If I had asuperpower, it would be to
duplicate objects, like toys.The name would be DupliGooey. I
could share things that I love,and there'd be a little less
fighting over stuff, peoplelike,
Millie (03:46):
Hi, my name is Millie. My super power name would be
Pinky, and my super power wouldwould be Pink Blast. And it
would knock over criminals. Itwould even text a few things,
and it would knock offbuildings, knock off trees,
knock off really strong thingslike that. And my outfit would
(04:07):
be a pink cape, red boots and apink skirt with a red star on it
and a pink shirt.
Hannah (04:15):
Hello. My name is Hannah. I am six years old. I
live in Istanbul. I want to besuperhero. Lift the things that
are so heavy.
Jane (04:31):
Ooh, wow, lifting things that are really heavy. I love
that idea, because it's both asuperpower and super practical.
But Melody, I really liked allof them. Like, if we could make
things duplicate so nobody couldfight. Or I like Calen's, where
you could zip things right toyou. So if I'm sitting on the
couch, I could just zip a glassof water right to me without
having to get up.
Melody (04:52):
Oh my gosh, that would be so useful. I'm sure so many
people would love that one.
Jane (04:55):
Especially adults.
Melody (04:56):
Yes. All right, let's hear a few more of you.
Superpowers. Hello.
Jordan (05:01):
My name is Jordan. I'm 10 years old, nearly 11. I'm
Charlie (05:02):
My name is Charlie, and I'm five years old, and I live
from Saint Michael, Barbados,and if I had a superpower, it
would be to control theelements. And my superhero name
would be Anita Arrow Spark.
(05:22):
in New Hampshire. My superheroname is Sparko, and my power is,
I wish my power was, um, flyingand being invisible.
Jason (05:34):
My name is Jason. I'm six years old. I live in Los
Angeles, California. Mysuperhero name is Scorpion. His
power is to use the electricityto slash things in half. [Hums a
theme song for Scorpion.]
Ava (05:54):
My name is Ava. I live in, Syosset, New York. I'm eight
years old. My superpowers wouldbe flight, invisibility and
X-ray vision, and my superheroname would be Amazing Ava.
Jane (06:05):
Amazing Ava. And Amazing Ava mentioned invisibility. That
was a really popular power thata lot of you wanted, starting
with Benjamin.
Benjamin (06:15):
My superhero name is Invisible Man, and I'm going to
be invisible for my superpower.
Ashur (06:25):
My name is Ashur. I'm eight years old. I live in New
York City, and my superpower,that I wish would be a thing, is
sussness, which is you can blendin with your surroundings and
(06:45):
become a material so that youcan be the best at hide and
Dashel (06:50):
Hi. My name is Dashel. If I had a superpower, it would
seek.
be invisibility, and his namewould be Dashel.
Ryan (07:02):
Hi, But Why! My name is Ryan. I'm nine years old. I live
in Wilmington, Pennsylvania. Mysuperhero name would be
Invisigirl and my superpowerwould be invisibility.
Alice (07:12):
Hi, my name is Alice. My superpower would be invisibility
and my name would be Invisigirl.
Matilda (07:22):
My name's Matilda. I live in Croydon, England, and my
super name would be the FastGirl that can turn invisible. I
can run so fast no one can seeme, and I'm invisible.
Miles (07:42):
My name's Miles, and I live in Indianapolis, and I'm
six years old, and if I were asuperhero and had a superpower,
I would be Batman and beinvisible.
Holden (07:59):
My name is Holden. I'm nine years old. I live in Salem,
Oregon, and my superhero namewould be Sir Invisibility, and
my superpower would beinvisibility.
Kendra (08:10):
Hi, I am Kendra. I am almost seven. I live in
Vancouver, BC, Canada. Mysuperhero name would be
Chameleon Kendra, and mysuperpower will be blending into
my surroundings.
Melody (08:26):
I was having a hard time deciding if invisibility and
blending into your surroundings,kind of like camouflage, were
the same thing. But either way,it seems like a lot of us want
to find a way to disappear, butto also be able to know what's
going on. I likes that.
Jane (08:40):
And a lot of you wanted to be called Invisigirl. Want to
know another superpower a lot ofkids would love to have?
Melody (08:45):
Is it flying?
Jane (08:47):
It's flying.
Emmitt (08:48):
My name is Emmitt and I'm five and a half years old.
My superhero name is Super Baby,and I would get flying in
seconds!
Zelda (08:59):
My name is Zelda. I'm seven years old. I live in
Norwalk, Connecticut. If I had asuperpower, it would be flying
with the birds in the clouds,and my super name would be
Supergirl.
Liam (09:18):
My name is Liam. I'm five years old. My super name is
Leaping Liam, because mysuperpower is flying.
Hi, my name is Borena, and I'mfrom Iran. My superpower name is
Karen, and my superpower isflying.
Dax (09:45):
My name is Dax. I'm six years old. I live in Fitchburg,
Wisconsin. In my specialability, I want to fly with
wings.
Jane (10:00):
I used to have daydreams about being able to fly. Well,
it was actually kind of likesort of flying. I could leap
into the air and then float highabove for a really long distance
before coming down and thenleaping right up back again. I
would love to be able to fly.Melody.
Melody (10:18):
I mean, that would be cool, but that definitely isn't
the superpower that I would wishfor, but some of you had
superpowers I'd never eventhought of.
Asher (10:27):
My name is Asher, and I'm nine years old, and I live in
Michigan, and if I had asuperpower, my power would be to
draw anything I wanted perfectlythe first time, and my superhero
name would be The Drawer.
Emmaus (10:43):
My name is Emmaus. I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and
my superhero name would be SuperBoy, and my super power would be
lovest, kindest and strongest.
Sophie (10:57):
Hi. My name is Sophie, and I live in Arlington,
Virginia. I'm eight years old,and if I was a superhero, my
name would be Agent Red, and mypower would be that I can shoot
lasers.
Matthew (11:11):
My name is Matthew, and my super name would be Blazer,
and my super power would be Iwould be the best soldier.
Sid (11:21):
My name would be Cobalt and my car would be supersonic
speed.
Melody (11:25):
That last one was Sid, who lives in the United Kingdom.
So many of you wanted to be ableto either turn into animals or
be able to talk to animals, andthat's one that I would want,
Jane.
Jane (11:35):
Me too! Can you imagine, Melody, just being able to talk
to animals and understandeverything they're saying, or
turn into one when you wantedto? It would be so cool.
Remy (11:43):
Kia ora. My name is Remy. I am from Auckland, New Zealand,
and I am seven years old, and mysuperpower would be talking to
animals, and my super name wouldbe Pink Girl.
Emma (11:58):
My name is Emma. I'm 12 years old, and I'm from
Burlington, North Carolina, andif I could have any superpower I
wanted, I think I would like tobe able to turn into an animal,
whenever I wanted to.
Santi (12:10):
My name is Santi, and I'm from Columbia, and I live In
Oregon. Here's borrow and mysuperhero name would be
Crayskell, and my power would beturning into a ginormous
crayfish.
Janetta (12:31):
Hello. I'm Janetta. I'm from Mexico City. I'm seven
years old. My super power wouldbe that I could talk with the
stingrays. And my superhero namewould be Stingray.
Nicole (12:43):
My name's Nicole. I'm seven years old. I live in
Berumuda, and if I had anysuperpower, it would be to
communicate with animals, toturn into animals, and to ride
on animals.
Nelli (13:03):
Hi, my name is Nelli, and I'm seven years old, and I'm
from Melbourne, Australia, andif I was a superhero, my name
would be The Rainbow, and mysuperpower would be to turn into
any animal I want.
Charlotte (13:21):
Hi, my name is Charlotte. I'm eight years old.
I live in Westchester,Pennsylvania. My superpower name
is Lily, and my superpower is toturn into animals and to talk to
animals.
William (13:34):
Hi, my name is William. I'm five and 11/12ths. I am from
Martinez, California, and if Ihad a superpower, I would want
it to be talking to animals.
Henley (13:44):
Hi, my name is Henley, and I'm six years old, and my
superpower would be talking toanimals. And why I'd be talking
to animals is because so I canknow what they want because,
like, basically dogs, they'rebegging. I don't know what they
want, so then, like, I couldtalk to them, so then I know
(14:07):
what they want.
Zinny (14:08):
My name is Zinny. I live in Stevenson, Washington. My
superpower would be to turnpeople into animals. And my
super name would be ChickenFingers, and my age is four.
Jane (14:24):
I love the name Chicken Fingers as a superhero name,
Melody.
Melody (14:27):
So, so cool.
Jane (14:30):
For all of you who want to communicate with animals, did
you hear our recent interviewand episode about how animals
talk to each other and howresearchers are working on
understanding what they'resaying so that we know more
about animal communication? Iknow you can't magically turn
into an animal or magicallyunderstand what they're saying,
but maybe you can, in real life,become a scientist who studies
(14:53):
them someday.
Melody (14:54):
Here are a few more superpowers that didn't really
fit in a category.
Lyra (14:58):
My name is Lyra. I'm 8 years old. I live in Ithaca, New
York, and my superhero namewould be Lyra, and then my
superhero power would be I canspeak any language that is spoke
to me.
Zoya (15:10):
Hi. My name is Zoya, and I live in California, Los Angeles,
and my superpower is gonna betransforming into Wonder Woman,
Ellie (15:22):
Hi, my name is Ellie, and I'm five years old. I live in
Columbus, Ohio. If I had asuperpower, it would be
shrinking and my name would beShrinker Girl.
Memo (15:33):
Hi. My name is Memo. I'm from Oakland, California. My
superhero would be calledNutcracker, and its power would
be nutcrackers!
Arav (15:46):
My name is Arav and my superpower name is Q, and I like
building things tall, up to thesky.
Sigri (15:56):
Hi. My name is Sigri. I am six years old. I live in
Minneapolis, St Paul. If I had asuperpower, my superpower would
be knowing everything. And if Ihad a superhero name, my name
would be Sigri.
Jane (16:16):
Knowing everything. Isn't that what your adults already
do, they know everything?
Melody (16:21):
No.
Jane (16:23):
Yeah, that's absolutely not a superpower of most adults.
I think we actually feel like weknow less now than we did when
we were kids. So that might be agood one for a lot of the adults
listening.
Melody (16:32):
But if you knew everything, would you still be
curious? There wouldn't beanything to learn.
Jane (16:37):
Yeah, I guess that's true. Okay, maybe I'm okay with not
knowing everything.
Melody (16:41):
Coming up, more of you superheroes.
BREAK (16:43):
BREAK
Jane (16:45):
This is But Why
Lindholm.
Melody (16:49):
And I'm Melody Bodette. Usually you ask the questions.
Today, you're answering thequestion. We asked what your
superhero powers would be, andwe're loving hearing your
creative ideas.
William (17:00):
My name is William. I'm four years old. I live in Cape
Town. My superpower is magnetic.Super Magnet. It takes things
that are magnetic.
DanNing (17:15):
Hello. My name is DanNing. I'm six years old. I
live in Fort Lauderdale,Florida. My superpower will be
to invent anything that peoplewith good intention want. My
superpower name is Serena.
Finnigan (17:28):
My superpower is gonna be, uh, being stretchy. It's
been sticky. And there's a superpower that makes villains be
destroyed.
Jane (17:41):
Ooh, lots of superpowers in comic books and movies are
designed to destroy villains.That's a good one. But sometimes
we're just looking for powersthat are super cool or just
otherwise useful. Like asurprising number of you want a
super ability to do math.
Sally June (17:59):
My name is Sally June. I'm six years old, and I'm
from West Texas, and mysuperhero name would be
Mathemeta, and my power would besolving numbers really fast in
my head,
Luca (18:16):
My name is Luca. I'm from Ashley, Canada. I'm five and a
half years old. My superheroname would be Math Master, and
he could solve math problems inhis head in seconds.
Micah (18:30):
My name is Micah. I'm 11 years old, and I live in
Hudsonville, Michigan. Mysuperhero name is Super Math
Solver. I can solve any mathproblems in an instant.
Emerson (18:45):
I'm Emerson. I'm eight years old. My superpower would
be solving math equations inseconds, because I really like
math, and I got an A+ in math.
Melody (18:58):
Congrats on that. A+ Emerson. Some of you wanted
powers relating to your eyes.
Ula (19:04):
My name is Ula. I'm six years old. I live in Perth,
Australia. My superhero name isGlowy, and my superhero power is
I can see in the dark.
Lyra (19:17):
My name's Lyra I apply two years old. I live in Monsbury,
the UK. My superhero's name isBlazer. He can shoot lasers from
his eyes.
Jane (19:30):
That's a good one, but always use your laser-shooting
powers for good, not evil. Someof you wanted the ability to
mess with time.
Adrien (19:39):
Hello. My name is Adrien. I live in Colorado. I'm
11 years old. My superhero namewould be Time Stop. I have the
ability to stop time, dowhatever I want while time is
frozen, and when I snap myfingers, I would time would go
back to normal. Bye.
Mythili (19:56):
My name is Mythili. I live in Redmond, Washington. I'm
six years old, and I want to beable to time travel with the
characters and Magic Tree House.
Carys (20:11):
My name is Carys. I live in Monkton Vermont. I'm eight
years old, and my superheropower would be that I could go
back in time and talk to myself.
Katrina and Harold (20:21):
Hi, I'm Katrina, and I'm 10 years old.
Hi, I'm Harold and I'm eightyears old. We live in South
Carolina. If I had a superpower,it would be telekinesis, to move
things with my mind withouttouching it. Also I would be
called Blaze. If I hadsuperpower, it would be to
rewind and fast forward time.And my superhero name would be
(20:45):
the Time Rocket.
Melody (20:47):
What about moving yourself with just your mind?
Teleporting is when youdisappear in one place and
immediately appear in another.
Taarun (20:54):
Hello. My name is Taarun. I am nearly seven years
old. I live in Brisbane,Australia, and my superpower
would be teleporting throughspace and time. And if I had
held someone's hand, they wouldbe teleported too. My super hero
name would be Teleport.
The Bullen sisters (21:14):
Hi. We are the Bullen sisters. My hero name
is Luna, and my powers are tofly and teleport. My superhero
name is Lounder, and my powersare to fly and shape shift.
Zoe (21:28):
My superhero name is Bubble Blaze, and my super powers
teleporting. My real name isZoe, and I'm seven years old,
and from Orange, Kansas.
Jade (21:38):
My name is Jade. I'm eight years old. I live in Maraga,
California, and if I would havea superpower, I would like to
teleport.
Jane (21:48):
From teleportation to telepathy, the ability to read
minds.
Fade (21:54):
Hi, my name is Fade. I'm seven years old, and I live in
Dallas, Texas. I would like mysuperhero name to be Sasha, and
I like my superhero power to betelepathy.
Ruby (22:06):
My name is Ruby. I'm six years old. I live in Moraga,
California, and I want mysuperpower to be to read
people's minds.
Melody (22:15):
Jane, can you read my mind?
Jane (22:16):
Only when you're annoyed with me!
Melody (22:18):
That would never happen. Some of you want to control
elements like water and fire orto control the weather.
Cecilia (22:25):
Hi, my name is Cecilia. I'm nine years old, and I'm from
Fall City, Washington, and if Iwere to have a superpower, it
would be to control water.
Alexis (22:39):
Hi, my name is Alexis, and I'm five years old. I live
in California. My super namewill be Super Rainbow. My super
power will be freezing peoplethat are bad and fire.
Unknown (22:54):
How super power is frozen.
Ben (23:00):
Hi. My name is Ben, and I'm eight years old, and I live in
Jakarta, Indonesia, and mysuperhero name name is Moon
Slayer, and his power isshooting thunderstorms and be
(23:21):
invincible.
Claire (23:22):
My name is Claire. I live in Gross Ille, Michigan,
and I am seven years old. Mysuperpower would be to control
the weather so I could make itsnow, so I can make snowmen all
the time.
Freya (23:36):
My name is Freya. I'm seven. I live in England, and my
superhero name will be TurtleGirl, and my power will be to
change the weather. Bye.
Jane (23:49):
Controlling the weather would be so useful, Melody. I
think if that was a real power,it would be very much in demand
if we were all picking our superpowers.
Melody (23:58):
Yeah, but don't you think a lot of kids and you
know, maybe some adults mightuse that to get some snow days
so they don't have to go toschool?
Jane (24:05):
Well, that's true. All right, we have a few more that
didn't fit into any specificcategories, but we still love
them. Here we go.
Tom (24:13):
Hi. My name is Tom. I'm nine years old. I live in
Melbourne, Australia, and if Iwas a superhero, my name would
be The Changer, and my powerwould be shape shifting.
Melody (24:23):
You know, I thought shape shifting would be much
more popular.
Kai (24:27):
My name is Kai. I'm six years old, and I live in
Fitchburg, Wisconsin, and mysuperpower is I can eat
marshmallows all day long.
Melody (24:38):
I'd really love that power. I suppose I could eat
marshmallows all day long, butthat would definitely give you a
stomach ache.
Elizabeth (24:45):
My name is Elizabeth. I live in St Albans, Vermont.
I'm four years old, and mysuperpower is to fly and freeze
everything into ice and turneverything into ice cream.
Megha (25:05):
My name is Megha. i two years old and my superpower is
to zip-zap to Disneyland.
Elliot (25:19):
My name is Elliot. I live in Seaton, and I am now 10,
and if I had a superpower, itwould be rapping really fast,
because then I could have lotsof money and be successful. Oh,
and my name would be RappingRobin.
Jane (25:40):
A lot of people have had a lot of success at rapping, and
that's one that you could maybedo with some extra practice. You
don't need a superpower at all.
Carina (25:48):
My name is Carina. I am seven years old, and I live in
Newton, Massachusetts. Mysuperpower would be what I think
of, it would appear right infront of me, and my name would
be The Wishmaker.
Georgia (26:05):
My name is Georgia. I am six years old. I live in
McLean, Virginia, and mysuperhero name and power would
be breathing underwater. And myname would be Merlinda.
Neomi (26:21):
My name is Neomi. I'm eight years old. I live in
Everett, Washington. And if Icould have any superpower, I
would want to be able to climbon walls and ceilings. And then
when I came back down, peoplewould be like, "Where were you?"
And my superhero name wouldprobably be Super Neomi.
Rafael (26:36):
Hi, I'm Rafael. I am seven years old. I live in West
Reading, Pennsylvania, and mysuperhero is named Gilbert, and
he can breathe on the water, andhe can fly and and he could
travel through stuff that humanscan't travel through.
Nia (26:56):
My name is Nia. I am five and a half years old. I live in
Redwood City, California. Mysuper hero name is Magical Lion
Wolf. My superpower would be tomake wishes.
Amiri (27:16):
Hello. My name is Amiri, and I'm eight years old. I live
in Limerick, Ireland and and mysuperhero name would be The
Imaginator. And my superpowerwould would be to turn things
that aren't real to reality.
Melody (27:34):
I love that one, turning things that aren't real into
reality, things that come intoyour imagination. That's an
opportunity I think we all haveto create something new. Sure,
we're limited by technology andthings like that. You know, we
can't fly on our own, but we canget into a plane and travel all
around the world. It's amazingto think that flying for humans
wasn't even possible back whensuperheroes as we know them
(27:54):
today were invented. And nowhumans have not only flown all
over the world, we've been tothe moon. That's pretty cool.
Jane (28:01):
It is pretty cool. And I guess it's like, you have to
imagine it as a superpowerthat's almost unbelievable
before you can create thereality of it. So some
superpowers were magical backwhen people invented them, and
now we've found ways to makethem real, even if it's not
exactly what we imagined in thecomic books and movies. I really
(28:23):
wonder what the next century isgoing to bring. Are we going to
be living in houses filled withrobots? Or maybe someday humans
will be living on Mars? I guessthere's no way to know, but we
can imagine anything, and here'ssomething else to chew on before
we end the episode, it's truethat a lot of the superpowers
we've talked about today aren'treally possible. They're just
(28:46):
fun to imagine. But when weexpand our definition of what a
superhero is, there are lots ofways to be a superhero for real.
guess that's a good way to end the episode, Melody. Our
instruction to you as we end theyear and end the episode is to
(29:13):
think about a way that you couldbe a real superhero in your own
community, family or life.
Melody (29:20):
That's a great idea, Jane. That's it for this
episode. Thanks so much toeveryone who sent in a
superpower. If you have aquestion about anything, have an
adult record you asking it. It'seasy to do on a smartphone using
an app like voice memos. Thenemail the file to
questions@butwhykids.org
Jane (29:39):
But Why is produced by Melody Bodette and me, Jane
Lindholm, at Vermont Public.Joey Palumbo produces our video
series for YouTube. Our thememusic is by Luke Reynolds, and
we're distributed by PRX. We'llbe back in two weeks with an all
new episode. Until then, staysuper!!
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