Board Thread:Fun and Games/@comment-27086473-20170205004603/@comment-30411952-20170629230049

True, equally problematic might be the social changes. (Assuming we handwave physics so that this can be an enduring storyline).

Super-powered individuals would make a powerful asset and governments, coroporations, and syndicates would fight over them, kidnapping them. I'm honestly afraid that a metahuman trafiking industry would rise, either openly or on the black market. (Depending on the public sentiment.)

Public sentiment would be determined by politics and religion. Whether metahumans were branded as the spawn of Satan or as the chosen ones of God(s) would have a huge impact on how they were perceived. In addition to this, there would be the question of politics. I'm not sure about other countries, but I know in the United States one party would support the metahumans and one would fiercely decry them.

If we stipulate that your prediction about supervillians exceeding heroes is true, we can conjecture several scenarios. But I'm only doing one for now because this is bloody exhausting.

1. In a largely anti-meta world, the metahuman trafiking would take place openly. For about five years there would be chaos, then the dehumanization of those with powers would be complete. Beaten and oppressed they would be used as human weapons. Warfare would accelerate and slavery of metahumans would be come institutionalized. This status quo would endure for a few generations answering the question. However it would ultimately collapse. Metahuman genes would mix. More and more powerful individuals would be born. Lets assume that human technology advances at a rate of χ every year. Assuming the first generation of metahumans has 1 power each. Lets additionally stipulate that metahuman powers are dominant genes and that one is sufficient for a power. Generation 2 would have at most two and at least one metahuman power. Generation 3 would have at most four and at least two metahuman powers. Sooner or later, the inexorable increase in metahuman powers will surpass χ. Once it does, its only a matter of time before a leader is able to unite the metahumans in revolt. Unable to stand against the 6th? generation metahumans (a maximum of 64 and minium of 6 powers) the regular humans would be swiftly crushed. The resulting vengence for decades of slavery would be brutal. Civil war would break out and some metahumans would wind up ruling a broken Earth whilst others left for exile in space.