Talk:Enhanced strength

Examples

• I don't think Niki broke the guard's baton in Godsend. I think Jessica took over briefly to keep from getting hit; her expression changed, and Niki didn't seem to understand how she ended up with a broken baton in her hands. They flipped back and forth rapidly in that episode, all apparently at Jessica's discretion. --Ted C 09:43, 23 January 2007 (EST)
  • I really am a bit frustrated that we're saying Niki broke the baton, since my viewing of the seen has Jessica breaking it and leaving Niki holding the pieces. Anyone else have an opinion on this? --Ted C 12:20, 23 January 2007 (EST)
    • I agree, but I get the impression we're a distinct minority. To me, it looks like Jessica's face when she grabs it, and Niki's face when she realizes it's broken.--Hardvice (talk) 12:22, 23 January 2007 (EST)
    • My impression exactly. I've basically toned down the language in the article without completely discounting the assertion that it was Niki. --Ted C 12:29, 23 January 2007 (EST)

Enhanced Toughness

As noted already, a certain amount of superhuman durability is inherently required to apply enhanced strength: if you're muscles can apply enough force to bend a steel bar, but your bones can't withstand that force, you'll break your own limbs. Jessica is obviously tough enough to withstand her own uses of her strength, but Fallout showed that her toughness extends to resisting certain kinds of attacks: when DL hit her hard in the body with the flat of a shovel blade, she got back up immediately, and neither she nor Niki showed any sign of injury. --Ted C 13:11, 13 December 2006 (EST)

I pulled the following example as a follow up to changing the Limits description.

• Jessica takes a hard blow to the belly from a swung shovel without apparent injury. (Fallout)

We can put it back if we get more evidence of superhuman toughness. --Ted C 15:30, 4 January 2007 (EST)

No, I think it's fine to leave it out. It doesn't really show her "strength", just her toughness. (PS - I've taken a shovel hit before and survived - and "enhanced strength" is not my superpower.) - RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 19:55, 4 January 2007 (EST)

Yes, but did you walk around afterward as if nothing happened? --Ted C 00:00, 5 January 2007 (EST)

Oh, sure - and I ran a marathon right after. Exhilarating! :) - RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 00:14, 5 January 2007 (EST)

Enhanced Reflexes

I'm tempted to take out the "enhanced reflexes" note and move it to Theories, since there's no real evidence that Jessica has superhuman speed or reflexes. --Ted C 17:07, 14 December 2006 (EST)

• I'd say so, too. There's also a lot of discussion regarding consequential powers. Like Jessica needing enhanced durability because super strength requires she not injure herself or Nathan needing durability, too, to withstand supersonic flight. I think we'll find Nathan can be injured just as easily as someone else, but whether it's true or not is just a theory. I dont think we should speculate in the main articles on these consequential powers and just discuss their proven powers for the time being. (Admin 17:13, 14 December 2006 (EST))
  • Well, since I wrote the claims, I'll note that Jessica would injure her own arm trying to pull the door off a safe if her bones, joints, and muscles couldn't withstand the force. We also have the related evidence of DL smacking her with a shovel and doing nothing more than knock her down by sheer momentum. Enhanced reflexes aren't inherently required to use enhanced strength, and she hasn't done anything to demonstrate superior reflexes. --Ted C 17:39, 14 December 2006 (EST)
    • It's true that her super strength requires the durability as a natural consequence, but it's unclear currently whether it's a power that merits specific mention or whether we're expected to just suspend disbelief. If we accept the consequential powers then with the strength she has she might technically be able to stop bullets with her hand, but then she becomes virtually invulnerable and I suspect that wasn't their intention. My view is that as a result it's still speculation since they haven't addressed these consequential powers. How does everyone else feel? (Admin 17:50, 14 December 2006 (EST))
      • We have to remember that we're just giving a name to each power. The power Nathan has (which we have named "flight"), for instance, might be more than just the act of levitating and flying - there might be something inherently built in to help him resist injury while he's flying — but all that's speculation. We just call it what we call it, and make notes about it. We do know (based on what Mr. Bennet told Sylar) that Jessica only has one power. We call it "enhanced strength". But that doesn't mean her power can't include some other attributes along with being really strong. But again - speculation. - RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 20:22, 14 December 2006 (EST)
• I think I tossed in that note about the reflexes. I had tried to support it with evidence -- the fact being that she killed a room full of people within a very short period of time that Ando and Hiro were out of the money launderer's main room. The D.L./Jessica fights (particular the one at their house) also seemed to show Jessica "sped-up", she was moving pretty swiftly and caught D.L. quite off guard until he had time to react to what was happening. So, I don't think it's a theory, I think it's an observation. I'm not attached to this POV, though; I guess the line between theory and proof is thin -- Xanen 20:10, 14 December 2006 (EST)
  • I'm just not seeing that her reflexes are enhanced. She usually has the element of surprise, since people don't expect meek little Niki to suddenly rip their arms off. Furthermore, she's not afraid to use guns, which would help in the mass combats. If we see a real indication of superhuman reflexes, then I'm all for adding them in, but I haven't seen her do anything superhuman in that regard, yet. --Ted C 22:51, 14 December 2006 (EST)