10 Heroically Terrible Superpowers Writers Should Feel Embarrassed They Invented

7. US 1

It was a dark time in American history. The country was consumed by a seemingly never-ending tête-à-tête with an unseen, unknowable force, and the pop culture of the era reflected this darkness and nihilism. I am of course referring to the inexplicable CB radio craze of the late 70s/early 80s, where no greater joy could be gained from anything but talking to strangers over shortwave in stupid code words. There's a reason Marvel are simply known as the "House of Ideas" and not the "House of Good Ideas", since they latched onto the craze and latched good with US 1, their first truck-driving superhero, and possibly their first superhero whose origin includes huge head trauma. Based off of the experiences of whoever came up with this monstrosity, we can only assume. Ulysses Solomon Archer (that name seems significant for some reason) was just a regular, everyday driver in a truckin' convoy across the USA until one fateful day he got rammed off the road by the big rig from Duel driven by Morbius, the Living Vampire, here playing the role of "The Highwayman". Somehow US survives the crash and ensuing explosion and, in an experimental treatment, his shattered skull is replaced by a metal one. Which can pick up CB radio waves. Yep, US 1's one and only superpower is that he suffers from the same affliction as many conspiracy theorists/mentally ill people: people beam radio messages into his brain. That's it. He's a dude that drives a truck and can pick up radio messages without having to go to all that effort to pick up the receiver that's maybe half a foot from where he's sitting. US 1 ended after 12 issues and Ulysses went to live in space, but sadly did not die on the way back to his home planet.