So, some superheroes have powers and some don't? I started reading John Byrne's latest column at UGO.com, thinking there might be a point to it. I thought, perhaps, Byrne was going to compare and contrast an era's values and desires with the form and function of its fictional heroes. Maybe he'd look at the influence World War II and the genre's pulp roots had on the creation of so many non-powered costumed characters in the Golden Age, or how Cold War concerns and interest in the space race and scientific advancement gave birth to so many superhuman characters in the Silver Age.

But, alas, no. Even Byrne acknowledges there may be no point to his column:

"If there is a point to this little discourse I am not really sure what it is -- except perhaps to point up once more the vast differences that seem to exist between The Way it Was and The Way it Is. Nowadays, it seems, the idea of superheroes or supervillains who have no special powers has fallen largely out of favor. In fact, in many cases the characters, good and bad, are often expected to have powers and weapons! One shudders to imagine what Superman might be like, if he was created in 2004 instead of 70 years earlier!"