Whenever asked what my superpower would be, I would answer (semi)jokingly in one of two ways: it would either be to know when I'm "half-tired" (so I'd know when to turn around and go home) or to be able to declare Mulligans on life.
A Mulligan is a golf term for a do-over. Therefore, today's idea to be stolen is that of a superhero whose power is to undo the last few seconds to last few minutes of his life.
I favor the teenager bestowed with this power to be able to manipulate it by either seconds or minutes, but no more. Let's say five minutes for the maximum (or some quirky, but relatable number to a temporal equation, if such a number exists). Basically I want it to be manipulatable for one reason: I have this vision of him during a montage asking out every girl in school to see who likes him and who doesn't.
I'm sure this gimmick has been done before to some extent. It feels familiar like that Adam Sandler movie Click. I just want to see it in the superhero genre. It sounds like it has possibilities.
You would have to figure out exactly what his power does like, is it universally applied? Does all of existence get undone except in his memory of his mulligan period? Is it simple time travel (simple, he says...)? Is it more a ranged thing like, let's say the Men in Black memory erasers (meaning anyone within sight of him is affected)? Are there people (arch-villain I suppose?) who are immune to the effect? And why? Does he continue to age despite the mulligans (meaning that if he overdoes it that he will eventually be noticeably older than he should be - a few seconds here and there add up over time)? Stuff to think about...
One thing he definitely cannot do is repeatedly use the power to travel further back in time. I guess some limitations could be if he goes back thirty seconds, he cannot use his power again for thirty seconds (that is, until he's "caught up"). He also cannot go back to a period he mulliganed.
Using the previous thirty second example:
He's caught up to himself and ten seconds more have passed. He could mulligan back ten seconds, but he could not mulligan back even eleven because that would place him back in a period he had already mulliganed. Make sense? Perhaps it could be rationalized both as a limitation and a means for avoiding time paradoxes. These rules are reminding me vaguely of Time Cop now :-)
Basically he has one chance to re-get it right. Sure he could stall and mulligan again later but those moments where he can't use his power could prove deadly.
I can envision him getting into difficulties despite this ability like, let's say he's been within a sniper's scope for a minute and he mulligans back forty seconds for another reason. He'll still be in mortal danger so it's not like this power lends him effective immortality. He would have to use it smartly to wield it effectively. Something a teenager may not be prone to doing.
If he has to have a sidekick, perhaps a complementarily powered hero who can see up to a few minutes into the future? Perhaps they meet because this person noticed the future didn't turn out the way he saw it (which shouldn't happen so long as he does not tell anyone what will happen) - it leads him to figure out (please don't call him this) Mulliganman's identity or something-or-other. Of course, such a person could also be a villain. I dunno.
I would be open to him being able to go back further, like an hour or even a whole day. Given his inability to use his power for that entire period, it could lead to some interesting stories. Relive an entire day, but having to do it like a normal person and unable to reaffect anything that happens that day. Is he ultimately a coward without his power?
Have I said enough to get the ball rolling?
DISCLAIMER: To anyone reading this, you are welcome to not only use, but claim this idea as your own without giving credit to me. I sometimes have ideas, but I do not have the skills needed to express them. It is more important to me to see these ideas done than to receive recognition for them. That being said, giving me a mention anyway would make me giddy. If this idea has in fact already been done, then I strongly suggest you not actually steal it (at least not without major revisions) :-)
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