Dan Morris: Finding your superpower in the most unlikely of places

Flying would be fantastic, of course. To take to the skies like Superman would be both show stopping and practical (bye bye traffic jams), but it does feel like a bit of an obvious choice.

Maybe something a little more off-the-wall is in order. Olympic glory would be assured if you could run like The Flash or throw like Wonder Woman, but, again, super speed and super strength feel like pretty tame options.

An old pal of mine once posited that our superpowers, were we ever to garner them, should be based on traits we already possess, but given a sprinkle of Stan Lee stardust.

He was rather proud of his big brain, and immediately suggested that his own super gift would be the ability to confuse his enemies with literally mind-bending puzzles. Another of our number – famous for her particularly luscious and shiny hair – would have the ability to grow it to an extraordinary length (Rapunzel-style) on command, and use it to either tie-up, trip or whip her foes.

However, the power he saw fit to bestow on me had its genesis in a somewhat stranger place, based on something I’d certainly never considered to be a strength.

I have a condition known as a benign essential tremor. Basically it means that my hands shake somewhat.

It’s never caused me any major problems (though learning journalistic shorthand was something of a process), and I’ve long learned to live with it, always choosing to be the first to take the mickey and thus put others at ease.

It’s probably because of this that brain box bud felt comfortable enough to suggest it as the source of my super strength, suggesting that my power could be the ability to touch the ground and cause earthquakes.

I’m not too sure how useful this would be in most crimefighting situations, with collateral damage probably far outweighing any good I would do in bringing down the bad guys, but it was a fun idea nonetheless.

Bizarrely perhaps, I haven’t really thought about my tremor in a very long time. As I say, I’ve learned to live with it, and seeing as it manifested when I was a young teenager, it’s actually quite difficult to really remember life without it.

Before it was actually diagnosed, I do remember being a little worried. Sadly, there are many very serious conditions involving ‘the shakes’, and, of course, these are the dark places your mind can go to when you simply don’t know what is wrong.

But since a doctor long ago assured me that my tremor does not pertain to anything life-threatening or truly debilitating, I’ve learned to simply embrace it and make it a part of me.

There are still some basic tasks that can be tricky, and never fail to give my mates a good giggle. Unintentionally frothy coffee is often served when I have visitors, and my inability to safely transport more than one cup at a time from the kitchen means it is often cold (and therefore, more of a milkshake) by the time it reaches them.

Getting any key in any door is something of a challenge, and my lack of proficiency at this would certainly rule me out of success on The Crystal Maze.

Playing the board game Operation is always a bit of a non-starter, and I long ago discounted myself from the prospect of ever becoming an actual surgeon. And, of course, Jenga, for me, has always been a hilariously quick affair. A career as a builder was swiftly ruled out too.

There are, however, a few things I’ve persevered with over the years to the point that my skill at them now surprises some people.

Years ago I took up the gloriously geeky pastime of model painting, and while it was never an interest that I advertised during my major ‘chatting up’ years, it remains one of the most relaxing pleasures in my life to this day.  At first, the standard was of course poor, but it got better, and I firmly believe that persevering with this has generally helped keep my tremor in check. I may not be able to pour a decent brew, but I can turn your tea set into the roof of the Sistine Chapel.

So, should my tremor be the source of my superpower? Why not? For better or worse, it’s part of what makes me me, and I’m far too long in the tooth to shy away from it now.

Superhero name suggestions are all appreciated – I don’t think ‘Dan, Dan the Tremor Man’ is likely to cut it with Marvel Studios…