Misfits aired for five seasons on E4 beginning in 2009 and offered a look at what would happen if morally grey members of society suddenly acquired superpowers. Five social “misfits” repaying their debt to society through community service get gifted special abilities after exposure to a geo-storm, the repercussions of which are felt in every aspect of their lives.
The powers range from the most nonsensical (i.e. lactokinesis, the ability to control dairy products), to the most epic, the ability to turn back time, and everywhere in between. As Simon, Kelly, Alisha, Curtis, and Nathan learn to use their newfound gifts, they encounter others like them, and it seems like life will never return to the way it was with so many super-powered beings in the world. The popular series begs the question; if given special abilities, would you choose to become a superhero, or use your powers for purely selfish reasons? Here are the 5 best—and 5 weirdest—powers from Misfits.
Best: Turning Back Time
One of the best powers to have on the series belongs to Curtis, the former star track runner who ruined his future by being involved in a drug bust. The geo-storm grants him the ability to turn back time, which allows him to change the outcome of all sorts of events that will happen.
At first, he’s only able to determine what happens a few seconds into the future, but soon this gap grows larger. He’s even able to go back into the past and undo certain events. Imagine being able to go back in time and kill Hitler or determine the winning lotto ticket and go buy it for yourself. The only downside is that Curtis couldn’t control the power very well and would occasionally set in motion events that led to his demise.
Weirdest: Making People’s Junk Rot Off
No doubt if you’ve ever been part of a less-than-harmonious breakup, you may have wished something heinous to happen to your ex’s private bits, but to make them shrivel up and rot off completely? That’s the power Leah gets, though hers is slightly more justified; it’s born from the desire to hold men responsible who lie to get into women’s pants.
Leah goes on a vengeful spree with several unlucky lads, guilty of trying to sleep with women under false pretenses. While it may come in handy once in a while, once word got around that was your superpower, it would be difficult to get future partners to trust you wouldn’t use it on them out of spite.
Best: Invisibility
Loner Simon develops the power of invisibility thanks to the geo-storm, a classic superpower that basically turns him into the ultimate spy. People excluding him all his life becomes a great asset when he’s suddenly able to eavesdrop on conversations or become a key witness to certain clandestine events.
Simon occasionally used his powers for less than appropriate activities such as spying on ladies when they changed clothes, but ultimately he used them for altruistic purposes. He was able to alter the course of history and save his friends many times over with his ability to go unseen.
Weirdest: Empathetic Tattooing
In the second season of the series, the group encounters a tattoo artist named Vince who regularly does work on Kelly. When she goes to his parlor for a touch up one day, she brings Nathan along. He’s his usual insulting self and insinuates that all Vince’s artwork is “gay.” Vince points his tattoo gun at Nathan, and, low and behold, a tattoo appears on his shoulder.
This isn’t any ordinary tattoo, however. It becomes imbued with whatever you emphatically want most. In this instance, Vince directs Nathan to emphatically lust after Simon out of penance for his derogatory remarks towards homosexuality.
Best: Immortality
Imagine waking up in a coffin and not freaking out? Nathan, the most irritating of the bunch, gets one of the most epic powers among them; he can never truly be killed. Whether it’s getting impaled on a lead pipe, getting stabbed through the heart, or falling onto a protruding fence post, he’ll be able to dust himself off as if nothing happened.
With the power of immortality, you could live your life completely fearlessly. Nathan seems the sort that would quickly turn to a life of crime considering the brush with local authorities that landed him a stint doing community service. He wouldn’t fear the death penalty, so what would stop him from causing the most chaos he could?
Weirdest: Lactokenesis
Up until the geo-storm, mild-mannered Brian was just a simple barista who used a lot of dairy products in his daily routine. Suddenly, he found himself able to manipulate them on a whim, making him an instant celebrity dubbed the “milk magician.”
Not only was it a weird ability, but it could also be downright terrifying. When he sensed other people with superpowers trying to encroach on his newfound fame and fortune, he set out to harden the arteries of everyone who’d consumed a dairy product near him. He could kill you by making you choke on the cheese stick you had for lunch.
Best: Ultimate Healing
Daisy didn’t last long after she was introduced in Season 2, but her superpower was something that earned her instant notoriety and admiration; she could heal any ailment or disease. She was billed as a “pretty Mother Teresa” by her agent, and she chose to use her power for good rather than keep it for herself.
The ability to heal anyone, for any reason, would put you in a position of great authority. You could ultimately decide the fate of world leaders and celebrities who had become infirm, and even entire nations that had become gripped by famine and disease. You also probably would never know a moment’s peace because you’d be so highly sought after.
Weirdest: Alopecia
One of the more curious powers arrives early on in Season 1 and unexpectedly is inflicted on Kelly. She’s been quarreling with a local girl who’s been spreading lies around the neighborhood about her, which lands both of them in the probation officer’s office.
Kelly and the girl’s argument eventually comes to physical violence, and, after being in contact with the girl, Kelly realizes all of her hair’s fallen out. As it happens, the girl who felt like rubbish after her boyfriend cheated on her just wanted everyone to feel as worthless as she did, so she made people bald with the power of inflicting alopecia.
Best: Power Trading
Seth may start off in the series as a no-good drug-dealer, but viewers soon learn there’s more to the rogue than meets the eye. His wheeling and dealing ways have granted him the power of being able to buy, sell, and trade superpowers. A smart dealer never gets hooked on his own product, and, as a result, Seth can’t have any powers for himself.
But the ability to offer supply and demand of superpowers in a world populated by super-beings would be incredibly advantageous. Seth becomes something of a fortune maker and breaker on the series, ultimately deciding the fates of several characters based on the powers they give up and acquire.
Weirdest: Video Game Vision
One of the truly strangest powers was introduced by the character Tim, who, before the geo-storm hit, just couldn’t lay off the video games. Specifically, car heist games filled with drug dealers, mobsters, and double-crossing dames. He encounters the group and immediately assigns them video game characters since the only way he associates with the world is through a first-person POV game.
Unfortunately for Tim, everyone is a character to be shot and robbed, as per the requirements of the “game” called life in which he was engaged. This superpower wouldn’t really be advantageous to anyone considering it didn’t do Tim any good except get people upset with him.
