Who is a Super Hero and What is a Super Villain? Surely it can't be that hard.

The EasternMax family often plays a version of 'twenty questions' at dinner time.  Generally there is a theme.  The most popular theme is "transport".  In this game one person thinks of a form of transport and we take it in turns to ask a question that has a yes or no answer such as "is it a land transport?", "does it have wheels?" etc until one person works out the answer.  Various house rules have developed over time and it is generally fun and non-contentious.

This week we tried a new theme - Super Heroes and Super Villains.  All was going swimmingly until I chose Catwoman as a Super Villain.

According to Firegazer Catwoman is not a Super.  Catwoman, he says, is just a bad girl in a leather suit.  We have since become so embroiled in an argument over what constitutes a Super Hero or Villain that we have not yet managed to have a successful second attempt at the game.

Is Batman a Super Hero? Some say not because he is just a guy with a suit and cool gadgets - he doesn't have special powers.  What about Iron Man?  Again, a guy with a cool suit.  The Phantom? Ditto, he doesn't even have gadgets - just a horse and a dog.

What about The Joker? Surely he is a Super Villain? Or is he just a sad man with an oversupply of pancake makeup? Surely Syndrome is a Super Villain; or do the jet boots count against him?

I accused Firegazer of sexism because he would not accept Wonder Woman as a Super on account of her using bracelets and a lasso rather than super powers.  Wonder Woman is from another planet, just like Superman; surely that qualifies her as a Super?

In order to get on with the game we have come up with a working definition of a Super:

• Must wear a suit when crime-fighting, cape and mask optional.
  
• Must have a Super Power that comes from within, not with the aid of technology.
  
• Must keep his or her identity a secret and have an alter-ego.  For super villains this alter ego should be a CEO of a technology company or a Geeky Scientist. For super heroes the alter ego should be 'mild mannered'.
  
• Super Heroes must be some sort of adjunct to the local police department/military/secret service.
  
• Super Villains must want to rule the world.
  

The problem is we can't name many Super Villains that meet all these requirements and some of our favourite heroes are left off the list.  Surely Batman is a Super? The Fantastic Four don't hide their identities...and surely Lex Luthor counts as one of the best Super Villains of all time?

I'm starting to think this is a problem too complex for mere mortals and we should go back to simpler themes. I'm thinking of a transport - you have twenty questions...