Questions to Ask a Superhero
Written for the minute a child gets with a costumed superhero at a birthday party, a school assembly or a comic convention, and for teachers and parents who set up a pretend interview with a hero in class or at home. The 51 questions run in the order that conversation tends to take: Powers first, then The suit, Origin, Secret identity, Villains and rescues, and last Hero life, which covers days off and what the job costs. All of them are asked in character, so they work the same on a hired performer, a classmate in a paper mask or a parent with a towel tied around their neck.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Powers
What is your superpower?
Why ask it
The question nearly every child asks first, so let them have it. The follow-up that gets a story is 'what is the best thing you ever did with it?', because the power on its own is a one-word answer.
Can you fly?
Why ask it
Short enough for a three-year-old to get out, and it has a good answer either way. A hero who cannot fly gets asked how they reach a rooftop instead: a rope, a running jump, a very fast car.
How strong are you?
Why ask it
Kids want a measurement, so expect 'strong enough to lift a school bus', then ask for the heaviest thing the hero ever picked up. In a language class it is practice for comparisons: stronger than what, faster than whom?
What is your weakness?
Why ask it
Children are often surprised that a hero has one at all. The useful part is who looks after them when it strikes, since that is a strong person admitting they need help.
Can you show me a little bit of your power right now?
Why ask it
A costumed hero at a party will usually strike a pose, flex or pretend to hold up the ceiling, which makes a far better photo than a smile. In a classroom interview the student in the cape gets to mime it, so this one suits beginners who run out of words.
Did you have to practice, or could you do it straight away?
Why ask it
A good hero admits to years of practice and plenty of crashes, which is worth hearing for a child who is stuck on reading or on riding a bike. What went wrong on the very first try is the story to get.
Has your power ever gone wrong at an embarrassing moment?
Why ask it
This is the funny one of the group and it settles a nervous child, since a hero who once flew into a tree or froze the bathwater is far less intimidating. Give the hero a second to invent the story.
Do you ever use your powers for ordinary things, like chores?
Why ask it
It brings the hero down to the child's own day: the top shelf, the dishes dried with heat vision, first place in every line. The natural next question is whether that counts as cheating.
If you could borrow another hero's power for a day, whose would you take?
Why ask it
Lets the hero talk about other heroes without starting the 'who would win' argument. Turn it around afterwards and ask the child which power they would pick and what they would do with it first.
Is there anything your power cannot fix?
Why ask it
Older children ask this, and it tends to get the most thoughtful answer in Powers: a hero can stop a falling bus and still not cheer up a sad friend. Leave it out with under-fives, who want lasers.
The suit
Who made your suit?
Why ask it
Some heroes sew their own and some have an inventor friend, so the answer often introduces a second character. How many tries it took is the follow-up, and the first version is usually a disaster worth describing.
Why did you choose those colors?
Why ask it
Simple enough for the youngest child in the line and easy to answer in character. For an art activity afterwards, have the class pick colors for a suit of their own and give one reason for each.
What does the symbol on your chest stand for?
Why ask it
It only works for a hero who has one, so look before you ask. The symbol is usually tied to the name or to where the powers came from, which makes this a gentle way into the backstory.
Is the suit comfortable, or is it hot and itchy in there?
Why ask it
Children ask this in all seriousness and adults find it funny. A performer can answer truthfully and stay in character, and you may hear about boots that pinch or a mask that fogs up.
What do you keep in your belt?
Why ask it
For gadget heroes this is the main event, so ask to see one thing. A hero with no belt can still say where the house key goes, which is the real mystery of a suit with no pockets.
How fast can you get changed when there is an emergency?
Why ask it
Expect a boast and a number of seconds. The follow-up, 'where do you change?', gets you the phone booth, the janitor's closet or the back seat of a car.
Does your cape help you, or does it mostly get in the way?
Why ask it
If the hero has no cape, swap in the mask, the boots or the helmet. Doors, escalators and bicycle wheels are the usual culprits, and a performer who enjoys the job will act one out.
Origin
How did you get your powers?
Why ask it
The origin story is what a costumed hero knows best, so even a new performer is confident here. Born with them, an accident, a gift or years of training are the usual routes: in a class activity, have students settle on one before the interview starts.
How did you come up with your superhero name?
Why ask it
Find out whether they chose it or a newspaper gave it to them. Then ask which names they turned down, since the rejected ones are funnier than the real one.
Do you have a catchphrase, and can I hear it?
Why ask it
Have the hero say it once and the whole room shout it back, which gives the children at the edge of a party something to do. A hero without one can be offered suggestions, and a class can vote on the best.
What were you like when you were my age?
Why ask it
'My age' makes the hero look at the child and not at the line behind them. Most say they were ordinary, small or afraid of something, and that tends to be the answer a child repeats on the way home.
Who was the first person you ever helped?
Why ask it
A first rescue is usually small: a cat, a neighbor, a kid on the playground. It shows children that the job began with one person and not with saving a city.
Were you scared the first time you had to be brave?
Why ask it
Worth asking when a child has something frightening coming up, like a first day of school or a swimming lesson. Listen for what the hero did with the fear, and borrow the wording later at home.
Who taught you how to be a hero?
Why ask it
Whoever it was, a parent, a coach or an older hero, get the one lesson that stuck. When the hero says nobody did, ask who they wish had been there, and you get a different story.
When did you decide to use your powers to help people?
Why ask it
Having a power and choosing what to do with it are two separate moments, and this asks about the second. With older students it opens a short discussion: what would you have done with the same power at that age?
Secret identity
Why do you wear a mask?
Why ask it
The standard answer is that it protects the people the hero loves, which a child can follow. Skip it for heroes whose faces show, and ask them why they decided not to hide.
Where is your secret hideout?
Why ask it
No hero gives out the address, so the game is in the clues: under a lake, behind a bookcase, above a bakery. After a class interview, have students draw a map of their own hero's base and label three rooms.
Who knows who you really are?
Why ask it
Usually one or two people, and the reason each was let in is the part to ask about. In a role play the student playing the hero has to decide on the spot, which is good improvising practice.
What job do you do when you are not being a superhero?
Why ask it
Children like hearing that a hero also has a boss and a schedule, whether the day job is reporting, science or delivering pizza. It sets up the next mystery, which is how they slip away when trouble starts.
What excuse do you give when you have to run off in the middle of something?
Why ask it
Play it as a game in class: every student invents an excuse and the group votes on the least believable. From a party hero you tend to get 'I left the oven on'.
Has anybody ever nearly found out your secret?
Why ask it
A close-call story comes with its own ending, so it suits a hero who likes to perform. Ask what the cover story was, then let the children rule on whether they would have believed it.
Is it hard keeping such a big secret from your friends?
Why ask it
One of the few questions here about what the job costs, and a child who has kept a surprise party quiet knows the feeling. Let the answer be a little sad without rushing to cheer it up.
Will you tell me your real name if I promise to keep it secret?
Why ask it
Every hero says no, and the fun is in how they say it. Keep it a pretend question: a child should not press the person in the costume for their actual name or ask them to take the mask off.
Villains and rescues
Who is your biggest enemy?
Why ask it
Ask what the villain wants as well as who it is, because 'all the ice cream in the world' is a better story than a name. With very young children, keep the villain silly.
How do you find out that somebody needs help?
Why ask it
Expect a signal in the sky, super hearing or a phone call from the mayor. Then ask the practical version, what a kid should do on seeing someone in trouble: most heroes say to fetch a grown-up, and a child takes that better from a hero than from a parent.
What was your best rescue ever?
Why ask it
The hero's proudest story, and they will tell it with their whole body. If you are filming or putting together a class newspaper, this is the answer to record.
How do you stop a bad guy without anyone getting hurt?
Why ask it
Parents at a party tend to like this one, because it asks the hero to describe catching, trapping or talking and not hitting. If the answer is all punches, ask what they try first.
Do you have a sidekick, or do you work alone?
Why ask it
Leads to the sidekick, the team or the pet, and a child will often ask to join. Have the hero say what each partner is best at, and then which job they would hand to the child.
What is the scariest thing you have ever had to face?
Why ask it
Hold this for children who enjoy a scare, and watch the youngest face in the group while the hero answers. A good performer keeps it mild and finishes on how it all turned out fine.
Have you ever lost, and what did you do the next day?
Why ask it
Losing is the part of the story the comic cover leaves off. The 'next day' half is the point: you are asking how a hero gets back up, so do not let the answer stop at the defeat.
Do you think a villain can turn into a good guy?
Why ask it
A real discussion question for older children and a good one for an ESL class practicing opinions, since there is no correct answer. Ask the hero whether they have ever seen it happen.
Hero life
What is the best part of being a superhero?
Why ask it
An easy way into this group, and the answer is rarely the flying. Heroes tend to pick the look on someone's face after a rescue, so ask for one face they still remember.
What do you do on a day off?
Why ask it
A hero who claims never to take one can be asked what they would do with a free afternoon. Pancakes, naps and video games come up a lot, and children like hearing that the strongest person in the room gets tired too.
What do you eat for breakfast before a big day of saving people?
Why ask it
A favorite with small children. Do not be surprised if the hero credits vegetables for all that strength: there is often a parent nodding hard just behind the child.
What do you miss out on because you are a hero?
Why ask it
This is the cost of the job in words a seven-year-old can use: birthday parties, sleep, dinners that went cold. Whether it is worth it is the follow-up, and a hero who thinks for a moment before saying yes is more convincing.
Do you ever wish you were just an ordinary person?
Why ask it
Works best near the end, once the hero has talked about the secret and the missed dinners. A yes is more interesting than a no, so ask which ordinary thing they would do first.
What is the nicest thank-you anyone has given you?
Why ask it
A drawing, a sandwich, a wave from a bus window. If your child has brought a picture for the hero, this is the moment to hand it over.
Who is your hero?
Why ask it
Turning the word back on them catches most heroes off guard. The answer is often someone with no powers at all, a nurse, a firefighter or a grandparent, and it sets up the question that comes next.
Can someone be a hero without any powers?
Why ask it
The hero will say yes, so push for one example: sticking up for a kid who is being left out, or carrying something heavy for a neighbor. With a class, take a show of hands before the hero answers and have each side give a reason.
What do I have to do to become a superhero?
Why ask it
A performer usually has a line ready for this, and it tends to be a first mission: help at home, look after a younger child, be brave about one thing this week. Bring the mission up again the next day, when it counts for more than it did at the party.
Can we do a hero pose together for the photo?
Why ask it
Save it for last, because it ends the meeting on something the child does and not something they say. For a shy child it can be the only question, and it is enough.
How to interview a superhero
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Meeting a hero in costume
Choose two on the way there
A party hero has a room of children to get around and a convention line keeps moving, so a child rarely gets more than two questions. Let them pick one from Powers and one from anywhere else before you arrive, and have them say both out loud once in the car.
Ask the hero, not the actor
Everything on this page is put to the character. Where the performer lives, what they are paid and what they look like under the mask are off the table, and a child who goes there can be steered back with 'ask about the villain instead'. The pretend is what you came for.
Heroes who do not speak
Some full-mask characters stay silent and only gesture. For them, use the questions a body can answer: show me your power, a nod or a shake of the head for 'can you fly?', the hero pose, a thumbs up or down on whether the cape gets in the way. If you are unsure, ask the host or the handler how that hero communicates.
When your child goes quiet
Plenty of children plan a question for a week and then freeze at the front. Ask it for them with their name in it: 'Sam wanted to know who made your suit.' The hero will answer Sam directly, and that is usually enough to bring a second question out.
Photos and autographs
The rules differ from one event to the next. At some conventions a photo with a costumed guest is paid or ticketed and at others it is free, so ask at the booth or read the event's own guide before you join the line.
Running it as a class or family activity
Build the hero first
Give each student five minutes and a card to fill in: hero name, one power, one weakness, where the powers came from, one enemy and a day job. A student who has settled those six things can answer most of this list without stalling.
The hot seat
One student sits at the front in a cape or a paper mask and the class takes turns asking. Limit each hero to six questions, one from each group, then change over. The cape matters more than you would think: it tells a self-conscious ten-year-old that the answers are not about them.
Press conference
Half the class are reporters with notebooks and half are heroes sitting at tables. Each reporter interviews two heroes, then writes a four-sentence news story about the more interesting one. The Origin group and the Villains and rescues group give the most to write about.
For an English language class
The groups sort themselves by grammar. Powers is mostly 'can' and the present simple, Origin is the past simple, and Hero life invites 'would' and opinions. Put students in pairs, have one ask five questions and note the answers, then swap. To finish, each student introduces their partner's hero to the class in the third person.
At home with one child
Swap roles. Let the child be the hero first and interview them with a wooden spoon for a microphone, then tie the towel around your own neck and let them ask. Children ask harder questions than adults do, so have your weakness ready.
Where it tends to go wrong
The who-would-win argument
Ask one hero whether they could beat another and a group of children will argue about it until the cake comes out. The question about borrowing another hero's power gets the same enthusiasm with no winner and no loser.
Catching the hero out
An older child who knows every comic may try to trip the performer up on a detail. It is no fun for the person in the suit or for the younger children watching. Suggest they ask something no comic has answered, such as what the hero eats for breakfast.
A villain story that is too much
Keep an eye on the smallest child while the hero talks about enemies. If a face starts to crumple, jump to The suit or Hero life: belts and pancakes bring the temperature down fast.
The child who says it is a costume
Somebody usually announces that this is not the real one. There is no need to argue the point or to confirm it. 'Then ask something only the real one would know' turns the doubter into the keenest interviewer in the line, and leaves the reply to the hero.