Marvel still can’t hand out real superpowers, but it has done the closest thing possible: assigning fans an ability from its universe based on the month they were born.
Options on the table include Scarlet Witch’s magic, Quicksilver’s speed and Mister Fantastic’s stretching (his genius, sadly, isn’t bundled in). That means you, your friends and your family can now work out exactly how you’d fare alongside Spider-Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Avengers.
Landed on a dud? No need to worry. Marvel has a second official measure that offers a fresh shot at the power you actually wanted.
What your birth month gets you
The assignments arrive via a new social media video from Marvel that draws powers from right across the MCU, including less celebrated entries such as Eternals and Thunderbolts*. Each month is paired with its own patron power set.
Resist judging your result at first glance, because several of these power sets are far stronger than their reputations suggest. Comics continuity has shown Gambit capable of taking down Galactus. Invisible Woman, meanwhile, is practically a deity: she has the raw force to blot out the sun and the precision to shape intricate constructs, including a functioning jet.
Other months fared worse. Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange wield magic that can rewrite reality itself, yet Daredevil’s heightened senses tormented him until he learned to control them. Ghost’s phasing in the MCU stems from a tragic illness, and Ms. Marvel’s hard-light constructs amount to a weaker take on what Invisible Woman can already do.
Your second chance: the state you call home
While the video divides fans by month, a more granular assignment has existed for years. Back in 2016, Marvel marked the launch of the then-new U.S.Avengers team with a variant cover initiative from artist Rod Reis that gave every state its own Avengers hero.
Several choices nod to classic lore: Hulk gained his powers in New Mexico, and Thor’s Asgard once spent time hovering above Oklahoma. Others simply reflect a hero’s home turf, with Ms. Marvel taking New Jersey and the X-Men’s Rogue claiming Mississippi.
Filling all 50 states meant a few heroes were matched by peculiar trivia. The Fantastic Four’s the Thing was handed Michigan, apparently because his codename matches an early self-propelled vehicle that first appeared in Memphis.
For those who’d sooner be defined by their state than their birth month, this is Marvel’s official list.
Not every state wins
Virginians born in October and New Jerseyans born in November are out of luck: your power is identical either way (though in the comics Ms. Marvel can also shapeshift, being both Inhuman and mutant).
Nevada is stuck with Red Hulk and Vermont with Ant-Man, two characters who settled into permanent villainy after short-lived attempts at redemption. Missouri’s situation is odder still. Its hero, Whizzer, is a deeply obscure character whose bizarre origin involves an infusion of mongoose blood.
To date, his sole MCU appearance is a cameo as one of She-Hulk’s oddball clients. Honestly, it could be worse.