Superpowers in SciFi and Fantasy literature come from the wish of us humans to achieve more than what is theoretically possible on the one hand. On the other hand, they are a trait of being different and therefore they are often used as an analogy to unveil prejudice and envy.

The most well-known subtype connects this trope with the hero archetype and creates the superhero, that everyone knows. Marvel, DC and other comics are very prominent examples. Especially in X-Men for instance, the topic of envy and persecution is popping up even among these heroic storylines.

But superpowers have more subtle appearances in many other stories as well. Superpowers can be seen a generalisation of concepts like magic in fantasy tropes or genetic mutations in pulp sci-fi. The list is endless.

Wherever you look, the average person is intimidated by people with superpowers. Therefore these people are hiding their abilities and therefore make themselves more suspicious. And all goes down the spiral. All of that can easily be translated into normal world problems of being afraid of foreigners and immigrants.