I think the issue here is that Comic Book Heroes really encompass all genres and themes at once. From Conan to Galactus.
So let's say you limit that to just street level Batman and Wolverine types. No intergalactic, but Hero City type stuff, Justice League maybe, Avengers, X-Men but not Guardians of the Galaxy.
Still, there's a HUGE variety of effects you must program. The simple system I've come up with would work, but it's a ton of engine level stuff, and very generic by necessity.
So now you have a second major issue. The fun of a Super Hero type game is the themes of the powers. Dr. Strange is a wizard, Iron Man has his suit, Cable is a cyborg, Wolverine is sort of of a cyborg but also a mutant. And it's not just the power origin but also the backstory that makes them interesting.
For example Deadpool and Wolverine have similar powers but are wildly different characters.
I've come up with the following generic system. You rate each hero not by descriptive stats but by mechanical stats.
Moves:
Hits/HP:
Bump:
Shoot:
Throw:
Stealth:
Special Effects (passive, toggle off/on and activation abilities)
Commands would be Move/Bump attack, ranged attack and pickup/throw object, toggle or activate an ability. Simple commands. Note that picking up and throwing stuff is essential when super strength and telekinesis are being considered.
Character building would be where the theme comes in. You would have a certain number of character slots or points. So to build wolverine you would choose.
-Human: Move + 3, HP + 3, Bump +1, Throw + 3, Stealth + 1
-Healing Passive: +1 'hits' each turn.
-Claws: +3 Bump stat.
-Reinforced Skeleton: +5 HP.
And so the game would represent this as these stats
Moves: 3 (human normal)
HP: 8 (3 human plus 5 for choosing the Reinforced Skeleton)
Bump: 4 (1 human + 3 for claws)
Shoot: 0
Throw: 3
Stealth: 1
S/FX: Healing (+1 hits per turn)
This is a very workable system, I envision it being a Turn Based system, like a squad based game or a single player RL with a sidekick (like the dog in nethack) is also a possibility. With the game flow being a 'choose your mission' type were you sit in your Hall of Justice and choose which crisis to go after or bad guy lair to invade. Or maybe you can 'Patrol' and walk around the city looking for baddies to defeat.
With this sort of system, and enough time spent on adding tons and tons of interesting character building choices, you can create a pretty solid Roguelike or Turn Based Squad game. For flavor you can roll up random backgrounds and motivations, the RPG Heroes Unlimited has TONS of these.
You can even create packages, semi randomize presets themed around an origin, so you can start the game quicker. For example:
Mutant Package
-Human plus 3 random powers from the 'mutant' group.
Martial Arts Package
-Human, Stealthy, +2 from Hand to Hand group and +1 Chi group.
Street Solider Package
-Human, Flak Vest, +3 random choices from Weapons Group.
It's not that I can't design it, it's that done right this sort of game can blow up huge. It's not a simple project.
Let's just say that my next 7DRL is going to be NOT THIS!!!
EDIT: Punisher (Human, Body Armor, Guns, More Guns, Bad Attitude)
Moves: 3
Hits: 6 (+3 human, +3 armor)
Bump: 3 (+1 human 1, +2 bad attitude)
Shoot: 6
Throw: 3
Stealth: 1
S/FX: None
