Accidental Powers vs Intentional Powers

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

I've noticed that in superhero fiction (and in some other genres), people who get special powers via an accident, such as a chemical spill, an energy storm, even the circumstance of their birth, etc., tend to be the good guys, whereas anyone who actively seeks out their superpowers tends to be the bad guys. (In a different but related situation, people who are chosen for a power by others tend to be good, whereas those who choose it tend to be bad.)

Peter Parker, bitten by a radioactive spider? Good guy. Nic Cage, experimented on by prison scientists? Good guy.
Green Goblin, The Lizard and Doc Oc, who designed the means of their powers through their own scientific work? Bad guys.

Superman, born a Kryptonian? Good guy. Wonder Woman? Good guy.
Rhas a Ghul, who gets his powers from using the Lazarus pits? Bad guy. Bane, who uses performance-enhancing drugs? Bad guy. Lex Luthor, who builds a Kryptonite-powered suit? Bad guy.

The situations are far from universal, of course. There's a lot of bad guys that get powers from a chemical spill or a lightning strike or a stray meteor. But the overall trend seems to be that anyone who gets superpowers by design is wicked. For examples outside the genre, look at The Craft. Born with witch powers? Good guy. Seek out and learn magic? Bad guy.

The implication seems to be that it's okay to use what destiny or fat or a god has handed you, but that actively seeking to improve yourself is wrong, rising Above Your Station and defying the Natural Order.

[The Romulan Republic]

Their may be some of that, but I can see some big exceptions. Off the top of my head:

1. Batman. Sure, not technically superpowers, and he inherited his money, but he chose to use his resources and training to make himself a superhero.

2. Captain America, to an extent. Science (via the US government) was used to make him a soldier, but he volunteered, correct?

3. Iron Man. Self-made superhero via technology.

[MissKittyFantastico]

The implication seems to be that it's okay to use what destiny or fat or a god has handed you, but that actively seeking to improve yourself is wrong, rising Above Your Station and defying the Natural Order.

A more benign interpretation of the trend might be that it stems from the whole 'anybody capable of getting themselves made President of the Galaxy should on no account be allowed to do the job' thing - it's not so much that the self-made superhumans are defying some natural order, as that they're doing it for the wrong reasons. Even if it's not a naked power-grab from the start, there's the potential for someone to want to be a hero in order to be a hero - admired, revered, lionised - which can easily spiral off into problematic territory.

(Also I think you meant Luke Cage - although I'm not saying Nic Cage has never been experimented on, it'd explain a lot...)

[ScreamingDoom]

I've noticed that in superhero fiction (and in some other genres), people who get special powers via an accident, such as a chemical spill, an energy storm, even the circumstance of their birth, etc., tend to be the good guys, whereas anyone who actively seeks out their superpowers tends to be the bad guys. (In a different but related situation, people who are chosen for a power by others tend to be good, whereas those who choose it tend to be bad.)

Ralph Dibny aka The Elongated Man is a counter example to that. He noticed contortionists all drank a particular soda and, as a chemist, he investigated it and created a serum to give himself stretchy powers.

Lots of Gadetteer characters are also counter examples (they almost have to be by definition; they create the things that let them be superheroic in the first place), as are Super Highly Trained individuals. Batman being the obvious example; he specifically travelled the world pushing himself to learn everything he would need to fight crime before he donned the cape and cowl.

You might be right that there's a bias against those seeking the power to fight, but I'm not sure it's quite so one-sided.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Did not know about Elongated Man. I don't think Batman really counts for our purposes though.

MissKittyFantastico, whoops, yeah, I slipped up there. ^^; And I suppose I could see that those-who-seek-power-should-not-have-it angle.

[Madner Kami]

It stands to reason that Batman became Batman when his parents were murdered before his eyes. The training and everything else, comes from that moment and basically only "refines" what he already had become.

[George]

What about Steel, who built his own suit of power armor when Superman died.

With Batman and Iron Man you can argue that they are somewhat different. While Lex Luthor sought power when he builds his various gadgets, Tony Stark originally built his suit to keep himself from dying from his wounds and to escape from captivity. Batman only sought out training after the death of his parents. I think Green Arrow may be in a similar boat of rich guy who became a hero after some tragedy happened to them.

Captain America would fit into an odd category, as he didn't truly seek out superpowers, but rather a way to go and fight in the war (at least in the MCU).
Ant Man is a bit odd in that he purposefully made his gear simply as a science experiment, but only decided to become a hero after his wife/fiancé was killed a while after that(at least, that was the original explanation).

Venom and his ilk, at least at the start, didn't seek out their powers (rather, the symbiote either searched for them or randomly got attached to them) but are still evil (well, Venom hops back and forth)
Killer Croc was born with his condition, there are some evil Kryptonians (Zod and his followers spring to mind), and I think there may be some evil Amazons (I know some of the Greek gods are shown as malevolent)
Man-bat is a bit odd, since if I remember correctly, he is sort of a tragic figure in that while he got his powers from one of his experiments, it wasn't the intended result (I think he was trying to create a cure for deafness or something), and he is usually only malevolent when actually in bat form, where his is driven by instinct, otherwise just being a normal scientist who got unlucky.

Magneto and the rest of the Brotherhood got their powers naturally, Marvel and DC have a number of evil aliens who just naturally have powers

Booster Gold is odd, in that he is a hero that sought out his powers, but he is doing it (mostly) for selfish reasons.