Hello! This is kinda linked to your pop culture deity research post. I feel like I already know the answer, but I just have to be sure.
Can a pop culture deity be any character? Or is it a particular kind of character with powers?
Hello there! The research post in question linked here.
I feel like I'm the least authorized person to talk about this because I honor Angrboda, Fenrir, Jormungandr, Hel, and Loki's other kids as deities despite them arguably not being ones.
But to me, "deity" has a particular connotation. If an entity is worshiped as a deity or deity-adjacent figure (the Aedra and Daedra, Legendary/Mythical Pokemon, etc) in the source, I'd consider that deity work.
However, when working with characters like Naruto (hi Crim!), Goku, or a planeswalker, I'd consider that closer to hero worship than to deity work?
It's complicated and I certainly don't have a perfect answer. I guess it's up to you and the knowledge you have for any particular character? The whole point of pop culture paganism is that it's very personal and no two pop culture paganism/magic practices will look the same.