Superman's Super-Powers
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See also Photonucleic Effect, The
Compared with the powers he possesses today, however, the powers
employed by Superman in the early texts are modest indeed. Action
Comics # 1 (1938), the first comic book in which Superman appeared,
claimed only that its hero could "leap 1/8th of a mile; hurdle a
twenty-story building... raise tremendous weights... run faster than
an express train... and that nothing less than a bursting shell could
penetrate his skin!"
As the years passed, however, the chroniclers endowed the Man of Steel
with ever more spectacular powers to enable him to meet ever more
exacting challenges. Today Superman can withstand the heat at the
core of the sun, soar through the air at a speed thousands of times
the speed of light, and extinguish a star with a puff of his breath as
though it were merely a candle on a birthday cake.
Along with a steady expansion of Superman's powers has come a series
of changing explanations of how he came to acquire those powers.
Action Comics # 1, for example, contains this scientific
explanation of his amazing strength:
Incredible? No! For even today on our world exist creatures with
super-strength!
The lowly ant can support weights hundreds of times its own. The
grasshopper leaps what to a man would be the space of several city
blocks.
For approximately the first decade of Superman's career, the texts
advanced the thesis that Superman's powers were merely those possessed
by all the inhabitants of his native Planet. These texts described
the men and women of Krypton as a "super-race" who were gifted with
X-ray vision and other powers and who were thousands of eons ahead of
earthlings, both mentally and physically.
By the late 1940s, however, the texts had begun to describe the people
of Krypton as more or less ordinary human beings and to attribute
Superman's powers to the vast differences between the gravitational
pull and atmospheric conditions of Krypton and those of the Planet
Earth. In the words of Superman #58,
Subsequent texts continued to cite the importance of the gravitational
difference between Earth and Krypton while laying increasingly greater
stress on the significance of Krypton's unique atmosphere in
accounting for the awesome powers a Kryptonian acquired once he was
free of his native Planet. "Obviously, Krypton is such an unusual
Planet," Superman's father, Jor-El, once
noted, "that when a native Kryptonian is elsewhere, free of Krypton's
unique atmosphere and tremendous gravitational pull, he becomes a
superman!" (Superman #113, May 1957)
Since, according to this theory, Superman owes the existence of his
super-powers to the fact that he is no longer on the Planet Krypton,
it follows that Superman has no super-powers wherever atmospheric and
gravitational conditions prevail that are identical to those of his
native Planet. This can befall Superman whenever he journeys through
the time barrier to Krypton at a time prior to its destruction or
visits the bottle city of Kandor.
According to a revised theory of Superman's powers, first advanced in
1960, the Man of Steel derives his super-powers partly from the lesser
gravity of Earth and partly from the unique ultra solar rays that
penetrate Earth day and night.
"These rays," explains Superman to Supergirl in March 1960, "can only affect
people who were born in other solar systems than Earth's! And only
yellow starts like Earth's sun emit those super-energy rays! On
Planets of non-yellow suns, we would not be super-powered, even under
the low gravity!"
This theory is further refined in Superman # 146, in which
Superman's muscular powers - super-strength, super-breath,
super-speed, and the power of flight - are attributed to Earth's
light gravity, while his super-senses and mental powers - X-ray
vision and other optical powers, super-hearing, and various
intellectual powers - are attributed to the ultra solar rays of
Earth's yellow sun.
In the logic of this latest refinement, all Kryptonian objects acquire
indestructibility in the yellow-sun environment of Earth, and all
native Kryptonians - such as Supergirl or Krypto the Superdog - acquire super-powers
identical to Superman's. However, the indestructibility of these
objects and the super-powers of the various Kryptonian survivors
remain proportional to what they would have been had they remained in
their native Kryptonian environment.
Because Superman is now said the derive his powers, in part, from the
ultra solar rays of Earth's yellow sun, he has no powers on any Planet
revolving about a red sun, such as the Planet Lexor.
The mighty super-powers that Superman employs today are the products of
a gradual evolution spanning decades of texts. Following is an
inventory of Superman's super-powers, along with the history and
evolution of each super-power.
By 1945, Superman is able to fly from Metropolis to Burma in the wink
of an eye. "Light travels 186,000 miles a second, but has nothing on
Superman," notes the text, "who finds himself hovering over the
jungles of Burma in the wink of an eye!"
In November 1946, Superman demonstrates the ability to stand invisibly
on one spot by oscillating his body so fast that the human eye cannot
see him. During this same period, Superman protects bystanders at a
navy yard from the effects of a devastating explosion by spinning
around the blast area at super-speed. With the speed of light,
Superman makes a wall of his revolving body, through which the
expanding gases of the explosive cannot penetrate. Then, funneling
upward, Superman directs the blast toward the sky.
In August 1947, Superman successfully photographs a series of past
events by flying into outer space faster than the speed of light and
overtaking the light waves leaving Earth which contain the images of
the events he wants to record on film.
Later in 1947, Superman single-handedly constructs an entire underground
city in a matter of seconds.
(Superman #48) During this same period, Superman uses his
command of super-speed to travel through the time barrier into the
past.
Virtually all texts agree that to penetrate the time barrier, Superman
must move at a speed exceeding that of light.
Like Superman's other powers, his strength has been continually
magnified over the years.
In June 1938, Superman, described as a man of titanic strength with
the ability to raise tremendous weights, lifts an automobile over his
head with one hand, shakes its hoodlum occupants out on the the ground,
then smashes the car to bits against the base of a cliff.
In Spring 1940, when Metropolis is ravaged by a man-made earthquake,
Superman supports tottering buildings while terrified occupants dash
to safety.
In 1941, Superman swims through a raging flood using only one hand,
while holding a mansion aloft with the other hand. To divert the
floodwaters, Superman digs a huge, mile-long ditch with his bare hands
in a matter of moments.
In 1942, Superman seizes a set of brass knuckles and crushes the
cowardly instrument in his palm as easily as though the metal were
putty; he smashes his way through the side of a mountain; and, while
clinging to the side of a moving train, Superman performs an amazing
stunt - he opens a Pullman window! By September of the
same year, his strength has grown to the point where he can wrench
apart a pair of twin mountain peaks with his bare hands.
In 1943, when Superman acts to avert the collapse of a massive
undersea cavern, his mighty shoulders bear the weight of thousands of
tons of rock and the terrific pressure of the ocean above it.
(Action Comics #62, "There'll Always Be a Superman!") He also
hits a baseball so hard that it circles the world.
In 1946, Superman uses his super-strength to mend a gaping hole in the
hull of a sunken freighter, welding the torn steel plates into place
by rubbing them with his hands until they're white hot. Later texts
refer to this process as the application of "super-friction."
1947 brings us the first time that Superman transforms a lump of coal
into a glittering diamond. In the words of the text,
"Incalculable tons of pressure exerted by the Man of Steel's mighty
fist duplicate the work of eons to fuse the opaque coal carbons into
the translucent perfection of a glittering diamond!" (Action
Comics #115)
In 1948 he uses the super-pressure of his thumbnail to cut sheet
metal.
By 1949 he has single-handedly created a sun for the Planet Uuz by
crashing together its two uninhabited moons and then fueling the
resultant atomic blaze with drifting meteors.
In November 1953, when a great dark star that's rushing through the
solar system begins causing the Earth to spin faster on its axis,
Superman finds himself confronted by the greatest challenge of his
career, that of devising a means of slowing down the Earth. After
fashioning a gigantic metal drill from ore-bearing rock, Superman
drills through the Earth to the red-hot rocks inside Earth's crust and
then, using his own body as a high-speed chisel, gouges a canal from
the sea to the hole he has drilled in the Earth. When the seawater
rushing through Superman's man-made canal washes over the red-hot
rocks at the Earth's core, the result is a continuous blast of steam
that makes a great jet-blast, pushing against the rotating Earth to
slow it down. When it's back to normal, Superman closes off the
canal.
But by 1957, Superman is able to hurl an uninhabited Planet through
space (Superman #110) and in 1958 can produce a small
earthquake with a super-clap of his hands.
In March 1965 Superman seizes a spacecraft manned by members of the
Superman Revenge Squad and hurls it into a far distant galaxy light-years
away from Earth.
In June 1938, a bullet ricochets off Superman's tough skin and a knife
blade shatters when it strikes his body. Nothing less than a bursting
shell could penetrate his skin. Subsequent texts describe Superman as
possessing a skin impenetrable to even steel and as being impervious
to bullets because of an unbelievably tough skin. A text dated
January 1945 notes that "Unlike ordinary people, the Man of Steel can
do without food if necessary," but a later text contradicts this, noting that
Superman could indeed "starve to death."
In September 1945, Superman holds open an earthquake fissure with his
bare hands until Lois Lane has had a chance to climb to safety. "The
most powerful muscles on Earth," notes the text, "withstand the
tremendous pressure of thousands of tons of rock!" "If the fissure
had closed on me," remarks Superman, "the only damage would have been
to the rock!"
In 1946, Superman flies onto an atomic-bomb test site and withstands
the successive impact of two atomic bombs. He also withstands the
intense heat of the Earth's molten core. (Superman #43)
In 1950, Superman swims underwater thousands of fathoms deep, down to
the ocean bed itself, and suffers no ill effects from the crushing
water pressure. He withstands the heat at the rim of the sun,
estimated at a few billion degrees.
By 1951, Superman can withstand the heat at the core of the sun.
(Action Comics #161) By this date, Superman's Herculean
body has become immune to all ills and it's impossible for him to get
sick. Superman is not immune, however, to certain extraterrestrial
illnesses, such as the mysterious space virus that temporarily
transforms his X-ray vision into "deep-freeze" vision in November,
1957, and Virus X, native to the Planet Krypton.
In February 1954, Superman withstands the explosion of a hydrogen
bomb, although it does leave him with a slight headache. (Superman
#87)
A text dated April 1960 observes that the rifle-like non-super-ray
weapon employed by the Bizarros of the
Planet Htrae could permanently rob Superman of his super-powers.
Another text for this period strongly implies that Superman is
invulnerable to the aging process and therefore
immortal (Superman #136, April 1960), but Superman #181
contradicts this, noting that "Though Superman is the mightiest man on
Earth, even he cannot live forever!" (November, 1965, "The Superman of
2965!")
A text dated April 1965 notes that Superman is invulnerable to
drowning, and can remain underwater as long as he wishes.
Because Superman is invulnerable, he cannot blush and because his skin
is never affected by the sun, he is impervious to sunburn.
Superman's hair is indestructible and can neither be cut nor can it
grow in Earth's atmosphere. (Superman #132, October 1959)
Any attempt to cut Superman's hair by ordinary means results only in
the shattering of whatever scissors are being used, but Superman can
cut his own hair when absolutely necessary by subjecting it to the
concentrated power of his own X-ray vision. In a red-sun environment,
however, where Superman has no super-powers, his hair loses its
indestructibility and begins to grow. If Superman undertakes a
mission to a red-sun Planet, it is best for him to shave and trim his
hair before returning to the yellow-sun environment of Earth, where
his hair will once again become indestructible.
Similarly, Superman's fingernails and toenails, which are
indestructible and do not grow in the earthly environment, do grow and
are destructible on Planets revolving about a red sun.
Today's Superman possesses a wide range of optical super-powers,
including X-ray vision, which enables him to see through all
substances except lead; telescopic vision, which enables him to focus
on objects millions of miles away; super-vision, a combination of
X-ray vision and telescopic vision, which enables him to perform such
optical feats as peering through the wall of a house thousands of
miles away; microscopic vision, which enables him to examine the
tiniest atomic particles; heat vision, which enables him to apply
intense heat to any substance except lead; infrared vision, which
enables him to see objects lying outside the visible spectrum at its
red end; radar vision, a term denoting infrared vision used at low
power, which enables him to see in pitch darkness; and photographic
vision, which enables him to perform such feats as memorizing whole
books at a single glance.
In Superman's earliest adventures, however, he exhibited no special
optical powers, and the vision abilities he employs today are the
products of a gradual evolution spanning many years of texts.
Tracing the evolution of these abilities is difficult, for the
terminology used to describe them is often haphazard and confusing.
"Telescopic X-ray vision," for example, used as a general term in many
early texts to denote Superman's ability both to see through objects
and to see objects from far away, later comes to refer to the use of
both of these visions simultaneously.
"Super-vision," however, both with and without the hyphen, has been
employed at various times in the chronicles as a synonym for
telescopic vision; as a means of describing Superman's ability to
perform some complex optical feat, such as tracing television
broadcast signals to their source; and as a term denoting a
combination of X-ray vision and telescopic vision, the meaning it has
today.
Similarly, Superman used his X-ray vision to analyze the chemical
composition of substances, to melt solid objects, and to see in pitch
darkness long before the more specialized terms
microscopic vision, heat vision, and radar vision ever appeared in the
chronicles.
Some terms, such as "super-sensory sight," "super-sensory-vision," and
"supernormal vision" are used in the texts without ever being defined
precisely.
In his very earliest adventures, however, Superman exhibited no
special aural powers, and the super-hearing he employs today is the
product of a gradual evolution spanning many years of texts. The term
"super-hearing" first appears in the chronicles in Fall 1939.
Nevertheless, during
the first two decades of Superman's career, the texts also employ such
other descriptive terms as "super-acute hearing," "super-sensitive
hearing," "hyper-keen hearing," and "super-keen hearing."
In January 1939, Superman is described as having "sensitive ears,"
which enable him to hear things ordinary human beings cannot.
In November 1940, Superman's super-sensitive ears enable him to pick
up radio waves so that he can listen in on a radio news broadcast
without a radio. In 1942, his super-sensitive hearing enables him to
trace radio waves to their source.
In June 1946, Superman's hyper-keen hearing enables him to trace a
telephone call across the phone wires to its source.
By 1950, Superman's super-hearing enables him to hear the low humming
sound of a machine 1,500 miles away. In 1953, he exhibits the ability
to focus his super-hearing so precisely that, while flying high over
Metropolis, he can eavesdrop on a conversation taking place in one
specific apartment.
In January 1960, Superman's super-hearing enables him to trace sound
waves to their ultimate source: a space ship millions of miles from
Earth (Action Comics #260) and by December of the same year,
Superman can hear Big Ben chiming the hour in London while he is in
the Sahara Desert.
A text dated August 1939 notes that Superman can hold his breath for
hours underwater.
In January 1940, he blows out a flaming torch with a powerful puff of
his breath.
A text dated March 1941 notes that Superman's lungs can withstand any
air pressure, no matter how great, and a later text observes that
Superman can swim thousands of fathoms deep, down to the ocean bed
itself, without suffering any ill effects.
In June 1941 Superman extinguishes a raging fire with a terrific gust
of breath and in 1947 he extinguishes a bonfire by inhaling the
flames.
In November 1947, when the Toyman attempts to make good his escape
astride a rocket-powered hobbyhorse, Superman draws him back to earth
with a deep inhalation of breath.
In March 1949, after having been locked inside a skyrocket by Lex
Luthor, Superman uses his super-breath in place of rocket fuel to
launch the skyrocket into the stratosphere. "And with super-breath,"
notes the text, "the Man of Steel lifts the projectile into the sky!"
Superman performs a similar feat in July 1960, climbing into the
exhaust apparatus of a jet aircraft disabled in midair and using his
superbreath as jet propulsion to guide it to a safe landing.
In September 1949, Superman extinguishes a chemical fire by inhaling
all the air around it. "The deadly flames are no menace to Superman,"
notes the text, "who smothers them by momentarily drawing all the air
in the room into his own mighty lungs!"
In July 1953, Superman notes that he can stay underwater almost
indefinitely.
In July 1954, Superman paints a house by using his super-breath to
blow paint out of a paint bucket onto the house. "Super-breath comes
in handy in many ways," muses Superman, "but this is the first time
I've used it as a paint sprayer!"
In August 1954, far out in space, Superman extinguishes a star with a
blast of his super-breath. (Superman #91)
In July 1959, Superman halts a massive tidal wave by freezing it into
a solid iceberg with a blast of his super-breath.
In March 1960, Jimmy Olsen remarks that Superman can live for years
underwater.
In October 1960, after engraving an inscription with his fingernail
into the frame of a mirror, Superman blows on the inscription with
this super-breath in order to imbue it with an antique appearance.
"The force of my super-breath will create an artificial aging effect,"
observes Superman, "so the writing will appear centuries-old!"
(Action Comics #269)
In February 1961, after Mr. Mxyzptlk has loosed a cloud of magic
sneezing powder on Metropolis, Superman finds himself forced to give
vent to a super-sneeze that literally destroys an entire distant solar
system.
In April 1963, Superman disarms a gang of bank robbers by using his
super-cold breath to freeze the air around their guns into clocks of
ice. "Puffing my super-cold breath at them," muses Superman, "I've
condensed the moisture in the air around their guns into ice! Now
that their numb fingers can't pull triggers, innocent bystanders won't
get hurt!"
A text dated April 1965 notes that Superman is invulnerable to
drowning and can remain under-water as long as he wishes.
In 1941, Superman employs ordinary ventriloquism to distract the
attention of criminals holding Lois Lane.
In March 1942, Superman exhibits the ability to mimic voices when he
expertly disguises his voice so that it sounds exactly like a
gang-leader's. In September of the same year, in order to warn the
people of Metropolis of a Nazi invasion, Superman shouts a warning in
such dynamic tones his voice carries for miles.
In May 1943 Superman summons police to an underworld hideout by
broadcasting his voice with the aid of his super-powers so that it
materializes in police radio sets.
In 1947 Superman shatters a thousand-ton block of ice into tiny
fragments with a mighty shout.
In January 1950, Superman ventriloquizes over a considerable distance
in order to make a painted image of himself appear to talk and in
order to make his voice materialize from a police-car radio. This
technique, which later becomes known as "super-ventriloquism," enables
Superman to project his voice over immense distances and yet have his
voice heard only by those whom he is directly addressing.
In July 1950, one of Superman's super-yells is monitored at over
1,000,000 decibles. (Superman #65) One later text notes that
"Superman's tremendous shout echoes like a thousand thunderstorms in
the sky," while another observes that his "super-voice resounds like
1,000 loudspeakers," enabling everyone within a five-mile radius to
hear it.
In August 1950, while standing with Lois Lane in an office at the
Daily Planet, Superman uses ventriloquism to make Clark Kent's voice
come over the telephone so that Lois will believe that Kent and
Superman are two different men.
In September 1955, Superman shatters a diamond into powder by using his
super-voice to produce extraordinarily high-pitched musical notes.
In July 1961, Superman converses with Supergirl over an immense distance by means
of super-ventriloquism, a voice throwing technique that enables them
to converse over long distances without being overheard by anyone in
between.
In July 1962, Superman summons Krypto the
Superdog by means of super-ventriloquism, but in November 1963 he
speaks of summoning Krypto via supersonic ventriloquism, a technique
that enables him to throw his voice at such a high pitch that only
Krypto's super-canine hearing could possibly hear it.
In Spring 1940 Clark Kent exhibits the ability to temporarily halt the
beating of his heart. In several occasions in subsequent years,
Superman employs this unique ability in order to enable him to feign
death. Superman #21 alludes to Superman's having temporarily halted
the beating of his heart and put himself into a state of suspended
animation, and World's Finest Comics #54 cites Superman's
ability to control his heart action in order to simulate the signs of
death. Control of one's heartbeat would seem to involve mental
control of one's physical functions, but in his only clear description
of this feat, Superman describes it as one of "super-muscular
control." "To make you think I had 'died,'" he remarks to a group of
captured criminals in January 1958, "I used super-muscular control to
stop my heart from beating - just as I'm doing now to make it
beat faster and louder, listen!"
In Summer 1940, Superman is described as possessing a photographic
memory.
In January 1941 Superman cures Lois Lane of her amnesia by means of
hypnosis and a month later, as Clark Kent, he hypnotizes her into
forgetting the super-feats he is about to perform so that he can
rescue her from a burning cabin in his role as Clark Kent without
betraying his dual identity.
In January 1942, Superman is able to converse fluently with a mermaid
despite the fact that her tongue is completely foreign to him because
his advanced intellect instantly comprehends her strange
language. (Superman #14)
In July 1943, Superman is described as having a "super-brain,"
but later texts refer to Superman as having a "super-intellect."
In January 1945, Superman visits the public library and reads through
a mountain of books and articles about himself in only five minutes,
and in November 1945, he is described as reading a 500-page book in
ten seconds flat.
In September 1947, Superman is described as having a super-instinct
that alerts him to the fact that someone is watching him.
In July 1948, Superman demonstrates the ability to solve complex
mathematical equations with the speed and accuracy of a giant
computing machine.
In July 1950, Superman's super-intellect enables him to solve, in
seconds, a complicated mathematical problem that the Metropolis
Science Foundation's mighty electronic brain takes ten minutes to
solve.
In July 1951, Clark Kent memorizes a 400-page book in a matter of
seconds, and in September of the same year, Superman comments that,
for the sake of convenience, he has memorized the entire Metropolis
phone book.
In November 1953, Superman is described as having a "super-memory."
In March 1954, Superman's super-intelligence enables him to solve a
complex equation that involves dealing with mathematical ideas unknown
to ordinary men.
In March 1955, Superman memorizes all the existing books on eye
surgery preparatory to performing a complicated eye operation.
In April 1955, Superman is described as having used his photographic
memory to memorize all the files of the Daily Planet.
In May 1956, Superman is described as being able to recall every
action of his life with his "super-human memory." Subsequent texts
refer to Superman's "power of total memory" or "total-recall memory,"
noting that it enables the Man of Steel to remember everything he
ever said or did.
In January 1958, Superman is able to match up a suspect's fingerprints
with those on file in Washington, D.C., as the result of having used
his super-memory to memorize the entire fingerprint file of the F.B.I.
In June 1958, while relaxing at his
Fortress of Solitude, Superman
defeats a great robot he has built in a game of super-chess, despite
the fact that the robot - which possesses a super-electronic
brain - can think and play with the speed of lightning and plans
a million moves at once.
In November 1960 Superman is described as having mastered Kryptonese,
the language of Krypton, through his memory's power of total recall.
A text dated August 1963 notes that Superman possesses the
super-intellect of a score of the world's most brilliant minds put
together.
Several texts describe Superman as possessing super-senses which,
among other things, enable him to sense the presence of an electrical
discharge or the close proximity of Lori
Lemaris.
Superman's supersensitive nostrils enable him to detect the faint odor
of nitroglycerine in a cache of dynamite or to stand atop a Metropolis
skyscraper and pinpoint Lois Lane's exact location by her perfume.
According to one text, Superman possesses a super-sensitive nerve
structure, rendering him extraordinarily sensitive to the effects of
cosmic disturbances. Another text notes that Superman's fingers are
super-sensitive, enabling him to distinguish between types of metal
ores by their touch even when he cannot see them.
Superman's super-coordination enables him to sign two autographs
simultaneously, one with each hand, and a transfusion of his alien
blood has the power to make a critically ill person well again within
a matter of moments. (Superman #6, 1940)
Superman #133 asserts that Superman could consume virtually
endless quantities of food, and Action Comics #306 suggests
that Superman can perform feats of lovemaking of which an ordinary man
would be quite incapable: forced into the position of having to kiss
Lois Lane beneath the mistletoe at a Daily Planet Christmas party in
1963, Clark Kent mischievously decides to shock the daylights out of
Lois by giving her a super-kiss, in the manner of Superman, instead of
the mild-mannered kiss she would be likely to expect from Clark Kent.
Indeed, when Kent finally releases Lois from his embrace after giving
her a super-soulful kiss, Lois is glassy-eyed and on the verge of
swooning.
"Holy Toledo, Clark," exclaims someone at the party,
" - where'd you learn to kiss like that?"
"Yes," stammers Lois, plainly impressed, "for a while I thought you
were - er - someone else! Where'd you pick up this
technique?"
"Maybe it's sort of a hidden talent!" replies Kent. "After all, you
don't know everything about me!" And then Kent thinks: "True indeed!
Lois would pass out if she knew it was Superman, my other identity,
who kissed her!"
One super-power that has long since been discarded by the chroniclers
is Superman's ability, displayed on a number of occasions in the
1940s, to radically alter his facial characteristics and even his size
through what was described as "superb muscular control" of his
"plastic features."
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Text on this page taken from The Great Superman Book © 1978
by Michael L. Fleisher.
Superman TM & © DC Comics
entry origin: stta 1.0