Superman's powers make him the most powerful being in comic books.
The first superhero to ever hit mainstream comic books is Superman, and being that he is the first, he has been the template for the superhero genre. Over the years, Superman has gained and lost so many different abilities as he’s been transferred to different writers and artists. It’s because of this that superman has gained a reputation for being too powerful. The man of steel’s powers has changed from decade to decade, but for the most part the character has kept the core powers of what makes him Superman. This is a list that displays all the core powers that have made a lasting impact on the man of steel.
10. Self-Sustenance-
I can only imagine how that’s going to come out. Yeesh.
Although this power isn’t as flashy as the others, it informs us of Superman’s krpytonian physiology. Superman’s indestructible body allows him to sustain his body at the peak of physical health. In certain eras in the comics, superman has said that he can sleep for only an hour or so, and wake up fully rested, and go without food for long periods of time. In the TV show Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Clark has shown that he can eat piles of junk food without gaining weight at all. In the 2006 film Superman Returns, prior to the events of the movie, Superman had been traveling in space for 5 years presumably with food or water. Maybe without even a bath too? It has also been revealed several times in the comics that Superman can only shave with a reflection of his heat-vision to the face.
9. X-Ray
Oh Clark. Even you aren't immune to being a pervert. Ugh.
Thankfully Superman is a decent person, otherwise this power would be greatly abused by so many perverts. We’ll forgive that one-time Clark when he peaked into the girls’ locker room in Season 2 of Smallville. X-Ray, if you didn’t know already, allows the man of steel to see through solid objects. This makes superman sort of a master sleuth in that he can catch criminal activity from anywhere if he wanted to. In Smallville, as I mentioned before, Clark was just discovering his super-powers and even peaked into the girls’ locker room. In the films,
8. Superhuman senses
Superman uses his super senses in his battle against Justice League
Aside from the X-Ray vision, Superman has super-enhanced human senses. Superman has microscopic vision, and can see things from miles away, he has super-hearing and can often hear things from miles and miles away (as displayed in the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game), and probably super-smelling as well. In the 2013 Man of Steel film, we see a flashback of a young Clark locked in a closet trying to block all his heightened super-senses that he can’t control.
7. Super-Breath-
Bless you!
Often seen as one of the super-powers that seems a bit extra, Superman’s super-breath has stuck around in many incarnations of the characters history. He often uses this power to blow out fires and freeze his enemies. You can see him this abilities in many of the live-action films often extinguish to fires, and you can see him use it in the animated film Superman: Doomsday.
6. Heat-Vision
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
Superman Heat Vision Compilation
Interestingly, enough, Superman’s heat vision is a more intense product of his X-Ray vision. Superman often uses this ability to burn or cut through something objects, Nowadays, its often used to make Superman’s eyes red to make him look angrier and intimidating. This ability is used to a greatly every iteration of Superman from the comics to the films. In Smallville, it was revealed that Clark’s heat-vision came into be whenever he got aroused. What is with Smallville and trying to make Superman a pervert?
5. Invulnerability-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
Bruce Wayne puts Clark Kent to the test in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
The bullets bouncing off Superman’s chest is about as iconic an image as Christ being crucified in American culture. The reason they bounce off is because Superman’s skin is impervious to any earth-based damage or weapon such as fire, guns, blunt instruments, and non-superhuman fists. As everyone and their grandmother knows, the only real way to beat Superman is using a radioactive substance known as kryptonite. Which is why in 2016’s Batman V Superman: The Worst superhero movie ever made, Batman needed an assortment of Kryptonite weapons to even beat the man of steel. But other than kryptonite, Superman’s only weakness is magic, and just anyone else who is stronger or more powerful than him.
4. Superhuman speed-
Superman tries to hit the Flash in Justice League
Superman is probably the only other person that has been able to match the Flash in speed…that is if you don’t count the other Flashes and Reverse-Flash. Superman’s super-speed has been a staple of his character since his creation; hence the phrase “faster than a speeding bullet.” Superman uses his great speed to dodge attacks, fly faster, save people, and change into his costume quickly.
3. Solar Radiation-
Superman is strongest when he is near the yellow sun
As every comic book nerd will tell you, Superman’s powers derive from the fact that his krpytonian physiology is powered by the yellow sun. This why in some stories Lex Luthor or some other super-villain would use red sun energy to drain Superman of his powers. In the films, it has been stated that Superman needs to the yellow sun for his powers. In 2006’s Superman Returns, after the man of steel was beaten by Lex with Kryptonite, Superman flies up into the sky to absorb as much solar energy he needs to heal.
2. Superhuman Strength-
I wonder if car insurance covers for superman-attacks.
On the cover of Action Comics number 1, we were first introduced to superman in an image where he is lifting a car and smashing it against a rock as criminals flee from him. Superman’s super-strength is a monumental staple of the character. His strength is used to lift buildings, cars, bend steel, and break through walls. A great display of strength in the films can be seen in Superman Returns when he lifts a large mass of land up into space.
1. Flight
The Flash states that Superman can move at over 2000 miles/sec, which is also over 120,000 miles/minute, and 7,200,000 mph.
If Superman is known for doing one thing…it’s snapping Zod’s neck in Man of Steel. But after that, is his majestic ability to fly. As most superhero historians will know, Superman didn’t start off flying. When the man of steel was first introduced, he could leap “tall buildings in a single bound.” It wasn’t until Superman was brought into a radio show that they gave him the ability to fly. Throughout, writers and artists have changed how powerful superman’s flying abilities can be; in some eras he’s able to fly into space without a suit, and in other eras he needs a space suit to travel in space like everyone else. One of the best things about Richard Donner’s first superman film, is how beautiful and majestic they made Superman’s ability to fly as they knew this would be the big selling point of the movie: “you will believe a man can fly”. To see how beautiful they made Superman fly, look no further than the “Can you read my mind” scene from the original Superman film of 1978.
