Talk:Superman's powers and abilities
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[edit] Current powers
Is there any way we could denote which powers are relevent to the current Superman character? --Chris Griswold 07:10, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
- Perhaps a new section called something like Powers exhibited in the past. That would make it easy to move them back and forth as his abilities change/evolve/get retconned. CovenantD 15:05, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
I took out the remark about modern use of "Super Voice" because I could not find any of the cited examples in any of my books. --Wakefencer 01:10, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
Please don't; He has used it a few times, but they are sporadic.
Can you give me one example? I have quite the collection, and I'm more than happy to check.--Wakefencer 12:43, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
I am not sure of the actual issue number; But I recall he once used it to disrupt a bombs detonation device before tossing it away. Another occasion, he disrupted a large robot which was using some sort of device to disguise its appearance. Superman used his voice to cancel out the device and then cause the robot itself to detonate.
I really hope he doesn't have that ability any more, that's just too over the top. As for the continued All-Star references guys, I really don't think we need to mention it twice in the same article, certainly not using the same wording. I'm sure we all got the idea that the sun makes him very very strong, and that in All-Star Superman his cells are bursting.--Wakefencer 23:35, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
He does have the ability, its just not on the level of counter acting nukes. It's one of his more technical abilites, often used by writers who want to up play his intelligence. Regardless of weither you think he should have it, he has it; It stays.
I didn't argue the point. I'm just saying that I haven't seen any issue post-crisis where he uses that ability. If he has fine, I was just remarking that I thought it makes hime even more of a Deus Ex Machina then he already is. I'm not trying to fight about this.--Wakefencer 13:35, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
I know; I was just being assertive, builds character.
You just reminded me of the section I added about different continuities. I mentioned that there have been examples of Superman's powers that have taken place in comics that aren't part of the DCU. Looking over the article, numerous comic book series have been cited for examples of Superman using certain powers. My question is, since I'm so out of touch, which of the series mentioned are canon and which aren't? Odin's Beard 00:08, 15 July 2006 (UTC)
That's one of the biggest problems surrounding the introduction of various titles; It seems there is so much contradiction.
[edit] Needs clarifying
Byrne never removed the yellow sun as the power source, he simply used telekinesis as an explanation for flight and pyrokinesis as an explanation of heat vision. It was Superboy (Kon-el) who was introduced years later who was given telekinetic powers without the yellow sun as the source of his powers at all.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Spookyadler (talk • contribs).
[edit] Kryptonite
Can i know whether kryptonite is easily available, and can anyone obtain it ?
Seeing it dosn't exist, it would be impossible to obtain, =P. ..but anyways, it depends.. On.. The story.. Mehuck.. Wesz 11:58, 19 June 2006 (UTC)
I think you might be referring to the element Krypton, which is an actual element on the Periodic Table. Odin's Beard 00:44, 24 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Written as real?
This article uses language so as to suggest that it is not about a fictional character but about a real figure such as:
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- Superman has manifested a wide range of metahuman abilities and is considered to be one of the most powerful metahumans on Earth at the present time and all around.
I dont think this language is appropriate for this entry. Asteron 15:06, 5 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] 'The Analaysis of Superman'
Whoever edited this article to paste in information from this website; http://www.starnet-database.com/dbase_deo/profiles/superman/superman.html please don't. The information is sorely out of date and I will remove it.
[edit] Diffrent Continuities
The article is filled with examples of Superman's powers that've taken place in alternate realities/timelines. For example, anything pertaining to All Star Superman title, or Kingdom Come or any of the various animiated series that he's appeared in, since it takes place outside of the DC continuity, then shouldn't it be left out? Odin's Beard 00:31, 8 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Weaknesses
The intro to this section is a little questionable. Listing things Superman can't do is different than listing weaknesses. He can't breath underwater or change his skin color, but I don't think I'd count those as weaknesses. Are inability to donate blood, have surgery without special tools or "sweat under earthly conditions" really weaknesses? The same with the discussion on progeny. Doesn't seem to belong in the weakness section. Maybe this would be better suited for the main superman article (?). I recommend scrapping the whole intro and just jumping into the magic discussion. Anyone else? --CPitt76 01:33, 25 July 2006 (UTC)
Ordinarily, I'd completely agree. However, comic book writers seem determined to make Superman capable of just about any feat, no matter how titanic or miniscule that it might be. The article is full of examples, numerous ones, about how Superman's powers, his origin, his homeworld, his costume, etc. have been tinkered with by so many people over so many decades that it's hard to discern what the character is capable of doing now because they switch up his powers like regular people switch underwear. So, anything that he can't do that seems to be of some merit I think should be included. I think that maybe the whole skin color thing is a bit much. However, I think that him being unable to have children does bear mentioning because it's an interesting little tidbit. But, who knows, the way they tinker around with him, in a few months they'll do a storyline where he has a busload of kids scattered all over the Mid-West. Odin's Beard 02:57, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] powers used before or made just for the movie
The Fact that the ending sequence in superman: the movie consists of Superman stopping the earthquake of california by flying around the world at max velocity rusulting in reversing the earths' orbit and time itself on earth, well this really raises a big question I do not know of too much.
I have always assumed that the movie invented that gimick of reversing time by flying fast around the earth as a prominent ability of superman. But that's Really not one of his real powers is'nt it.
I have seen that parodied in places about the time travel thing. But THAT ability I am so Sure of IS ABSOLUTELY not super power for the man of steel.
CAN Someone explain this to me pease?
- During the 1960s, 70s, and first half of the 80s, the writers of the Superman comics kept jacking his powers up to ludicrous levels and kept adding powers to him. By the middle of the 1980s, Superman had been toyed with to such an extreme, writers retconning everything from his origin to his powers to his power source, etc. that nobody knew what to make of him. Basically, over the decades, Superman was transformed into a nearly omnipotent being with no limitations. This not only made the character uninteresting, it brought sales of the comics he appeared in down. It kept happening. Some people believe that it's one of the things that really allowed Marvel Comics to truly get their foot in the door. After all, it's hard to come up with an interesting scenario or a respectable villain for a character that's been transformed into God. When the character was revamped back in 1985, much of his "omnipotence" was removed. His strength, his flight speed, his invulnerability, etc. were all dramatically reduced. He had limits now. Of course, this brassed off longtime, hardcore fans and, over the last 21 years, writers have slowly jacked up his powers once more to an extent. However, as far as I know right now, Superman can't do the whole thing where he turns back time, I'm pretty sure that's just something they put into the original Superman film. He can't fly faster than light speed, he can't travel through time or any of that other stuff. However, writers fiddle around with his powers, add new powers, or even change his powers like I change underwear. So, by this time next year, who knows. Odin's Beard 23:42, 9 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Healing factor
We are talking about Superman's power as a FICTIONAL character in the REAL world, not what is in universe right now. DKR is still part of the Superman mythos in the real world. It is for this reason that some Golden age are mentioned. Wether or not it is in the main universe is irrlelent, since the article must appeal to non-comic fans as well. Besides, there are numberous examples of Superman healing, and he is listed on the healing factor page. T-1000 01:18, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
If a storyline isn't part of a comic book universe's mainstream continuity, then it's not considered canon. You know as well as I do that you have eliminated noncanonical material from other comic book articles in the past. I'm afraid that it is relevant otherwise noncanon examples can be placed in other articles. If there are numerous canon examples, then list them. In the Powers and Abilities section of the Hulk for instance. Only the powers, capabilities, skills, etc. that he possesses in the mainstream Marvel Universe are listed. Otherwise, it'd fall within a section devoted to one of alternate reality Hulks. Odin's Beard 01:47, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
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- I have removed fancruff. Like I said before, Golden Age abilities are no longer canon, but they are listed here anyway, because they happened in the real wrold. We are not talking about Superman of only the minstream continuity here. Try to see this from an out of universe perspective. T-1000 04:49, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
- I agree this page should cover the character, not the post-Crisis continuity. This includes the radio, TV, and movie versions as well. --Chris Griswold (☎☓) 06:35, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
- I have removed fancruff. Like I said before, Golden Age abilities are no longer canon, but they are listed here anyway, because they happened in the real wrold. We are not talking about Superman of only the minstream continuity here. Try to see this from an out of universe perspective. T-1000 04:49, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Cystalb4
CystalB4, please explain your reverting. T-1000 02:43, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Superman's regeneration
Superman's healing factor is confirmed by mutiple people here: [1]. T-1000 03:51, 5 October 2006 (UTC) Here as well, by an editor. [2]. T-1000 03:56, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] S Shield
In the section regarding his costume, it states that the most recent explanation to the S Shield is that it is the Kryptonian glyph for hope. The Smallville continuity would rule this out due to the fact that the symbol of hope was shown in season 3. In the most recent episodes of the series it has appeared to argue that the S is actually a family crest for the House of El, as the show put it. Also it has not been cited as to where the information about the shield came from. I may just be ranting but it seems to me that the most recent explanation to the meaning of the shield is the family crest of the House of El. Mushrambo 02:54, 5 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Disputed?
Someone has added a disputed tag to the article. Is there any dispute as to factuality here? As I'm not seeing any serious dispute here on the talk page, I'm removing the tag. If the person who added it feels it's valid, please justify it here. --Suttkus 14:18, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Kryptonian Powers
Should the name of the article be changed to Kryptonian powers and abilities instead of Superman's powers and abilities? All Kryptonian's display these powers not just Superman. I know this will require a lot of editing, because Superman's name is listed all over the page. But, wouldn't it just be more acurate? Lyle A. Ruggles 22:18, 13 February 2007 (UTC)
- Seconded. - Pennyforth 20:20, 14 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Horrible article!
My apologies in advance to anyone how has greatly contributed to this page. That having been said, this page is horrible! 90% of the info reads like it’s original research. The page is written like the material is actually real and, with the exception of the occasional comic book reference (which are wrongly cited), this page has no citations whatsoever. Plus, this page is full of an ungodly amount POV statements and weasel words. I suggest that “correct” citations be used and all of the analysis/interpretations of how his powers work (beyond the yellow sun stuff) be completely scratched from the page. That would knock the page down 10’s of kilobytes. (Ghostexorcist 03:57, 14 February 2007 (UTC))
Second Opinion
I wholeheartedly agree with the above user. I would also like to apologize in advance to whomever it was who created or made major edits to this article thus far, but honestly, I don't think I have read anything on Wikipedia that was this poorly researched, or this incoherent. The citations are weak and I feel dumber having read it, because it provided little to no information that was actually worth reading into. There are points of pure speculation and/or fabrication, and little to no signs of hard research. This article doesn't just need to be edited. It needs to be completely rewritten and reformatted from the ground up. Crumbworks 06:38, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Energy Powers
I'm not much of a Superman buff, so forgive me if this is irrelivent. I seem to remember Superman had some kind of energy based powers in the past that required a special blue suit to contain. I see no mention of this in the article. Is it worth adding? -- Jelly Soup 23:35, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
- And with a simple search, Superman Red/Superman Blue. -- Jelly Soup 23:37, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Speed
Post-Crisis Superman is actually faster than light. He's gone from Earth to Saturn in 4 minutes, and gone at the speed of light while in a Double Black Hole. Scans can be found at the Superman Respect thread at Super hero Chat or KMC Forums. Just thought that you should be mentioned. It's a common myth that Post-Crisis Superman can't exceed light speed.
