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  1. #1
    Ultimate Member babyblob's Avatar
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    Default Is Superman the strongest in the universe?

    I have been reading more and more Superman the last little bit. And I am remembering all the ones I read before and the shows. Superman has beaten alien warlords, gods, demons, pretty much everyone that has been thrown against him. Is there anyone who can beat Superman? has anyone (Besides Doomsday) done it?

    Sorry if this has been asked. I dont come to this section often.
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  2. #2
    Fishy Member I'm a Fish's Avatar
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    Batman

    10Char

  3. #3
    The Spirits of Vengeance K7P5V's Avatar
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    Sad, but true (although, he had help ):


  4. #4
    The Superior One Celgress's Avatar
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    He should be (or at least in the top five if not more likely top three) and would be if not for Batman's impervious plot armor.
    Last edited by Celgress; 04-20-2021 at 08:12 AM.
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  5. #5
    Father Son Kamehameha < Kuwagaton's Avatar
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    Technically yes, but it's circumstantial. Depending on the comic he can exceed characters created to be more powerful like the Spectre, but in a less than ideal situation he can be defeated by a character not nearly as powerful. So it's kinda the same for any character, except he's actually associated with the greatest (collective) power within his best case scenario.
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  6. #6
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    Prior to Crisis, he was the strongest. Not as powerful as the Spectre--but then who is--the Spectre is the hand of God so really it's God who is the strongest, and the Spectre is just a hand-puppet.

    But pre-Crisis--especially in the 1960s--Superman could do things like pushing entire planets out of their orbit.

  7. #7
    The Superior One Celgress's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Kelly View Post
    Prior to Crisis, he was the strongest. Not as powerful as the Spectre--but then who is--the Spectre is the hand of God so really it's God who is the strongest, and the Spectre is just a hand-puppet.

    But pre-Crisis--especially in the 1960s--Superman could do things like pushing entire planets out of their orbit.
    Your post reminds me of what I posted in the sister thread on general DC Forum about Pre-Crisis Sups -

    I know it is not a one-to-one comparison but many fans in the Dragon Ball community theorize that Jiren is a Superman stand-in in terms of raw power (he is stated numerous times as being the strongest mortal in the DB Multiverse); more precisely he's Super Boy Prime or Golden Age Superman before that character started getting severely nerfed post-Reboots. Goku the main hero (who is in many ways another Superman stand-in with many, many astounding feats of his own) had to use a ridiculously broken previously unseen power-up Ultra Instinct to finally (and barely) defeat Jiren. So, yeah, Sups should be near or at the top of the DC pecking order by a vast margin if we are being realistic.
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  8. #8
    ᱬ Master Of Chaos ᱬ Cruelrain's Avatar
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    always below batman

  9. #9
    Astonishing Member DochaDocha's Avatar
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    There's been a lot of BS (not Batman/Superman) published throughout the years, but it's really a small subset of stories where Batman's abilities are elevated to such preposterous proportions.

  10. #10
    Father Son Kamehameha < Kuwagaton's Avatar
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    Yeah basically it's like... DKR itself. Which was an alternate reality I guess you'd say, but such a huge story that people think of it constantly.

    But even that story makes it clear that Superman isn't a character low in the pecking order. He has reduced might. His normal stories offer plenty of challenges at full might though, because there are so many ways to do it outside of hos strength, especially when it comes to putting others in peril. So there's a stigma that he's too powerful, but really it's not about his power.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Kelly View Post
    Prior to Crisis, he was the strongest. Not as powerful as the Spectre--but then who is--the Spectre is the hand of God so really it's God who is the strongest, and the Spectre is just a hand-puppet.

    But pre-Crisis--especially in the 1960s--Superman could do things like pushing entire planets out of their orbit.
    Superman is more or less proportionate with the rest of DC. So when he's not pushing planets, no one is.

  11. #11
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    Superman's power has never been his problem and that was always an excuse from writers who didn't know how to write him. Made all the more clear with DCU Superman only really being like when he was stomping others into the dirt, Omni-man slaughtering the Gaurdians of the Globe being met with awe and wonder, Saitaman being unironically liked for being incredibly powerful, Jiren having the personality of wet sock but gaining popularity for being powerful, Gurren Lagan in general. Only Superman's own modern writers have the delusion that his power was a problem.
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  12. #12
    Ultimate Member SiegePerilous02's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by The World View Post
    Superman's power has never been his problem and that was always an excuse from writers who didn't know how to write him. Made all the more clear with DCU Superman only really being like when he was stomping others into the dirt, Omni-man slaughtering the Gaurdians of the Globe being met with awe and wonder, Saitaman being unironically liked for being incredibly powerful, Jiren having the personality of wet sock but gaining popularity for being powerful, Gurren Lagan in general. Only Superman's own modern writers have the delusion that his power was a problem.
    I've long been thinking they need to inject some Gurren Lagann levels of crazy-awesome into the Superman mythos for a while now.

    It's very bizarre how his OTT powers can be labeled a turn off, but balls-to-the-wall craziness action with similar characters can be embraced elsewhere. is it a leftover from the Reeve film having the infamous flying around the world moment, but otherwise not being able to pull off the surreal, mythic and crazy elements of the Superman franchise to accompany him? Because if people know more that his world and supporting cast/villains are on the same level as him, maybe the whole perception of "too powerful = boring" will go away. Yeah he's essentially a God, but he's battling and teaming up with other God-like beings. He fits in perfectly with the crazy **** he's surrounded by.
    Last edited by SiegePerilous02; 04-20-2021 at 12:34 PM.

  13. #13
    Astonishing Member Ra-El's Avatar
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    Currently Superman isn't even the strongest in in his own house, much less in the whole DCU.
    He is always the second to whatever character DC wants to push that month. They want to show how powerful a new villain is? Superman will be the strongest so that guy can kick his ass.
    They want to show how resourceful a new hero is? Guess Superman will be the stronget again so the new hero can prove himself against him.

  14. #14
    Astonishing Member DochaDocha's Avatar
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    I have to believe that in the first few decades of Superman, readers embraced that he had what seemed like no limits. I also gotta think that people who don't read things like One Punch Man, Gurren Lagan, or DBZ probably point to the OP nature of the protagonists as dealbreakers. That said, I do think too many modern-day Superman writers find his power level to be a problem instead of something to embrace, which is probably not true for the writers of those anime/manga mentioned.

  15. #15
    The Superior One Celgress's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SiegePerilous02 View Post
    I've long been thinking they need to inject some Gurren Lagann levels of crazy-awesome into the Superman mythos for a while now.

    It's very bizarre how his OTT powers can be labeled a turn off, but balls-to-the-wall craziness action with similar characters can be embraced elsewhere. is it a leftover from the Reeve film having the infamous flying around the world moment, but otherwise not being able to pull off the surreal, mythic and crazy elements of the Superman franchise to accompany him? Because if people know more that his world and supporting cast/villains are on the same level as him, maybe the whole perception of "too powerful = boring" will go away. Yeah he's essentially a God, but he's battling and teaming up with other God-like beings. He fits in perfectly with the crazy **** he's surrounded by.
    I've been saying this for years. DC/Warner needs to embrace the craziness give us over-the-top battles flashy battles and astounding feats rather than the tired worn-out tope of Evil Superman number1007573-B.
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