Is Superman lifting millions/billions of tons canon?

[evolutionaryFan]

Trying to make sense of Superman's strength. Is there any semi-official way to gauge Superman's strength vs other DC characters.

Marvel seems to use lifting power... but they go to about 100 tons... and that's about it:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Strength_Scale

Are all DC characters just physically a lot stronger than Marvel... or is it just Superman? How do we make sense of Marvel/DC crossovers with such a huge gap?

[Robanker]

They stopped quantifying it a long time ago. He basically has a limitless reservoir of strength but he can only really tap into it when he universe needs him to be it's champion.

Generally, he's extremely strong but not pushing planets around. Especially when DC uses him as the modern bar to measure other heroes with, making him a planet wrangler means you have a lot of them because Diana, Super and Power Girl exist.

So they reign everyone in

[evolutionaryFan]

They stopped quantifying it a long time ago. He basically has a limitless reservoir of strength but he can only really tap into it when he universe needs him to be it's champion.

Generally, he's extremely strong but not pushing planets around. Especially when DC uses him as the modern bar to measure other heroes with, making him a planet wrangler means you have a lot of them because Diana, Super and Power Girl exist.

So they reign everyone in

Thanks. Yeah, I can see writing advantages both ways... having it somewhat quantified... vs no quantification. I prefer knowing some sort range of his strength.

[magha_regulus]

I'd say yes. He put the back moon together by himself in about 7 panels in Justice League #9.

[Robanker]

Thanks. Yeah, I can see writing advantages both ways... having it somewhat quantified... vs no quantification. I prefer knowing some sort range of his strength.

Yeah. The same goes for the other heroes I listed. All of them have the hidden perk of tapping into the limitless strength reservoir when necessary.

Superman just does it the most.

[Username taken]

Trying to make sense of Superman's strength. Is there any semi-official way to gauge Superman's strength vs other DC characters.

Marvel seems to use lifting power... but they go to about 100 tons... and that's about it:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Strength_Scale

Are all DC characters just physically a lot stronger than Marvel... or is it just Superman? How do we make sense of Marvel/DC crossovers with such a huge gap?

Marvel has the 100 ton thing as a guide

But the stronger characters can lift in excess of 100 tons and have potentially incalculable strength.

Superman can lift trillions (if not more) of tons. I think he falls into the incalculable category.

[manwhohaseverything]

i would say so.But,Does it matter?he can lift an entire universe or 5 pound dumbbell...All that matters is if it's fun or it is inspirational or elicits any sort of awe/emotion in you.

[evolutionaryFan]

i would say so.But,Does it matter?he can lift an entire universe or 5 pound dumbbell...All that matters is if it's fun or it is inspirational or elicits any sort of awe/emotion in you.

I understand. But for me personally... if there are "absolutely" no rules and anything can happen it takes a lot of fun out of it.

[Jim Kelly]

In a way, the old explanation for his powers worked better for this. Before the sun explanation, it was supposed to be gravity that accounted for everything he could do. Now, it doesn't make a lot of sense if it's just because gravity is lighter on Earth than Krypton--but if he has some mysterious connection with gravity, that could mean he is manipulating gravitational forces to move stuff around.

In outer space, he should be able to push around bigger objects, because the force of gravity from other masses is less. And maybe he isn't really lifting anything--he's just transferring inertia.

[achilles]

Marvel has the 100 ton thing as a guide

But the stronger characters can lift in excess of 100 tons and have potentially incalculable strength.

Superman can lift trillions (if not more) of tons. I think he falls into the incalculable category.

Wasn't there an issue where some scientist had him overhead pressing what she said was the mass of the Earth....for days? And he was bored, not tired. All this using super tech.

[Username taken]

Wasn't there an issue where some scientist had him overhead pressing what she said was the mass of the Earth....for days? And he was bored, not tired. All this using super tech.

Yep, he bench pressing the equivalent of the weight of the Earth for days and barely broke a sweat.

[Johnny Thunders!]

For awhile I would read how stupid it was that Superman could move planets. If he is pushing, he would just go through. I always figured, if I did that, that would happen, but Superman is smarter than me. He is using all his powers to break the rules.

[Stanlos]

Trying to make sense of Superman's strength. Is there any semi-official way to gauge Superman's strength vs other DC characters.

Marvel seems to use lifting power... but they go to about 100 tons... and that's about it:

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Strength_Scale

Are all DC characters just physically a lot stronger than Marvel... or is it just Superman? How do we make sense of Marvel/DC crossovers with such a huge gap?

Prior to Flashpoint and N52 they were. But after that they are generic af. Superman and WW were dramatically depowered. A single nuke takes them out which is INSANE

[Ascended]

The example of Clark pushing against the weight of the earth for days is from Lobdell's run, I forget the issue number. He lifted earth's weight for five days, and only broke a single bead of sweat. And that's the last time I recall Clark's strength being quantified in any real way, though maybe I just missed/forgot some.

Either way, Clark's as strong as the story needs him to be, naturally. Comics are rarely good at internal consistency; the same version of Clark will struggle to withstand the pressure of the earth's core in one story, then fly out of a black hole and spend months flying home (unaided) in another.

I think we can safely say (more or less) that for the last several years, Clark was somewhere above 2000's-2010 levels, but below the craziest of the Silver Age stuff. He's a planet breaker, but he's not sneezing solar systems out of orbit. I think that's been, very roughly, the de-facto setting for the last ten-ish years. He can fly to distant planets under his own power, but can't fly fast enough to time travel (ignoring Waid's World's Finest anyway, which I consider only half in-continuity).

Granted, since PKJ started writing Action (a year ago? Two?) Clark's been weakened down to Golden Age levels, give or take....but now is back to normal, if not even more powerful than he was (I think? Haven't grabbed the latest Action yet).

[achilles]

For awhile I would read how stupid it was that Superman could move planets. If he is pushing, he would just go through. I always figured, if I did that, that would happen, but Superman is smarter than me. He is using all his powers to break the rules.

I'm guessing you're right, barring things like diamond planets, which I think exist or might. But you aren't meant to think about that, pretty much everything he does is impossible.