The old abilities of Superman

[Ascended]

Pre-Crisis Superman was the best depiction of Superman ever.

They didn't try to make him weaker, they didn't try to nerf the character, DC fully embraced the character and he was 100% true to himself.

You don't see him getting beat up by Batman or Green Lantern or whoever, there was nobody who could mess with him.

He wasn't some "dark" or "edgy" Supes like we see these days, he was what he is supposed to be, a symbol of hope.

I miss that guy.

Go read Action #40. Trust me. That guy isn't gone.

[GoingPostal]

Action Comics sure has been a blessing since Pak, no question.

[Cypher]

I like the trickster Superman. In a lot of classic stories, the Caped Kryptonian plays pranks on others and I think that shows a fun side to his character. Also with Steve Lombard, when he would try to play a prank on Clark, the Man of Steel would use his powers to prank Stevie Boy instead.

I'm sure, being a smart fellow, as soon as he saw someone like Zatara do a stage trick, Clark figured out how to do it--and he made it that much better with the help of his super-powers. So that's how I see him using ventriloquism.

In the very early stories, Clark seemed to run across a fair number of hypnotists. And in some of those stories they put him under their spell. But then in other stories, Clark is resistant to their influence. And then a bit later we see Superman using hypnotisim on others. So maybe after the first few times a hypnotist got the better of him, Clark learned to resist mesmerism, then studied it and learned how to do it himself.

Neither ventriloquism nor hypnotism require that Superman have an actual super-power to do this. They just require that Clark is clever.

Also in the very early stories, Clark is able to push the muscles of his face around to change his appearance. But a few years later, in one story, he shows the ability to completely shift his appearance to look like a weird alien. It's one thing for Clark to alter his appearance by manipulating his facial muscles, but I draw the line at him shifting into a completely different form.

I think giving Superman actual psychic powers would soon overshadow every other power he has. Why use super-senses or physical might, when every problem can be solved with pyschic abilities. There are enough other heroes whose specialty is psychic powers, so why should Superman cut their grass.

Yeah, the fun side of Superman isnt showcased anymore. Especially it was needed then, otherwise the stories are actually very depressing when you read them. Things like robbery, father unable to support their kids or pay bills, children dying some times, child abuse, all those things are actually more depressing because theyre real issues than anything more so today.

Back then the understood the purpose of a little fun and humor.

There could be some limit to his powers. I dont really consider shape shifting or hypnotizing psychic power, not when the hypnotizing can be explained as just a different frequency emanating from his eyes as explained earlier.

Pre-Crisis Superman was the best depiction of Superman ever.

They didn't try to make him weaker, they didn't try to nerf the character, DC fully embraced the character and he was 100% true to himself.

You don't see him getting beat up by Batman or Green Lantern or whoever, there was nobody who could mess with him.

He wasn't some "dark" or "edgy" Supes like we see these days, he was what he is supposed to be, a symbol of hope.

I miss that guy.

Amen brother.

One new power I'd give Superman is the power to access the internet.

I think in the old days he could pick up radio. He should be able to see radio waves, but maybe he can process that information and hear it. So would it be so impossible for Superman to see cybernetic communications? and then process them with his intellect to read the internet. It wouldn't even have to be a new power--it would just be him using his existing powers in a creative way.

It would come in handy given so much is now happening in cyberspace rather than real space. So Superman would be plugged in.

Well in Morrisons run he can read flashdrives by looking at them, so its not too far off.

Superman in those old comcs, he seems like he's made of something else. Invulnerable meant, even if you hit him hard enough to send flying, in those 50s comics he seems more surprised than hurt.

Super ventriloquism, he can see, hear, speak, and affect almost any spot in the planet without leaving where he's located. Everything's all perceivable wave lengths to Superman, that's awesome! That's cosmic awareness as far I'm concerned .

The 50's comics are very big on intellectual battles and wits more than anything because he was invulnerable. After a while punching everything does take its toll, but GA Superman since his inception was big on wits too.