Kal-El - Immortal or not?

[ManSinha]

Lobo has a regeneration factor that in some instances allows him to heal from otherwise very severe injury.
Should Superman have the same kind of healing factor? I know he has one - but it has been portrayed inconsistently
Also - while I am sure the topic has been posted and debated before - is he or should he be, immortal - I am not talking (very) long lived - I am talking true immortal like Diana or Vandal Savage - and why?

[dangleo61288]

Lobo has a regeneration factor that in some instances allows him to heal from otherwise very severe injury.
Should Superman have the same kind of healing factor? I know he has one - but it has been portrayed inconsistently
Also - while I am sure the topic has been posted and debated before - is he or should he be, immortal - I am not talking (very) long lived - I am talking true immortal like Diana or Vandal Savage - and why?

No, immortality is kind of overdone with powerhouses. I think that a better story can be told if the opposite was true. That Superman's powers come at the cost of a shorten lifespan. That normal humans like Lois or Bruce or Lana would actually out live him. He would literally live like he was dying.

[MosSuperman]

No, immortality is kind of overdone with powerhouses. I think that a better story can be told if the opposite was true. That Superman's powers come at the cost of a shorten lifespan. That normal humans like Lois or Bruce or Lana would actually out live him. He would literally live like he was dying.

Shorter lifespan? No

[Lax]

Lobo has a regeneration factor that in some instances allows him to heal from otherwise very severe injury.
Should Superman have the same kind of healing factor? I know he has one - but it has been portrayed inconsistently

I'd rather they play up the durability more so than any healing factor. Make him similar to classic Juggernaut from marvel.

Also - while I am sure the topic has been posted and debated before - is he or should he be, immortal - I am not talking (very) long lived - I am talking true immortal like Diana or Vandal Savage - and why?

I prefer a Superman who doesn't age.

[Zero Hunter]

I like a Superman that ages but slowly. I think one of my favorite portrayals of him in the future was in the JSA story line Thy Kingdom Come where in the end it shows Superman still alive in the 31st century watching the Legion of Superheroes fly over head while Clark is a very old man smiling at the legacy he helped create.

[Tayswift]

superman isn't immortal period

[Sacred Knight]

Not immortal. But I like that he physically ages really slow.

[manduck37]

I don't think he needs to be immortal. I like the idea that his powers give him a long or very long lifespan though. Having those powers that preserve and keep him durable also keep him young. Or take the Morrison approach and like a myth he disappears to return in a higher form in the distant future. One of the things I always liked about Superman is his impact on the future and how he inspires future generations. You can't really have that inspiration if Superman is still around.

[jimmy]

I'd rather they play up the durability more so than any healing factor. Make him similar to classic Juggernaut from marvel.

Good point - They definitely should play up the durability much more so, as well as showing his potential greater mental aspects.

I prefer a Superman who doesn't age

Yes, he should never age nor even show it; like he did in "kingdom come" with grey hair at the temples!

The only alternative to immortality would be to tie his life span to a Star - For example; our nearest star/sun "Sol" which is currently in its "Main Sequence" of middle age is rated about 12 billion years of life - that means there is only another 6-7 Billions years left of nuclear fuel, give or take!

As for the immortality thing.....I don't think he needs to be "properly" immortal like Vandal Savage (unable to die at all), nor immune to aging like Wonder Woman (will never die of old age but could still die from a severe injury).

If immortality is good enough for the likes of Vandal Savage and Wonder Woman, then it should be good enough for the Superman the first superhero!

I miss when Superman time traveled under his own power. It makes time seem less intangible and more like a different space that Superman can move through.

So do I

[Ascended]

I dont think I'd want to see him have a Wolverine style healing factor. The guy is already hard to hurt, allowing him to heal within seconds from those wounds isnt really necessary. Plus, I adore the idea of a Superman who is always busted up. He should always have bruises, cuts, scrapes, the occasional broken bone, and some scars to remind him (and everyone else) that just because he's bulletproof he's not completely immune to injury.

As for the immortality thing.....I dont think he needs to be "properly" immortal like Vandal Savage (unable to die at all), nor immune to aging like Wonder Woman (will never die of old age but could still die from a severe injury). But he should age very slowly. John Bryne's Generations series introduced a fun idea where the older Clark got the slower he aged. So he'd still die from old age eventually, but the older he gets the slower it happens. That's a fun dynamic to toy around with. I dunno if it's the "definitive" version of his aging process that I'd like to see, but its a fun idea. However I typically support the All-Star/DC 1 Million idea; at some point Clark becomes too powerful for his body to contain it all, and Clark "ascends" to a higher state of being, beyond the confines of physical space and time. In my mind, that's the start of the Fifth World, and heralds the end of Darkseid and the Fourth.

Superman doesnt die, he just moves on.

[ManSinha]

As for the immortality thing.....I dont think he needs to be "properly" immortal like Vandal Savage (unable to die at all), nor immune to aging like Wonder Woman (will never die of old age but could still die from a severe injury). But he should age very slowly. John Bryne's Generations series introduced a fun idea where the older Clark got the slower he aged. So he'd still die from old age eventually, but the older he gets the slower it happens. That's a fun dynamic to toy around with. I dunno if it's the "definitive" version of his aging process that I'd like to see, but its a fun idea. However I typically support the All-Star/DC 1 Million idea; at some point Clark becomes too powerful for his body to contain it all, and Clark "ascends" to a higher state of being, beyond the confines of physical space and time. In my mind, that's the start of the Fifth World, and heralds the end of Darkseid and the Fourth.

Superman doesnt die, he just moves on.

That is indeed a very lovely way to put it

[Dispenser Of Truth]

I'm okay with Superman aging, slowly, in alternate takes (especially in the likes of Kingdom Come where it's symbolically significant), and I see the New 52 version as aging over the millenia for reasons I don't entirely understand myself. But generally speaking, I prefer 'classic' versions of Superman don't age that much, if at all. It's actually part of the reason I don't see the Earth Two Kal-L as 'actually' being the original Siegel/Shuster Superman: that's not just 'a' Superman, that's THE Superman, and that Superman of Action Comics #1 is energy and playfulness and power and utterly unstoppable, he'd never get old or even slow down as long as there was something left he had to do.

Mostly what Ascended said, as per usual.

[Slaughter]

I don't like some of the implications of immortal Superman, through:

1) All the adventures we have seen? Just the beginning of something spanning millenia. In other words, we have been reading a extended origin story. That means anyone not Superman is pretty much meaningless in the abyss of sheer time.

2) It makes you think that Superman is pretty much wasting time with the whole Clark Kent thing, rather than doing his best bang-up job to ressurect Krypton and live amongst immortals. Lois will die, and Clark Kent will probably "die" right after her.

3) Two words: Heat Death.

I do think that Grant Morrison did well dealing with those aspects in DC One Million.

[ManSinha]

I don't like some of the implications of immortal Superman, through:

1) All the adventures we have seen? Just the beginning of something spanning millenia. In other words, we have been reading a extended origin story. That means anyone not Superman is pretty much meaningless in the abyss of sheer time.

2) It makes you think that Superman is pretty much wasting time with the whole Clark Kent thing, rather than doing his best bang-up job to ressurect Krypton and live amongst immortals. Lois will die, and Clark Kent will probably "die" right after her.

3) Two words: Heat Death.

I do think that Grant Morrison did well dealing with those aspects in DC One Million.

Well - you can look upon it as an extended origin story - or a mere continuation of the "facade" innocently started by Jonathan and Martha Kent - and at the time no one (especially Clark himself) knew about his destiny

[phantom1592]

I don't like any implication of immortality or even an extended life of aging slowly. Not a fan of that at all.

First of all it should have been going on from the beginning. Which disrupts the entire Smallville concept or having high school friends like Lana and Pete.

Second, it messes with the idea of growing old with Lois or whoever.

Third, If he didn't 'stop aging' till he got all of his powers (depending on the origin...) He'd be continually 18ish and that's just too young for Superman. He needs to be a 'Man' who commands respect.... not a kid in a costume.

Fourth, I don't really see it ADDING anything to the character. The future will forever be the future, and the Present is where the books live. So Superman is effectively as immortal as Batman, Wonder Woman or anyone who is the star of their own book. None of them will ever be shown of dying of old age.... and for a character as hard to hurt as Superman just hand waving it as 'Oh he can't die' steals what little drama there is in slugfest.

Finally, it makes any idea of a secret Identity COMPLETLY ridiculous.... as opposed to simply being 'far fetched' or 'unlikely' as we're used to. If Clark doesn't age with the rest of the world... how is he supposed to hide that??