"Super-tricks" that Superman could do?

[L.R Johansson]

Yeahh, thinking about the explosion in Superman Versus Batman in the Capitoleum got me thinking about what Superman can actually do with his powers... to help people, or to knock out bad guys.

Sort of like the various tricks that Flash do now and then - creating static electricity, vacuums, et c.

So, what sort of spectacular tricks have we seen through the years? I'd prefer it if we could keep the discussion "semi-realistic" as well, sort of how the comics have been since Post-Crisis - so rather not see people mentioning super-sneezing...

We saw a few of those tricks at the start of the new-52, with Superman making calculations for telescope-data, so he could finally see Krypton! With Neal deGrasse Tyson.

And we also saw him learning surgery at super-speed and then performing such with his finger-nails.

But what other cool things could Superman do? How would he resolve certain situations?

Like, for instance, if a bomb goes off - how does he save the most people? Can he even STOP the explosion, dead in its tracks?? Or how about something like the Fukushima-accident? How can Superman stop the nuclear reaction, and also stop or reverse the spread of nuclear particles in the air, the soil and the water?

Might even be a fun game this one! = ) Putting together various scenarios for Supes to solve.

[adrikito]

Maybe he is well with the powers it has and does not need new..

DC added the Solar and all have been problems.. TRUTH.

[DieHard200904]

Yeahh, thinking about the explosion in Superman Versus Batman in the Capitoleum got me thinking about what Superman can actually do with his powers... to help people, or to knock out bad guys.

Sort of like the various tricks that Flash do now and then - creating static electricity, vacuums, et c.

So, what sort of spectacular tricks have we seen through the years? I'd prefer it if we could keep the discussion "semi-realistic" as well, sort of how the comics have been since Post-Crisis - so rather not see people mentioning super-sneezing...

We saw a few of those tricks at the start of the new-52, with Superman making calculations for telescope-data, so he could finally see Krypton! With Neal deGrasse Tyson.

And we also saw him learning surgery at super-speed and then performing such with his finger-nails.

But what other cool things could Superman do? How would he resolve certain situations?

Like, for instance, if a bomb goes off - how does he save the most people? Can he even STOP the explosion, dead in its tracks?? Or how about something like the Fukushima-accident? How can Superman stop the nuclear reaction, and also stop or reverse the spread of nuclear particles in the air, the soil and the water?

Might even be a fun game this one! = ) Putting together various scenarios for Supes to solve.

Using a precise reflection of his heat vision to strike a parademon or a Brainiac bot around a corner, or maybe fine tune the heat vision so that it reflects off a particular surface.

[manduck37]

I really liked when Morrison had Superman short out computers with his x-ray vision. It would be fun to see Superman do that with robots, drones, or enemy ships to harmlessly disable them.

[Johnny Thunders!]

I think he should be able to restructure matter at the atomic level using a combination of his vision powers, maybe interpret internet signals in the air, use sonics to disrupt the vibrational frequencies of matter, see through different dimensions of time and space...

[Jim Kelly]

Superman could do tricks like super-hypnotism and super-ventriloquism. I don't see this as distinct super-powers--rather I think they are tricks he can do, although greatly helped by his actual super-powers.

There have been stories about how young Bruce Wayne travelled around the world getting training from various masters. For example, I remember one story where he got lessons in stage magic from Zatara the Magician. Seems to me, young Clark Kent may have done the same thing and picked up some tricks. And since he had such physical powers, he could do really big tricks.

For all we know, some of the absurd things the movie Man of Steel did in SUPERMAN II could have just been tricks he learned from a master magician.

[Slaughter]

Superman could probably easily do Black Bolt-level Sonic Screams if he ever felt like it. Pretty sure I once read a issue where Superman screams the Doom Patrol to death in a hallucination.
He could also scream just with enough force to stun or weaken people. Or even whisper in frequencies that make people feel haunted, scared, etc.
The ability is very rarely used, but its there.

Also, he could take a page from JL3001 Flash and hit relativistic velocities to slow time down and use the extra time to think and analyze a situation. Best used in space unless Superman wants to set the atmosphere on fire (no speedforce here).

If Heat Vision works in the microscopic scale he could do some limited matter manipulation by heating atoms and molecules - we have already seen Superman easily ionising air.

[Last Son]

I'd like to see Superman create a thunderstorm with his existing powers, using a combination of heat vision and super breath.

[Francisco]

Superman is fast enough to fake teleportation or disappear/sneak up on people
and fake telekinesis by manipulating the air around objects

[Superlad93]

-How about in Final Crisis where he literally sings a dark god (Dardsied) out of existence.

-Also in Final Crisis his eyes adjust to the need to see in 4D. It's roughly the same way a persons eyes adjust from being inside in dim light to outside in the bright sun. At least that's how I read it.

-How about a shout out to a trick that I hope to see hit the page via Max Landis' Superman: Agent of Batman? Landis describes a scene where Superman puts his mouth over Wonder Woman's mouth, and then collapses her lungs almost killing her.

[Johnny Thunders!]

I love the Bronze Age comic where he flies so fast he makes Steve Lombard his on air replacement by hypnotizing him, putting make up on him, throwing him in front of a camera, and then fllying off to fight, I think Grundy. He interviews himself live on air as Clark and Superman in another book. I think by moving so fast, he's in more places at almost the same time. If he pushed the planet with enough force and moving that fast, fast enough to be several places at once, would he move the planet? Maybe that's how he did it and all we see is his one image in one place?

[Lightning Rider]

This is a fun thread. I like the haunting whispers/scream/super ventriloquism stuff, as well as the x-ray computer trick.

This was classic:



When it comes to bombs and fires, I think Superman should be able to contain some level of both with his freeze breath. It's really underused.

I'd like to see him operating in harsher environments, like collecting scientific data from alien planets, molten lava sites, and the bottom of the sea (which Aquaman might be reluctant or too busy to do).

I always loved how he used a mirror/reflective surface to shave.

[Photon Torme]

He almost got Jimmy Olsson to marry a monkey. That's a pretty good trick.

[Last Son]

I love the Bronze Age comic where he flies so fast he makes Steve Lombard his on air replacement by hypnotizing him, putting make up on him, throwing him in front of a camera, and then fllying off to fight, I think Grundy. He interviews himself live on air as Clark and Superman in another book. I think by moving so fast, he's in more places at almost the same time. If he pushed the planet with enough force and moving that fast, fast enough to be several places at once, would he move the planet? Maybe that's how he did it and all we see is his one image in one place?

I've thought that could be a reasonable explanation for how he can move large objects, by basically being in several places at once with his super speed so it's almost like a team of Supermen are lifting or pushing rather than just one.

[Lightning Rider]

Superman is able to discern the chemical composition of something fairly easily.

I wonder if he could sense pheromones and hormones in the air when someone expresses an emotion. Super smell doesn't really seem like something they've highlighted (perhaps for the better) but it would be awesome if he could see sex pheromones when someone feels attracted, anger, fear, etc. That's a step up from just hearing the heart beat.

He can store gases in his lungs by sucking his breath in.

Given his ear, he should be able to distinguish and identify all individual animals and people from each other. The same goes with musicians, and he should have perfect pitch himself, able to play music by ear with insane precision.

He could hear radio waves and see data being sent into space to satellites.

I wouldn't be surprised if his saliva or skin cells could nourish a plant living in darkness because of the solar energy he possesses.

I liked in Superman 4 how his hair could hold up a huge amount of weight. Perhaps his hair can be used to secure things.