If I could "cancel" one of Clark's superpowers....

[Mark Trail]

...it would be heat vision.

As omnipotent as Superman is already, I really don't think he needs to be able to kill people just by looking at them.

Also, it would mean an end to now "done to death" shots of Supes on the covers, with his eyes glowing red and looking all "90s Imagey."

How about the rest of you?

[MindofShadow]

I'd prefer his super speed be brought waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down

[Kuwagaton]

Yeah, rather than get rid of a power I would just bring his hearing and vision down in scope. They make for a nice growing pains story, about having to learn to focus and not feel bad about all the mayhem around him, but in a regular plot they are just too much. Nothing beyond a few miles, I say.

[Dispenser Of Truth]

If I *had* to get rid of a power, super-breath. Not freeze breath, but the hurricane-force winds. I like it, but it's the most superfluous of all his powers, another way of exerting strength when his muscles can generally do just fine on their own.

[Jim Kelly]

I'd agree with heat vision. All of Superman's other powers are extensions of human abilities--that was the original idea. Even flying is the ability to leap taken to the extreme. Heat vision was an extension of x-ray vision--but an erroneous understanding of x-ray vision. Superman doesn't emit x-rays, he sees them (that's the only way his penetration vision could work--emitting x-rays wouldn't do this).

Mind you, Superman could probably have fire breath. That would be in line with his other powers--if he can make his breath so cold it freezes things, then he should be able to make it really hot, too. Human beings blow on hot soup to cool it down, but we blow on our hands to warm them up.

[SJNeal]

One or all of the "breath" powers could go away and I wouldn't mind.

[Jon Clark]

Superflare would be top of the list with heat vision in second. Pretty much the same reasoning as Jim Kelly that these are the least "human ability turned up to 100" powers Superman has.

[Chris24601]

I think I'd go with putting practical limits on his Super-hearing and I think the easiest approach there would be to just limit it to the speed of sound. So if he hears a gunshot a half mile away, that means it actually happened about two seconds ago.

I can buy Kryptonians having heat vision and x-ray vision though. Given how much the yellow sun pumps up his abilities Krypton's star must have been extremely dim (to the point it would probably appear pitch black on Krypton to human eyes) and some sort of active sensing akin to radar would be an evolutionary advantage in that dark environment. Heat vision is just that active sensing focused on a single target and turned way up by the same boost that makes him super strong and invulnerable. This would also require having receptors able to perceive the radiation his eyes can emit so being able to see in whichever parts of the spectrum his eyes could emit would fit right in.

Actually though, I think the thing I would most cancel out would be the notion that he's powered by yellow sunlight. Maybe electromagnetic radiation is a catalyst, but there's just not enough energy per square meter put out by our sun, even given 100% absorption efficiency (which would in turn make Superman pitch black as he's absorbing it all and reflecting none of it) to power what Superman can do. Given how energy poor Krypton would be given the dimness of the star, I could see something akin to a mass/energy conversion digestive process (essentially providing the same amount of power as an matter/anti-matter reactor); able to break down just about anything into fuel (i.e. super-eating)... a process made more efficient by the greater amount of electromagnetic radiation from the sun.

Maybe Kryptonite radiation disrupts this process and shuts those powers off, but narratively speaking its more interesting if it doesn't also turn him into a lead weight. Make it work like it did in the K-Metal story or first appearance on "Lois & Clark" where it turns him into a mere mortal who has to rely on his wits. Heck, given the general power level of the DCU, maybe he could even still have a certain base level of ability due to his high-G origins. Say the strength of ten men, dense bullet-resistant skin and the ability to bound a couple hundred feet. Basically something that would make many things a threat without also making it impossible for him to do anything to resolve the crisis.

Basically, I'd like Superman's powers to get something of a Logic Pass. It doesn't need to become 100% or even 25% scientifically accurate, but it could use a bit of work to make his powers more sci-fi and less straight up magical.

[Shadesofgray]

Freeze breath

[Osiris-Rex]

Float in the air type flying. Get rid of slowly rising up and just hovering there. It has no real logical explanation. Make it so Superman just goes back to being able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.
He can jump high and far because his legs are super strong and maybe he can glide for a few miles. But he comes back down just like any other solid object instead of floating back down.

[daBronzeBomma]

I'd cancel his ability to become weak to red solar radiation, which makes zero sense even as pseudo-science: a. our sun isn't billions of times brighter than the dimmest red star and more importantly, b. emitted red (or any color) solar radiation would NOT "drive out" stored yellow solar radiation. That's not how science works. At all.

Also, the word "magic" would be as relevant to Superman as it is to the Hulk, i.e. it is not relevant in the slightest. He is neither immune nor defenseless.

[Mutant God]

Being able to breathe in space.

[13th Superman]

Freeze breath, Super Breath, and heat vision. Like some have mentioned they are just a bit too exotic. Look at One Punch Man. Immense strength, speed, invulnerability. Supes could still keep the super senses but limit them due to physics ie. - not hearing screams in the amazon while in Metropolis or in space. If it were up to me, I'd lose the solar battery power source and go back to the golden age origin that all Kryptonians were Superhuman. Look at the Viltrumites in Invincible.

[K. Jones]

Frost breath for me.

I like his various visions a lot - the notion of pupils and irises so powerful that they can do more with the EM spectrum than just the visible light parts. X-Ray, microwave, heat, laser-focus. I like him being able to do some fairly (not god-level, but "super") stuff with his lung-power. Strength. Essentially he has all the five senses ... just SUPER!

But frost breath is like ... just too out there even for me. That's getting close on "ice powers" levels. Superman would burn hot. I can feel my own breath on my hand right now, and it's like 100 degrees. He's a solar generator. Dude's gotta vent energy somehow.

[Kuwagaton]

If I *had* to get rid of a power, super-breath. Not freeze breath, but the hurricane-force winds. I like it, but it's the most superfluous of all his powers, another way of exerting strength when his muscles can generally do just fine on their own.

Well, he does deal with a lot of liquids and fragile materials.

I'd cancel his ability to become weak to red solar radiation, which makes zero sense even as pseudo-science: a. our sun isn't billions of times brighter than the dimmest red star and more importantly, b. emitted red (or any color) solar radiation would NOT "drive out" stored yellow solar radiation. That's not how science works. At all.

I would straight up hold a funeral service for that sweet, prolific plot device.