Controversial Superman Opinions

[Flash Gordon]

Superman gains his power and great might, beneath a yellow sun. I really don't care about any other explanation. He flies because he flies. I'm cool with nods to the how occasionally, but when you bog yourself down with needless explanation on the how Superman can do what he does- you miss the point.

Some stories can use it, others don't have to. Depends on the tone you're going for. Most Superman stories should concern themselves with being beautiful stories of gigantic adventure. I never want to see a scene like that PLANETARY scene.

[Francisco]

I prefer my Superman more physical than mental. I'd like to think that his body is naturally stronger and almost indestructible but that if a person was to touch his hand it will feel just like the hand of a normal person. His skin although nearly indestructible is also as sensitive as human skin, he can feel pain if enough power is exerted. He can also voluntarily control the sensations to an extent. Like when he crashed through a wall or something like that. He looks like us on the surface but his body structure is comprised of an extremely dense bone structure, extremely dense muscular fibers millions of them one of top of the other. His skin along with his innards every part of his body has the capacity to absorb, contain and process energy from the surrounding environment. May it be solar energy, the heat from the planet, friction, static electricity. Those energy permeate into the body enhancing his mental capabilities which grant him enhanced intellect and allows him to fly with the power of his will or project thermodynamic energy from his eyes. X ray vision is simply a byproduct of the way in which kryptonian eyes adapted to living under a red giant. His pupils can capture the whole electromagnetic spectrum just as his ears can perceive frequencies inaudible for humans. Cold breath is just the result of inhaling air and comprising inside his stomach thus lowering its temperature to near absolute zero and then releasing it at once. He doesn't need to breath in space because the cosmic rays and solar energy/radiation will sustain him. Processing that energy his body will create the chemicals needed to not die in the vacuum of space or in the depths of the sea. He is immune to all known forms of diseases and poisons because the energies hiding below his skin will just consume any invading outside threat (given that it managed to pierce the nigh indestructible skin)

[Superlad93]

Superman gains his power and great might, beneath a yellow sun. I really don't care about any other explanation. He flies because he flies. I'm cool with nods to the how occasionally, but when you bog yourself down with needless explanation on the how Superman can do what he does- you miss the point.

Well obviously everyone talking about how his powers work gets that it ultimately doesn't matter. Notice the great lengths everyone talking about it went through to express that it shouldn't change what his powers ultimately are on the page. It's basically just fun speculation.

I never want to see a scene like that PLANETARY scene.

The reason I posted the scene wasn't to see it recreated (pretty sure I said as much or at the very least implied it). I posted it because of the explanation to the powers. I then made my own personal amendments to it.

[Flash Gordon]

I'm not 100% married to the idea of Clark growing up on the farm, though I do like the iconography. The biggest draw is that he gets to grow up seemingly in a vacuum. He's in flyover country, in a 2 stop sign town. A alien refugee could grow up peacefully without the prying eyes, there. The Kent Farm offers a place for Clark to spend his early life sorta safe.

It has become a giant crutch though. Clark needs to come from a poor/lower income background. He's a man of the people. The Kent Farm needs to reflect what farming is in 2016. An age of failed infrastructure. It shouldn't be the Norman Rockwell painting that it has been shown as. The Kents are hardworking and good people but they have it rough and raising a sun god is tough.

Superman can, in our day and age, grow up in what used to be a farming community. A factory town that is now just boarded up, big warehouse buildings. No jobs.

Clark Kent should be off on his own, journeying the world in his late teens.

[adkal]

That isn't pain Mongul is expressing...

Exactly. My general rule on this type of stuff is that the pastich/homage/rip-off character is completely fair game for the original character to steal back ideas from. So, in Superman's case, any good ideas from his homage/pastiches (i.e. Marvel's Gladiator and Hyperion, Alan Moore's Supreme or Milestone's Icon or IRREDEEMABLE's Plutonian or INVINCIBLE's Omni-Man, etc) can be taken from them and applied to his mythos as deemed fit. Especially if the original character is still by far more famous, which Superman is ... by far.

So this steal-back notion wouldn't work nearly as easily if for example a new version of Jon Carter of Mars or Doc Savage tried to ape some of Superman's own stuff.

Agreed

Super-powered compared to humans. Kryptonians on Krypton are still not the same as Terrestrial humans on Earth. More internal back-up organs, much faster healing factor, naturally much longer life spans even under a red sun.

Beyond that, Kryptonians (under any sun) should have only 4 kinds of notably different abilities than Terrestrials:
1. Radiant Energy Absorption (sun-drinking via photosynthesis),
2. Radiant Energy Projection (heat-vision, initially simply as excess energy removal, later weaponized by Kal),
3. PsychoKinesis (flight via internal force field aka modified tactile telekinesis),
4. Super-Everything (almost anything a human on Earth can do, such as lifting or jumping or remembering, a Kryptonian on Krypton can already do ... just more of it, faster, and better).

So, yeah, Kryptonians on Krypton should fly under their power ... but here we're talking at less than tiny fraction of what Kal can do on Earth, in terms of speed and range. They're basically hovering on Krypton.

Once Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van both modify their reproductive genes to safely get their future progeny eventually off-world, they also unwittingly boost Kal's future abilities way beyond any previous Kryptonian's capacity.

No issues with any of this (where's the controversy, man! (Oh, wait, my opinion doesn't count))

I'd say at some point in the distant past, Kryptonians and Terrestrials were biologically identical. But then Kryptonians started going nuts with future medicine and biotechnology over hundreds of generations that by the time of Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, Kryptonians technically couldn't be classified as mammals anymore, since their sun-drinking leaves them neither warm-blooded nor cold-blooded ... maybe cool-blooded?

For a few years I've been inclining more to a 'Krypton was literally a space-faring race' in that, over time, they engineered themselves to be everything they would need in an exploratory craft. Telescopes and sensors, recording devices and data-processors, heat deflectors and energy absorbers. Over generations they designed themselves to be the ultimate explorers.

And then the Great Collapse happened and Eradicator did its thing and the other Eradicators did their clean-up...

I've always thought that angle hasn't been explored nearly enough in any medium involving the Superverse (though DOJ did briefly touch on that).

There have been various subplots over the years - pre-Crisis there was a storyline over in Action, I think, where some people considered Kal to be a god; immediately after the Death we had the Church of Superman, divided (analogous to what happened a few thousand years ago), but that faded out soon after Kal's return (although I think it was brought back again briefly in Dead Again), but there are a lot of elements that could be explored there.

Man, I'm still on just the Krypton stuff ideas/opinions that would be pushed back against ...

Nah, we're very accepting here [insert wink (allowance has been used up again)]

[Agent Z]

Superman's reputation as all powerful and all good is based more on misconceptions than anything that has appeared in the books.

[stephens2177]

I think the TTK explanation is brilliant. It solves SO many Superman problems.

The age-old question: why does Superman seem stronger in one story and weaker in another? It has everything to do with his mental focus. When his mind is clear and his full mental strength is brought to bear, his power is nearly limitless. When he's tired, conflicted, or in some way uncommitted, he can't focus his energies as well and he's not as powerful.

Superman's best performances have ALWAYS been the times when he had a single, clear, and unquestionable goal: save Lois Lane, stop the monster threatening the world, hold up that bridge until the civilians are clear of it, push the Earth back into its proper orbit. He's less at his best when he isn't as sure about what he needs to do.

Heck, if you go this route, you can do away with most of Superman's other weaknesses. Kryptonite can stay, but as manofsteel1979 says, even it doesn't completely depower him. But red sun? Not needed anymore. Magic? Nope. Sonics can still work: he has sensitive ears. Electricity can work: he still has a nervous system.

Suddenly, weakening Superman isn't about pushing a button on a console and watching him wilt beneath some esoteric threat. You want to fight Superman? Guess what? He's virtually invincible as long as his mind is clear and he has a cause to which he is willing to commit. You want to beat him and you're not strong enough to overwhelm his power? You've got to get in his head or his heart. Shake his confidence. Make him doubt himself. Hurt the people he cares about. Keep him from focusing his mind on the singular goal of stopping you. If he turns his full faculties on you, you're done. Keep his mind and/or heart divided and distracted, and you've got a chance.

As far as why he doesn't explore his TK to the point where he eventually becomes Dr. Manhattan? There are always different kinds of powers in comics. Just say Kryptonians are "physical" telekinetics. They can only channel their mental energies through their bodies to enhance what they are already capable of. Simple enough.

Kon-els TTK is exactly what you and others have described here,and it makes perfect sense for both of them,only difference is supermans powers are seamlessly working together so you can't tell there is more to them than what can actually just see,and kons powers are fractured where the difference is more obvious,and easier to tell there is more going on than what you can see.

Kryptonians and Kon are physically superior to humans by a long stretch,that should be around the golden age/YJ levels,and only with Kon can you actually see this,because supermans powers are always in sync with each other,while kons is not.the only time kryptonians should resemble humans in power levels is when green kryptonite is poisoning them.

A combination of evolution and genetic enhancement should be all the explanation needed to explain supermans powers.evolved to live on Krypton,and geneticallt enhanced to travel the stars and be practical gods.

[Sacred Knight]

There is a bunch of story material worthwhile to explore in a legitimate Superman and Maxima romance.

[Ascended]

There is a bunch of story material worthwhile to explore in a legitimate Superman and Maxima romance.

Maybe after Lois has died of old age and Clark has realized that he's finally won the Never Ending Battle and is no longer needed on earth, he'll move on and find himself on Almerac......

I'd read it.

Though I dont actually think Clark and Maxima would mesh that well as a couple. I can totally see Clark being attracted to her, but much like Diana I think they're too similar in the wrong ways and too different in the right ones for a relationship to work long-term.

[Sacred Knight]

Oh it'd be doomed to failure. But that's part of why I think it'd be fun to play with for a while.

[MeloDet]

There is a bunch of story material worthwhile to explore in a legitimate Superman and Maxima romance.

Man I haven't thought about this in ages, but I definitely agree. I also agree with Ascended though in that they probably wouldn't make a good couple long term. Definitely a lot of story potential though.

In fact one of the story ideas for Superman I've had pinging around my head for a while now is a sort of romantic tragedy with Superman, Maxima, and Lois. It'd be hard as hell to pull off, but there's some interesting material there. It wouldn't work in current continuity, since in addition to Superman already being married he also somehow has a biological son. The basic idea though would be to take the concept of that one Smallville episode and make it actually work by having Maxima be, you know, likeable and not a crazy murderer. I liked the idea of having Clark torn between the possibility of a relatively normal life (without giving up his powers) where he could finally fit in and his home planet.

So you remove the "hunting for a mate" thing, make Maxima likeable, have a Superman that is a little more of an outsider than the in continuity version is, and then have Maxima meet and fall for Superman and voila, drama galore. Does he choose a life on Almerac where he fits in better (perhaps their culture is a mix between Kryptonian and Human) and with someone he cares for and thinks he could grow to love? or does he choose to stay something of an outsider on Earth, his home, with the woman he currently loves (but is not with in any capacity). He obviously chooses Earth in the end, but if you make Maxima likeable enough and properly highlight Clark's outsider status you'd at least have some fans saying he should've chosen Almerac.

As for Maxima's actual characterization I'd make her something like a Superman equivalent of Emma Frost (to Lois' Jean Grey) with enough tweaks to make her work as a romantic interest for him. Lois, the fiery and passionate reporter; Maxima outwardly cooler, somewhat "bitchy" (in the fun way), but astonishingly caring when it comes to her people.

There are probably some things a genuinely good writer would change around, but I like the basic framework at least.

[Jim Kelly]

I'm not 100% married to the idea of Clark growing up on the farm, though I do like the iconography.

The early Superboy stories showed young Clark living in a city or large town--which could have been Metropolis or a suburb of Metropolis. Even once it was established as Smallville, the Kents were living in town and running the general store there, where Clark worked when he wasn't in school or Superboying.

It's only after the reboot--perhaps inspired by the movies--that Clark seems to be living on a farm which is now located in Kansas.

I figure the Kents moved into town and ran the store, because they couldn't make ends meet on the farm alone. I have uncles, aunts and cousins that grew up on the prairies and worked the family farms, but most live in town and have other jobs. I don't know anyone that's got rich from the farm.

[The World]

I'm not 100% married to the idea of Clark growing up on the farm, though I do like the iconography. The biggest draw is that he gets to grow up seemingly in a vacuum. He's in flyover country, in a 2 stop sign town. A alien refugee could grow up peacefully without the prying eyes, there. The Kent Farm offers a place for Clark to spend his early life sorta safe.

It has become a giant crutch though. Clark needs to come from a poor/lower income background. He's a man of the people. The Kent Farm needs to reflect what farming is in 2016. An age of failed infrastructure. It shouldn't be the Norman Rockwell painting that it has been shown as. The Kents are hardworking and good people but they have it rough and raising a sun god is tough.

Superman can, in our day and age, grow up in what used to be a farming community. A factory town that is now just boarded up, big warehouse buildings. No jobs.

Clark Kent should be off on his own, journeying the world in his late teens.

Preach.

The generic use of the farm background as a way to simplify him down to simple farmboy is one of the biggest crimes committed against the character imo. Could be a great impetus for why he might start looking into Superheroics in the first place but is instead filler so people can get the character to a dumb- strong guy angle.

[superduperman]

I want to see a team up between the Smallville and Arrow-verse characters. Including Supergirl and that universe's Superman. Both the Justin Hartley and Stephen Amell versions of Green Arrow meet each other and so do both Supergirl's and Supermen.

[superduperman]

The early Superboy stories showed young Clark living in a city or large town--which could have been Metropolis or a suburb of Metropolis. Even once it was established as Smallville, the Kents were living in town and running the general store there, where Clark worked when he wasn't in school or Superboying.

It's only after the reboot--perhaps inspired by the movies--that Clark seems to be living on a farm which is now located in Kansas.

I figure the Kents moved into town and ran the store, because they couldn't make ends meet on the farm alone. I have uncles, aunts and cousins that grew up on the prairies and worked the family farms, but most live in town and have other jobs. I don't know anyone that's got rich from the farm.

One of the more interesting ideas I've had is that Jonathon Kent has a partial stake in a hardware store in town and Clark worked there as a teenager. It creates a connection with the pre-Crisis universe while still allowing the Kents to stay on the farm.