Can anyone scientifically explain each one of Superman's Powers?

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   tHErEDpILLposted 13 years ago

   1. Super Strength 2. Invulnerability 3. Flight 4. Super Speed 5. X-Ray Vision 6. Heat Vision 7. Super Vision 8. Super Breath 9.Super Hearing There are like one or two more but I kept it based on what most people already know. Some of these I can think of off the top of the head, others will take some research and imagination.  But thats just me.  Maybe someone in here is just that damn good!

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      Brian Patryposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Explain in what way? If you mean the source of his powers, it's changed over time. Originally, it was just that Kryptonians had evolved much further than we have. A few months later, Shuster and Siegel changed that so that said evolutionary change was caused by Krypton having a MUCH higher gravity than Earth's. Years later, it was changed that the non-strength related powers ("able to leap tall buildings in a single bound") were caused by years of exposure to yellow sunlight, so his original powers were basically pointless by the time his cells were saturated enough with them. In today's comics, any exposure to yellow sunlight is the cause of these powers and, without it, he's basically a regular human being. The original Shuster and Siegel powers no longer exist in the current comics

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      dutchman1951posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      not I, I just enjoy the plot and the imagination of it, and escape with it.
      Loved comics sense I was a kid.

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         Brian Patryposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         A good story filled with imagination is what started it all and keeps it running a good 70+ years after the Golden Age of Comics (started by Superman's creation, by the way) ended. I think the current trend of modernizing (ie: humanizing) characters is what makes comics really good nowadays. For example, Green Lantern is all about flights of fancy in outer space with a magic ring, but now incorporates the ideas of hope and inspiration and determination.
         
         Superman's gotten a good overhaul these days, too, if you'll forgive a bit of shameless self-promotion: http://hubpages.com/hub/Supermans-Secre … n-Of-Steel
         
         If you like plot and imagination, then I highly recommend anything by Geoff Johns, especially for Superman and Green Lantern.

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            tHErEDpILLposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I skimmed through your hub it looks very interesting.  I plan one making one about Superman too, I think the character is very interesting.  I am just looking at it in a Chris Nolan sense.  You know how he made Batman more realistic, I wonder if that''s possible for Superman.  And also I think anyone who can scientifically explain these powers is either a scientific genius or very creative.  How did you like the Smallville finale?

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         tHErEDpILLposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I hear ya, I'm just looking at things from another angle because I think Superman s one of the greatest characters in history Not comic history but literary history.

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            seigfried23posted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I've seen some really good answers here. Instead of rehashing all that i read on this hub that sheds a lot of light on superman's powers and abilities, I'll just provide a link. It's a pretty dedicated hub, and delves into the man of steel's primary powers and what they can do:
            http://taranwanderer.hubpages.com/hub/T … n-of-Steel

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      Stevennix2001posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      sure, i can explain it quite easily.....but you have to keep it a secret..  you ready to hear the explanation?  The writers and artists make the crap up, and gave him as many cool super powers as possible so kids would think he's cool.   There's your scientific explanation.

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         tHErEDpILLposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         great response Seven

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            tHErEDpILLposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            you really mad e me laugh man, no b.s.

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               Stevennix2001posted 13 years agoin reply to this

               eh what can i say? I love making people laugh.  although if you really want to know the answer to that, you should search for it on youtube.  I remember seeing a series of videos called "The science of superman" where they actually had genuine scientists dissect and explain how theoretically Superman's powers could work in our world.  you should check it out, as it's quite fascinating on what they come up with.
               
               edit: I would post the links up to said videos, but the pc im on is a public one that doesn't have adobe flash.  therefore, im unable to view any of the videos to make sure they're the ones i'm talking about, but i'll definitely be back in this forum to post the links later. i promise, as some of the theories they present in the documentary is insightful if you ask me.  although they did say that superman's ability to breath in space is physically impossible though, as that's the only power they couldn't explain.

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                  tHErEDpILLposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  Niiiice, I'm gonna check that out.

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                  sabrebIadeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  You know in the Justice League cartoons Supes wore a space suit in deep space and a re-breather underwater...if I'm not mistaken.

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                     Brian Patryposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     Yep. To sell toys. A greatly underestimated superpower.
                     
                     I associate not being having to breathe in space as being part of his freeze breath and superstrength. If he doesn't get the chance to breathe in a HECK of a lot beforehand, Superman getting cut off from an oxygen supply puts him in the same boat as a regular human. I figure that omni-breath he takes is mintues or even hours worth of oxygen held in check by his crazy-strong (compared to human) lungs.

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                     tHErEDpILLposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     Yea I think when he goes into space he has to hold his breath.

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      Druid Dudeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Back engineered alien technology, specifically, from a planet called Krypton. It was the arrival of Superbaby that has gone down as the Roswell crash, although, prophecies of his arrival preceded him through cryptic writings known as COMIC BOOKS. That's why they call it fiction.

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         tHErEDpILLposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         You talking about Superman or Jesus here Druid?  That is a question brings me to my next forum.  "Is Superman Jesus?"

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      cperuzziposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Actually, the science has been broken down in "The Science of Superman: The Official Guide to the science of the Last Son of Krypton" by Mark Wolverton.
      
      http://www.amazon.com/Science-Superman- … f+Superman

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   sabrebIadeposted 13 years ago

   1. Super Strength
   Telekinesis backed with a superdense molecular structure. 
   
   2. Invulnerability
   Telekinetic force field that envelops him, and at times someone or something he is carrying or lifting.
   
   3. Flight
   Again TK, that explains his ability to float and lift off easily.
   
   4. Super Speed
   That's harder, maybe his TK field enables him to move at the speed of thought since it is hooked to his brain. 
   
   5. X-Ray Vision
   Not as such really. It's clairvoyance, thus explaining why after years and years, Lois and Jimmy never developed cancer from being exposed so much.
   
   6. Heat Vision
   Pyrokinesis. The air literally bursts into flame between Supes and his target, giving the illusion of beams.
   
   7. Super Vision
   Clairvoyance again, with perhaps a bit of super developed remote viewing.
   
   8. Super Breath
   Gotta be TK again. But as for how he freezes things with it, maybe since Pyrokinesis involves speeding up molecules, his freeze breath involves him slowing down molecules.
   
   9.Super Hearing
   Clairaudience. That explains how Lois can yell "Superman help!" all the way across town and Superman hears it instantly, faster than sound travels.
   
   Summing up, Superman has extremely high level psychic powers, rivaling Dark Phoenix.
   He just doesn't know it, and the powers activate subconsciously, on a level he doesn't even realize.
   Notice in Superman 2, Zod points at someone and a tractor beam like effect happens and lifts them off the ground.
   TK.
   Zod just didn't have the human upbringing that Kal-El had, where Kal had to reason why all his powers worked.
   Zod could think outside the box.
   Also, I think Kryptonite is a psychosomatic allergy.
   
   For my next trick I will prove that when Bruce Wayne first saw that bat as a kid, he was possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance, thus made supernaturally enhanced. 
   
   Oh wait....you said "scientifically" and psychic powers haven't been proven scientifically....
   
   Damn.

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      Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Nicely done Sabre.

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         sabrebIadeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you.
         I owe all this to a misspent youth.

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            Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            You're welcome. And, apparently not everything was misspent during your youth.

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            earnestshubposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Very nicely done! 

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               sabrebIadeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Thank you Ernest.
               Actually a bunch of us sat around and argued this one night over way too many beers.
               And some JD...LOL

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      tHErEDpILLposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Not bad blade, not bad at all.  Linking Superman's powers to the brain!  Even though I was looking more for a biological response this one was good.

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      Stevennix2001posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      great post:D

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         sabrebIadeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you!
         Coming from comic book expert such as yourself, that means a lot!

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      drej2522posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I think I just died and went to heaven after reading this Sabreblade...you're my hero!!

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         sabrebIadeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         LOL...thank you.
         I have been thinking about forming that cult....
         Hmmmmm....

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            drej2522posted 13 years agoin reply to this

            hehe...#1 supporter here...
            
            hey speaking of Superman 2 and an analysis of what Superman possessed...what was with that huge 'S' that he whipped out? What power was that??
            
            ~ I realize I may have ripped off Family Guy with this question, but I'm still curious...

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               sabrebIadeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Okay...no one can explain that.
               Kryptonian acid maybe.
               LOL

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      Brian Patryposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Actually, you're onto a lot right there. Back in the '90s, Superman was cloned. Because they couldn't make a perfect clone, they changed his powers. The teenaged clone had what was called "Tactile-Telekenises," which explained his strength, invulnerability and flight the EXACT same way you do, sabreblade. At the time, Superboy (the clone) couldn't use heat vision and was not immune to fire at all. He also had an odd ability outside of his control to blow stuff up on contact (when he was crazy-stressed) in self-defense and could levitate stuff that connected to each other as if he were some kind of magnetic-telekinetic field generator. The explanation for those differences were that he had tactile-telekinesis.
      
      
      Later, it got retconned so that Superboy really is a perfect clone of Superman (AND of Luthor! SHOCK!), as well as that the tactile-telekinesis couldn't stop flames or produce heat vision solely because Superboy wasn't used to it (Superboy was "born" 16 years old, whereas Clark spent his first 16 years of life slowly learning to adapt to his powers as they came to be). IE: the subconscious trigger you mention was missing in Superboy. Basically, he couldn't expand his telekinetic field to deal with pure energy yet, as it could with solid (and sometimes liquid) matter. Thus his (and Superman's) invulnerability to flame and heat vision are caused by telekinesis on the level of pure energy manipulation.
      
      Superboy then went a couple years having every skill Superman did except for freeze breath. He only recently (ie: 2009 or 2010) figured it out. From this, we could argue that freeze breath is also telekinesis performed on energy. Specifically, the breath is a telekinetic field that sucks all the energy out of water vapour. Doing so causes water vapour to turn into ice.
      
      From all this, my thoughts on his weaknesses to magic and Kryptonite are that they are simple energy types his body still isn't accustomed to dealing with yet. As a result, this is what we end up with:
      
      Exposure to Yellow Sunlight = Ability to use his telekinesis. Like plants photosynthesize, Superman creates something that lets him use his telekinesis.
      Exposure to Green K = Superman can't block all Kryptonite radiations yet, resulting in what normally "feeds" his powers to produce toxic chemicals in his body instead.
      Exposure to Red K = Superman can't block all Kryptonite radiations yet, resulting in cancerous cell development that grow at an unprecedented rate. Treated as "mutations" since they're so different from cancer symptoms.
      Exposure to Gold K = Superman can't block all Kryptonite radiations yet, resulting in only that "gland" that feeds his power to die. The result is that can't use his telekinesis.
      Exposure to Blue K = Superman's telekinetic field has adapted to some forms of Kryptonite radiations, so it blocks the one produced by Blue K.
      Exposure to Magic = Superman's telekinetic field hasn't adapted to magical energy yet in the same way that early '90s Superboy's field hadn't adapted to any form of energy.

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         tHErEDpILLposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         TK seems to really make sense because he doesn't have to make any kind of body movement before he floats he just starts hovering.  This most likely means that his brain made his flight and other bodily functions just as our brain does ours.

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   earnestshubposted 13 years ago

   "Superduperman is in reality, incredibly wretched Clark Bent, crawling from spittoon to spittoon as assistant spittoon cleaner at the Daily Planet."
   
   
   Just a bit of background from a Mad Magazine special.

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      sabrebIadeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Watch out for Captain Marbles
      SHAZOOM!

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         earnestshubposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I missed the good captain somehow.... did he say "Shazoom" or did he do Shazoom, cos if he did Shazoom I gotta know what Shazoom is!

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            sabrebIadeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            SHAZOOM...
            
            Strength
            Health
            Aptitude
            Zeal
            Ox, strength of
            Ox strength of another
            Money!

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      Stevennix2001posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      wow, you read that too?  your the man earnest for bringing that up, as that's probably one of Mad's best sketches.

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   tHErEDpILLposted 13 years ago

   A lot of people say his flight, super strength, and speed are due to the lower gravitation pull of Earth.  I like the telekinesis idea from blade but, wouldn't that require him to be in sync with mind and body all the time?  Surely he would slip up once or twice?

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      sabrebIadeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Subconscious.
      Just like no one has to remind you to breathe, this stuff just kicks in automatically.
      I always had a problem with the bio-based power because no matter how tough your skin is, lasers ain't gonna just bounce off you!

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         tHErEDpILLposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         read my reply a few clicks up under Brian Patry.  I think I may be sold on your TK theory.

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            sabrebIadeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Thank you!
            And you deserve a lot of credit for starting the topic in the first place.
            Now....
            Do another one!

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               tHErEDpILLposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Lol, check out some of my other stuff.  For some reason I'm on a Superman kick.  I really think he may be the best literary character ever invented, period.

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   Rochelle Frankposted 13 years ago

   Explaining the powers, so we could understand them, would take the mystery and magic away.
   Without the mystery and magic there would be no power.

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   sabrebIadeposted 13 years ago

   But doesnt exposure to Red K make him act crazy?
   As in cool?
   On Smallville he always suited up in black leather and grabbed a motorcycle when Red K hit.
   Supes on a hog...priceless.

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      Brian Patryposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Originally, Red K gave him weird powers or turned him into things like a half-human, half-bug, or even split him into two people. Basically, Red K's effects were always random. So in Superman III, it turned him into a human Clark and an evil Superman, in Smallville it takes his inhibitions away, etc. The comics went back to the original "random" motif, only now the explain it as Red K causing crazy genetic mutations.
      I'm more interested in seeing what Black K does in the comics. It's been in three continuities: an alternate universe comic, Smallville and the main comics continuity before the timeline got altered (in the event called "52"). Each had different effects on the Kryptonian and none are considered canon. So what does real Black K do?

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