Solar Energy Absorption and Healing Factor: Superman's powers rely on his cells' ability to absorb and metabolize solar energy from yellow stars like Earth's sun. His Kryptonian body is a living "solar battery" that absorbs solar energies and converts them to fuel for his powers. His cells also store yellow sun energy so he can use his powers under objects, at night, in dark places, and in space.
Superman is shown, especially in recent comics, to possess remarkable recuperative powers that allow him to quickly heal from wounds and makes him immune to all forms of human or Earthly diseases, illnesses, viruses and toxins. Superman heals faster when he is closer to the sun and absorbing more solar rays.
Pre-Crisis, yellow stars were said to emit "ultra solar rays" which enabled Kryptonians' superpowers; penetrating the Earth itself, said rays also enabled Kryptonians to stay super-powered at night.[5][6] Post-Crisis, it is the overall high intensity of yellow solar radiation, versus the far weaker red solar radiation of Krypton's sun, that is shown as causing Kryptonians' superpowers. The more yellow sun rays Superman absorbs the stronger he gets; in some instances he has been shown to enter the sun in order to increase his powers to their highest potentials, as seen in 1998's DC One Million storyline. Superman can also absorb solar energies of other class stars such as white stars and also when he absorbed the solar energies of a blue star that increased his abilities to a higher degree and gave him additional abilities. The light of dwarf stars, pulsars, and quasars also grants Superman different abilities.[7] However, he cannot gain enhanced abilities from the energy of red stars; various reasons have been given for this. When Superman visited Olympus, where he and Apollo got into a fight, Apollo struck Superman with a sun beam, making Superman stronger and feeling like he "drank a bucket of adrenalin."
Invulnerability:Immunity to almost all forms of harm and ailments, including extreme force and extremely high temperatures. Effectiveness has ranged from nothing less than a "bursting shell" being able to pierce his skin (in the beginning of the mythos) to being completely unharmed by a star going supernova. Explanations for this ability have ranged from Kryptonians having a molecular structure with a density superior to that of titanium and emitting an unbreakable aura of solar energy. His invulnerability has enabled him to withstand Darkseid's omega beams, a feat originally thought to be impossible. In the rare instances, however, that Superman has required medical attention, this resistance to injuries has complicated necessary procedures such as surgery. For instance, when a criminal shot him with a kryptonite bullet, a surgeon was forced to give Superman a controlled exposure to the mineral, thereby temporarily weakening his skin enough to make the incisions necessary to remove internal fragments of the bullet.[8] Superman can also withstand kryptonite in certain circumstances, such as lifting an island made of kryptonite and tossing it into space in Superman Returns. Superman's invulnerability is further increased by his bio-electric aura, which protects him from some attacks and can be extended to protect others like in All Star Superman. In some versions, this power greatly retards his aging and increases as he gets older, sometimes rendering him effectively immortal. The epilogue to the Justice Society of America storyline "Thy Kingdom Come" (a sequel of sorts to the Kingdom Come limited series) showing Superman surviving 1,000 years into the future, albeit as a very elderly, hunched-over man. Another version in DC One Million lives through the 853rd Century, some 83,200 years from now, though he was living inside the sun for thousands of years before coming out, making him godlike in his abilities.
Gravimetric Field (Flight):Because Earth exhibits less gravitational pull than that of Krypton, and also due to his solar-powered body, the Man of Steel can also alter his personal mono-directional gravity field to propel himself through the air at will. Originally, he only had the power to jump great distances, as stated by the 1940s Superman cartoons slogan "Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound." This was also shown in the movie Man of Steel. His power of flight has ranged from simply being able to jump great distances using his vast strength, to beginning in late 1941 being able to accelerate, float in midair, and change direction while traveling. Later he became able to traverse interstellar distances without stopping. Lex Luthor once theorized that Superman had to have originated from a gigantic planet with such enormous gravity (capable of literally crushing a normal Earthman to death in seconds) that his species had developed natural anti-gravity organs just to be able to function under normal conditions; on Earth, this would allow him to control his own gravimetric field in order to fly, due to the lesser gravity of the planet as well as his solar-powered body.
Superhuman Strength and Endurance:Enhanced strength far above that of a human and even most superhumans, making him "more powerful than a locomotive," is one of Superman's signature powers and has often been described as chief among his other abilities. While not infinite, depictions of the upper limit of how much weight he can lift have ranged from being able to do the work of several laborers in half the time, crush diamonds in his grasp, lift objects hundreds of times his own weight including any sized vehicle over his head, bend steel with his bare hands, lifting mountains, and all the way up to in the Silver Age and Modern Age where he is seen moving entire planets. This makes him one of the strongest beings in the DC Universe. After being saturated with yellow solar energy in All-Star Superman, his strength was tested as exceeding the force of 200 quintillion tons (or 2x1020 tons in scientific notation, i.e., two hundred billion billion tons); he held this much with one hand and he even said he feels like he can pick up more, enough to pull Earth away from the sun.[10] As of The New 52 reboot, his strength now exceeds 5.972 sextillion metric tons.[11] Explanations include being adapted to the heavier gravity of Krypton, and his muscles using the power of the solar energy which fuels all his abilities. While in direct yellow sunlight, his strength can be augmented to incalculable and limitless levels. He has strength necessary to shatter entire worlds. Superman's stamina has also been shown as limitless while he remains in yellow sunlight. DC Comics is not known to have coined a similar reference to Marvel Comics's reference, “Class 100 strength,” to Marvel characters whose super-humanoid strength levels are so high that they can lift (press) 100 tons or more for extended periods.
Superhuman Speed and Reflexes:Another one of Superman's signature abilities is his superhuman speed, allowing him to move, react, run and fly faster than the human eye can perceive. It was originally—and famously—classified as being "faster than a speeding bullet," allowing him to catch bullets in mid-air before they hit him, or anyone else. His top speeds have ranged from nearly a hundred miles per hour when he was first created in the 1930s to speeds surpassing the speed of light. His thoughts, perceptions and reflexes are also accelerated to be able to control his actions while moving at high speeds and being able to perceive the world in slow-motion. Superman's running speed has often been shown to be on par with that of The Flash's. (DC Comics even published a "limited collector's edition" titled Superman Vs. The Flash in the 1970s, whose content it promoted as "The Greatest Race Of All Time!" The two actual stories told within it reprinted a Superman story titled "Superman's Race With The Flash"[volume & issue needed] and a story about The Flash titled "The Race To The End Of The Universe"[volume & issue needed] that also involved the entire Justice League of America. Both races ended in dead heats.) Wally West said he was initially slower than Superman until overcoming his anxiety over succeeding Barry Allen and fully mastering the speed force. He describes Superman as running over two thousand miles per second.[12] In Superman: Red Son he claimed to be able to move faster than ten times the speed of thought.
Superhuman Intelligence:Superman is often shown to have flawless, eidetic Memory of everything he has ever seen, read, heard, or otherwise experienced. In most portrayals, Superman is capable of multilingualism and is able to learn, speak and understand any language he comes in contact with. Superman possesses intellect that surpasses genius-level. People from Krypton already had genius-level intellect, being a society thousands of years ahead of Earth in technology. In the presence of a yellow sun, Superman's intelligence is further enhanced, literally to super-humanoid levels, giving him super intelligence and allowing his brain to operate faster than a supercomputer.[13] His intelligence has enabled him to create effective strategies and tactics when engaging enemies during situations from which his powers alone cannot save him.
Heat Vision:Ability to emit solar energy from his eyes. This usually resembles bright red or orange laser-like beams, which may be invisible at low temperatures but extremely bright at high ones. The effective range of his beams are hundreds of feet. It can also reach hundreds of miles wide, instantly disintegrating a person. In addition to varying the beam width, height, and intensity, Superman has demonstrated a high degree of skill and accuracy in manipulating his beam, being able to use this power with surgical precision and at microscopic levels. Superman can lobotomize or excise someone's psionic powers as shown in The Elite when he cut off Manchester Black's powers. Since the power can be used invisibly, Superman often takes advantage of that to perform tasks subtly without needing to get into costume. In some versions, these beams can also be used to rapidly expand air or other matter to produce great concussive force. The beams are tremendously powerful, and can be used to rupture steel plates and pulverize rock. Also in some stories, it can be reflected like a true laser, able to use great skill and accuracy in manipulating the blasts off multiple targets in rapid succession, or more mundanely to remove his very durable facial hair. Sometimes shown to be one of his more physically draining powers to use, as it uses such concentrated solar energy. In the Pre-Crisis stories, Clark wears glasses with lenses made of Kryptonian glass (initially salvaged from his rocket ship's transparency dome) so he can fire his heat vision through them without damaging them. In the stories from the 1986 relaunch onward, Clark wears glasses with regular lenses, which force Clark to momentarily lift them out of his eyes' firing arc to use his heat vision effectively. In revision in Superman: Secret Origin, Clark wears glasses with Kryptonian glass that are intended to contain unwanted firings. Heat vision was initially introduced as "the heat of his x-ray vision" (a byproduct of his existing x-ray vision powers) in Superman (vol. 1) #59 (July 1949); heat vision as a separate power first appeared in Action Comics #275 (April 1961). In Superman #38, part of The New 52, it is revealed that Superman's heat vision is a precursor to a power called "super flare". This power utilizes all the solar energy stored within Superman's cells, allowing him to resort to an all-out attack. However, Superman cannot use it more than occasionally, as it drains him of all the solar energy he has stored up until he uses the super flare again.[14]
Superhuman Breath:The ability to inhale and exhale huge volumes of air with great force, capable of extinguishing large fires and moving heavy objects such as cars. Super-breath also allows Superman to hold his breath for extended periods in airless environments. In one 1970s-era Superman comic,[volume & issue needed] he saved a town from a tornado by inhaling the twister into his lungs. He then flew just above Earth's atmosphere, with his chest looking somewhat distended, and exhaled the tornado into space. In another 1970s comic,[volume & issue needed] Superman was inflicted with a condition whereby if he stepped in the ground or otherwise came in physical contact with the surface of the Earth, explosive energy orbs would begin to rise from the area immediately near him, endangering anyone nearby. When Superman realized he was causing the orbs to appear, he resolved always to remain in flight until he could find a solution to the problem. Since, however, as Clark Kent, he could not be seen flying, instead, Clark walked around constantly expelling a jet of air straight down from his nostrils to keep his body just millimeters from his walking surface. The release (exhalation) of highly compressed air through a valve (such as pursed lips) causes it to drop radically in temperature. This is known as the Joule–Thomson effect, and when Superman does this, it is usually referred to as Freeze, and can cool objects to sub-zero temperatures and freeze air moisture solid.
Superhuman Senses:X-Ray Vision – The ability to see through solid objects, usually with the exception of lead. Early stories assumed that hiding objects in lead would prevent him from finding them; however, more modern stories have Superman being able to take advantage of lead's x-ray opacity to do a wide scan of an area with his X-Ray vision in which the lead objects become immediately visible and then narrow his search to those specific locations.[16] Explanations for how this power works vary, but rarely include the emission and perception of actual X-Rays, as such high-energy radiation would actually be dangerous to living things on which he uses it. Another theory involves being able to see and concentrate on the patterns of natural cosmic radiation as it reverberates off objects. X-Ray vision was first used by Superman in Action Comics #11 (April 1939), where it was called "Superman's X-ray eyesight."
Superhuman Hearing – Can hear far more sounds with far more detail and at far greater distances than normally
humanly possible, including sounds on frequencies undetectable by humans such as dog whistles. Superman is able to mentally screen out most of these sounds to be able to function normally, even in a noisy environment, and can focus in on specific things, like a person's voice or heartbeat, even if they are in another part of the city. He can sometimes be shown to hear sounds on other planets, which makes it likely that his hearing is fundamentally different from that of a human, as sound cannot travel through the vacuum of space. Like humans and most animals, he is skilled at automatically noticing his own name out of the jumble of several overheard conversations, making him adept at quickly responding to calls of distress all over the city.
Superhuman Vision – His senses grant him the ability to see farther and with greater accuracy and detail than humanly possible. Sometimes includes the ability to see EM frequencies invisible to humans, such as radio transmissions, infrared light, and the bioelectric aura which surrounds all living things, even in pitch-black darkness. Offshoots of this power include Telescopic Vision, which allows him to "zoom in" on far away objects, sometimes hundreds of miles away, and Microscopic Vision, which allows him to zoom in on objects that would normally be too small to see, like those on a cellular or molecular level.
Superhuman Olfaction – A heightened and highly accurate sense of smell comparable to some animals such as dogs. Can be used to detect things like the chemicals in a bomb hidden somewhere in a crowded room.
Vocal Abilities — Superman has shown possession of various vocal abilities. Stories have shown him being capable of raising his voice to loudspeaker levels, for purposes such as delivering a message to a large crowd.[17] Early Golden Age stories showed Superman capable of mimicking the voice of others and throw his voice through simple ventriloquism.[18] By the 1950s, the said ability had evolved into a stand-alone power called "super-ventriloquism," the ability of Superman to send his voice across vast distances, but only to a specific person or place.[19][20] Super-ventriloquism was used in both Silver Age and Bronze Age stories, but it was generally discarded in post-Crisis stories.
Kryptonite: Superman's most famous weakness, Kryptonite originated as radioactive fragments of the planet Krypton, created by fusion during the explosion that destroyed it. Superman's cells store electromagnetic radiation from the rays of a yellow sun, and converts it into energy, manifesting as his super-powers. When Superman is exposed to the most common variety, green Kryptonite (within roughly ten feet/three meters or less of any size or amount), its high-band radiation rapidly interferes with this process, causing severe physical pain and the loss of his powers (or at least a portion of them). Long enough exposure to green Kryptonite may eventually lead to death.[21] Kryptonite radiation can be blocked by the use of lead.[21]
Red Sun Radiation: Natural in Krypton's planetary system, red solar radiation replaces the higher-yield yellow solar energy in Superman's cells, robbing him of the fuel for his powers. Pre-Crisis, red solar radiation was said to lack the superpower-enabling "ultra solar rays" that yellow solar radiation contains.[22] Post-Crisis, red solar radiation is described as being weaker in overall intensity than yellow solar radiation. This process does not have the painful, crippling and fever-like symptoms of Kryptonite, and essentially leaves Superman with the normal health and abilities of a human in his size and shape, as it did for the entire population of Krypton during its existence. Exposure to yellow solar radiation causes his powers to return.
Magic: Superman's powers, as great as they might be, are the result of a biologically natural phenomenon, not a supernatural phenomenon. As a result, he is affected by most forms of sorcery in the same way as any mortal.[23][24] In several stories, it has been shown that magical/mythical creatures, such as demons, vampires, werewolves and many others, are actually capable of injuring and wearing him down. Though it is also shown that no magic can directly destroy him (not, at least, unless it comes from a divine or semi-divine force), implying that at least a portion of his invulnerability is capable of protecting him, his magical enemies have often proven to be the most dangerous. In addition, some stories show Superman learning about magic from Zatanna, allowing him to counter almost any spell cast on him.[citation needed]
Lead: Although the element lead is the one substance that blocks Kryptonite radiation, it is also the one substance through which Superman cannot see with his X-ray vision.
Solar Energy Exhaustion: If Superman is forced to engage in strenuous physical activity (such as with his battle with Doomsday) for a large amount of time or is forced to perform one very difficult task without continuous solar energy absorption, he will end up expending all of his stored solar energy and will continue to weaken and be rendered vulnerable until he replenishes his solar "fuel."
