Superman's power level

[elgaz]

I'd be interested in hearing people's thoughts on what Superman's power level should be in this new film.

As we all know, his power levels have differed vastly over the years, in all types of media. Silver-age Superman in some comics could move a planet, yet some other versions of Superman (Superman Returns for example) had him straining to control the weight of an aeroplane. There's a vast difference there.

But of course, that's just referencing raw strength. What about his other abilities?

• How fast can he fly? In some versions he can surpass light speed, in others it's more like the speed of sound.
• How powerful is his heat vision and super breath?
• Can he survive in space? In some versions he can, in others he needed a suit for deep space travel.
• How resistant is his body to injury? I've seen him survive a nuclear explosion unscathed in one comic, only for him to be stunned by a rocket from a helicopter in another.

Personally, I'd like to see a very powerful Superman. Whilst I'm all for 'humanising' him and not making him so powerful we can't relate ............. he is Superman after all; we expect him to be like a God, so why not take it to an extreme. He is the most iconic superhero of all, and widely revered as the most powerful. He can barely feel rounds of bullets pinging off his chest, so should a rocket be that much more damaging?

We also have a director in Zack Snyder who has a great flair for visual extravagance, and IMO that goes hand in hand with showcasing amazing powers.

[Man of Steel]

Unlimited power levels, but he never uses more than a fraction.

[RoughNTumble]

Just tone down his super speed when fighting enemies. I mean if he ever fully utilized his speed in a fight instead of just trading blows he would dominate every time. There would never be a challenge.

[MoonChild]

I would prefer the very powerful Superman too, as a major part of his character is his ability not to use his great power, but prefers to be an inspiration with his actions.

However, having said that, up against similar powered foes, don't hold back Zack, show us what he brings to the table.

[Astrodust]

I say get rid of his x-ray vision and super breath.
*runs and hides*

[SuperDaniel]

WTF?

I think Byrne's power levels are fine. I don't want the ultra-powerful Superman of Silver Age that makes no sense.

[Superman Prime]

Originally Posted by SuperDaniel

WTF?

I think Byrne's power levels are fine. I don't want the ultra-powerful Superman of Silver Age that makes no sense.

Like when Superboy pulled a bunch of planets through space with a chain.

[SuperMike335!!]

Originally Posted by Superman Prime

Like when Superboy pulled a bunch of planets through space with a chain.

How the heck did the chain hold up?

[GreenKToo]

I want a really powerful superman, just not planet moving powerful..I mean does it really matter if his strength level is limited to an aircraft carrier or a mountain Vs a planet?..either way, most villains wouldn't stand a chance against him.

[sf2]

as powerful as possible!!!!
he is just withholding himself most of the time.

and i wanna see him tuning up and down his power as he wish.

[LeMartien]

Big powers but only if He concentrates him
A weapon could be thurt him in the back if he doesn't pay attention.
But his skin is invulnerable.

About peace on earth, superman and the war etc etc... I think governments got kryptonian weapons and in this way, Superman don't be able to stop war or anything. He keeps the human being in his own ****

[sf2]

Originally Posted by LeMartien

Big powers but only if He concentrates him
A weapon could be thurt him in the back if he doesn't pay attention.
But his skin is invulnerable.

About peace on earth, superman and the war etc etc... I think governments got kryptonian weapons and in this way, Superman don't be able to stop war or anything. He keeps the human being in his own ****

i love your idea of kryptonian weapons.

[afan]

I want a powerful Superman, but not an all powerful Superman. As Snyder hinted I am hoping for a physical Superman, physical meaning there are believable limits.....i.e.... He cannot be in Metropolis one moment and then in an instant be in Tokyo. He is very familiar in Metropolis and surrounding areas, but a bit of a legend in Tokyo.


Global exploits are possible but they should coincide with travel as Clark on assignment. He can respond globally where needed, but again where he is needed there is also a story worthy of Clark's attention also.

More powerful than a locomotive....
Faster than a speeding bullet......

Are fine with me as "more" and "faster" are not descriptively limiting, and they are familiar physical manifestations to me, but he is not "more powerful" or "faster" to the ludicrous (continent lifting, planet moving , light speeding, time traveling)extreme.

He needs to breath, he needs to eat. Survival unaided in the vaccum of space is possible for a time, as long as he can hold his breath, but for prolonged periods he needs artificial means, same for undersea forays.

It's not one power that makes him Superman. It's the combination of his powers. Strength actually plays a minor role in carrying planes etc. It has more to do with the propulsive force of his flight ability, and his invulnerability, preventing his propulsive force from squashing him against the structure he is moving.

...And...... despite Superman's presence in the world.....people die..... due to accidents, natural disasters, criminal activity, wars etc...... even in Metropolis. There is only so much a man can do....even a Superman!

[raybia]

Originally Posted by afan

I want a powerful Superman, but not an all powerful Superman. As Snyder hinted I am hoping for a physical Superman, physical meaning there are believable limits.....i.e.... He cannot be in Metropolis one moment and then in an instant be in Tokyo. He is very familiar in Metropolis and surrounding areas, but a bit of a legend in Tokyo.


Global exploits are possible but they should coincide with travel as Clark on assignment. He can respond globally where needed, but again where he is needed there is also a story worthy of Clark's attention also.

More powerful than a locomotive....
Faster than a speeding bullet......

Are fine with me as "more" and "faster" are not descriptively limiting, and they are familiar physical manifestations to me, but he is not "more powerful" or "faster" to the ludicrous (continent lifting, planet moving , light speeding, time traveling)extreme.

He needs to breath, he needs to eat. Survival unaided in the vaccum of space is possible for a time, as long as he can hold his breath, but for prolonged periods he needs artificial means, same for undersea forays.

It's not one power that makes him Superman. It's the combination of his powers. Strength actually plays a minor role in carrying planes etc. It has more to do with the propulsive force of his flight ability, and his invulnerability, preventing his propulsive force from squashing him against the structure he is moving.

...And...... despite Superman's presence in the world.....people die..... due to accidents, natural disasters, criminal activity, wars etc...... even in Metropolis. There is only so much a man can do....even a Superman!

This.

Also, I like the idea that he gets more powerful as he ages since his is like a biological battery.

[Dr.]

Originally Posted by afan

He needs to breathe, he needs to eat. Survival unaided in the vaccum of space is possible for a time, as long as he can hold his breath, but for prolonged periods he needs artificial means, same for undersea forays.

I disagree with this part. I’d say Supes is primarily an Earth-based superhero. But when the need arises, he should be able to handle space (and underwater) effortlessly. Whenever I see images of Supes in breathing gear, he looks (imo) ridiculous. He’s Superman, after all. Using artificial means to enhance abilities is what the other guys do.

[VM1138]

Originally Posted by afan

I want a powerful Superman, but not an all powerful Superman. As Snyder hinted I am hoping for a physical Superman, physical meaning there are believable limits.....i.e.... He cannot be in Metropolis one moment and then in an instant be in Tokyo. He is very familiar in Metropolis and surrounding areas, but a bit of a legend in Tokyo.


Global exploits are possible but they should coincide with travel as Clark on assignment. He can respond globally where needed, but again where he is needed there is also a story worthy of Clark's attention also.

More powerful than a locomotive....
Faster than a speeding bullet......

Are fine with me as "more" and "faster" are not descriptively limiting, and they are familiar physical manifestations to me, but he is not "more powerful" or "faster" to the ludicrous (continent lifting, planet moving , light speeding, time traveling)extreme.

He needs to breath, he needs to eat. Survival unaided in the vaccum of space is possible for a time, as long as he can hold his breath, but for prolonged periods he needs artificial means, same for undersea forays.

It's not one power that makes him Superman. It's the combination of his powers. Strength actually plays a minor role in carrying planes etc. It has more to do with the propulsive force of his flight ability, and his invulnerability, preventing his propulsive force from squashing him against the structure he is moving.

...And...... despite Superman's presence in the world.....people die..... due to accidents, natural disasters, criminal activity, wars etc...... even in Metropolis. There is only so much a man can do....even a Superman!

Thank you. I don't understand why people would want to see unlimited power. Villains would never be threatening then. And even if they were of equal power, there's just no fun watching two beings push planets at each other, etc. It's got to be grounded for us to relate to the action.

Thus, Superman needs limits. I don't buy the "he's just holding back" because that means no villain could ever pose any kind of challenge to him. Why would he hold back if the world were in genuine jeopardy?

[DorkyFresh]

his power level should be...



...OVER 9,000!!!!

[Superman Prime]

Originally Posted by DorkyFresh

his power level should be...



...OVER 9,000!!!!

It took somewhat longer than I expected for this to show up.

[The Sage]

Very powerful, beyond Byrne's levels. He should be able to go toe to toe with Darkseid. Moving at just under the speed of light is fine too. Play up the fact that he's spent his lifetime mastering control of his abilities so he wouldn't hurt the people around him. Have him lightly punch a villain in the face and be able to knock him unconscious to show off his strength.

Originally Posted by DorkyFresh

his power level should be...



...OVER 9,000!!!!

What, 9,000! There's now way that can be right, can it?

Originally Posted by Bruce_Begins

More important question would be - lets clearly define how much damage Green Kryptonite can do to Superman. It has never been consistent, in Donner movies (STM, S2) it makes him weak and turns him into jelly, in SR it poisoned him and weakened him so that he could be hurt.

Weakens him, long term exposure kills him. It's a poison and it drives out the yellow solar energy in his body.

[Kane52630]

Originally Posted by DorkyFresh

his power level should be...



...OVER 9,000!!!!

Damn it, I was gonna say this.

[Parker Wayne]

Originally Posted by DorkyFresh

his power level should be...



...OVER 9,000!!!!

That took too many posts to say. 12 posts in? I'm disappointed.

[Panthro]

Captain America was an excellent acrobat and could beat the crap out of the Hydras, in their own base and with desintegrating guns. In 'The Avengers' he was pretty much a lame version of his CA:TFA version. Got shot, blown up...

Oh come on, in "Avengers" Cap was fighting aliens & a Norse god, that's a completely different ball game from fighting human thugs, even human thugs armed with death rays. You might as well complain about the end of "Predator" where Arnold Schwarzenegger was getting smacked around by the 7-foot tall 300 lbs super-strong alien monster.

[BigThor]

Originally Posted by Panthro

Oh come on, in "Avengers" Cap was fighting aliens & a Norse god, that's a completely different ball game from fighting human thugs, even human thugs armed with death rays. You might as well complain about the end of "Predator" where Arnold Schwarzenegger was getting smacked around by the 7-foot tall 300 lbs super-strong alien monster.

People expect to see the "plot device" Cap from the comics who's able to take on beings like Thanos no matter how stupid it is.

[Panthro]

Originally Posted by BigThor

People expect to see the "plot device" Cap from the comics who's able to take on beings like Thanos no matter how stupid it is.

I blame "prep time Batman" for popularizing that kind of plot device.

[Bruce_Begins]

Get rid of powers levels as shown in Superman 2, In Superman Returns his powers levels were just correct, keep them as such.