Superman's power level - Part 1

[Markdavid90]

I think judging from the 3rd trailer, his strength is going to be similiar to Superman Returns - You see him jump under a big steel structure bracing it up with his hands, then the next scene it jumps to his facial expressions and it looks like his struggling to hold it.

Also, when you get a quick glimpse of him being thrown into a bank vault he then falls to his feet. So it looks like whatever throws him into the vault stuns him alittle bit.

I think the stength and the power principles in Superman Returns we're spot on. Although, I don't believe any superhero should beable to move land mass.

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

I'm kinda surprised I'm actually saying this, but I hope the heat vision looks similar to Smallville. That's one thing they definitely got right in that show.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

I think judging from the 3rd trailer, his strength is going to be similiar to Superman Returns - You see him jump under a big steel structure bracing it up with his hands, then the next scene it jumps to his facial expressions and it looks like his struggling to hold it.

Also, when you get a quick glimpse of him being thrown into a bank vault he then falls to his feet. So it looks like whatever throws him into the vault stuns him alittle bit.

I think the stength and the power principles in Superman Returns we're spot on. Although, I don't believe any superhero should beable to make land mass.

I'm not sure I understood your last sentence.

 

[Markdavid90]

I'm not sure I understood your last sentence.

I put 'make' instead of 'move', Bad typo! Corrected though

 

[dark_b]

i think he is a lot weaker compared to SR. but this is good.

 

[Rocanrol]

I love the F&F cartoon's power level, but this is good as well. Would like to follow certain rules of physics that Superman usually breaks, like holding a skycrapper from falling. That doesn't make any sense.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

Superman holding that steel structure doesn't make sense either. It's about verisimilitude, I have no problem with Superman holding the island in Superman Returns because is was done in a way that made it look real.

Less power doesn't equal a better story, it can just make for a more visceral action.

 

[Mad Love]

I didn't think Superman lifting the island was believable at all. The weight of a huge land mass can't be held up at one tiny point. It would collapse on itself. It was also confusing because how was the island even floating?

Plus the whole thing was made of Kryptonite. He had no power just standing on it and Lex almost killed him, but then he lifts the whole thing up while shards of Kryptonite was poking at his face. We're suppose to believe he got the strength to lift a Kryptonite continent just by going above clouds a few seconds? Normally a tiny bit of Kryptonite makes him fall to his knees in daylight.

 

[Mad Love]

I love the F&F cartoon's power level, but this is good as well. Would like to follow certain rules of physics that Superman usually breaks, like holding a skycrapper from falling. That doesn't make any sense.

You're right, it doesn't make sense because buildings aren't one piece of plastic. I would rather him X-ray the building and use super speed to save all the people in the area. That's more believable and impressive to see than cartoonishly holding up a building. Those kind of real world feats makes Superman more interesting because he has to be more creative with his powers.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

Haven't you ever considered that being able to lift huge objects without breaking them is part of his own power set (like with tactile telekinesis) and not ignorance of the laws of physics by the filmmaker? You're right, normally a building or an island can't be lifted by only one small point without collapsing under its own weight, but this is Superman. The entire point is he can do the impossible. The laws of physics go out the window with him.

Flying with people at near light speed while rescuing them from a building should kill them if you want to get technical about everything. How do they withstand those mind-boggling speeds while being carried to safety? The fact is, you try to make all the physics realistic and you make Superman's powers almost entirely useless.

 

[Dr.]

Haven't you ever considered that being able to lift huge objects without breaking them is part of his own power set (like with tactile telekinesis) and not ignorance of the laws of physics by the filmmaker? You're right, normally a building or an island can't be lifted by only one small point without collapsing under its own weight, but this is Superman. The entire point is he can do the impossible. The laws of physics go out the window with him.

In terms of adhering to physics, the super feats don’t necessarily have to pass the scrutiny of a scientist or engineer. They just have to seem plausible enough for the average person.

There was a scene in SIII where Supes puts out a factory fire by freezing a lake and carrying the sheet of ice to the inferno - holding the large sheet by one end. I submit that the silliness of this feat was apparent even to science dropouts. And you don’t want to be making Supes look silly.

 

[MaceB]

You're right, normally a building or an island can't be lifted by only one small point without collapsing under its own weight, but this is Superman. The entire point is he can do the impossible. The laws of physics go out the window with him.

No offense, but this is fanboyism at it's worst. The second you give Superman the ability to do anything... even warp the laws of physics... is the second that you suck all the drama out of the story. If Superman can go as fast as he wants and lift anything he wants even when it defies common sense, then there's no point in fighting him, no drama from a possible failure, no reason to have a movie.

Because so many of us grew up with him, its natural that we'd want to boost up his power in order to see him do awesome awesome stuff. That's how we imagined him as kids. But making Superman invicible would lead us to not identifying with the character and making the whole movie a big bore.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

In terms of adhering to physics, the super feats don’t necessarily have to pass the scrutiny of a scientist or engineer. They just have to seem plausible enough for the average person.

The average person used to not care. Superman: The Movie managed to be one of the highest grossing movies of 1978 despite depicting Superman stopping an earthquake by pushing a tectonic plate. Why has that changed? Why have people become such killjoys that they expect fantasy to be realistic?

 

[Lead Cenobite]

No offense, but this is fanboyism at it's worst. The second you give Superman the ability to do anything... even warp the laws of physics... is the second that you suck all the drama out of the story. If Superman can go as fast as he wants and lift anything he wants even when it defies common sense, then there's no point in fighting him, no drama from a possible failure, no reason to have a movie.

Because so many of us grew up with him, its natural that we'd want to boost up his power in order to see him do awesome awesome stuff. That's how we imagined him as kids. But making Superman invicible would lead us to not identifying with the character and making the whole movie a big bore.

No, it's not fanboyism, it's your complete lack of imagination that can't see the ability to create drama in a movie where Superman is depicted as he should be, doing the impossible. You people would suck at writing a movie or a comic, and this damn obsession with realism is killing the genre. God I am so sick of this.

 

[Mad Love]

Haven't you ever considered that being able to lift huge objects without breaking them is part of his own power set (like with tactile telekinesis) and not ignorance of the laws of physics by the filmmaker?

I would consider it if they made it clear that's part of his power set beforehand and give a good sense how it works. Making Superman be able to randomly do anything including changing the physics of reality is cartoonish. No you can't spin the world backwards to go back in time. Giving him random powers we haven't seen before is bad story telling.

Would you be okay if he could make it ran meteors when he snaps his fingers? Oh, we're suppose to just consider it's part of his power set because he's Superman!

 

[Mad Love]

You people would suck at writing a movie or a comic, and this damn obsession with realism is killing the genre. God I am so sick of this.

It's killing the genre by making billions and inspiring imitators. Yeah, it's such bad writing these movies are successful with good ratings.

You are being a fanboy about it because you're completely out of touch with reality in more ways than one.

 

[Mad Love]

Flying with people at near light speed while rescuing them from a building should kill them if you want to get technical about everything. How do they withstand those mind-boggling speeds while being carried to safety? The fact is, you try to make all the physics realistic and you make Superman's powers almost entirely useless.

LOL, why do you assume he has to go near light speed to save them? See how you automatically jump to the absurd?

 

[Dr.]

The average person used to not care. Superman: The Movie managed to be one of the highest grossing movies of 1978 despite depicting Superman stopping an earthquake by pushing a tectonic plate. Why has that changed? Why have people become such killjoys that they expect fantasy to be realistic?

No, it's not fanboyism, it's your complete lack of imagination that can't see the ability to create drama in a movie where Superman is depicted as he should be, doing the impossible. You people would suck at writing a movie or a comic, and this damn obsession with realism is killing the genre. God I am so sick of this.

Well, I’d wager we all want the same thing - kick-ass action and spectacular super feats that put Iron Man and Hulk to shame.

Of course, Superman is a walking/flying violation of physics. I maintain, though, that this fantasy is actually more exciting when it’s put alongside the familiar/real world. But if you start to imply that - wink, wink - the surrounding rules are different for Supes and relaxed for his convenience (as in my SIII example) then the feats of strength become decidedly less impressive.

Yes, audiences have gotten a bit more knowledgeable and critical (cynical?) since STM. But I don’t think we can scold them into being less demanding, less knowledgeable; we (and filmmakers) have to deal with it.

 

[godisawesome]

I'd prefer they showcase his intelligence and give us a hand wave for most cases: maybe he uses a brace to hold the building up. I feel he should be limited to the six basic superpowers, and everything else should resemble something you'd see a human be able to do with forgotten arts.

 

[BigThor]

Supes power level in MOS seems to be almost perfect, he's able to lift very heavy things but also shows a little strain while doing it. That super speed he used to dodge those A10 bullets looked awesome too, plus he's not too invulnerable since one of the Kryptonians make him cough up blood.

 

[Jim-El]

...plus he's not too invulnerable since one of the Kryptonians make him cough up blood.

Where did you see or hear about that? Too much info is already out about the movie already. I wish they would have scaled some of it back.

Spoiler

We already know Krypton will occupy a lot of screen time. We know Lara dies alone. We know Faora goes after Martha in Smallville. We know Superman battles Zod and his forces in Smallville, etc.

 

[DarthAlani]

When Lara told Jor-El that the people of earth would kill him, and Jor-El responded by saying "How?". Tells me and with the footage we have seen that Superman's power is going to be pretty damn high.

 

[Shikamaru]

Supes power level in MOS seems to be almost perfect, he's able to lift very heavy things but also shows a little strain while doing it. That super speed he used to dodge those A10 bullets looked awesome too, plus he's not too invulnerable since one of the Kryptonians make him cough up blood.

Even the Superman from the comics would cough up blood if he engaged in a fight with a Kryptonian that was also exposed to yellow sun radiations. I find that criticism to be unfair.

 

[Jim-El]

Where did you see or hear about that? Too much info is already out about the movie already. I wish they would have scaled some of it back.

Spoiler

We already know Krypton will occupy a lot of screen time. We know Lara dies alone. We know Faora goes after Martha in Smallville. We know Superman battles Zod and his forces in Smallville, etc.

Just saw the coughing up of blood in trailer number 2. Nevermind...

 

[Bren]

Even the Superman from the comics would cough up blood if he engaged in a fight with a Kryptonian that was also exposed to yellow sun radiations. I find that criticism to be unfair.

That didn't sound like a criticism to me, BT is saying the overall powerset is perfect to him including the fact that he can be made to bleed. And I agree, looks good so far.