Superman's power level

[Lead Cenobite]

I'm talking bigger and a lot more of it. Buildings collapsing and what not.

When you think about it, Superman's not doing his job if buildings are actually collapsing. Superman vs. Captain Marvel doesn't count because that was a newly built, unpopulated city.

 

[Alien Anal]

Hypothetically.. Say if Supermans powers are to be considered that great that he is able to fly through the sun and move planets.. does that mean it will need to be shown on screen for us to be aware of such great strength ?

 

[GreenKToo]

I think his upper limit should be something like an aircraft carrier or large cruise ship.
That's still ridiculously strong, but more believable and it would make it much easier to have other villains for him to face without having to pull the ole Kryptonite card out.

If you had planet moving superman facing a planet moving Zod, then what would be left of the earth after they got finished fighting. Not much.
I doubt Zod would kindly follow Supes into space so innocents would be spared.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

I think his upper limit should be something like an aircraft carrier or large cruise ship.
That's still ridiculously strong, but more believable and it would make it much easier to have other villains for him to face without having to pull the ole Kryptonite card out.

If you had planet moving superman facing a planet moving Zod, then what would be left of the earth after they got finished fighting. Not much.
I doubt Zod would kindly follow Supes into space so innocents would be spared.

He doesn't have to be a planet mover necessarily. There's a long ways to go between being able to lift a cruise ship and push a planet. Like I said before, an asteroid might be a good limit, something the size of a city.

 

[SuperMike335!!]

I really don’t know if it makes any difference past a certain point. What objectively could he do to defeat the villain if he was say, able to lift a city, or a planet?

Past a certain point it makes little difference.

The villain has a million hostages, spread out with detonators, one wrong move and they all die. -"I know!, I’ll LIFT the PLANET"

It does not hurt the urgency of the situation if he is strong enough to move a planet because it is not useful at all in many situations. Its not an instant win like some say it would be.

When it comes to him vs. Supervillain, well, up power the bad guy to match, and again, planet shaking power is not going to be a trump card against another of equal physical power.

 

[Alien Anal]

I would love to have some sort of spoken or visual moment about supes flying through the sun. not that its important but i find it much more interesting than planet moving

And something iv thought about from time to time... if you were to watch someone move a planet surely it would just be watching someone do a hand stand right?

 

[afan]

And something iv thought about from time to time... if you were to watch someone move a planet surely it would just be watching someone do a hand stand right?

It's all about the effect on the audience.....

For me... to demonstrate Superman's power, to wow an audience you must keep his feats relatable...faster than a speeding bullet....more powerful than a locomotive....are perfect descriptions as the comparison is real.......moving planets, flying thru the sun, etc. are all fine and dandy, but the audience has nothing to compare them to...I suppose you could have a scientist in the film detail the temerature of the sun or the force necessary to actually move a planet, but is the audience buying a ticket to a science lesson?........the film should focus on relatable feats, and to do that you don't need Superman at a planet pushing, solar swimming, and hence somewhat unbelievable, level.


It's like the star ship Enterprise, it's hauling it at warp 9, and crosses the immense void between star systems in weeks or months, but is that speed ever relatable.

 

[Alien Anal]

I dont think superman flying through the sun or using any of his powers need to be relatable. I think that just takes it a little to far

 

[afan]

I dont think superman flying through the sun or using any of his powers need to be relatable. I think that just takes it a little to far

In Superman II we see The Man of Steel catch, fly along side for a bit, and then easily accelerate ahead of the Concord, this gives a reality to his speed. That's what I mean by relatable, it gives the audience a referance point to judge his speed by.

 

[Godzilla2014]

When you think about it, Superman's not doing his job if buildings are actually collapsing. Superman vs. Captain Marvel doesn't count because that was a newly built, unpopulated city.

Realistically, two Kryptonians like Superman and General Zod battling in a major city like Metropolis is going to collapse buildings due to their immense power.

I think his upper limit should be something like an aircraft carrier or large cruise ship.
That's still ridiculously strong, but more believable and it would make it much easier to have other villains for him to face without having to pull the ole Kryptonite card out.

If you had planet moving superman facing a planet moving Zod, then what would be left of the earth after they got finished fighting. Not much.
I doubt Zod would kindly follow Supes into space so innocents would be spared.

I agree with this 100%. That would be a good idea. I was also thinking that Superman should have to realistically deal with how much pressure he applies to objects. He can lift the weight of a Nimitz class aircraft carrier such as the USS Ronald Reagan, but the actual aircraft carrier itself would fall apart if he were to attempt to lift it. It adds to how Superman sees our world as fragile to him.

It's all about the effect on the audience.....

For me... to demonstrate Superman's power, to wow an audience you must keep his feats relatable...faster than a speeding bullet....more powerful than a locomotive....are perfect descriptions as the comparison is real.......moving planets, flying thru the sun, etc. are all fine and dandy, but the audience has nothing to compare them to...I suppose you could have a scientist in the film detail the temerature of the sun or the force necessary to actually move a planet, but is the audience buying a ticket to a science lesson?........the film should focus on relatable feats, and to do that you don't need Superman at a planet pushing, solar swimming, and hence somewhat unbelievable, level.


It's like the star ship Enterprise, it's hauling it at warp 9, and crosses the immense void between star systems in weeks or months, but is that speed ever relatable.

I agree. Superman's feats should a real-world context so we can understand their impressiveness.

In Superman II we see The Man of Steel catch, fly along side for a bit, and then easily accelerate ahead of the Concord, this gives a reality to his speed. That's what I mean by relatable, it gives the audience a referance point to judge his speed by.

This is a great example.

 

[BigThor]

I think his upper limit should be something like an aircraft carrier or large cruise ship.
That's still ridiculously strong, but more believable and it would make it much easier to have other villains for him to face without having to pull the ole Kryptonite card out.

This

 

[Mindreaper21]

The thing about being strong enough to move the planet, realistically, it would kill us all. Think about how everything would shift. We would basically be in a blender...

 

[Godzilla2014]

The thing about being strong enough to move the planet, realistically, it would kill us all. Think about how everything would shift. We would basically be in a blender...

Agreed.

 

[The Sage]

He doesn't have to be a planet mover necessarily. There's a long ways to go between being able to lift a cruise ship and push a planet. Like I said before, an asteroid might be a good limit, something the size of a city.

I really don’t know if it makes any difference past a certain point. What objectively could he do to defeat the villain if he was say, able to lift a city, or a planet?

Past a certain point it makes little difference.

The villain has a million hostages, spread out with detonators, one wrong move and they all die. -"I know!, I’ll LIFT the PLANET"

It does not hurt the urgency of the situation if he is strong enough to move a planet because it is not useful at all in many situations. Its not an instant win like some say it would be.

When it comes to him vs. Supervillain, well, up power the bad guy to match, and again, planet shaking power is not going to be a trump card against another of equal physical power.

I agree with both here. Asteroid moving level I'd go with.

 

[Mindreaper21]

I'm fine with him being able to move an asteroid but it depends on the size. Sure in space he could move one the size of a city, because the gravity is lighter. On ground level I'm thinking more along the lines of being able to lift the Titanic at maximum. To me, thats pretty reasonable and it leaves room for greater challenges.

 

[KRIM]

A huge ocean liner being suspended above the water, would make for an awesome visual.

 

[Superman 1265]

SR failed not because Superman didn't punch anybody, SR sucked because it was slow, sad, and boring. It wasn't fun.

SR had alot of heroic moments/scenes, but if the overall structure of the film is slow and boring, those scenes will get lost in the weeds. Superman 1 (Christopher Reeve) didn't have Superman throw any punches, and it is revered as an all time comic book movie favorite.

Fixed.

 

[BigThor]

I'm fine with him being able to move an asteroid but it depends on the size. Sure in space he could move one the size of a city, because the gravity is lighter. On ground level I'm thinking more along the lines of being able to lift the Titanic at maximum. To me, thats pretty reasonable and it leaves room for greater challenges.

I agree

 

[Godzilla2014]

A huge ocean liner being suspended above the water, would make for an awesome visual.

I don't think that should happen. The ocean liner, unless it's explained that Superman has a power of some sort to decrease the pressure on it, will just fall to pieces after all of its weight presses down on area no bigger than a man's hands.

 

[GreenKToo]

N.K. should have crumbled like a mud pie when he lifted it.

 

[DIRECTOR]

Fixed!

Fixed!

 

[Godzilla2014]

If Superman's powers are going to evolve in MAN OF STEEL, would like to generally have an idea of how powerful he is at any particular moment. This could go a long way to facilitating the audience suspending their disbelief and knowing what can happen and what can't happen in the film. Thoughts?

 

[Ahura Mazda]

I am more hoping asteroid level then ocean liner. He is meant to be among the highest in terms of power and it is not by nerfing his strength that will make for better action.

 

[JAK®]

[YT]SiMHTK15Pik[/YT]

 

[Krumm]

I am more hoping asteroid level then ocean liner. He is meant to be among the highest in terms of power and it is not by nerfing his strength that will make for better action.

Seeing as you don't run into asteroids everyday, I wouldn't mind it if they make a point of showing that Clark doesn't really know how much he can lift -- it could serve as a dramatic moment.