The Official Superman Thread - Part 3

[Llama_Shepherd]

Well in Action Comics #7 (IIRC) showed that the suit is actually just a thicker version of the fabric the cape is made of.

 

[HighFivingMF]

So it should be thicker and pretty much impossible to wear under his street clothes.

Except he does wear it under his street clothes.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Clark's as big as an ox anyway. No one's gonna notice another layer of clothing on that Sasquatch.

 

[Shazam]

Except he does wear it under his street clothes.

Of course. As someone just said, they drew it that way. Even if it makes no sense.

It's "armor".

 

[CConn]

Y'know what else doesn't make sense? An alien from a faraway planet who looks exactly like a human being.

 

[HighFivingMF]

Y'know what else doesn't make sense? An alien from a faraway planet who looks exactly like a human being.

Or boots and a big fluffy cape fitting under your street clothes.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

Of course. As someone just said, they drew it that way. Even if it makes no sense.

It's "armor".

It's an indestructible fabric. It might be armour, but it's still just cloth.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

The pre-crisis suit was shown to have armor-like properties in a Superboy story, I believe. A bank robber stole it and wore it and it made him bullet proof.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

That seems unnecessary, given that Superman himself is bulletproof.

 

[BH/HHH]

I still dug it.

so did I it got better and better as it went on and unlike Action which I love they didnt disturb the momentum midway through (still think Morrison dropped the ball there).

 

[CConn]

That seems unnecessary, given that Superman himself is bulletproof.

It could be an absorbent material to protect Superman from electrical attacks.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

That seems unnecessary, given that Superman can shake off electrical attacks pretty easily. And everything else, to be honest. That's part of what Superman's all about; he's invulnerable to virtually everything. Unless the armor protects him from Kryptonite or red sunlight, it's the world's most redundant armor.

 

[CConn]

But Superman's always been affected by magic and electricity.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Well, I seriously doubt it protects against magic since it's just Kryptonian fabric. Electricity, maybe. I suppose that'd make it somewhat worthwhile, although I don't recall Superman having significant enough trouble with electricity in the past to call it a true weakness for him.

 

[Spade]

Would you not wear a suit that never needs repair? The Super Sewing Machine from previous comics hasn't shown up yet—if it exists in this timeline—so it's not like he has a choice in outfits.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Now that's a logical point. No maintenance. Certainly makes more sense than claiming he wears it because it protects him from stuff his bare skin can already withstand.

 

[Anubis]

That seems unnecessary, given that Superman himself is bulletproof.

Yeah, I like the Bio Aura angle better.

 

[Mystirious]

Maybe its so he doesnt wind up naked when he's fighting villains

If his clothing got ripped or torn easily he'd up exposing himself to the people of Metropolis on a regular basis

 

[DawnWarrior]

I'm personally a fan of the invulnerable cape. Post-crisis we got Byrne's explanation of the force-field business that protects Superman's costume while he's wearing it, so the cape would get shredded, which certainly makes sense and looks cool. But having a cape that can withstand bullets and fire and molten lead and such is incredibly useful as far as protecting other people from harm. Even with the Byrne-field, I like the idea that Superman would find someway to make his cape invulnerable purely for that functionality.

 

[DavidTyler]

I'm personally a fan of the invulnerable cape. Post-crisis we got Byrne's explanation of the force-field business that protects Superman's costume while he's wearing it, so the cape would get shredded, which certainly makes sense and looks cool. But having a cape that can withstand bullets and fire and molten lead and such is incredibly useful as far as protecting other people from harm. Even with the Byrne-field, I like the idea that Superman would find someway to make his cape invulnerable purely for that functionality.

During that run, Superman was presented with a more durable cape but opted to keep the ones Martha made for him. As to material being invulnerable ... No way in hell can a price of dead cloth somehow gain invulnerability from solar radiation. Just saying.

 

[CConn]

Well, I seriously doubt it protects against magic since it's just Kryptonian fabric. Electricity, maybe. I suppose that'd make it somewhat worthwhile, although I don't recall Superman having significant enough trouble with electricity in the past to call it a true weakness for him.

I'm not saying it would repel magic. That would be a stretch.

But electricity would make sense. I never recall it being the type of thing that can kill Superman or anything, but I've often seen him incapacitated by it pretty easily.

 

[Spike_x1]

Only time I've seen him incapacitated by just electricity by itself is in STAS and the JL cartoons. Maybe electricity/energy-based attacks from a supervillain with a lot of firepower (like Neutron's radiation blasts, Mongul's energy cannon, etc.)? In that case, sure, it's fun to see Supes get blasted through some walls, and it's happened a lot over the years to add drama to fights, but I can't remember ever seeing Clark incapacitated by it.

Except with Livewire in STAS. Electricity was taken to such an extreme in her case that it was practically a second form of kryptonite for Superman.

 

[CConn]

You would know better than me, you've read a lot more Superman comics.

Personally, if it isn't, it really should be. It's a good weakness for Supes to have.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

I think it's too low on the scale of weaknesses, depending on exactly how powerful the shock is. Sticking a key in an outlet shouldn't hurt him at all, for example.

 

[HighFivingMF]

I think it's too low on the scale of weaknesses, depending on exactly how powerful the shock is. Sticking a key in an outlet shouldn't hurt him at all, for example.

What if it's his giant Fortress of Solitude key and he stuck it in a giant Fortress of Solitude outlet he uses to charge robots and stuff?