Powers
Apollo's powers include superhuman strength, flight, and near invulnerability (the character has been shown entering a lava flow to deactivate a volcano, and walking on the surface of the sun). His eyes are constructed to concentrate solar energy into laser-like blasts. Apollo can also release his solar energy from other parts of his body (hands, mouth, etc.) or in an omni-directional flare, but these moves are taxing. He can fly as well, at least fast enough to circle the globe in just under 30 seconds.
Like Superman, Apollo's powers are dependent on the sun. His body behaves like a battery, absorbing sunlight and converting it into energy he can use. Without exposure to the sun his strength, resilience and ability to fly diminish, ultimately to the point of disappearing - a concern, since aboard the Carrier he is often out of direct sunlight. From the point of exhaustion, he can regain the capacity for flight from 20 seconds of sun exposure. Two hours in sun-light restores him to full capacity. Transporting (using the Carrier's 'Door' system) into close proximity with the sun allows him to recharge more quickly.
Since Apollo's energy derives entirely from the sun, he can survive in anaerobic environments indefinitely. He was shown in early issues of The Authority flying without protective equipment in space, explaining he could do so by the simple method of not breathing. He also does not require food or drink, though he apparently enjoys both.
Apollo has been described a number of times as a Majestic-Class superhuman, suggesting that his powers rival those of Mister Majestic, or are at least similarly beyond the frame of reference of most humans and superhumans.
Read more about this topic: Apollo (comics)
Famous quotes containing the word powers:
“And as the sun above the light doth bring,
Though we behold it in the air below,
So from th’ eternal Light the soul doth spring,
Though in the body she her powers do show.”
—Sir John Davies (1569–1626)
“There are souls that are incurable and lost to the rest of society. Deprive them of one means of folly, they will invent ten thousand others. They will create subtler, wilder methods, methods that are absolutely DESPERATE. Nature herself is fundamentally antisocial, it is only by a usurpation of powers that the organized body of society opposes the natural inclination of humanity.”
—Antonin Artaud (1896–1948)
“He who is conversant with the supernal powers will not worship these inferior deities of the wind, waves, tide, and sunshine. But we would not disparage the importance of such calculations as we have described. They are truths in physics because they are true in ethics.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)