Powers and Abilities of Superman - Golden Age Superman

Golden Age Superman

As presented in Action Comics #1 and the 1939 Superman newspaper comic strip, Superman's powers are inherent in all indigenous Kryptonians because of their advanced evolution. Thus, Kryptonians were shown using the same powers that Superman would have on Earth.

Starting in the mid-1940s, however, the notion of Krypton having a heavier gravitational pull than Earth's is first introduced, with Superboy's debut. After this, most stories in the late 1940s and 1950s would indicate that Superman (and other Kryptonians) would only gain superpowers when free of Krypton's heavy gravity (and in some stories, also its "unique atmosphere"), or when not under Krypton-like environmental conditions.

Superman's original powers mainly consisted of superstrength, superspeed, supersenses, and invulnerability. As described in Action Comics #1 (June 1938): "When maturity was reached, he discovered he could easily: Leap 1/8th of a mile ; hurdle a twenty-story building...raise tremendous weights...run faster than a express train... and that nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin!".

Within the years afterwards, many of Superman's other superpowers were also introduced, including his visual powers (such as x-ray vision) and super-hearing. (Siegel and Shuster, in their initial development of the character, did equip Superman with telescopic vision and super hearing, at least in their earliest draft weeklies.) One power introduced during this time was soon discarded, an ability for Superman to reshape his face muscles to change his appearance.

Superman's power levels also grew throughout the 1940s; by 1947, he is able to use his super-speed to break the time barrier for the first time. By Superman (volume 1) #38 (January–February 1946), he is able to withstand the blast of an atomic bomb; Superman (volume 1) #43 (November–December 1946) shows Superman able to withstand the heat of the Earth's core.

Powers

• Super strength
• Super speed
• Super senses (including telescopic vision, super-hearing)
• Invulnerability
• Superhuman control of face muscles