Powers and Abilities of Superman - Silver/Bronze Age Superman

Silver/Bronze Age Superman

Superman's powers were subject to expansion and revision during the 1940s and 1950s. Shortly after Supergirl's introduction, the origin of Kryptonians' super-powers was revised. With Action Comics #262 (March 1960) (and expanded upon in Superman (volume 1) #146 in July 1961 and in subsequent comics), it is explained that Superman's powers are derived primarily from the "ultra solar rays" of a yellow sun (like Earth's) that penetrate Earth day and night. Under a red sun (like Krypton's, or the artificial red sun in the bottle city of Kandor), Kryptonians lack superpowers, regardless of the difference in gravity. The powers and limitations of Superman are instantly possessed by all Kryptonians (including animals, such as Krypto) exposed to a yellow sun.

Superman's late Golden Age powers were expanded upon during the late 1950s and 1960s, where they reached their peak. Some stories would show Superman as capable of moving a planet. Said increased power levels were also retroactively assigned to his younger self, Superboy; one story showed the Boy of Steel towing a dozen worlds tied together on a chain.

Stories also show Superman capable of traveling across interstellar space under his own power. In one story (in an attempt to rescue an unconscious Supergirl from being hurled out of the universe at a tremendous speed), Superman traveled faster than he'd ever moved before, managing to break through multiple dimensions and barriers before being stopped by the Spectre, who stated Superman was passing "toward realms no mortal eye may be permitted to behold." Beginning with Superman (volume 1) #199 (August 1967), an occasional series of races between Superman and the Flash also were published, with Superman's super-speed shown to be at or slightly below that of the Flash's.

Superman's vulnerability to kryptonite (introduced in comics in 1949) is also retained, along with greater emphasis on the newer weaknesses of exposure to a red sun and to magic.

Superman also possesses super genius-level intelligence and an eidetic memory. Average people from Krypton already had genius-level intelligence, being a society thousands of years ahead of Earth in technology. They learned calculus as children, and possessed the ability to read by age one. These enhanced mental capabilities are a direct result of his exposure to a yellow sun. Superman also possesses the mental ability to screen out the enormous amount of information received by his enhanced senses and to focus on a single detail such as a particular voice or location. Some seldom used powers, such as super-ventriloquism (the ability of Superman to throw his voice across great distances) or super-hypnosis (an enhanced ability to hypnotize others) also were seen in Silver and Bronze Age stories.

Writers of Superman experimented with new powers for the character. The abilities that proved popular became part of his regular repertoire, while others were discarded after a single use.

In the early 1970s, Superman's power levels (particularly his strength and invulnerability) are reduced as the result of a storyline involving an accident that renders most of Earth's kryptonite inert, as well as creating a sand creature that drains a portion of Superman's powers.

Powers

• Super strength
• Stamina
• Invulnerability (except to kryptonite and magic)
• Extreme longevity (in some stories)
• Enhanced mental processes, including an eidetic memory and genius level intellect
• Super vision, consisting of:
  • X-ray vision
  • Heat vision
  • Telescopic vision
  • Microscopic vision
• Super-hearing
• Other enhanced physical senses (smell, touch, taste)
• Ability to perceive the entire electromagnetic spectrum and various other forms of energy
• Flight (including across interstellar distances)
• Precise muscle control and vocal control
• Super-breath (including freeze breath)
• Super-ventriloquism
• Super-hypnosis