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Jun 28, 2024 · One standard is his ability to go to space without a suit or spaceship. Often, readers see him traveling the globe by leaving the atmosphere and reentering it on the other side of the planet. However, Superman's abilities can't make air exist where it does not, and outer space is an airless vacuum, even in the DC Universe.
- Contributor
Afterwards, he needed an oxygen mask, but not a whole space suit. After Flashpoint and the New 52, this new Superman was a post 2000's update of the Silver Age Superman - and didn't need a spacesuit after he got the Kryptonian armor suit. So yes, it definitely depends on which Continuity we're talking about.
- Overview
- Powers and Abilities
- Equipment
- Relationships
Clark Joseph Kent, born with the Kryptonian name Kal-El, is an incredibly powerful and nigh-indestructible alien superhero of the House of El, one of the extremely few survivors of the destruction of Krypton, the host of the Growth Codex, and an investigative reporter of the Daily Planet. Using his extraordinary abilities, Clark protects the people of Earth, using the moniker Superman.
Born to Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, he was rocketed to Earth as a baby from the doomed planet of Krypton, where he would be found by kindly farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who raised him as their own son in Smallville, imbuing him with strong moral values and eventually revealing the truth behind his alien heritage. Following Jonathan's death, Clark left Smallville in pursuit of the reason he was sent to Earth. He eventually discovered the Fortress of Solitude, where he met the artificial consciousness of his father Jor-El. Clark was soon drawn to Metropolis when the failure of Lex Luthor’s Quantum Raft caused a city-wide blackout. Afterwards, Clark moved to the city and became a reporter for the Daily Planet, while also beginning a romantic relationship with reporter Lois Lane.
Powers
―Clark Kent and Jor-El Kryptonian Physiology: As a Kryptonian, Superman possesses a wide variety of immense, seemingly godlike abilities. On a planet near a red star, Superman would have physical attributes nearly identical to those of humans, but while on a planet near a star that is younger and brighter than Krypton's, he is granted many new abilities and powers that surpass the capabilities of humans and metahumans alike, making him the Justice League's most powerful member and appear godlike to humans, even rivalling an Old God in power. Having spent nearly his entire life on Earth and adapted to its environment, Superman exceeds any Kryptonian that has immediate exposure in terms of both raw power and skill in the application of said powers. His father Jor-El stated that he'd grown more powerful than he'd previously imagined, and the only way to know just how powerful was to keep testing his limits. Bruce Wayne has even stated that Superman is capable of single-handedly wiping out the entire human race should he choose to. •Solar Energy Absorption: Superman's enhanced powers are derived from a passive ability to absorb the energy spectrum of yellow sun radiation into his body, storing it up and metabolizing it so as to not constantly need exposure. Having been constantly exposed to yellow sunlight and maturing with it since infancy has allowed him to store up energy in far greater quantities and metabolize it with equal efficiency than other Kryptonians. Direct exposure to sunlight will also accelerate his recovery from any injuries he does manage to sustain. •Superhuman Strength: As a Kryptonian, Superman possesses immense levels of strength that is virtually incalculable and limitless, as he is able to carry, lift and exert billions of tons of force. As a teenager, he was able to push a school bus out of a river and warp a fence post by squeezing. After reaching his full potential, he became considerably stronger, with his punches being powerful enough to generate shock waves during combat. He's capable of effortlessly hurling semi-trucks across extreme distances, destroying mountaintops, towing a massive steamship through the Arctic, and even effortlessly crush diamonds with his bare hands. •Shock Wave Projection: Superman is strong enough to create powerful sonic booms with just the clap of his hands. These sonic claps are powerful enough to be heard across states. This ability can easily destroy glass, push objects away and disorient anyone nearby. •Superhuman Speed: Superman can run and fly faster than the speed of sound, even impressing the likes of the Reverse-Flash. When he has nine years old, Clark was running to catch a football and he accidentally ran ten miles away from the Kent Farm in a matter of seconds. During his first flight, Superman traveled all the way from the Arctic to the savannas of Kenya and then to the Monument Valley in Utah, all in a matter of minutes. In addition, Superman is capable of moving at a level of speed close to the Flash, and his speed is easily capable of surpassing that of Aquaman and Wonder Woman. •Accelerated Perception: Superman's perception of the world through is accelerated speed lets him see everything in slowed motion; allowing him to move with precision and accuracy within very fast moments. It also allows him to process, calculate, and understand information at super speeds. •Superhuman Reflexes: Superman's speed extends to his reflexes as well, to the point where the speed of his reflexes are comparable to those of a speedster. He can respond to danger and events within seconds. •Superhuman Agility: Superman's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to superhuman levels. This allows him to easily make sharp turns and easily maneuver while flying and moving at superhuman speed. •Superhuman Stamina: Superman almost never seems to grow tired. He is able to survive flying at high speeds into outer space and underwater. After reaching his full potential, Superman hardly showed signs of fatigue, notably towing a gigantic tanker ship by its chain through ice without any resistance. •Flight: Superman is able to fly via manipulations to his own gravitational field, taking advantage of Earth's weaker gravity to propel himself through the skies and even beyond the planet's atmosphere. Upon mastering this technique, Superman can fly at hypersonic speeds that allow him to circle the globe in moments. Further practice with this power has allowed him to extend it to others so that they don't experience the negative effects of traveling at high speeds. •Super Jumping: Known to "leap tall buildings in a single bound", Clark is able to jump tremendous heights and lengths off the ground from a stationary position without having to fly. To which, he will usually he jump upwards before shooting skyward with his flight. •Superhuman Breath: Superman is capable of surviving prolonged periods without oxygen, allowing him to walk through burning buildings, travel at tremendous hypersonic speeds, and even remain underwater or within the vacuum of space without adverse effects. In addition, his lung capacity can exhale powerful gusts of air from his mouth. He can also suck in gaseous substances, including those that would otherwise be harmful to humans. •Arctic Breath: Superman can also drop the temperature of his breath to sub-zero levels, thereby able to freeze nearly anything instantly. •Hypersonic Vocals: Using his superhumanly strong vocal cords, Clark is able to yell incredibly loud, projecting his voice to be heard from across the entire planet. As an infant, Clark was able to release a scream that shattered every glass or ceramic object along Main Street in Smallville, Kansas. ―Superman to Dru-Zod •Superhuman Vision: Superman possesses superhuman eyesight that encompasses a variety of sensory capabilities including telescopic, infrared, ultraviolet, X-Ray, and gamma-ray visual capabilities that allow him to see the entire electromagnetic spectrum when he desires, through mental focus. In his youth, his enhanced vision overwhelmed him, as he saw everything in his hometown at once, though he managed to hone his senses after some guidance from Martha Kent. •Telescopic Vision: Superman has the ability to focus his vision to see great distances. •Microscopic Vision: Superman has the ability to see extremely small objects down to the atomic level, and magnify objects for his eyes to see. •Night Vision: Superman can see clearly in the dark. •Thermal Vision: Clark is able to see the heat signatures radiated off of individuals. •Electromagnetic Spectrum Vision: Clark can see well into and identify most of the electromagnetic spectrum, including the radio and television signals as well as all other broadcast or transmitted frequencies. Using this ability, he can avoid detection by radar or satellite monitoring methods. •X-Ray Vision: Superman can focus his vision past layers of matter to see through them. The only known materials known to be impenetrable to Superman's X-Ray Vision are lead and the Kryptonian materials used within the Fortress of Solitude. •Heat Vision: Superman possesses the ability to generate, create and emit bright beams of intense heat and concentrated plasma from his eyes that can reach temperatures of 5500 °C. Visually, the power manifests as two laser-like beams of fiery energy being released from his eyes, with the surrounding areas being outlined as the energy builds. These beams can be made less intense to the point of being invisible, allowing Clark to work undetected. Due to Clark's control over the beams, he has demonstrated being capable of burning through stone and welding metal, cauterizing wounds, causing small explosions and fires concussive force to physically repelling or potentially damaging enemies with similar durability, making it useful in combat. It can also be focused to reflect of mirror surfaces. He often uses this power for more mundane purposes; such as heating heating up food or doing manual labor. •Solar Flare: Superman can immediately expel massive amounts of stored solar energy from his body. This attack is much more powerful then his regular heat vision, however it comes at cost, as Superman remains mostly powerless afterwards, and must recharge himself. However, this drawback can be bypassed if he is supercharged by the Sun, as he would be containing excess energy. •Superhuman Hearing: Superman is able to hear at extreme variances of sound and pitch frequency, allowing him to pick up numerous sounds, including both infra- and ultra-sound, from immense distances. In his youth, this, along with his enhanced vision, greatly overwhelmed him until he eventually learned to control it. Honing his senses, he has enough control to block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source or frequency. •Superhuman Smell: Superman has incredibly acute olfactory senses. •Enhanced Mental Capacity: Clark's mind is just as enhanced and efficient, surpassing most humans. His exceptional intellect works even at computational levels. It is extremely fast and sharp, giving him a perfect memory and recall. He can assimilate, perceive, comprehend, and calculate the mechanics of any and all information he experiences to its fullest in seconds. From this, he can learn lifetimes worth of knowledge and academics within days and no loss of information. He can also use the information to cross-correlate and multitask with no problems. •Nigh-Invulnerability: Superman's body is virtually indestructible, allowing him to withstand extreme heat, the extreme cold of the Arctic, exposure to the vacuum of outer space, falls from great heights, and a high-speed collision with a mountaintop without injury. High caliber bullets bounce off of him, and artillery, including anti-tank depleted uranium rounds and Maverick missiles, have no effect. •Regenerative Healing Factor: The solar radiation of a yellow sun enhances all of Superman's bodily functions, such as his strength, durability, speed, agility, stamina, reflexes, senses, healing, and lifespan to superhuman levels. He is very muscular, athletic and physically capable. His augmented metabolism greatly enhances his recuperative powers, able to without treatment mend most damage far quicker and more efficiently than normal humans, with no lingering signs. He also burns calories just as fast, making him immune to weight gain. In addition, Clark has an immunity to all forms of disease and contaminants on Earth. However, despite being unable to be inebriated or intoxicated by drugs or alcohol from Earth, he still has a palette like anyone else, enjoying certain foods or drinks and disliking others. •Superhuman Durability: Superman's skin, muscle, and bone tissue have many times the density of the same tissue in the body of a human being, making him nigh-invulnerable. •Extended Longevity: Naturally, Clark's aging processes becomes extremely diluted compared to humans, allowing him to maintain his youth far longer than a normal human and by extension live equally longer, thus remaining at his prime as long as he is under the exposure of yellow sun energy. •Self-Sustenance: Superman's physical needs are greatly reduced, if not completely removed, as he does not need to nutrients or sleep beyond personal enjoyment. Even without training and regardless of what unhealthy food he ingests, his physique remains powerful and at peek performance. This extends to him being able to survive in harsher environments such as outer space and underwater; able to withstand the conditions unprotected or even need of oxygen. This is a trait not shared by all Kryptonians.
Abilities
•Genius-Level Intellect: Clark Kent is shown to be extremely intelligent; his mind works sharply and with extreme speed relative to humans, this is due to his enhanced mental capacity. Notably, Clark won a science fair when he was nine years old and has displayed basic medical knowledge when cauterizing wounds with his heat vision. As an investigative reporter, Clark is considered a "nerd" by Perry White, managing to twice receive the Elliot Prize for Investigative Journalism after only a year at the Daily Planet, being the first of any of the reporters at the paper to earn it so quickly. Also, Clark can completely conceal his identity as Superman to others, using various subterfuges to perfectly appear as a normal and socially awkward man. In addition, while spending months traveling the world, Clark managed to successfully falsify his identity to stay hidden. His brilliant intellect extends itself to his exceptional science, writing, investigative reporting, leadership, and tactical skills. However, Superman is notably not quite as intelligent as supergenius Lex Luthor or the vigilante and master detective Batman. ―Perry White to Clark Kent •Expert Reporter: Clark Kent, as a reporter for the very famous and respected Daily Planet newspaper, is an exceptionally skilled investigative reporter, displaying remarkable insight and investigative skills right away after getting hired as a junior reporter, quickly climbing through the ranks. Notably, Clark managed to twice receive the Elliot Prize for Investigative Journalism after only a year at the paper, being the first of any of the reporters to earn it so quickly. He is often considered a "nerd" by his boss Perry White and almost rivals his far more experienced girlfriend Lois Lane. •Expert Social Intuit: Superman, as both Kal-El and Clark Kent, has a considerable degree of social confidence, making him highly talented in intuitively determining how to interact with others, gain their respect and get his point across with calmness, eloquence, and charisma. •Expert Tactician: Superman has proven himself a very capable tactician in combat. •Skilled Engineer: Superman has displayed familiarity with Kryptonian technology, able to use and assemble a variety of tools to aid him. •Leadership: Superman has a natural talent in leadership. He has proven many times over his ability to command respect and inspire others with his charisma, ardor and idealism. He often serves as the primus inter pares of the Justice League. ―Lois Lane and Superman •Bilingualism: Clark Kent is fluent in several human languages, including English, Spanish, Cantonese, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese. In a televised interview with Lois Lane, Superman claimed to have learned all human languages in an attempt to learn more about and connect to his adopted world. At some point, Clark was able to learn his native language of Kryptonese. •Skilled Combatant: Despite not having any formal combat training, Superman is a formidable fighter when facing most opponents due to his tremendous strength and various powers. His combat skills are great enough to be able not only to fight on par against other very physically powerful experts, but also to defeat them single-handedly. His combat skills can even be still effectively used even when he is in a physically or mentally weakened state. •Skilled Driver: Clark Kent is capable of driving the Kent family's truck. ―Jor-El to Dru-Zod •Indomitable Will: Superman has tremendous determination and strength of will, since he refuses to ever hunker down and give up, even when placed against seemingly insurmountable odds. Having been raised by kindly Kansas farmers, he was taught to protect life and help others. Superman has learned how to place mental inhibitors on his own power so that he doesn't inadvertently cause death and destruction. To him, they are the barriers that allow him to feel human enough to live a healthy life, and he only ever releases one of them when fighting a particularly powerful opponent or performing a difficult task. •Free Will: Being a Kryptonian born of biological reproduction, Kal-El possesses a more complete and higher free will than his fellow men and even his parents, although the latter have completely broken the boundaries of their engineered DNA thinking, but they did not have enough free will as much as their son.
Weaknesses
•High-Frequencies: As Clark's hearing far more sensitive than a normal human's, higher pitch noises can disorient him and cause pain in his ears if he cannot drown them out, leaving him vulnerable in a fight. Enemies with sound-based powers can potentially be powerful enough to cause Clark's ears to bleed. ―Bruce Wayne to Alfred Pennyworth •Kryptonite: Like all Kryptonians, even while empowered, Superman is vulnerable to the effects of Kryptonite, a radioactive xenomineral created by the World Engine. It not only physically hurts him, but also weakens his resilience equal to a normal human. Likewise, injuries endured while still affected by Kryptonite will take noticeably longer to heal than normal. If exposed for too long, it will eventually kill him. However, due to a long lifetime of constant exposure to yellow solar radiation, Superman has developed a certain level of resilience to Kryptonite, able to resist larger amounts and for longer periods of time compared to most Kryptonians, including his cousin Supergirl. •Red Sun Energy: Superman derives his powers from the energy of Earth's yellow sun. If exposed to the radiation from a red star, such as Krypton's sun Rao, he would no longer be able to access his powers and would be only be as powerful as an ordinary human. However, due to his lifetime of exposure to yellow sunlight, his powers do not deplete instantly, but rather gradually declines. •Kryptonian Atmosphere: Having grown up on Earth, Superman's body rejected the Kryptonian-compatible atmosphere abord General Zod's ship, causing him to bleed and making him more susceptible to damage. •Lead: Even with his superhuman senses, Superman cannot hear or see through lead. •Solar Energy Depletion: As Superman's enhanced powers are dependent on the stored energy in his body, usage of his powers will gradually drain him, rendering depowered and as vulnerable as a normal human. While his near-constant exposure to sunlight can keep his reserves fully-charged normally, if exerting the maximum output of his powers for too long, it will instantly drain him and take at least a day to recharge. •Solar Energy Overload: If Superman absorbs too much solar energy, it will act as a poison and kill him. However, Superman's capacity to absorb and regulate the energy is so advanced compared to other Kryptonians, it is not easy to overload him. •Sound-Dampening Technology: LexCorp and A.R.G.U.S. have designed frequencies to block enhanced hearing and cause Superman slight pain when trying to use it in areas protected by the technology. •Friends and Family: Despite Superman's strength of will, it can be exploited by enemies who take advantage of his feelings of love and friendship. •Limited Resilience: Resilient as Superman is, he is not absolutely impervious. Sufficient enough force from a foe of similar strength, extreme energy attacks and other such threats can be enough prove very painful and even harmful to his body. Continued harm from such assaults can potentially kill Superman. •Magical/Divine Weapons: Weapons of magical origin, such as the Sword of Athena and the Trident of Atlan, can hurt and kill Superman. He can also be restrained by the Lasso of Hestia, and is susceptible to its truth compulsion.
Uniforms
•Superman Skinsuit: Clark Kent wears a Kryptonian skinsuit while operating as his vigilante superhero alter-ego, Superman. The suit is mostly blue, with a red cape and boots, as well as a red and yellow House of El emblem on the chest. It is crafted from a unique material hailing from the planet Krypton, and is shown to be incredibly resistant to damage and tear, being roughly just as invulnerable as Superman himself, hence only beings of tremendous power can damage it.
Other Equipment
•House of El Command Key: Clark possesses a piece of Kryptonian technology made of a crystalline solid that allows him to use the now limited functions of the abandoned Kryptonian ship found in the Arctic. Gifted to him in early adulthood by Martha Kent, the key held within it Jor-El's artificial consciousness. •Growth Codex: Kal-El's cells have been bonded to the Kryptonian Growth Codex by Jor-El, which contains the genetic makeup of over a billion Kryptonians. •Glasses: Kal-El possesses a pair of glasses in his civilian identity of the mild-mannered Clark Kent. A pair owned by Clark during his childhood were constructed from lead in order to control his X-Ray Vision. •Items in the Fortress of Solitude: Over the course of his many adventures, Clark has recovered various artifacts mainly, but not exclusively, from Krypton, which he kept stored in the Fortress of Solitude. Many of them are dangerous and he maintain them locked up inside it, while other he used for his heroic deeds to provide help to him or his allies. •Kelex: Kelex is a Kryptonian Service Android owned by Superman. He is tasked with maintaining the Fortress in Superman's absence and providing authorized visitors with information, as well as defending the Fortress from intruders. •Genesis Chamber: A Kryptonian birthing facility that contains the fetuses of Krypton's future population. The Genesis Chamber stored onboard Scout Ship 0344 is inactive, as it has not been utilized for centuries.
Vehicles
•Starship: As a baby, Kal-El was placed into a small starship equipped with a Phantom Drive, which his parents used to send him to Earth. •Scout Ship 0344: When Clark Kent was led to the Arctic by a homing beacon within the House of El Command Key, he discovered an abandoned Kryptonian Scout Ship that was frozen deep underground. Afterwards, he became aware of his origins from the stored consciousness of Jor-El. In the present day, Clark uses the ship, now dubbed the Fortress of Solitude, as his base of operations as Superman.
Family
•House of El •Jor-El † - Father and Mentor •Lara Lor-Van † - Mother •Zor-El † - Paternal Uncle •Alura In-Ze † - Paternal Aunt-by-Marriage •Kara Zor-El - Paternal Cousin •Jonathan Kent † - Adoptive Father and Mentor •Martha Kent - Adoptive Mother and Mentor
Allies
•Weisinger Primary School - Former Elementary School •Lois Hannigan - Former Teacher •Smallville High School - Former High School •Lana Lang - Former Classmate, Ex-Girlfriend and Close Friend •Pete Ross - Former Classmate, Former Bully and Friend •Kyle Cushing - Former Classmate ••Perry White - Employer •Lois Lane - Colleague and Girlfriend •Jimmy Olsen - Colleague and Close Friend •Steve Lombard - Colleague and Friend •Ron Troupe - Colleague •Cat Grant - Colleague •Jenny Jurwich - Colleague
Enemies
•Kenny Braverman - Former Classmate and Former Bully •Whitney Fordham - Former Classmate, Former Rival and Former Bully •LexCorp •Lex Luthor •Mercy Graves •Henry Miller/Atom-Man •Thaddeus Killgrave
And when I read superman comic books in the late 1950s and early 1960s he already seemed to be invincible and invulnerable, except to kryptonite and magic. For example, in Superman #187, June 1966 (published April 14) superman is flying in outer space without a space suit and uses his superbreath to blow a star at someone.
Superman CAN breathe but he does not NEED to breathe. He can eat but he does not need to east to survive. He does not need oxygen, water, food and sleep. He can and he does prefer to (like a human) but he does not need to. So yes superman can't breathe underwater or in space but he does not need to.
Oct 11, 2023 · Superman can “breathe” both in space and underwater because he doesn’t need oxygen to survive. Superman doesn’t use oxygen to breathe, so his cells are able to survive even in environments completely devoid of it. Superman’s cells are powered by solar energy, which plays the exact same role in his body as oxygen has in our body.
People also ask
Does Superman need a spacesuit?
Can Superman go to space without a suit?
Can Superman breathe in space?
Can Superman survive in space?
Can Superman fly in space?
Does Superman need oxygen?
May 26, 2021 · Yes he needs a helmet and oxygen for longer stays, but can hold it for a short time. In the comics: He doesn't even need to breathe on Earth, let alone space, since he is powered by our yellow sun. letaluss. • 3 yr. ago. Superman cannot breathe in space. But he does not need to, as he is explicitly powered by the sun. Vacation-Capable.
