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Superman’s abilities were very different in the past.

Superman's past abilities

Superman's past abilities

“You’ll believe a man can fly” was the slogan for the 1978 first Superman film. Since his debut, Superman has been challenging preconceived notions about what is possible, even for fictional creatures. The general public is fairly aware of Superman’s skills today. Even those outside of the comic book community are fairly familiar with the majority of his abilities. Even though they are so diverse and wide-ranging.

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Superman’s abilities were very different in the past.

The Man of Steel’s strength, heat vision, and flight, to mention a few, were all demonstrated in James Gunn’s Superman. But many people are unaware that Superman’s abilities were very different. From what they are now when he was first introduced. Today, we’re going to look at what his original powers were, and where they came from.

Stronger Than a Locomotive

Superman was not able to transport planets like he can now when he first appeared in Action Comics #1. As realistic as Superman might be, his first powerset was very grounded.  Since most early issues of Action Comics and Superman volume one describe his initial powers. In narration prior to the adventure commencement, figuring them out is actually very simple. 

To put it briefly, Superman was extremely quick, nearly invulnerable, extremely strong, and capable of leaping tremendous distances. Superman always had some sort of the first three powers, which sound precisely like what he has now. However, they were far weaker than the present version, therefore they are marked with asterisks.

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Superman’s abilities

Although there were suggested restrictions on Superman’s abilities, the early comics never demonstrated anything that he couldn’t lift.  He could easily take apart a building and lift automobiles, yet he has never been observed lifting a building.  His speed is similar to that of Clark, who frequently outran trains and bullets. However, long-distance travel still required quantifiable amounts of time and was not nearly as quick as it is now.

The Evolution of Superman’s Powers in Early Action Comics

Since the narrator in Action Comics #1 states that the Man of Steel could only be harmed by a shattering shell. Superman’s extremely durable skin has well defined boundaries.  This is further supported in Action Comics #8, where Superman dodges bombs dropped by the National Guard. Claims they could potentially harm or even kill him.  His enormous leaps may also be measured because he is reportedly able to jump up to an eighth of a mile.  Although you could argue that Superman’s super senses (telescopic vision and super hearing) and his ability to transform his entire body. To disguise himself as someone else were present from the beginning, these were the only abilities he had when he first arrived.

Beyond that, X-Ray vision, which made its debut in Action Comics #11, is the first significant new power that Clark exhibits. Intriguingly, his heat vision was first described as heat generated by his X-ray vision. In several of his early storylines, Superman broke the maximum leap height. Leaping up to the upper atmosphere in Action Comics #23, demonstrating how swiftly his powers expanded. Second fun fact: instead of animating his legs for the Fleischer cartoons, he switched from huge jumps to flight.

An Optimally Developed Physical Form

In Superman’s early days, not only were his skills significantly different, but so was the origin of them. Krypton was once a planet that perished from old age, inhabited by a race of humans. Who had developed into physically flawless beings.  Furthermore, Superbaby was able to apply significantly more force than anyone else when he landed on our planet since Krypton had a lot higher gravity than Earth. Given that no medication could alter his extraordinarily sophisticated bodily makeup. These two characteristics together render him virtually unkillable by most methods, including poisons. 

Even after the sun was added to give Clark his powers. The idea that Superman’s strength stems from greater gravity was maintained in the canon for many years. The argument was that Clark’s more esoteric abilities heat vision and flight came from being charged by the sun. While his physical abilities strength and invulnerability came from Krypton’s dense gravity. It’s amazing to realize how long this original narrative persisted. Even if the gravity explanation would soon fade into obscurity until the sun became the primary source of all of his powerful exploits.

Over the years, Superman’s persona and character traits have changed significantly. For us, it would be like imagine Superman without a cape if he couldn’t fly or wasn’t charged by the sun. But this was the norm in the early days of superhero comics.  Even though I’m quite pleased with the Superman we have now, it’s still entertaining to reflect on his beginnings and marvel at how far we’ve come some slowly, some rapidly. Which set of abilities would you like to see Superman possess? Tell us in the comments section below.

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