Superstrength - Strength much greater than that of a normal human, making him "more powerful than a locomotive," is one of Superman's signature powers. Depictions of the upper limit of how much weight he can lift have ranged from being able to do the work of several laborers in half the time, lift any sized vehicle over his head, bend and/or break steel with his bare hands, lifting mountains, all the way up to in the Silver Age and Modern Age moving entire planets. After being super-saturated with solar energy in All-Star Superman, his strength was tested as exceeding the force of 200 quintillion tons (or 2x10^20 tons, in scientific notation, i.e. two hundred billion billion tons).[volume & issue needed] Explanations include being adapted to the heavier gravity of Krypton, and his muscles using the power of the solar energy which fuels all his abilities. Superman's stamina has also been shown as limitless (whilst he remains in yellow sunlight).
Invulnerability - Depending on the era, Superman is as resistant to damage as steel is to far stronger and this invulnerability protects his body from almost all forms of harm, including extreme force and extremely high temperatures. Effectiveness has ranged from his skin being piercable by nothing less than a "bursting shell" to being completely unharmed at ground zero of a nuclear explosion. This ability includes the immunity to most known diseases, viruses and toxins. Explanations for this ability have included Kryptonians having an extremely dense molecular structure to each of his cells emitting an unbreakable aura of solar energy. However, in the rare instances Superman has required medical attention, this resistance to injuries has complicated necessary procedures such as surgery. For instance, when a criminal shot him with kryptonite ammunition, a surgeon was forced to give Superman a controlled exposure to the mineral in order to temporarily weaken his skin enough to make the incisions necessary to remove internal fragments of the bullet.[volume & issue needed] In some versions, this power greatly retards his aging and increases as he gets older, sometimes rendering him effectively immortal. The epilogue to the Justice Society of America storyline "Thy Kingdom Come" (a sequel of sorts to the Kingdom Come limited series) showing Superman surviving 1,000 years into the future, albeit as a very elderly, hunched-over man. Another version in DC One Million lives through the 853rd Century, some 83,200 years from now.
Flight - The ability to naturally defy and operate independently of gravity and propel himself through the air at will. Originally, he only had the power to jump great distances, as stated by the 1940s Superman cartoons ("Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound"). Has ranged from simply being able to jump great distances using his vast strength, to beginning in late 1941 being able to accelerate, float in midair, change direction while traveling. Later he became able to traverse interstellar distances without stopping.
Superspeed - Another one of Superman's signature abilities is his superspeed, allowing him to run and fly extraodinarily fast. Originally classified as being "faster than a speeding bullet", Superman's running speed has oftentimes been shown to be on par with that of The Flash's, though he usually combine the ability with his flight to achieve maximum velocities bordering the speed of light.
X-Ray Vision - Superman's vast senses grant him the ability to see through solid objects, usually with the exception of lead. Early stories assumed that hiding objects in lead would somehow mean that it would be invisible to him. However, more modern stories have Superman being able to take advantage of lead's opaqueness to do a wide scan of an area with his X-Ray vision in which the lead objects become immediately visible and then narrow his search to those specific locations.[1] Explanations for how this power works vary, but rarely include the emission and perception of actual X-Rays, as such high-energy radiation would actually be dangerous to living things he uses it on. A more common theory involves being able to see and concentrate on the patterns of natural cosmic radiation as it reverberates off objects. X-Ray vision was first used by Superman in Action Comics #11 (April 1939), where it was called "Superman's X-ray eyesight."
Heat Vision - Ability to emit heat/solar energy from his eyes. Usually resembles bright red or orange laser-like beams, which may be invisible at low temperatures but extremely bright at high ones. Superman has been shown to be able use Heat Vision with surgical precision and at microscopic levels. Since the power can be used invisibly, Superman often takes advantage of that to perform tasks subtly without needing to get into costume. In some stories, it can be reflected like a true laser, which Superman may use to shave his otherwise very durable whiskers. Sometimes shown to be one of his more physically draining powers to use as it uses such concentrated solar energy. In the Pre-Crisis stories, Clark wears glasses with lenses made of Kryptonian glass (initially cannibalized from his rocket ship's transparency dome) so he can fire his heat vision through them without damaging them. In the stories from the 1986 relaunch onward had Clark wearing regular glasses and then with the revision in Superman: Secret Origin, he wears glasses with Kryptonian glass that are intended to contain unwanted firings; in this situation, Clark is forced to momentarily lift them out of his eyes' firing arc to use his heat vision effectively.
Superbreath - Ability to inhale and exhale huge volumes of air with great force, capable of extinguishing large fires and moving heavy objects such as cars. Also allows Superman to hold his breath for extended periods in airless environments. The release (exhalation) of highly compressed air through a valve (such as pursed lips) causes it to drop radically in temperature. This is known as the Joule-Thomson effect, and when Superman does this, it is usually referred to as Freeze Breath, and can cool objects to sub-zero temperatures and freeze air moisture solid.[2]
Superhearing - Can hear far more sounds with far more detail at far greater distances than normally humanly possible, including sounds on frequencies undetectable by humans such as dog whistles. Superman is able to mentally screen out most of these sounds to be able to function normally, even in a noisy environment, and can focus in on specific things, like a person's voice or heartbeat, even if they are in another part of the city. He can even hear sounds on other planets. Like humans and most animals, he is skilled at automatically noticing his own name out of the jumble of several overheard conversations, making him adept at quickly responding to calls of distress all over the city.
Supervision - His senses grant him the ability to see farther and with greater accuracy and detail than humanly possible. Sometimes includes the ability to see EM frequencies invisible to humans, such as radio transmissions, infrared light and in some stories, the bioelectric aura which surrounds all living things. Offshoots of this power include Telescopic Vision, which allows him to "zoom in" on far away objects, sometimes hundreds of miles away, and Microscopic Vision, which allows him to zoom in on objects that would normally be too small to see, like those on a cellular or molecular level.
Superolfaction - A heightened and highly accurate sense of smell comparable to some animals such as dogs. Can be used to detect things like the chemicals in a bomb hidden somewhere in a crowded room.
Eidetic Memory - Superman is occasionally shown to have flawless, total recall of everything he has ever seen, read or heard. In turn, he is often depicted as being fluent in many of Earth's languages and cultures.
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