40 Things You Don't Know About Superman

[Michael]

The 40 Things

Thing #1: He started as a bald villain...

[knotodiswrld]

Is this supposed to be stuff we make up, or stuff from the actual story lines of the character and history of the character.

The link at the top is broken.

I'm going to assume this should be stuff that is true about the character:

#2. Originally, Superman could not fly. He could only leap great heights. Thus the phrase, "Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound."

#3. Ever notice how when Superman lifts, say ... a cargo ship or a Boeing 747, that the weight of the ship or plane doesn't cause the hull to rupture around his hands? The official DC Comics explanation is that Superman actually possesses a form of touch-telekineses. (I know, an oxymoron, but bear with me.) Essentially, when he's touching something trying to hold it up, without even being consciously aware of it, he emits a field which envelops the entire object he's lifting which both helps him to lift it and keeps the structure from collapsing.

#4. The field mentioned in #3 contributes to his invulnerability as well.

#5. He is essentially solar-powered. Too much time away from sunlight (or the light of a yellow star) and his powers will run down. Other forms of radiant energy, however, can also provide power. If you get in a fight with him in space, try to stay in the shadow of a planet or asteroid. When he's exposed to direct sunlight in space, he gets even more powerful.

[executioner]

Superman always sucked in my book; lets get a real superhero like Batman!!!!

[Shell]

Oh, no, not another Superman/Batman debate. This tread is pretty old; Michael hasn't posted here for quite awhile.

[knotodiswrld]

Superman always sucked in my book; lets get a real superhero like Batman!!!!

I always preferred Batman as well. Brains have always impressed me more than brawn. Batman is much smarter than Superman, and the big bat obtained his skills and abilities through discipline, hard work, and dedication.

The big blue scout just had his powers handed to him by the accident of where he was born.

But Superman was a nice character to have around. He is never truly evil, even when he's on the wrong side of an issue. He makes a great foil for the Batman in stories where they are at cross purposes. It's a perfect "brains vs. brawn" kind of conflict.

A prefect example is Frank Miller's graphic novel "The Dark Knight Returns" (circa 1985 ... I think). Aside from being the greatest graphic novel ever published, it features a showdown at the end between Batman and Superman that is absolutely epic. I won't tell you who wins because I don't want to spoil it in case you ever read it.

[executioner]

I thought another Superman movie was in the works, but I haven't heard anything on it in a while. I know there will be another Batman it is being written right now.


On another note the Expendables looks like it is going to be a hoot; It might be somewhat lame but having everyone in it that is in it makes up for it.

[Shell]

I am a Batman fan as well, although I like Superman also. I love Frank Miller's books. His take on an older Batman is really interesting.

[separateunion]

Batman trumps Superman purely because he is more human. The problem with many of the DC characters has always been that there was nothing human about them with which the reader could emphasize. Superman is a boyscout with a very black and white view of morality and is never really faced with morally ambiguous situations. Batman doesn't have super powers and has to deal with his dark side while also dealing with the crime the runs rampant in his city. It's much more interesting reading from a character standpoint.

[rexreed]

Batman is a psycopath. Superman may not be human but he was always in far better health mentally than Batman.

[Shell]

Bats' parents were killed in front of him when he was a kid, that's enough to screw anyone up. That's the foundation of his personality. It's his dark side that makes him so interesting. Not that I don't like Supes, but as was pointed out, things are more black and white with him, there's no gray area, no struggle.

[brent]

Batman broke every toilet and urinal he ever used. He raised quite a stink.

[knotodiswrld]

Batman is a psycopath. Superman may not be human but he was always in far better health mentally than Batman.

To be a "psychopath" one must:

1. Display a lack of empathy toward others.
2. Display strongly amoral behavior.

I don't see that in Batman. His war on crime proceeds from the pain of his parent's death and his desire to prevent others from suffering the pain he has suffered all his life. That is empathy.

Even toward the criminals themselves ... the run-of-the-mill street thugs anyway ... he also feels empathy. He never kills, and even when he beats the stuffing out of them, he has more than once expressed the desire that this would scare them into abandoning their life of crime so they can have descent lives.

As for amoral behavior ... he never kills and has a very strong, if somewhat eccentric, code of honor and morality. I remember one very humorous exchange many years ago when he told the Huntress that he was waiting for "an associate" (i.e. Alfred) to bring him a vehicle. Of course, the Huntress assumed it was going to be Robin. But Batman replied, "I have more than one partner. And Robin doesn't have a driver's license yet."

"Oh sure," she replied. "That little technicality you won't violate!"

Even his enemies recognize his moral code. As the Joker said back when he was Iran's ambassador to the U.N. (in "Death In The Family") "The self-righteous boob insists on solid evidence before going nova!"

So, it may not be your moral code, but it is a moral code.

Superman, on the other hand, is an alien. How do we know that he is mentally health. What constitutes "mental health" for someone from his world? For all we know, by Kryptonian standards he may be bat guano insane.

I do find Supes to be fairly arrogant, especially in his dealings with younger, less experienced or less powerful metahumans. Of course, Batman doesn't let him get away with that kind of nonsense, but most others are too starstruck and or frightened by him to say anything. He behaves like the de-facto leader of the JLA even when it isn't his turn to be chairman (though he would deny it and even though Batman has proven to be far more intelligent and the better strategic thinker.)

I'm not saying he's evil, but really what temptation does he face? Most crime proceeds from fear or greed ... and even greed is a form of fear, fear that you won't have enough or that you need more. Superman is free from that. Sure, he LIKES to eat, but he doesn't have to. He can live on sunlight for years if he has too. When he does need to ingest organic material, he could snatch wild game out of trees or off the forest floor and eat it raw. His immune system would protect him. He never has to worry about needing shelter, or needing transportation. Really, everything he has ... home, food, car, etc. is a luxury and mostly used to maintain his Clark Kent persona. If he had to, he could live in that North Pole palace he keeps.

I'm just saying the only real temptation he faces is power. But even if he tried to take over the world, as he expressed in a DC Novel, someone would eventually stop him. If the other JLA members appointed Batman their leader, their combined force could stop him. You see, Batman would realize that the Green Lantern's power ring could learn to synthesize Kryptonite radiation if it had a sample to work with. And at various times, Batman has kept samples of the stuff ... you know ... just in case.

Superman knows he is vulnerable to this temptation. That is why in "Dark Knight Over Metropolis", Superman gave Batman a Kryptonite ring (in lead case) created by Luther saying, "I want the power to stop me to be in the hands of a man I trust with my life."

So, even Superman knows that Batman has a moral code that he will not violate. It's a weird moral code, but it's there.

[knotodiswrld]

Let's get this back on track.

#6. Clark Kent's middle name is Joseph.

[Enosh]

Ok as one of the biggest superman fans on the planet... I'm tatooed and my sons middle name is jorel... I a lot to say about this subject and I know much more about then posted here or than most.

I am posting from my phone so I will get into more detail later but....

Anyone who says superman is not a challenged character doesn't get him at all and more than likely is basing their opinion upon the 1950s all powerful and even the 1970s turning back time versions. Their is so much depth to this man that is never explored in comics movies and television. And cartoons don't do him justice at all. Superman is the only character I know where the secret identity is not the disguise. The hero is. He is clark. Most don't pay much attention to that. Some writers don't understand how to write for him.

There is a new movie in planning right now with the script being written by the team that did the dark knight and batman begins. It will also be produced by christopher nolan.

[knotodiswrld]

Ok as one of the biggest superman fans on the planet... I'm tatooed and my sons middle name is jorel... I a lot to say about this subject and I know much more about then posted here or than most.

Yes, that does in fact qualify you as one of the biggest Kal-el fans on the planet. It's okay. I understand. That's how I used to be about Batman.

For almost a whole day, I once had a pet bat I named "Bruce". Okay, he wasn't really a "pet". He just decided to roost about 1 foot to the left and above my back door for a day.

Anyone who says superman is not a challenged character doesn't get him at all and more than likely is basing their opinion upon the 1950s all powerful and even the 1970s turning back time versions.

Well, those versions are a big part of why some people just plain don't like Superman. But it's not so much that we claim he's not a challenged character. We just have a hard time identifying with his challenges.

I mean, I know it's gotta be tough having your home planet destroyed when you're just a baby, but frankly its a little hard to relate to.

And then, as you grow older and become the single most powerful organic being on your adopted planet, you would certainly feel a great sense of responsibility. Dealing with that responsibility and deciding what to do with your incredible powers would be a real challenge. Again, it's a little hard to relate.

And everyone has enemies, so we can kind of understand that struggle. Of course, my enemies aren't hyper-powerful aliens who want to conquer the galaxy. Sorry.

There is so much depth to this man that is never explored in comics movies and television.

So, where is this depth explored? I mean, I always figured the comics were "cannon". If the depth isn't in the comic books, how are you sure it's there? I would agree that there is potential depth, but until those responsible for the cannon (i.e. comic book writers) start writing for it, it isn't realized.

Superman is the only character I know where the secret identity is not the disguise. The hero is. He is clark. Most don't pay much attention to that.

I agree that with Superman, "Clark" is who he really is, and "Superman" is the disguise. But I wouldn't say he's the only character like that. Certainly with Peter Parker/Spider Man, Pete is the reality and Spidey the disguise. Within the DC universe, I would say that Green Lantern Kyle Rainer is "really" Kyle, and not entirely comfortable being a GL. Of course, exactly the opposite was true with GL Hal Jordan.

And while I agree that this requires a different approach for writing, I would have to say that characters in which the hero has obscured the identity are just as interesting to explore. Batman is certainly one of those characters.

I remember an incident wherein the Joker heard one of the other inmates of Arkham say of Batman, "Just once, I'd like to see his real face." To which the Joker replied, "That is his real face".

There is a new movie in planning right now with the script being written by the team that did the dark knight and batman begins.

I hope it's better than "Superman Returns". I felt like that movie just botched Superman's character entirely.


So, Enosh, surely you can add more to this list of things we don't know about Superman?