# How does Superman fly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 20, 2001, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-superman-fly/58753 "2001-03-20T18:45:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-superman-fly/58753/21 "2001-03-21T14:37:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by enolancooper \* > \*\*Superman has the capability of generating an anti-gravity field around him, allowing him to propel himself as he wishes. > Also, he can negate his mass, allowing him to achieve the speed of light. > > He’s a fictional character…I can endow him with whatever powers and abilities I (and whoever else) chooses 🙂 \*\* You can? Cool! I’m gonna give the SAME powers and abilities to **Jean Valjean!** Fuck that **Inspector Javert.** ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-superman-fly/58753/22 "2001-03-21T14:46:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tengu \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Max Torque \* > > \*\*What you should ask is: Is it necessary for Supes to fly in that prone, arms-in-front position, or does he do that because he’d look goofy flying in a sitting position? > > > > (can’t remember who first said the above…Dave Barry?)\*\* > > Dunno who said it, but, actually, based on recent (Cartoon - I haven’t bought a comic book in 2 years…) glimpses of the Future Superman, no, he doesn’t need to fly like that. Future Superman flies in an upright posture. This is at once less aerodynamic looking (doesn’t seem to effect him) and more menacing, so I can see why Present Superman doesn’t do it. But, DAMN, it looks cool for Future Superman. > > \*\* Was that ‘Batman Beyond: The Call’? I noticed that myself, but I THINK (I only saw the episode once so I’m not totally sure) that Superman only flew like that after the alien being that was controlling him let itself be known. Maybe it just felt more natural that way to an aquatic creature. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-superman-fly/58753/23 "2001-03-21T16:11:05Z")
I actually answer this question in my book **Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon**. I kid you not. This is not just a cheap plug (well, it is a cheap plug, but not JUST. Go to [http://www.MedusaMystery.com](http://www.MedusaMystery.com) ). I swear and absolutely for real, I cover this in Chapter 1 as an example of a “modern myth”. It’s got footnotes and everything. In essence, what people say above is true – Superman used to just be a really good jumper, like the characters in sf he was inspired by (especially in Philip Wylie’s novel “Gladiator”), or like The Incredible Hulk. What changed this was the line of Superman cartoons that the Fleischer studios started making. If you look at the very first one, Superman only jumps – he doesn’t really fly. Either it was decided that this looked stupid, or the dramatic possibilities of actual flight manifested themselves, but in subsequent cartoons Supes started to fly. As these cartoons were in production (but before their release) they subtly started changing things in the comics. Superman started hovering in the middle of his jumps, then changing direction, then flying. I use all of this as an example of how the Medium itself helps shape the story (the Medium is NOT the Message – I don’t care what MacLuhan said – but it certainly SHAPES the message. Myths change when you go from one medium to another). ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-superman-fly/58753/24 "2001-03-21T19:21:16Z")
We need to step back and understand that if the comic’s explanation cannot fully detail the physics of Superman’s flying, that is okay considering that we can’t fully explain how airplanes fly. I think we should consider the complicated his sun/our sun issue as needing further research. Superman can fly. How he does this needs to be researched. ---
**Author:** ![robgruver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@robgruver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robgruver)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-superman-fly/58753/25 "2001-03-21T23:53:29Z")
IIRC, Superman has a “sheild” of energy around him that comes from the Yellow Sun (this is why his cape and tights can get torn up and he can’t). This shield enables him control over himself so that he can fly. It is also this shield which allows him to lift battleships without them falling apart due to their own weight. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2001, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-superman-fly/58753/26 "2001-03-22T01:56:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > \*\*Was that ‘Batman Beyond: The Call’? I noticed that myself, but I THINK (I only saw the episode once so I’m not totally sure) that Superman only flew like that after the alien being that was controlling him let itself be known. Maybe it just felt more natural that way to an aquatic creature. \*\* I’m pretty sure he does it regardless of his Starro Status. Not that it changes the fact that he CAN do it without ruining his aerodynamic profile or anything of the sort. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2001, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-superman-fly/58753/27 "2001-03-22T06:32:15Z")
…but Ike, that was the best thing I’ve read in _weeks_! Thank you! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2001, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-superman-fly/58753/28 "2001-03-22T14:26:38Z")
I believe the term “Up, up, and away” is the missing element in the previous explanations. ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2001, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-superman-fly/58753/29 "2001-03-22T19:47:09Z")
My favorite Muhammed Ali story is this one. The champ was on an airplane and the stewardess told him to buckle his seatbelt. Ali said, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.” The quick-thinking stew replied, “Superman don’t need no airplane, either.” ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2001, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-superman-fly/58753/30 "2001-03-22T23:22:22Z")
It’s Bernoulli’s Principle in action. Look at Superman from the side when he’s flying - the bottom side of his body makes a straight line, while the top side has a “hump” at his shoulders, then makes a line with a downward angle to his feet. He looks like … an airplane wing! When you look at it that way it is really simple. Starting off, he pushes off the ground very hard, starting airflow over his body. The shape of his body causes air to flow faster over the top part, causing lower air pressure there. The lower air pressure causes lift. His hands and feet act as rudders, diverting airflow to change course. Sua ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2001, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-superman-fly/58753/31 "2001-03-23T01:13:18Z")
Oh, come on. Everyone knows that Superman’s flight is a result of Newtonian reaction with the air, and not Bernoulli’s principle. (-: Sorry, couldn’t resist. Forget Superman. All bets are off when you’re ‘Super’. What I want to know is, how the hell could the Six Million Dollar Man jump off a six story building? Sure, he had bionic legs, but they’d just go through his bony spine on impact. And how come that damned eye could zoom so far? That little iris of his could never resolve that distance, and the light-gathering ability of it would make everything really dim if he zoomed out. And anyway, when he zoomed out that far the natural tremors in his body from pulse and whatnot would make everything impossible to view. Have you ever tried to hold a telescope on a subject while holding it up to your eye? And how did he shed the heat he’d have to generate running 60 mph for long stretches? These are all very important questions. The reputation of the Bionic Woman is resting on them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-superman-fly/58753.md?page=1)