# How many ways are there for superheroes to fly?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 4, 2005, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573 "2005-11-04T23:28:09Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2005, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/1 "2005-11-04T23:28:09Z")
Last night as I was going to sleep, maybe because I’ve been watching Smallville, I started to wonder about the various ways people fly in comics.
Also, what are the lamest ways in which people fly?
If two or more heroes/villains use the exact same method to fly, I suppose there’s no need to list them. For instance, the Legion of Super Heroes all had flight rings, which I thought was lame.
Anyway, what have we got? Perhaps it’d help if we group them in general categories, for instance:
**Winged flight:**
**Angel** had wings. Seems reasonable.
**The Wasp** shrunk herself and grew wings, but different than Angel.
**Submariner** had little wings on his ankles which flapped _really, really_ fast. Lame.
**Cosmic powered flight:**
**Jean Grey** had telekinesis, which really isn’t flying, but later her telekinesis was boosted by the Phoenix Force, which I believe is a cosmic power. However, cosmic power can provide flight various ways, right? For instance, we’ve got the heralds of Galactus:
**Silver Surfer** had his surfboard.
**Gabriel** walked on air.
**Firelord** apparently just hung onto his little stick thing.
**Terrax** would levitate and fly around on a chuck of earth.
**Nova** presumably created thrust via her cosmic enhanced flame power.
**Starhawk** I think is kind of a generalized “if you have cosmic power you can fly” although his style was to extrude some solar wings or something.
**Captain Marvel** flew via cosmic powered Nega-Bands.
**Adam Warlock** had generalized “cosmic flight,” or was it via his Soul Gem?
**Control of elements/natural forces:**
**Storm** flew on a gust of wind. Kinda lame.
**Texas Twister** I think his name was, could fly on a tornado he somehow created beneath himself.
**Magneto** levitated by manipulating Earth’s magnetic field. Did he ever perfect this technique into actually flying?
**Wonder Woman** was _soooo_ skilled she could float on air.
**The Vision** became partially immaterial, shunting most of his weight and mass someplace and floated on air, so I’ll put him here, although how he managed to control where he flew I don’t know.
**Graviton** manipulated gravity.
Wasn’t there another incarnation of **Captain Marvel** who turned herself into light or something? Lame.
**Firebird** uses heat generated convection currents.
**Telekinesis:**
**Superman** flies via telekinesis of some sort, doesn’t he?
**Magic:**
**Dr. Strange** had his Cloak of Levitation.
**Thor** would throw his magic hammer and basically just hang on. Kinda lame, but it’s magic, what are you gonna do?
**Dracula** flew didn’t he? I presume magically. Or did he have to transform into a bat, in which case he should be under “wings.”
**Captain Britain** had a magic uniform.
\*\*Technology: \*\*(I won’t include things that are more or less flying vehicles)
**Nighthawk** had a jet-pack hidden under his wings.
**Iron Man** had boot jets.
**Wonder Man** had a jet-belt.
**Mr. Miracle** had little flight discs on his feet, which I always thought were cool.
**Guardian** used an exoskeleton that could tap the Earth’s electromagnetic field to both fly and cancel his movement relative to the Earth’s rotation, making him appear to teleport.
**Generalized independent flight, difficult to categorize:**
**Rogue** inherited Ms. Marvel’s flight powers, but I don’t really know how they worked. Ms. Marvel’s powers mimicked Captain Marvel’s, but he got his from those bands on his wrists, which were cosmic in nature, I think.
**Banshee** somehow used his sonic scream to fly. How did that work?
**Yellowjacket** used to fly didn’t he? But how?
**Human Torch** , like Nova used his flames to provide thrust I guess, but I don’t recall seeing any flame thrust when he was hovering. How’d he do that?
**The Flash** vibrated his legs really fast or something.
**Green Lantern**. Would that be a cosmic power?
**Aurora**. Independent flight? Whatever that means.
**Darkstar** flies by opening a dimensional portal with an attractive force that balances out Earth’s gravity.
**Dawnstar** had wings, but could fly FTL through space, so was that a cosmic power?
**Captain Marvel** , the original DC version (Shazam!) could fly couldn’t he? Did they say how?
Any major categories I’m missing?
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### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/2 "2005-11-04T23:30:46Z")
**Powdered Toast Man** - expulsion of breadcrumbs 😛
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### Author:  [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2005, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/3 "2005-11-04T23:38:16Z")
Wonder Woman also had an invisible jet aeroplane, IIRC.
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### Author:  [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/4 "2005-11-04T23:42:47Z")
**Jumping A Long Way** seems to be practically akin to flying for The Hulk, given that he seems to possess the ability to change course in mid-air.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/5 "2005-11-04T23:59:04Z")
Superman started out jumping long leaps, before they decided that looked silly, so had him fly. It’s telekenesis now, but orginally, he just flew. Green Lantern used telekenesis – he willed himself into the air.
**Hawkman** – antigravity metal kept him aloft; the wings let him choose direction.
The one and only **Captain Marvel** (the Big Red Cheese and family) – from the power of Mercury in “SHAZAM,” who could fly.
**Starman** – His gravity rod (later “cosmic rod”) gave him the power of flight.
**Human Torch** (the one who wasn’t human): fire is lighter than air.
**The Blimp** (from the Inferior Five): Evidently, filled himself with helium.
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### Author:  [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/6 "2005-11-04T23:59:28Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#):
>
> **Jumping A Long Way** seems to be practically akin to flying for The Hulk, given that he seems to possess the ability to change course in mid-air.
I was wondering whether I should create a category for pseudo flying. **Iceman** can get around on an ice sled, but then I’d probably have to include **Spider Man** and **Daredevil** for swinging building to building. Although **The Hulk** is definitely in a different league as far as how far he can travel in one jump.
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### Author:  [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2005, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/7 "2005-11-05T00:00:45Z")
Magneto could fly because he had a metallic costume. Since he’s the mutant master of magnetism all he has to do is levitate his metal costume to fly. He also had a metallized cape that he could use for various tricks…I remember one time where he was grabbed by some brick…he broke the hold by expanding his metallic cape.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2005, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/8 "2005-11-05T00:01:43Z")
Six: Forward, backward, up, down, right, and left.
😃
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### Author:  [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/9 "2005-11-05T00:16:03Z")
> [@levdrakon](#):
>
> **Thor** would throw his magic hammer and basically just hang on. Kinda lame, but it’s magic, what are you gonna do?
Hey, I always thought that was the coolest way to fly!
**Kitty Pryde** : Not necessarilly flew, but could use her phasing ability to walk on molecules of air (which also conveniently explained why she never fell through the floor while phased.)
And for the truly most bizarre way to fly, and possibly the lamest, there’s [this guy](http://toonopedia.com/fatman.htm).
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### Author:  [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/10 "2005-11-05T00:21:18Z")
> [@levdrakon](#):
>
> Wonder Woman was soooo skilled she could float on air.
That’s old school. Retconned she has actual flight.
> [@levdrakon](#):
>
> Wasn’t there another incarnation of Captain Marvel who turned herself into light or something? Lame.
Being able to transform into any frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum, thus being able to travel at the speed of light, is lame? I’d take it.
> [@Dr. Rieux](#):
>
> Six: Forward, backward, up, down, right, and left.
How about diagonal?
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### Author:  [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2005, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/11 "2005-11-05T00:29:30Z")
> [@Art Vandelay](#):
>
> And for the truly most bizarre way to fly, and possibly the lamest, there’s [this guy](http://toonopedia.com/fatman.htm).
Heh. I’m going to disqualify him on the grounds that he _is_ a flying vehicle.
> [@Otto](#):
>
> Being able to transform into any frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum, thus being able to travel at the speed of light, is lame? I’d take it.
It just looked too silly, seeing a thought balloon coming out of a lightning bolt. It wasn’t so bad when she was a hologram.
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### Author:  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2005, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/12 "2005-11-05T01:36:30Z")
There was some character in the DCU about ten years ago who could levitate big chunks of rock and stand on them. Maybe her name was Terra? She was with one of the various incarnations of the Teen Titans, IIRC.
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### Author:  [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/13 "2005-11-05T01:42:39Z")
> [@Lemur866](#):
>
> Magneto could fly because he had a metallic costume. Since he’s the mutant master of magnetism all he has to do is levitate his metal costume to fly. He also had a metallized cape that he could use for various tricks…I remember one time where he was grabbed by some brick…he broke the hold by expanding his metallic cape.
What about the iron in human blood? I seem to remember reading that he’s gotten to the point now where he can even affect that.
And Wonder Woman (and Flash) being able to fly just seems so lame to me. Not sure why.
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### Author:  [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2005, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/14 "2005-11-05T02:33:05Z")
> [@Aesiron](#):
>
> And Wonder Woman (and Flash) being able to fly just seems so lame to me. Not sure why.
I’d like to know how they’re explaining Wonder Woman’s flight ability now.
> [@RealityChuck](#):
>
> Superman started out jumping long leaps, before they decided that looked silly, so had him fly. It’s telekenesis now, but orginally, he just flew. Green Lantern used telekenesis – he willed himself into the air.
>
> Hawkman – antigravity metal kept him aloft; the wings let him choose direction.
> The one and only Captain Marvel (the Big Red Cheese and family) – from the power of Mercury in “SHAZAM,” who could fly.
> Starman – His gravity rod (later “cosmic rod”) gave him the power of flight.
> Human Torch (the one who wasn’t human): fire is lighter than air.
> The Blimp (from the Inferior Five): Evidently, filled himself with helium.
Does Green Lantern’s telekinesis come from the ring, or is it separate?
Hawkman goes under technology then.
Starman’s cosmic rod is good, although it’s kinda close to Firelord, in a way.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/15 "2005-11-05T02:43:32Z")
> [@levdrakon](#):
>
> Does Green Lantern’s telekinesis come from the ring, or is it separate?
Combination: he wills himself to fly, and the ring does what he wants.
> [@](#):
>
> Starman’s cosmic rod is good, although it’s kinda close to Firelord, in a way.
Starman was flying years before Firelord even existed.
Let’s see:
**Dr. Fate** – magic
**Atom** – made his weight next to nothing and was able to ride air currents like a leaf.
**Spectre** – He could do _anything_; ultimately the most powerful superhero ever. Flying was sort of magically based: he was a ghost.
**Air Wave** – sort of flew by going along high tension wires. His sidekick, Static, could fly, but he cheated: he was a parrot.
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### Author:  [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2005, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/16 "2005-11-05T02:44:16Z")
This is not a comic book character but I remember [this show](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094516/) from when I was a kid. He could only float and had to propel himself with aerosol cans.
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### Author:  [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2005, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/17 "2005-11-05T02:58:57Z")
> [@Art Vandelay](#):
>
> **Kitty Pryde** : Not necessarilly flew, but could use her phasing ability to walk on molecules of air (which also conveniently explained why she never fell through the floor while phased.)
I always wondered why gravity didn’t suck phasers straight to the center of the Earth. Cool!
**ultrafilter** , don’t know about the comic book Terras, but animated Terra could fly on rocks. Mr. Terrific apparently can float on his T-Spheres. Everyone in the Legion of Superheroes can fly using their Legion rings.
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2005, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/18 "2005-11-05T03:00:06Z")
> [@levdrakon](#):
>
> **Aurora**. Independent flight? Whatever that means.
The original explanation (as if that meant squat nowadays) was that Aurora and her twin brother Northstar could steal the kinetic energy of the atoms that made up their own bodies and convert them to overall kinetic energy, kind of a nano-to-macro conversion. This had the side benefit of “toughening” their bodies, allowing them to survive movement at trans-sonic speeds.
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### Author:  [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/19 "2005-11-05T03:14:48Z")
Like old school Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman (in Post-Crisis continuity) is given the power of flight by the god Hermes (Mercury), the winged messenger of the Gods.
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### Author:  [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2005, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ways-are-there-for-superheroes-to-fly/329573/20 "2005-11-05T03:20:58Z")
Hermes flies via his winged sandals, though. It’s not an inherent ability.
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