# I don't accept a flying Superman **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 4, 2002, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327 "2002-07-04T06:11:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/21 "2002-07-05T05:20:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lizard \* > \*\* > > [cough] KGBeast [/cough] > \*\* I’m afraid they’ve watered down the KGBeast to the point where he’s little more the muscle for other criminals. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Koffing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@Koffing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koffing)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/22 "2002-07-05T07:16:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WSLer \* > \*\* > > What, if Batman is able to nullify their powers that is somehow cheating? > > Oh, please.\*\* Not at all. Batman is badass. I’m not denying that. What I’m saying is that he’s not going to win _every_ fight against everybody all the time. Yes, he’s a badass, but he’s not invincible. > [@](#): > > \*\* > It’s called out thinking your opponent, something Batman is the absolute best at. > \*\* Damn right. With sufficient planning, Batman whups up on damned near anyone, and he knows how to pick his fights. If he gets caught out there (and, yes, he can be surprised, but it’s very difficult), then Batman can have a rough time of it. It doesn’t look like we’re disagreeing yet. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Oh, yeah, Ra’s A Guhl was able to neutrilize the JLA by using various devices that Batman had devised for just that purpose. > \*\* And that was a great storyline. “Tower of Babel”, wasn’t it? Ra’s al Ghul is a really impressive villain, even all the way in the 30th century. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Oh yeah, I **DON’T** do drive thru. > > Nice try, and thanks for playing. > > Don’t go away mad, just go away. \*\* Then don’t drive through. It’s just an expression. In any case, I think I’ll stick around for a while, in spite of your earnest plea… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/23 "2002-07-05T08:15:23Z")
Um, **Koffing** , I think you’re going by a slightly revisionist history here. You wrote: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Koffing \* > \*\* > Without powers, there aren’t many people Batman can’t beat. They usually do have their powers, though, and that mean’s that Batman’s ass is kicked. > > Thank you, drive through. \*\* And **WSLer** replied, to paraphrase, that even with their powers, Batman’s ass is not, in fact, kicked. In fact, his ass is generally in a higher state of non-kickedness than, in addition to his other opponents, other members of the JLA. Therefore, it seems rather difficult to see where you two are _not_ disagreeing, based on your original post, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/24 "2002-07-05T13:02:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tengu \* > \*\* > > OK, is this before or after they used it as the explaination of Superboy’s powers, and if after, did they keep it for him, or screw around, making it possible for him to be Supes’ clone again… > > (FTR: Much prefered SB as NOT SM’s clone.) \*\* They haven’t actually officially changed anything. What they’ve done is completely ignore it, to the point that Superman’s cape doesn’t keep getting shredded 'cause it’s outside his “psychic” field. I think the last time Superman’s cape got shredded was during the Death of Superman thing, so I’d guess it’d be “after”. I think it’s somewhat telling of Byrne’s level of intellect that he thought “psychic” was a “rational” explaination for Superman’s powers. :rolleyes: Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/25 "2002-07-05T14:43:31Z")
Wait? Superboy is Superman’s clone? I thought they explained that Kryptonian is outside of what Cadmus can duplicate, so they just whipped together the closest genetically-altered clone (altered so he resembled Clark Kent and had Superman-like powers) they could make. The genetic parent was Cadmus’ less than utterly moral director. Has that been changed? I’ve been away from comics for awhile. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/26 "2002-07-05T16:34:19Z")
Menocchio’s right. Superboy is a clone of Paul Westfield, one-time head of Cadmus. They just jerry-rigged him into a superman copy. Supe’s cape has been shredded many times since the Death of Superman. Personally I don’t mind Byrne’s ideas, (Superman powers aren’t exactly “psychic,” just telekinetically controlled) though I don’t really care for his art. But I like his version of Krypton and the fact that a red sun doesn’t instantaneously depower Clark. It just doesn’t keep him charged up. Also, Krypton doesn’t have a heavier gravity anymore. Clark’s powers are strictly solar based. If the gravity was heavier Jack Knight would have commented on it when he visited Krypton, or Lois for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/27 "2002-07-05T18:26:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jinwicked \* > \*\*Eh… Batman could kick his butt anyway. \*\* You’re right. You know, I always thought Batman and Daredevil would be an interesting battle. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2002, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/28 "2002-07-06T03:55:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Menocchio \* > \*\*Wait? > > Superboy is Superman’s clone? > > I thought they explained that Kryptonian is outside of what Cadmus can duplicate, so they just whipped together the closest genetically-altered clone (altered so he resembled Clark Kent and had Superman-like powers) they could make. The genetic parent was Cadmus’ less than utterly moral director. > > Has that been changed? I’ve been away from comics for awhile. \*\* I was asking if they’d changed it, not suggesting they did. When SB was intro’d, the story was he was SM’s clone. That was eventually debunked (either near the end of Reign of the Supermen, or the begining of the Superboy series), and his powers were revealed to be the result of ‘Tactile Telekenesis’ - essentially the powers Superman’s described as having above. He used them much more creatively than SM ever used it when that was the explaination (when he inevetably met the Legion, he snared B5 in a cable from a computer from across the room). ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/29 "2002-07-06T08:05:29Z")
And where’s the bullet holes all over the Smallville home of young Superman? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/30 "2002-07-06T10:03:12Z")
> [@](#): > > I think it’s somewhat telling of Byrne’s level of intellect that he thought “psychic” was a “rational” explaination for Superman’s powers. YOU try coming up with a “rational” way to explain how the guy can bore his way through planets and shoot lasers out of his eyes. At least they didn’t take the Star Trek route and explain how his powers are a result in a shift in his temporal quantum flux field. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/31 "2002-07-06T12:26:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > \*\* > YOU try coming up with a “rational” way to explain how the guy can bore his way through planets and shoot lasers out of his eyes. At least they didn’t take the Star Trek route and explain how his powers are a result in a shift in his temporal quantum flux field. \*\* “Yellow sun” and “lighter gravity” Beyond that, it’s a comic book. I don’t need “rational” explanations. He does what he does 'cause the writers say so. Spider-man sticks to walls _even through his clothing_ because he was bitten by a radioactive spider and it lets him. How? Who cares? He couldn’t in the real world and going further than that is just an excuse for technobabble. And if we MUST have “rational” explainations, at least give me one that’s “rational” dammit (Larry Niven(?) speculated somewhere that Krypton was a cooled brown dwarf so Superman’s made from degenerate matter and went from there. He also had a nifty “Kryptonite emits neutrinos” theory. This is cool because A) it’s fanboy speculation but B) it actually made some vague sense in the real world.) Saying it’s “psychic” is right up there with saying “He gets his powers from the Easter Bunny”. 'Cept that there’s just slightly more evidence for the Easter Bunny than psychic powers (I’ve seen a bunny. I’ve yet to see a psychic). The point was that back when Byrne was ruining Superman he claimed that the stupid “psychic” explaination made Superman’s powers make sense. Somehow he’d survived for…um…50? years before Byrne fouled things up and no one had any problems with his powers. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![JDeMobray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@JDeMobray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDeMobray)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/32 "2002-07-06T17:11:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > **Saying it’s “psychic” is right up there with saying “He gets his powers from the Easter Bunny”. 'Cept that there’s just slightly more evidence for the Easter Bunny than psychic powers (I’ve seen a bunny. I’ve yet to see a psychic).** Can I just say this is pretty close to being the best thing I’ve read all week. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TheOnlySaneOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@TheOnlySaneOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheOnlySaneOne)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/33 "2002-07-06T19:43:33Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Fenris_ > Beyond that, it’s a comic book. I don’t need “rational” explanations. He does what he does 'cause the writers say so. Spider-man sticks to walls even through his clothing because he was bitten by a radioactive spider and it lets him. How? Who cares? He couldn’t in the real world and going further than that is just an excuse for technobabble. Actually, they explain that he sticks to walls, people, guns, etc. because of a biomagnetism that he gives off. But I lament…😃 ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Bongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a9adbd/32.png) [@Winston\_Bongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Bongo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/34 "2002-07-06T20:08:11Z")
The one thing that has always bugged me about Superman is not “How does he do all them super things he does,” but the bigger question of “Why the hell can’t people recognize that he’s really Clark Kent?” For some reason, I can accept a man flying, shooting laser beams from his eyes, and even using super-breath to turn over cars more than I can accept a man putting on a regular pair of glasses and becoming instantly unrecognizable by even his closest friends. Even in the world of comic books, that’s dumbness beyond dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/35 "2002-07-06T20:18:44Z")
In one of the comic books, it is “explained” that thru a low-grade telepathy, Superman changes his appearance somewhat whilst wearing his super-disguise glasses. No explanation as to why people perceive his Clark Kent robots to resemble Superman-wearing-glasses as they do. I like to poke holes in these kinds of plot devices, because there is always someone around smarter than me who can come up with an elaborate explanation that is not contradictory. Like Sherlock Holmes story contradictions. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/36 "2002-07-06T21:33:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shodan \* > \*\*In one of the comic books, it is “explained” that thru a low-grade telepathy, Superman changes his appearance somewhat whilst wearing his super-disguise glasses. \*\* Actually, low-level super-hypnosis via the glasses. Um…Superman #33x give or take, circa 1977. What was so embarassing about it was that it came out at roughly the same time that Superman: The Movie came out. I have doubts about much of Chris Reeves’ acting skills, but his Clark Kent was _perfect_ (I remember reading the book, thinking about it, thinking about how different Chris Reeve looked as Superman and Clark and thinking "Naaaaaaah. I don’t buy it.) \*\* > [@](#): > > I like to poke holes in these kinds of plot devices, because there is always someone around smarter than me who can come up with an elaborate explanation that is not contradictory. > \*\* Not me. That story (as much fun as it was) made about as much sense (how’d it work when Superman was off-planet? Time travelling? Lost his powers? etc) and was cannon for as long as the Mopee-origin of The Flash: that is to say…it was forgotten within minutes of being published. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/37 "2002-07-06T22:04:30Z")
Superman #330, by the way. I just dug the issue out. You can see the cover [here](http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=fullsize&issue=83754703976%20330) if you care. \< sigh \> I remember buying that issue off the stands. I feel _oooold_. I’m gonna read me some '70s Superman tonight. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/38 "2002-07-07T02:19:21Z")
Okay, while we’re going over Supes’ powers, how have they explained his breath freezing stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/39 "2002-07-07T02:34:29Z")
In the olden days it was because his super-lungs could super-compress air (remeber super-breath? Same thing, but less compressed). And compressed air is cold, right? I mean, if you put enough pressure on say…nitrogen, it becomes a liquid and liquid nitrogen is cold. Superman’s lungs can do the same thing! Today? Who knows? Probably because his vast psychic powers are causing the complete reobneuration of the extra-dimensional anti-heat mineral in two conflicting parallel dimensions which causes space-time flux such that their interface causes the anti-heat mineral (we’ll call it Frostonite!) to have an effect on our world in a 4th dimensional sense. :rolleyes: (Hey Kids! Techo-babble! It’s fun! Make your own!) Fenris, re-reading a stack of '70s Superman and Action and feeling a trifle bitter about things. (I’m up to the origin and first appearance of Karb-Brak. I believe the next issue or two will feature a guest appearance by Vartox: World’s Toughest Villiage Person. I _miss_ Superman. ☹ ) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2002, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327/40 "2002-07-08T22:50:51Z")
Quoth **Winston Bongo** : > [@](#): > > The one thing that has always bugged me about Superman is not “How does he do all them super things he does,” but the bigger question of “Why the hell can’t people recognize that he’s really Clark Kent?” I liked _Lois and Clark_’s take on that one: What’s-his-name the editor comments in one episode “Yeah, Clark does kind of look like Superman. And folks tell me I look like Nixon, it doesn’t mean I’m him.”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-accept-a-flying-superman/117327.md?page=3)