# What Could Superman Do to Fight Wildfires? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 16, 2020, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801 "2020-09-16T23:49:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![NoraHensl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/norahensl/32/4784_2.png) [@NoraHensl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoraHensl)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/22 "2020-09-18T01:48:25Z")
UPD: he also can use his [super-speed power](https://www.cbr.com/superman-abilities/) and fly fast enough to fight the fire. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/23 "2020-09-18T02:06:36Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > I think superman [would not want](https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2011-07-13) to fight wildfires. Yeah, if I were Superman, I’d first ask how generating electricity in North America does the least bit to put food into the mouths of poor people in Bangladesh. There’s lots of other problems with that scenario, but that’s number one. And along those lines, before fighting the fires, I’d also have some pointed questions about the culpability of humans with respect to the wildfires. No doubt someone would say that’s fighting the hypothetical[1], so ignore that. . [1] Does Superman ever fight the hypothetical? Can he even fight it? What if the hypothetical is stronger than Supe? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/24 "2020-09-18T14:52:25Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > What if the hypothetical is stronger than Supe? Nothing is stronger than Supe! Supe is strongest there is! Puny hypothethical. No, wait, that’s Hulk. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/25 "2020-09-18T17:46:00Z")
Superman, helping fight wildfires? What a joke!: [SNL Transcripts: Jerry Seinfeld: 04/18/92: The Lenny Wise Show - SNL Transcripts Tonight](https://snltranscripts.jt.org/91/91rlennywise.phtml) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/26 "2020-09-18T17:52:30Z")
Turning back time is the obvious trick. Turn it back, figure out what started the fire, and either remove the start of the fire, or build a ditch around the starting point to contain it. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/27 "2020-09-18T19:17:34Z")
He would prevent the fires - by raking the forests and keeping them tidy. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/28 "2020-09-18T19:43:59Z")
Yeah, no kidding. Superman has breath that can freeze water into ice. It happens in my lego-based video games, so it must be true. Also, as a side note, people applying physics regarding the pressurization of air in _Superman’s lungs_ is hilarious to me. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2020, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/29 "2020-09-19T00:46:49Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > people applying physics regarding the pressurization of air in _Superman’s lungs_ is hilarious to me. Agreed. Still, I have never accepted “super cold breath” for Superman, any more than I accept that he can phase through solid matter. Yes, it happened in more than one story. It’s also bullhooey, and I reject it. So, since this is my thread, for the purposes of this discussion, no, his breath is not super cold. And anyway, blowing air onto a fire is a really bad idea if you want to put the fire out. Firefighters are always grateful for a windless day. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/30 "2020-09-19T01:02:26Z")
Would you accept that Superman’s lungs can remove all the oxygen from air, and thus blow only nitrogen and CO2 instead? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2020, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/31 "2020-09-19T01:21:34Z")
Superman can blow air out of his mouth at such high velocities that it will blow out a forest fire just as we ordinary humans can blow out a candle. The amount of oxygen in the air is irrelevant, it could be pure oxygen, the velocity and volume of gas will disrupt the flame and remove heat fast enough to stop deflagration. This is just how explosives are used to put out oil well fires. He can blow out extremely cold air by controlling the velocity and pressure of the air, but that won’t be very effective for the high volume of air needed to blow out a forest fire. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2020, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/32 "2020-09-19T01:35:06Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Would you accept that Superman’s lungs can remove all the oxygen from air, and thus blow only nitrogen and CO2 instead? If it were in one of the comic books, movies, or tv series, you might have a point. Otherwise, you’re inventing a new power for him. (In “real life,” he can’t suck in a huge lungful of compressed air, because his diaphragm doesn’t have that much room to move.) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2020, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/33 "2020-09-19T01:37:22Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Superman can blow air out of his mouth at such high velocities that it will blow out a forest fire just as we ordinary humans can blow out a candle. Okay, good… The analogy to explosives is convincing. (But it ain’t “super cold!” I’ll let him suck in large amounts of air using telekinesis or something…but no way it doesn’t heat up under pressure. There’s _some_ rules left, even in the DC universe!) ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/34 "2020-09-19T13:29:40Z")
I suggested that he suck in a lot of air and then flies through some icebergs to get rid of the excess heat. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/35 "2020-09-19T16:13:23Z")
That works…but slowly. Heat transfer in those amounts takes a lot of time. Side issue: when is the last time, in comics, that Supes has used super-breath? I think it may have gone away since the re-invention of the character in the eighties. (I’m old enough to remember Jimmy Olsen turning into a lobster, etc. Very, very bad comics writing.) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/36 "2020-09-19T16:15:31Z")
While we’re on the subject…does temperature, alone, have a significant effect on fires? If you had a cold day, and a hot day, with all other effects the same (wind, humidity, dryness of the fuel) the same, would a fire spread less quickly on the cold day? If you could magically lower the air temperature by 20 degrees F, would that be an effective fire-fighting tool? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/37 "2020-09-19T17:45:53Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Side issue: when is the last time, in comics, that Supes has used super-breath? I think it may have gone away since the re-invention of the character in the eighties. He had it in the 1990’s TV show, which closely mirrored the comics and vice versa (to the point that Supes married Lois in both the comics and TV in the same month real time). So… at least as recently as the 1990’s? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/38 "2020-09-20T11:44:19Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > …does temperature, alone, have a significant effect on fires? Apparently, it does. When I read about the fires on the West Coast, they talk about the heat wave that preceded it. Maybe the heat dried things out, though? I was surprised, because to me it seemed like differences in temperature that would matter to people would be insignificant to the blistering heat of a forest fire. According to [this](https://www.auburn.edu/academic/forestry_wildlife/fire/weather_elements.htm#:~:text=Forest%20fuels%20receive%20heat%20by%20radiation%20from%20the%20sun.&text=Fuel%20temperatures%20also%20affect%20a,than%20the%20fuels%20in%20shade.), it does. It mentions that it takes a lot less energy to raise the fuel to ignition temperature if it’s already hot. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/39 "2020-09-20T16:24:24Z")
Cool! That was one I didn’t know. Pray for rain…and pray for a cool day! ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/40 "2020-09-21T02:40:16Z")
I literally have no idea what you think Superman going back to election day is going to accomplish. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801/41 "2020-09-21T12:42:06Z")
Take 4 year’s worth of media stories of the trainwreck of a presidency back in time with him and make it public the day before the election to change election results. Then, armed with the knowledge of bad forest fires coming, literally any administration but trump’s would do a better job preventing the fires, and taking long-term steps to help curb global warming. Anyway, it was just an offhand joke. Don’t want to get too political and derail the thread. Carry on… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-superman-do-to-fight-wildfires/920801.md?page=3)