immortal

[tenchi03]

Hey guys.

I'm new here and I was wondering if someone could answer a few questions for me.


1.  Is pre-crisis Superman immortal?



2.  What are his greatest feats that are not listed on the site?  I read somewhere that he once defeated the enitre Green Lantern Corps.

[Gary]

Is pre-crisis Superman immortal?

Probably not. There are future stories in which his descendants have taken over his role. Here's one. There's also stories which establish that Supey will grow old, like this one.

[Captain Kal]

Superman has at least a vastly extended lifespan according to "The Ghost of Superman Future".  It suggests that though he would look older that his powers would not diminish.  He even says in the story that ordinary humans like Lex die when they get old which underscores how his lifespan is either vastly greater or he's immortal.

But "The Exile at the Edge of Eternity" ( http://superman.nu/a/400/exile/ ) does suggest he will eventually die.  But it's unclear whether he died from aging or trauma as in battle.  Given his lifestyle, it's a good chance he died in combat saving others.

[Daybreaker]

Superman might die at some point, but exactly what death is for Superman might not be what it is for everybody else.

Heck, he might even be able to change it for everyone else.  That would be a pretty cool super-feat.

[MichaelBailey]

I could use my first post on these boards to make some sort of "clever" comment that Superman will never die so long as there are fans who appreciate him and children who idolize him, but my guess is that many of you wouldn't buy that.

To me the Pre-Crisis Superman would live for an extremely long time, though probably not into the 30th Century as the Legion of Super-Heroes was inspired by the legend of Superboy not the legend of an extant Superman.  As extensive as my knowledge of Superman is I bow to the superior wisdom of those who have read those issues of the Legion just in case I may be wrong.

On a more philosophical note I don't think an immortal Superman is an appealing idea.  As much as I love the character and as much as I enjoy reading/watching/listening to his adventures and exploits making a character like Superman immortal is a bad idea.  I mean it's great to have a character like Superman or Batman or even the Lone Ranger where there are endless adventures where good always triumphs over evil, but at some point all things must come to an end.  For Superman it would be nice to have his death be a peaceful one at the end of a long and distinguished career surrounded by those who are still alive that he cares for.

Of course, that could just be me.

[Captain Kal]

According to Superman #400, Superman disappeared sometime during the 21st century.  People fully expected him to return so they kept setting a place for him for Miracle Monday dinner up until at least the 60th century.

http://superman.nu/a/400/dinner/?page=9

"The Ghost of Superman Future" does state that between journalists finding a 130 year old Superman and the time the nations of Earth saw him again, he had passed from legend to myth.  That would suggest that Superman did live at least several more centuries, perhaps a millenium given the 'myth' statement, beyond the 21st century.

http://superman.nu/tales2/ghost/?page=8

In DC One Million (Post Crisis), this was further elaborated upon so that Superman still left Earth towards the close of the 21st century.  But in this version, it was said he had lost his reason for staying on Earth since his wife, friends, and family had all passed away.  So, he set out on adventures to the Edge of the universe.

All of the above explain how Superman could be alive in the 30th/31st century and not be interacting with the Legion or the United Planets.  He simply had left Earth and its area of influence on some personal quest.

[Daybreaker]

Y'know, I think the best depiction of Superman's death actually comes from Smallville.  The cape flowing past, the stars turning into streaks ... although that death-foretelling kid did say that Clark doesn't die like everybody else.  It was pretty vague.

[Captain Kal]

IIRC, didn't that Smallville kid say Clark seems to go on forever?