immortal

[Daybreaker]

Something like that.  I don't remember exactly.  Somebody around here must have it on DVD, wanna check for us?

[Aldous]

Superman isn't immortal. He can be killed -- so he is mortal.

When it comes to his lifespan, I take the view his lifespan is finite, ie. with inbuilt limits, as it is with any man.

How long would a normal man live, if he could live on the best, freshly-harvested produce, drinking clean water, with no air pollution, no boredom or stress in his life ever, no arguments or fights, ie. an environment of perfect harmony? Who knows. A hundred and twenty years? A hundred and fifty?

I think Superman will live as long as a normal man. He was conceived, was born, grew, matured, is aging, and so he will die, just like any man. He is as much a living part of this process as we are. His eventual end is pre-programmed, it is built-in, part of the biological process that is a man. He may well take the process to human limits, but not beyond.

[Captain Kal]

Nice presentation of your POV, Aldous.

I think canon publications tend to give him extremely long life to virtual immortality, immortality in the sense the barring accidents he could live forever.

It must be noted that in "The Greatest Green Lantern of All!" that Kal-El was supposed to be the replacement for the immortal Guardians in leading the Green Lantern Corps.  That would seem to suggest that Kal himself is an immortal due to his genetic perfection else the Guardians wouldn't bother with a being whose lifespace is quite ephemeral compared with theirs.

And, BTW, though it's rare, Guardians have been killed though they're considered otherwise immortal, too.

[Maximara]

Superman isn't immortal. He can be killed -- so he is mortal.

Immortality does not mean unkillable it just means you cannot die of 'natural causes'  There is a Greek story where goddess asks that her mortal lover be granted immortality. Sadly the goddess did not ask for eteran youth and the lover shrived up from old age into a grasshopper.

[RedSunOfKrypton]

Immortality does not mean you "cannot die of 'natural causes'". Immortality is defined as the quality of being immortal.

Seriously though, being immortal in the literal sense means you are not subject to death, ergo completely unkillable. Which is why Superman gets tacked with "virtual immortality" because to a lot of interpretations he fits your idea of immortality, i.e. immune to death by natural causes.

[Maximara]

Immortality does not mean you "cannot die of 'natural causes'". Immortality is defined as the quality of being immortal.

Seriously though, being immortal in the literal sense means you are not subject to death, ergo completely unkillable. Which is why Superman gets tacked with "virtual immortality" because to a lot of interpretations he fits your idea of immortality, i.e. immune to death by natural causes.

You still don't get it. Read Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels and about the Strulbrugs the immortals who cannot die of old age or disease but can[/b] be killed and this is in a novel written in 1726. Furthermore Vampire in most mythologies are described as 'immortal' even that you can kill them. The deities of the Hindu pantheon were said to be immortal but even they could die by violence as could the beings of the Faerie Relam. The same is true of the Sanjiyan Unkara and their Wu in the 3x3 eyes manga.

Face it the reality is immortal does not mean unkillable.

[Just a fan]

When it comes to Superman’s immortality, does anyone even know the average life span of a Kryptonian? It seemed like the people in Kandor never seemed to age, and Supergirls parents always looked to be the same age as when Krypton blew up, even taking in the fact they spent several years in the survival zone they should still be into their 40’s or 50’s but the time Supergirl grew up.  Maybe Superman isn’t immortal but it’s just natural for him to have a very long life span.

[RedSunOfKrypton]

Face it the reality is immortal does not mean unkillable.

Umm yes it does, immortal literally means unkillable. All the examples you cite may have been called "immortal" in their source material, but are only virtually so as in certain circumstances they CAN be killed. It's like many people refer to Superman as invulnerable (including Superman himself) but he isn't, he's VIRTUALLY invulnerable because he CAN be harmed, it just takes a lot.

im·mor·tal   Audio pronunciation of "immortal" ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (-môrtl)
adj.

   1. Not subject to death: immortal deities; the immortal soul.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=immortal