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Author Topic: Superman' s Invulnerability  (Read 9940 times)
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chris6909
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« Reply #16 on: January 16, 2006, 11:24:07 AM »

The force "field-around-each-cell-theory" doesn't quite sell it for me.

It makes more sense that his individual cells bind together so strongly that they cannot be disrupted or dispursed.

But hey, that's just me.
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Super Monkey
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« Reply #17 on: January 16, 2006, 03:21:09 PM »

Quote from: "chris6909"
The force "field-around-each-cell-theory" doesn't quite sell it for me.

It makes more sense that his individual cells bind together so strongly that they cannot be disrupted or dispursed.

But hey, that's just me.


You mean science?
Yes I like the dense body theory myself.
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NotSuper
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« Reply #18 on: January 17, 2006, 05:49:44 AM »

I don't mind the bio-aura theory (which I'm pretty sure Moore came up with first). How Superman gains his powers--whether from the Sun, genetic engineering, evolution, or whatever--isn't that important to me in the long run. It should be addressed and explained, but not dwelled on too much.
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chris6909
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« Reply #19 on: January 17, 2006, 08:13:22 AM »

Quote from: "NotSuper"
How Superman gains his powers--whether from the Sun, genetic engineering, evolution, or whatever--isn't that important to me in the long run. It should be addressed and explained, but not dwelled on too much.


Remember the scene in 'Superman The Movie' where Jor-El talks about the advantages of sending baby Kal-El to earth. He, Jor-El, spesifically mentions the yellow sun and the Kryptonian's dense molecular structure as the reasons why he will become super powered and virtually invulnerable. I believe this premise has always been the fundemental explanation for his powers througout most of the Superman stories. It seems logical then that his invincibility is a direct result of his dense physiology enhanced by yellow sun radiation. Therefore the theory of a molecular structure that binds as to make it impossible to disrupt or destroy seems the most plausible explanation.

This might seem like cleaving hairs to some, but I believe a less plausible explanation makes Superman seem less super. It almost as if it brings him down a notch - and that won't do, fellas!

Greetings to all!
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llozymandias
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« Reply #20 on: January 17, 2006, 11:06:42 PM »

Superman's powers should never be definitively explained & quantified.  Any official explanations should be presented as theories or hypotheses.  With Superman's powers we are dealing with things that would be beyond the understanding of most humans.  Luthor being one of the very few exceptions.  Same goes for his "power sources" & vulnerabilities.
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JulianPerez
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« Reply #21 on: January 19, 2006, 08:16:20 PM »

Quote from: "Uncle Mxy"
How else would they have made Mon-El's anti-lead serum?


Ooooh, good point!

It was established in LSH stories that Mon-El's anti-lead serum had, as one of its principal ingredients, powdered Kryptonite. This would explain why they would keep that sort of stuff around.

Kryptonite, for one thing, seems to be much more common in the 30th Century than it is in the 20th. For one thing, in the first appearance of Shadow Lass (at least chronologically, anyway) the warlords on Talok were shown to have stockpiled Kryptonite, presumably because they anticipated the involvement of Superboy. Showing that if you're a self-respecting would-be dictator, it's logical to have an anti-Superboy defense.

Only a few issues prior, the entire EARTH was covered with a shower of K-dust. The ENTIRE EARTH. I mean, that's a lot of Kryptonite.

LSH enemies used Kryptonite a lot more than Superman's foes in the regular comic did; for instance, witness the laser beams equipped to fire Green Kryptonite that were used in the citadel of the Dark Man/Tharok, or the Emerald Empress's Kryptonite handfuls.

There can be several explanations for this:

1) As Superboy's existence, secret identity, and weaknesses are "history," his enemies in that era would know about them more commonly than his foes in the 20th;

2) Because of the higher technological level of the 30th Century, it may be easier to create "artificial Kryptonite;"

3) Kryptonite that went to other worlds can be found and used in an era where space travel is commonplace.


One of the more interesting (though less consistently handled) weaknesses that Superman has is magic.

There was a very cool explanation for why Superman was vulnerable to magic, which was that the use of sorcery and magic is incredibly rare among Kryptonians, and since none of Superman's ancestors were magicians, he has a genetic vulnerability to magical effects, just like those with a genetic problem with albinism are vulnerable to sunburn and skin cancer.

As most earth people have a greater history with magic in their ancestry, almost no Earth people show a similar vulnerability.

(The implications of this are neat to think about: if you're Irish-American, maybe the reason you're not vulnerable to magic the way Superman is, is because you've got a Leprechaun in your family tree 20 generations back or thereabouts!)
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