The Nature of Superman's Powers and his Control of Them

This post derives from a question on the imdb boards, and it also relates to Superman’s powers as they are manifested in the world around him. More specifically, I want to briefly examine the everyday physics of Superman.

The question regards the extent of Superman’s powers and the degree to which he has control over them. In some iterations of the character, Superman is always walking on egg-shells; he always has restrain and focus his powers to ensure that he doesn’t harm the people around him or destroy personal property, let alone call unwanted attention to himself. I understand this logic in the narratives it appears in, but I don’t like the types of Superman it allows for. That is, I don’t think Superman should be a character who is always holding back; it just isn’t very exciting. It means that he is a negative character (in the denotative sense) because he has to negate his full spectrum of abilities rather than exert himself. Restraint just isn’t that exciting. It's more intense and dramatic if he has to fully exert himself and really try (in a positive sense).

I would propose that Superman, ideally, has basically normal, human interactions with physics and the material world. What this would mean is that he would not have to TRY to hold himself back most of the time. He would not have to try to walk at a normal speed rather than “walking” at 60 mph, he would not have to try to not crush people when he shakes their hands, etc. Instead, all his powers are “extra-human” capacities that he can use whenever he needs to, but they do not define his everyday interactions. I think his positivistic powers (such as flight, super-strength, heat vision) should be like a muscle, he can use them when he wants to, but they are not “working” when he is in a relaxed state. This system would work best, of course, in the type of world I have previously articulated where his powers are generally toned down (he can lift a house or a tank with some effort, but can’t toss around planets).

This way, he would have to occasionally demonstrate some restraint of his powers during the course of a day, but he wouldn't always have to consciously, proactively focus - - every single second - - on not breaking or destroying things while doing simple, everyday tasks. In turn, I think this would allow him to be a more confident, engaged Clark Kent at the Daily Planet in that he doesn't have to worry (as much) about being competent at his job and therefore being noticed in and around the office a lot because he is not constantly masking his abilities. He is just not using his powers.

What does “relatable” mean with regard to Superman’s powers?

        

       Throughout and since principle photography of Man of Steel, both Zack Snyder and Henry Cavill have emphasized that their Superman will be more relatable. Based on what we have seen from the teaser and trailer, it seems that the filmmakers are attempting to make Superman more relatable primarily at an emotional level where the character is concerned. I am personally in favor of this (as long as they don’t overplay their hand). Who hasn’t felt lonely growing up? And who hasn’t struggled, on some level, to find their place in the world? I think one of the great parts of Superman is that in spite of his array of powers, he is heroic in a very human way; many of us are skeptical about humanity and cynical about the societies we have created, but it’s still worth dedicating ourselves to helping make them better. But these issues aside, what does this move toward making the hero relatable entail for Superman’s power levels?

        As many Superman fans are well aware, one of the dominant criticisms of the character is that he is too powerful. The result, these critics attest, is that Superman’s stories ultimately lack drama or suspense. Even David Goyer, in his introduction to Superman: Secret Origin, conceded that writing stories about such a capacious hero can be challenging (for those who don’t know, Goyer was instrumental to the story of Man of Steel). I have personally never completely bought this line of reasoning for a few reasons. First, Superman’s enemies are immensely powerful, and when he throws down with Brainiac, Metallo, Zod, or dozens of others, Superman’s powers amplify rather than detract from the conflict. Second, even where powerful villains are not in play, there are many complicating scenarios or trying circumstances that can test Superman in a variety of ways. Moreover, there are a series of interesting intellectual questions about the proper role of Superman acting in society predicated on his being powerful.

        But the more I thought about the matter, I now feel that even though the “too powerful” argument is mostly bunk, it does have some validity. The sheer number of kryptonite stories in the Superman mythos bears this out: writers have always tried ways to make Superman vulnerable as a means of instilling suspense into the story being told and to complicate matters, if just a little while, for the Man of Steel. Smallville made such tricks the bread and butter of their ten year run. But rather than contriving things to take away Superman’s abilities, could he be powered down a little instead? As I would like to propose, I think Superman should be (moderately) powered down in Man of Steel because it makes everything he does cool and dramatic.

        What I mean by this is that Superman being too powerful has sapped some of the wow factor from the many cool things that he does and can do. If Superman is infinitely powerful, there would be no chase sequences or any other type of scene where he has to race against time – if he can move at the speed of light, he would basically just appear in space. The result is that his moving through space at incredible velocity is deprived of all its wonder. The physicality and excitement of the feat is greatly diminished. Imagine if Superman could fly fast, say 12,000 mph at top speed, but would really have to push himself to do so. He would still be faster than the fastest of jet aircraft, but he would have to accelerate up to that level, during which he is roaring through the skyscape.  I think something like this would keep Superman incredibly powerful, but it would cap him in a way that ensures that he will need to really try and exert himself. Similarly, imagine if Superman had to really exert himself to lift things the size of a house. Imagine if he could take a tank shell to the chest, but had to really brace himself for it. The more I think about it, I really like what Grant Morrison did with Superman in the new 52 Action Comics; in that series, Superman is still immensely powerful, but he really has to wrangle with and against the material objects of his world to emphasize his strength and physicality. It’s cool, and it’s dramatic. And it makes new the basic tasks and abilities that we have sort of taken for granted for so long.