A realistic observation of Superman's powers

There was a tv special when superman returns came out called The Science of Superman which made similar observations of his powers. Its all been uploaded to youtube so you should chekc it out. :)
Nice work BTW :D

I like the force field idea. Would that be like the tactile telekinesis that was used in the John Byrne run that would later be that basis for Superboy's powers? It even protected any clothing that was skin tight, part of the reason he wears the costume (at least in Byrne's comics). Would this have developed naturally or as some kind of genetic manipulation? I would like to see a scene with Superman at S.T.A.R. labs with lab techs examining him.
Good job on the article.

@Patriautism
Yeah it's alot like that. They interview alot of specialists, scientists and writers.

@Patriautism
It'd be better if it was only around his body on earth rather than on Krypton.

@patriautism
Yeah that's pretty much the Byrne explanation for it.

I think it should be made pretty clear that Kryptonians don't really have any powers on Krypton other than the ability to absorb sunlight.

this is stupid just accept his powers for what they are and move on with it

@OdinsBeard

Thank's a lot man! I was worried everyone would think it was crap. haha.
Yeah that's defiantly what I was thinking. The yellow sun just sort of amplifies (by a lot ) the powers that he already has adapted for survival on krypton.

@patriautism: i see a flaw. help me out if im wrong or right. If a star was turning into a red giant, wouldnt the star get brighter and since its getting bigger, the outside WOULD get colder, but since its getting closer to the planet, the atmosphere would get warmer, thus no ice age as you were saying and it wouldnt get darker. right? that kinda contradicts your vision theory and partially your flight theory

ehhh idk lol

I did this a while ago and covered a lot of the same ground:

http://comicbookmovie.com/superman_movies/news/?a=18885

This will be a Very Long Post. So be warned. :)

The problem you have with some of these ideas is that while it's clear you've given it some thought, you haven't really tested them to see if they hold up and therefore some just don't make sense scientifically, and you too often cop out and rely on the "magic force field" explanation, thereby slightly defeating the object.

Some thoughts:

1. How and why did Kryptonians evolve to look exactly like humans in such a different environment?

Convergent evolution is feasible up to a point (e.g. vaguely humanoid features - two arms, two legs, a head), but the degree of physical similarity between humans and Kryptonians demands a better explanation than mere 'coincidence'.

My panspermia explanation (human-like life seeded throughout the universe by a precursor civilisation) takes care of that much more elegantly.

2. How did their sun turn red?

If it turned into a Red Giant naturally, then Krypton would have been wiped out by the expanding fireball far quicker than any life could have time to evolve to adapt to it.

It either has to be a planet orbiting around an already red sun at an appropriate distance or the sun turns red suddenly (and therefore the most likely reason for why Krypton is destroyed).

In my explanation it was the latter.

3. Naturally evolving these abilities to survive a sun turning from a yellow star into a red one doesn't really make much sense - as mentioned above a planet orbiting the goldilocks zone under a yellow sun would be engulfed by a red giant, so the organisms on the planet wouldn't and couldn't adapt in time naturally before their planet was made uninhabitable and/or eaten by the sun.

Also the abilities Kryptonians have are far too specific and non-survival orientated to have evolved over other, simpler and therefore more likely evolutionary adaptations - such as an extremely thick hide, an altered (but not 'super') biochemistry to cope with the new conditions and so on.

My explanation of Kryptonians having genetically engineered themselves, species wide, at some time in their history neatly and elegantly explains precisely why Kryptonians have those specific abilities and why they have them under a yellow sun (semi-photosynthesis under), but not a red one. Which also remains in sync with tradition where red sunlight interferes with this semi-photosynthetic process and drives the energy out of their 'photosynthesis receptor cells'.

4. "Due to Krypton's unstable core, it's gravity increased exponentially"

I thought you wanted to be scientific about this?

Gravity is mass and acceleration related. Having an unstable core would not add mass, nor gravity (unless the core was somehow spinning at near light speeds - which is impossible). You need to either add mass to Krypton to increase its gravity or accelerate it to an appreciable percentage of the speed of light where its inertial mass would increase (but where the inertial mass of everything ON it would also increase - meaning everything actually on it would feel normal).

Neither of these make any sense tbh and either way, evolution is a very slow, random process and no species would have time to evolve to adapt to such rapidly shifting environmental conditions.

5. "The kryptonian body developed a sustainable force field that can defy all gravity."

How did their bodies develop this force field? Naturally?
What were the intermediate stages of the force field and how would these have been beneficial enough to have survived and mutated into the current extremely refined and broadly beneficial field you propose?
How is it sustainable?
How can it defy gravity?
Does it 'grab' objects and pull/push on them or does it also work in 'outer space'/zero g and if so how does it provide propulsion?
How does it know the difference between hostile environments and beneficial (e.g. how does it know not to let poisonous gases in, but to let air in)?
What other 'tricks' can be developed with it if it's as versatile, clever and adaptable as you propose?

A force field explanation has a LOT of questions...

Again, my explanation of doing away with the force field completely and explaining all his powers through other means is far simpler and more elegant and creates far less complications and awkward questions.

6. Vision powers

Again simply 'evolving' these adaptations naturally is not feasible. If eyes spend billions of years adapting for a yellow sun environment which then switches to a red one, they simply wouldn't have the time for one thing (planet being engulfed by expanding red sun too) and doesn't explain all those other 'powers'. Being able to see in other spectra is feasible, but 'emitting excess light as heat' naturally is far too big a stretch - again genetically engineered nano implant devices which store and can emit energy is far more scientifically feasible and believable.

7. Super strength.

So why didn't their body mass and skeletal structure adapt for this super strength and high gravity too?

On a high gravity world creatures would more likely develop 'sideways' not upwards - that is, probably gelatinous, invertebrate or aquatic, crawling on their bellies if they are land based - because even to lift the head would require enormous amounts of energy, so while some might evolve just that ability - to lift their heads - it would still only make sense for their body shapes to be adapted to the high gravity - low down - and not to walk upright on two legs.

In the case of a world whose gravity has suddenly increased, then again, natural evolution cannot explain this because, again, the process is slow and random.

Heavy gravity also wouldn't enable any creature to fly - for a start it's unlikely that ANY creature on a heavy gravity world would fly (unless REALLY high - floaters might be more likely - giant gas balloons basically) - too heavy see... and that's the thing - any creature evolving to adapt to a heavy gravity world would also have to evolve a body which could cope with it - i.e. they'd be damned heavy too.

Which would only mean that they might actually be able to jump as high as... a person on earth (yes, their muscles would be very much stronger, but they would weigh very much more too, so it would most likely cancel out at best). To have developed leg muscles that could make them jump high on a high gravity world, you'd have to be talking legs like super elephant/kangaroos.

It's no good picturing us on the moon. That only works on LOW gravity worlds. The physics of biology don't simply scale up as gravity gets higher - I believe (not 100% on this) the inverse square law rule applies - for every doubling of gravity you have to quadruple the mass of a similarly proportioned object - i.e. a human who is proportionally physically capable on a world with 2G would need to be four times the mass/size, on a 4G world, 16 times and so on. Before long, nature would run out of naturally occurring biological materials strong enough to bear the weight of such massive creatures (unless you start getting into silicates - making Ben Grimm's Thing a more feasible outcome in that scenario), so there's almost certainly a practical limit long before the math runs out...

Again, forget the heavy gravity explanation - although it sounds fairly plausible at first glance, if you look deeper it doesn't work given known physical and evolutionary principles.

8. Super hearing.

This is along good lines, but you need to explain exactly how this might be achieved - natural evolution (not buying it) - or genetic/nano manipulation?

9. Super speed

Enhanced adrenal system is good... but then 'unimaginable' speeds? Unimaginable is not very scientific is it? How fast? For how long? Are we talking relativistic speeds? How does relativity affect him if so? Does that mean that every time he goes for a run, when he's only gone for seconds from his perspective, that years may have gone by for everyone else?

How does he cope with the increased inertial mass he accrues as he accelerates faster and faster, possibly reaching such a mass that he develops a gravity field which interferes with the environment around him? Faster = more massive. You need to either define limits before that becomes a factor or deal with the consequences of it, realistically. :)

This is the problem with "unimaginable" speeds. Imaginable speeds create enough problems, so deal with them before you start going 'unimaginable'. :)

10. Super breath

Again with the forcefield 'magic'. None of this is feasible scientifically.

Where does his forcefield store this excess oxygen?
How much can it store?
What is the effect of the mass and bulk of this 'bag of oxygen'? Is Superman always knocking stuff off shelves and stuff because of the big bag of air he's carrying around with him?
How does this somehow get 'transported' into his lungs and how can he then super cool this?

Stronger breath yes (i.e. he can blow out a lot more candles that we can), but hurricane force/freezy breath is not explained 'realistically' here and I personally think you'd be hard pressed to find a scientifically feasible explanation for that level of 'super breath'.

I have to ask, what's the point of trying to tackle this subject as a 'realistic' exercise if you're just going to fall back on the old magic force field explanation whenever you run into difficulties?

11. Kryptonite.

How about it's just a radioactive rock that not only gives him cancer just like it does for us, but also has an effect on his semi-photosynthetic process and drives the energy painfully out of his cells?

That's the the actual canon explanation now btw. :)

This is one that already works pretty well - although it could do with some fine tuning of the details - like how there could be so much left if Krypton exploded 2.2 million years ago and it only has a half-life of 250,000 years... and why seemingly all of it fell on Earth...

12. Real science.

Genetic engineering, strengthening of bones, organs, enhanced capabilities and so on, using multiple letter encoding and programmable or designed dna for example, provides a far more elegant and actually feasible explanation of many of Superman's powers.

Jason Chin and his team at the University of Cambridge have developed 'four letter' nucleotides - one better than nature's three, which opens up all sorts of possibilities (bulletproof skin, for example)- along with Craig Venter's work with programmable dna - which makes 'super abilities' very possible in the not too distant future, so along with advances in other areas such as nanotech almost makes a being like Superman a self-fulfilling prophecy - we will ALL be supermen one day...

Super breath is a bit silly, force fields simply not necessary, and 'unimaginable' speed not possible (although bloody damn fast is), so take those out of the equation and motive flight is the hardest of his powers to explain, but if you can accept some kind of anti-gravity 'organ' or such like then he's good to go.

Real science can be used to explain most of what Superman does without resorting to magic of any kind, so while I applaud your efforts (though secretly feeling my ideas are better and more sound ;)), I think your biggest failing here was falling back on pseudo/nonsense-science because it sounded good, and the good old trusty magic force field too often. Because "magic" is what it is as you describe it.

Nice try though. Kudos for thinking about it along these lines and I enjoyed the exercise in responding at least. ;)

Some of these answers are great and very well thought. But they are overlooking one thing - the movie is still going to be a sci-fi piece and, sometimes, the answers to his powers are going to have to be "just because". The movie can't take a 100% accurate scientific approach to it, because these things don't exist. There is no problem using a little "Star Trek" type of answering how his powers work. Even Batman Begins and The Dark Knight weren't completely accurate. They took some liberties with their science. But that's ok because those movies were told in an interesting way. We've all seen in other sci-fi shows people having their brains evolved or advanced somehow and developing mental powers (telekinesis, telepathy, etc.), the writers could explain some of his powers away simply by saying his brain is so advanced he has tactile telekinesis. Jean Grey has TK in the X-Men movie and no one had a problem with that. Just this form of it wouldn't extend past Superman's body, or what he was in contact with. And he could fly by force of will rather than a form of propulsion or being manipulated by gravity the same way Jean Grey moves objects, by visualizing it in their minds.

I don't think Nolan and crew will be focusing too much on a realistic prospective concerning Superman's powers, rather I think they will focus on 'a real world' being affected by a 'super powered being/alien' which is met with mistrust by the people, cops, statesmen, and even crimminals who want th defame Supes to make him crumble.

With that said, my understanding, using modern lore, is that kryptonians were more intelligent than humans scientifically and on thier planet they were slightly stronger due to Rao's red solar energy.

The kryptonians absorb sun light more efficiently than we do. When we absorb sunlight our bodies use it to produce vitamin D, cloraphyl, and ceratonin.

Kryptonian bodies can do the same however the sunlight permeates thier cells throughout thier bodies and that solar energy is processed by an additional kryptonian organ [which we do not have]. The organ is connected to the stomach so food is absorbed as well, with the solar energy, and the result is a new energy that is carried from the organ and is dispearsed throughout superman's body. The energy is so powerful it acts as an aura or force field around superman and it is invisable.

Energy, not radiated can also be stored in the organ and since all of Superman's cells are photosenthetic it is only natural that the energy could travel to the spinal cord, through the optic nerves, and out of the eye, when focussed but doing so will eventually deplete the stored energy since energy is being expended.

Low amounts of energy exiting out the eye can also bounce off objects and return to they eye where the brain inerprets the energy as images like a CT scan, rather than x-rays perse.

Because of the force field, Supes can do many things without injury, and as if he does tear a muscle he uses the energy and nutrients he absorbs to heal nearlt instantly in a more evolved state than some aquatic life and insects do.

Superhearing involves a superior auditory canal that Supes can control naturally, and since he absorbs solar energy whose to say he cant hear radio waves?

Arctic breath at some level is not an issue, as I said the aura permeates his cell making all his cells virtually indestructible. His lungs have only to compress the air and when he tightens his lips and blows, boom--- Instant air conditioner!

Flight is the hardest thing to explain. Either he's faster than light or he's not--- Let's say if he uses his full capacity that he is close to the speed of light. This suggests that Superman's aura also gives him telekenisis, but Supes doesn't reason it that way so, if that is the case Superman would use his telekenisis to boost his 5 senses.

This brings us to leaping tall buildings but as he does, he falls, but he decides he's falling too fast so he thinkd 'STOP' and he does--- I hate to bring this up but Superman Returns illustrated this by Clark falling through a barn roof.

OK, Supes stops in mid air. Then he decides to levitate higher until--- He flies!

This proves that because Superman limmits his thoughts he also limmits his power. This is why when Supes flies with Lois she does not freeze. Lois percieves it as Superman's body heat but it is his aura covering her which was described in Lois & Clark, that Superman could extend his aura by touching them and as long as he touched them they could not be injured but as I said this ability is not fine tuned so Superman might not always use it.

So indestructibe aura produced by a kryptonian organ, fed by food and sunlight, gives a boost to Supes natural abilities and also manifests superpowers.

thanks patriautism mate, i dont have any better ideas, love what you've done.

i really only succumbed to comic books over the last year or so, i always loved the movies and tv shows, but only now am i learning about the years and years of comics.

but from what i know already, this is a fantastic take on it, and i appreciate you clearing that up in regards to the sun