Superman weakening through the years?

This may be a stupid question since I don't always keep up with things. To me the Supermen of the 1950's (comics and TV) will always be the Superman. Anything noticibly different is an impostor. IIRC DC Comics over the years has tried to make him 'relevant' thus weaker and more vulnerable.

To me, practically the only thing that could kill Superman or seriously affect him was some sort of Kryptonite. Extreme temperatures, no oxygen, extreme gravity, no problem. I actually used to wonder if he tried to fly the center of the sun, perhaps for the benifit of charity, like when he performed at a party on TAOS, could he? I figured it would do more harm to the sun than him What do you think? Am I right or am I right

I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend until YOUR DEATH your right to say it!

Silver-Age Superman used to fly through the sun to dry-clean his outfit, which at the time was made out of Kryptonian cloth.

It's true it's true...I swear, you can look it up!!

Just Jim

things. To me >the Supermen of the 1950's (comics and >TV) will always be the Superman. >Anything noticibly different is an >impostor. IIRC DC Comics over the >years has tried to make him 'relevant' >thus weaker and more vulnerable.

seriously affect >him was some sort of Kryptonite. >Extreme temperatures, no oxygen, >extreme gravity, no problem. I actually >used to wonder if he tried to fly the >center of the sun, perhaps for the benifit >of charity, like when he performed at a >party on TAOS, could he? I figured it >would do more harm to the sun than >him What do you think? Am I right or >am I right

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First, I wonder how old you are. I think there is some nostalgia at work here, and that is fine. But people have to be conscious of this sort of thing. This current weakened Superman is much stronger tha the original Superman. The description of faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, and nothing short of a bursting shell could harm him were literal. Maybe this reverse arguement happened in the Silver age. I personally like all the different versions (minus the long hair). But I think that a nearly invulnerable character is boring, or difficult to make interesting month after month in credible action stories. We all know that the hero will win in any comic story, but we know that an all powerful Superman could do it while yawning. What's the point? I know I'll complain about how bad Superman has gotten sometime in the future myself, but maybe I won't.

The point might be that some of us here still recall and discuss Silver Age stories that are going on forty years old. Superman's current readership and, I daresay, the public affection for this version of the character is but a small fraction of what it was in, say, the early 1960s. When the public thinks of Superman, they don't think of the current one. They think of the nearly omnipotent Silver Age Superman

I agree the real Superman in on hiatus somewhere especially in the current animated series as well as comicx, I wish he would come back, because this current version is just so weak !. It is a shame to put the name of Superman on any of these impostors who struggle with every job..(gurnting & groaning).

Yep, I sure mis the real deal, Superman please come back.

Good Writing does conquer all ! Not changing a character to suit someones needs for a quick fix.

I too prefer a stronger Superman. But I can't believe this talk about a 'real' Superman and 'imposters'. Does this mean the Golden Age Superman is an imposter as well since he is the weakest of the bunch? I think the current and animated Supermen are just as real as any version that came before them. So they can't move planets and groan with effort. So what? Powers aren't everything, they're not even the most important part of Superman. What is important is his determination to get the task done, even if he knows the odds are against him. The animated series has been doing this admirably, whereas the comics have Superman doubting himself and hesitating too much for my taste. That's not Superman. If I wanted to read about a whiney doubter I'd go read X-Men.

I disagree. The strength of Superman is irrelevant. It is the idea of Superman that makes Superman what he is. Granted when people think of Superman they immediately think of the powers, but Superman is so much more. It is his stance for truth and justice that has made Superman the icon that he is today ... not the powers.

Sure we have all, myself included at one stage, dreamed what it would be like to have Superman's powers. But those powers by themselves would not make us Superman. It is the Man, not the costume or powers. As it was put in one of the comics he is superMAN not SUPERman.

But let's assume that you are right and that the powers do make the Superman.

Does that mean a totally powerless Superman is less of a Superman than the same version with full powers? I don't think so. Even without his powers Superman has put himself on the line to protect the weak and innocent even during his famed god-like Silver Age reign.

Good points. But personally I think Superman is a mix of his powers and his personality.

If you just have the powers it is the Rob Liefeld version of Supreme or a Silver Age Phantom Zone villian. You need the high moral code to make Superman the hero he is.

But if you remove the powers you lose part of what attracts us to the character. His powers let him do things that no one else can. Clark Kent could do a lot of good around Metropolis and maybe even change the world in a small way even without powers. But Clark would be limited in what he could do if his powers didn't enable him to be anywhere in the world in seconds. If he actually had to spend time worrying before entering dangerous situations to lend assistance. Or if he didn't have the ability to ignore unjust authority with fear of retribution. At best he'd be Captain America without the patriotic motif- a guy with strong moral beliefs but human limits on how he can apply them.

And my take is that Superman should be one of the most (if not the most) poweful hero in his universe. But I don't mind the lesser power levels of Kal-L, the cartoon, or the Byrne version since the powersin eace case are scaled to that universe. None of them can swim through stars- but there also aren't numerous other characters in their universes who can. Remember in 1986 when Byrne was rebooting, the only Flash alive had trouble reaching Mach 1.

I generally like a less powerful Superman simply because it makes it easier to accept that he isn't solving every problem he encounters in a few minutes. In the Silver Age you had to suspend a lot of disbelief to watch Superman take on Terra-Man, the Toyman or even Luthor for more than a few panels. A guy who 'bathes' by flying through stars shouldn't be bothered by anything built with modern Earth tech or even gadgets a century or so more advanced than us. And when you factor in a level of speed where he could be anywhere in the known universe in the time it took normal people to blink, it made no sense for a normal guy to EVER get the drop on Superman.

On the other hand I also don't want to see half the DCU composed of guys who outclass Superman in multiple powers. The Flash can be faster, Darkseid may be stronger, and Diana may be more graceful in flight - but Superman should rank in the top few people possessing any one of his powers and outclass in someway almost anyone possessing two or more similar powers. Like being slightly stronger than Daxamites, while they are a bit more invulnerable (or vice versa) to use a hypothetical. Or being more powerful than J'onn with all their shared powers since J'onn also has powers Superman doesn't.

I grew up with the Silver Age Superman, and while I admit the validity of all interpretations of the character, the current depowered, weak-willed characterisation does grate. I seem to remember a time when a simple mentalist would not have been able to take over Superman. His mental strength was that great. Sort of like Batman's mind, but with Kryptonian stamina.

In my heart, I think of the Silver Age Superman when I think of Superman. For a start, he didn't take himself so seriously (at least not up to just prior to the Crisis - which may have been an ongoing strategy). A couple of the stories dealt with the fact that Superman had god-like powers. It was quite interesting. We often meet villains who think they are gods. Superman was a go who thought he was a man. Despite his heritage, Superman always thought of himself as a man. Just look at the very early cartoons and TV shows. His humanity was his most memorable trait. 'Gee, Lois. Just because I can lift a train doesn't mean that I don't like a good hot dog.'

Hey man, that's deep! I liked the idea of Superman being a god who thinks he's a man. That what makes Superman Superman.