New retrospective! We will be looking at some famous Superman stories, as well as stories that are weird enough to be worth mentioning.
Mostly from the Silver Age, but some stuff from the Golden Age and up to Crisis On Infinite Earths might pop up.
To introduce this, let’s have a look at Superman’s powers.
Specifically, when they were introduced… and when they went off the rails.
(also mind that the latter is just for fun and not as complete)
Let’s begin the classics. Superman tends to have these powers in all adaptations as well, if they have enough budget for it.
SUPER-STRENGTH
Introduced: Action Comics #1 (1938)
This is Superman’s very first superpower, from his very first story. Technically speaking it also includes his ability to jump over a building.
Off the rails: Superman doesn’t waste time getting significantly stronger. By Action Comics #5, he’s already strong enough to crack the top of a mountain.
And by 1942’s Action Comics #47, he can split mountains.
That’s already beyond most super-strong heroes. But I would say that 1947’s Superman #48, where he moves the ENTIRE Appalachian mountain range (!!!), is when things are off the rails.
Perhaps not coincidentally, 1947 is also the same year when Superman pulls out his most recognizable trick to show how strong he is: squeezing coal into diamonds.
That’s from Action Comics #115.
By 1949, he’s strong enough to crash moons and planets together to create a whole new star, in Superman #58.
Brief tangent here.
In the Golden Age, moving planets was more of a Captain Marvel thing. As far as I can tell, he first did it in 1943.
Here he is in 1949, on Captain Marvel Adventures #97, moving around a planet to recapture Earth’s water that was shot into space by Doctor Sivana (don’t ask).
Captain Marvel also pushes a whole star in the following issue…
…and reaches peak absurdity in 1951, when on Captain Marvel Family #56 the team MOVES ENTIRE GALAXIES.
One. Star. At. A. Time.
By comparison, it takes Superman until 1958 on Jimmy Olsen #33 (of all places!) before we see him move a star…
…and for multiple planets, until 1967’s Superboy #140.
I’m not aware of any story where Superman moves a whole galaxy, but that’s kind of close.
SUPER-SPEED
Introduced: Action Comics #1 (1938)
The second power ever shown. While we associate Superman with the phrase “faster than a speeding bullet”, his first description is a little slower.
But for a LITERAL show of him being faster than a bullet, he’s already there in 1939’s Superman #3.
Off the rails: there are multiple references to Superman being faster than light already in the Golden Age. We can dismiss stuff like 1942’s Superman #16 as hyperbole…
…but when he intercepts lightning by 1944’s Action Comics #79, he’s definitely off the rails.
By 1947, he’s fast enough to build a whole city in seconds AND to travel through time. Both are in Superman #48 (in different stories).
INVULNERABILITY
Introduced: Action Comics #1 (1938)
Stated in the same panel that introduces super-speed…
…and showcased by being bulletproof.
Off the rails: in 1946, in Superman #38 he survives a point-blank nuclear explosion.
And that would have been published in 1945, if it wasn’t for the United States Government asking DC Comics to withhold the story for a while for security reasons.
No, really, that happened!
Later in the same year, he even films an atomic test in Action Comics #101 (1946).
He also survives the Earth’s core in Superman #43, on the same year.
But then one-ups himself in 1951, by withstanding the Sun’s core in Action Comics #161.
Particularly notable because he was affected by Kryptonite for most of the trip.
FLIGHT
This is the second trickiest power to track.
Introduced: Superman #10 (1941)
As you probably know, Superman couldn’t initially fly. It’s common knowledge that he gained the power in the Fleischer cartoons… but it’s not entirely correct.
While it’s not outright STATED that he’s flying in this issue… it sure looks like he’s doing more than jumping.
But that’s just the comics, specifically a June 1941 story.
The first time he’s EVER said to be flying is in the second episode of the radio show, from February 1940. As the narrator says there:
Today as our story continues, we find him hovering with his curious power above a quiet highway in Indiana. A trolley car is just pulling up the hill, and as Superman wheels and turns in curious flight…
Superman’s flight is pretty much inseparable from his super-speed, so there’s no point looking for when this particular power went off the rails.
Now we move to the vast, VAST array of visual powers.
Starting with one of Superman’s most known powers overall.
X-RAY VISION
Introduced: Action Comics #11 (1939)
It’s not even properly addressed as a new power. He just has it.
Off the rails: this is hard to choose because today we would classify his most extreme uses of x-ray vision as a different power. But one time, specifically on Action Comics #167 in 1952, he can use x-rays to illuminate the ocean floor. SOMEHOW.
HEAT VISION
Now THIS is the most difficult power to track, because it wasn’t considered a separate power from X-ray vision for YEARS.
Introduced: Superman #59 (1949)
The first time Superman uses his eyes to melt something, it’s treated as a sort of stronger version of X-ray vision. In fact, the term “X-ray vision” encompassed both powers.
The first explicit reference to “heat vision” as a separate power is probably from Superman #145 in 1961.
Off the rails: I’m not so sure about this one, as he might have done something truly extreme earlier. But in Action Comics #206 in 1955, he can vaporize meteors hundreds of thousands of miles away.
TELESCOPIC VISION
Introduced: Action Comics #20 (1940)
A more classic depiction is in Superman #18 (1942), where his eyes are LITERALLY telescopes.
Off the rails: Superman can use his telescopic vision to look into the past, SOMEHOW.
For example, Superman #127 in 1959, although I’m pretty sure he’s done this earlier.
MICROSCOPIC VISION
Introduced: Action Comics #24 (1940)
It’s hard to read in the scan, but he uses it to find a missing bullet. Kind of an unusual application.
Off the rails: World’s Finest #58 (1950)
Another case where it’s hard to make a judgment call, but here he can see individual molecules.
It might not be the first time.
Superman’s vision is definitely his most absurd sense, but his other senses are equally insane.
SUPER-HEARING
Introduced: Action Comics #11 (1939)
This is a bit questionable, since Clark is just in the other room so it might just be regular hearing…
…but if that’s not super-hearing, he definitely already has it by Superman #2 the same year.
By Superman #18 in 1942, he can already hear radio signals.
Off the rails: Action Comics #260 (1960)
This is the earliest instance I could find of Superman hearing sounds FROM SPACE.
Somehow.
SUPER-SMELL
Introduced: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My research came up short on this. I couldn’t identify the first time he uses super-smell.
Off the rails: Superboy #167 (1970)
It’s not a power that comes up all that often, but it DOES get nuts.
I’m sure he does something crazy WAY earlier than this, but… even as a baby he could smell pie from the other side of the planet!
It’s not just Silver Age silliness, though. In the modern era he’s been able to smell brownies from the Moon. (Superman/Batman #46, 2008)
SUPER-TASTE
I’m sure that he HAS to have this one, and it’s sometimes listed, but I couldn’t find any direct evidence of him using it.
So as a treat: Superman’s favorite dish was firmly established in the 70s to be beef bourguignon (see Superman #297, 1976)…
…but it’s just his favorite EARTH food. He misses roast Kryptonian babootch.
SUPER-TOUCH
Another power for which it’s VERY hard to identify the first use.
(this is technically the Superman from another universe, in Superman #355 in 1981)
Moving back to something more recognizable, and one of the powers that is kind of hit-and-miss when it comes to adaptations.
SUPER-BREATH
Introduced: Action Comics #20 (1940), in the same story that introduces telescopic vision.
As standard for the earlies issues, it’s not as impressive as you’d imagine.
Off the rails: Action Comics #49 (1947), where he basically uses it like telekinesis to pull Toyman out of the sky.
That’s nothing compared to Superman #91 in 1954 of course, where it can BLOW OOUT A STAR.
FREEZING BREATH
This is probably the most inconsistent when it comes to adaptations.
For example he doesn’t have it in the Superman Animated Series, but he does have it in the Legion of Super-Heroes cartoon.
Introduced: Superman #129 (1959)
A rare case of the comic acknowledging it’s a new power. Well I guess it’s technically a new use of a power he already has, but close enough.
Off the rails: Action Comics #254 (1959), where he can freeze a tidal wave.
That covers the power he tends to have in most. There are a couple more that pop up sometimes.
SUPER-INTELLIGENCE
I bet that this is THE superpower that non-comic book readers don’t know Superman has.
Probably because it’s not visually exciting and doesn’t get a ton of representation in adaptations, plus it’s been scaled back multiple times.
Introduced: Superman #5 (1940)
Already smart enough to make his own indestructible costume.
Also on Superman #14 (1942), his “advanced intellect” allows him to immediately translate the language of a mermaid.
(no, that’s not a Golden Age version of Lori Lemaris)
By Superman #53 (1950), he’s explicitly super-smart.
Off the rails: Superman #65 (1950)
He solves in seconds a math problem that would require the world’s best computer ten minutes to solve. By comparison, UNIVAC (completed in 1951) would have been able to make about 1,900 instructions per second… not particularly impressive by 2025 standards, but definitely insane for a human in 1950.
By Superman #96 (1955), he can study enough medical texts in minutes to perform surgery.
Also by Lois Lane #8 (1959), he can build machines that give regular people his powers.
SUPER-MEMORY
Superman already has photographic memory in Superman #5 (1940), but that’s not what is typically considered his super-memory.
Introduced: Superman #71 (1956)
He can memorize a full encyclopedia in seconds. From this panel it looks like he just realized it, but it’s just because he had his memory erased by Kryptonite earlier (don’t ask).
Off the rails: Superman #105 (1956)
The entire premise of the story is that Superman can remember everything he’s ever done in his life.
That also counts as being the “off the rails” moment, because you can’t get any more extreme than that.
Unless you can remember your past lives, I suppose, and I don’t think Superman has done that (yet).
SUPER-HYPNOTISM
Introduced: Action Comics #32 (1941)
That’s a bit questionable, though. In the story, Lois had been forced to drink a potion that gave her amnesia, so Superman might actually just have negated the effects.
Not that the distinction matters, because A MONTH LATER (Action Comics #33) he hypnotizes Lois into forgetting she saw Clark use powers. If he can do THAT, why all the attention given to preserve his secret identity!?
Off the rails: Action Comics #247 (1958)
He can transmit his super-hypnotism through a robot he made!
SUPER-VENTRILOQUISM
This is easily Superman’s most Silver Age power. In fact, after the Silver Age they completely stopped giving him this power unless it’s a deliberate throwback.
I’m reluctant to call what he does in Superman #13 (1939) super-ventriloquism since it looks closer to regular ventriloquism.
Introduced: Superman #62 (1950)
This is closer to what would later be defined as super-ventriloquism, as he’s able to project his voice so that it comes out of a police radio. Later he would just do this kind of stuff without any additional help.
Off the rails: Action Comics #278 (1961)
He can communicate with Supergirl by throwing his voice on another city. Kind of unnecessary since they can both hear any sound on Earth.
SUPER-FLARE
This is definitely Superman’s most recent superpower.
Introduced: Superman vol3 #38 (2015)
It’s a natural evolution of heat vision. Instead of releasing his solar energy through just his eyes, Superman can now unleash a MASSIVE blast from all over his body.
I can see why he doesn’t use it often. It causes MASSIVE damage…
…but it leaves him powerless for 24 hours, since he needs time to recharge his cells with new solar energy.
Although he’s already learned how to control that and generate smaller bursts without losing his powers. I don’t know if this power even had the chance to go off the rails, since apparently DC Comics kind of forgot he developed this.
That covers Superman’s “regular” powers… but he’s had a couple of one-off ones that are just too bonkers to ignore!
TELEPATHY
Yep.
Introduced: Superman #45 (1947)
In this TRULY bonkers story, Superman is able to telepathically mind-control an alien.
Off the rails: the comic completely forgot Superman has telepathy.
But sometimes it’s randomly mentioned, such has in Superman #145 (1961) where it can SOMEHOW work as caller ID.
Yeah sure it was an April Fools story so technically it didn’t happen, but… he DID have telepathy for ONE story in the Golden Age!
SHAPESHIFTING
Introduced: Superman #5 (1940)
What is even the point of the glasses if he can do this???
You might think it’s a one-off thing, but Superman impersonates a bunch of people in the Golden Age by “twisting his features”. He does it again in Superman #18 and Action Comics #55, both in 1942.
Off the rails: Superman #45 (1947)
This is just straight up shapeshifting. In the same story that gave him telepathy, even!!!
MINI-SUPERMAN CREATION
Introduced: Superman #125 (1958)
I’m not counting all the other powers he has only for 1 story that are explicitly caused by Red Kryptonite or by temporary effects, but this one is too famous to ignore.
It WILL be part of the retrospective, so I’m not dwelling on it.
SUPER-KISS
And you thought that the movies invented this!
Introduced: Action Comics #306 (1963)
Granted, it’s not as powerful as the Christopher Reeves version where it erases memories, but I’d say it counts.
Even if I’m not counting the one-off powers that are based on transformations and spells, or those from adaptations, or those that are just using his other powers for specific tasks… there also are a bunch of other “minor” powers that are inconsistent and hard to track.
Notably even more visual powers (infra-red vision comes up with some regularity) and the “super-muscle control” that is what supposedly allows him to take a walk without breaking the planet.