Were PRE-Crisis characters really more powerful than POST Crisis? I'm not so sure...

[colossus34]

I'm sorry but as younger fan of comics(been reading for only 10 years) I can't help but laugh hysterically whenever someone on the boards mentions how powerful, strong PRE-Crisis characters were. I mean when I saw this link below of Superboy towing an entire galaxy of planets behind his back with a FREAKIN CHAIN--I couldn’t think about how absurd and unrealistic that was!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...es/SA-Supes.gif

I mean I understand comics are about suspending disbelief but Pre-Crisis, Golden Age Comics feats, plots and storylines were simply beyond comprehension. It was a whole different era, when comics were written often times as a form of cheap kid’s entertainment and the writers didn't take their storytelling as genuinely. I'm not trying to demean the beautiful work of some great creators but lets be honest, if comics hadn't evolved as a medium we'd probably be reading comics we're our superhero's do incomprehensible feats like tying a lasso around a star with their belt and playing dodgball with planets! The whole Pre-Crisis, Golden Age all just feels like one big massive Plot induced Stupidy after another!

What I'm trying to suggest is that people need to stop mentioning Pre-Crisis heroes as MORE Powerful than modern incarnations as its NOT necessarily true. Modern characters are simply written as more plausible and understandable characters and less like cartoon heroes for a 4-year old's imagination! Yes Post-Crisis Superman doesn't fly absurdly around the galaxy and tie freakin metal chains around planets but THANK GOD FOR THAT--cause I would laugh that off as something my 4-yr old Nephew dreamed up while he was taking a bubble bath!

Who agrees with me??????

[dancj]

I'm not totally sure what you're saying. Yes the current superheroes are (mostly) written much more realistically than the pre-crisis versions, but I don't see how that stops them being less powerful now. Mainly I think Superman was the only one who was down-powered, and he's definitely less powerful now - though a lot more powerful than he was immediately after the reboot

[pauwoo]

I believe that Superman is the main chracter to suffer from the de-powering, although he is heading in that direction again.

The pre-crisis superman could probably taken out the whole of the existing DCU by himself, that was the silly level his powers had gotten to.

The current Wonder Woman may be more powerful than the pre-crisis version.

Wally is slower than Barry, Barry could easily go faster than light without disappearing into the speed-force.

Wally before crisis was this fast, but after crisis he was depowered quite a bit.

[Forefinger]

I think that another way to look at the depowering of some characters is "why can't Flash beat everyone in the DCU if he can move at the speed of light?". Some characters are too powerful and uninteresting. That's why they had to make Kryptonite. I think that heros having to struggle a bit to do good is far more interesting than all powerful ones twitching thier fingers and saving the world.

[chicagokmc]

there are differences in power levels of some characters, both heroes and villians.

superman was already discussed. pre-crisis captain marvel and family were about up there with supes in regards to ridiculous pre-crisis power levels. luthor was like braniac 5 with his ability to decipher alien technologies - he has been brought back to more realistic levels. you can almost put the entire legion of superheroes in this group as well (karate kid comes to mind, as does the fatal 5 villian validus who was more powerful than pre-crisis superboy or mon-el one on one).

i don't think it's hard and fast that pre-crisis is more powerful than post-crisis, but there are several instances of it. in some cases, the reverse is true.

i think in the post crisis world more cis/pis is used so that superman isn't going around beating everyone with super speed. that to me is a good thing.

[The Adventurer]

Personaly I believe Superman could do with a complete restructuring of powers back to his very first appearce levels. Back when he was really a "Super"man and not a Super"god". You know A degree of Superstrength (more powerful then a locomotive), superspeed(faster then a speeding Bullet), having to Jump everywhere (flight is actualy one of the things that NEVER made sense about superman), and supersight and hereing (but no crazy Eye Powers like heat and X-ray). Back when his powers were derived from Krypton having high gravity so he was just a "better" human.

That Superman could have very interesting adventures, not this "I'm the most powerful being in the universe" superman that's been hanging around DC since...well when he got his flight, eye powers, and the ability to travel at the speed of light and all those other crazy powers.

[chicagokmc]

Personaly I believe Superman could do with a complete restructuring of powers back to his very first appearce levels. Back when he was really a "Super"man and not a Super"god". You know A degree of Superstrength (more powerful then a locomotive), superspeed(faster then a speeding Bullet), having to Jump everywhere (flight is actualy one of the things that NEVER made sense about superman), and supersight and hereing (but no crazy Eye Powers like heat and X-ray). Back when his powers were derived from Krypton having high gravity so he was just a "better" human.

That Superman could have very interesting adventures, not this "I'm the most powerful being in the universe" superman that's been hanging around DC since...well when he got his flight, eye powers, and the ability to travel at the speed of light and all those other crazy powers.

even if he isnt the most powerful in the universe, dc has structured its universe on the premise that supes is at tops of the hero food chain. depowering supes at this point would mean restructuring many of the other heroes' powers accordingly (for example it wouldn't work if superman is brought down but martian manhunter is not). supes' rogues gallery would also have to be powered down.