What if, instead of...

[Jon Clark]

This was pretty much the Bronze Age take on it-that Kryptonians had to evolve to such a powerful status just to make it on the planet because the environment there was so harsh.

-from Last Son of Krypton.

That was pretty much what framed my ideas on Kryptonians. Some of Maggin's other ideas never worked for me, but those two novels had a few gems.

[adkal]

You'd think that a world full of people with x-ray vision would have figured out that their planet was gonna blow up.

Not if that vision was limited and wasn't able to penetrate beyond a certain level.

[Superlad93]

No, I see what you're saying, its just that at this point in comics psychic powers are so mundane, so common, that I think putting Superman into that box almost kind of dates him to a time when that was a lot more novel. Certain Byrne latched onto the idea and made it clear that his abilities were psionically derived (stealing from himself, as he had established that earlier with Gladiator).

But I don't think Superman needs to be explained away in concrete terms that way. He's an almost mythical figure, and rather than identifying the exact mechanics of the way his powers work, I'd rather just leave it relatively vague - senses which we have no names for - that HE'S labeling as sight/sound/etc. It feels more like an outgrowth of his nature as a big brother/father figure, always watchign in a good way. The way that for years Green Lantern rings had no power against the color yellow due to 'a necessary impurity', and it was left at that. But it in fact underlines the fact that the hero is all about courage, weak against the color of cowardice.

It's one of the things a lot of writers who try to replicate Ellis' technobabble don't really capture; it's not the scientific words that get people, it's the romance you put into it.

Ladies and gentlemen we have a winner. I actually have the same view of Superman's powers. You're GL analogy makes me want to read GL books

All about the romance.

[ascended]

No, I see what you're saying, its just that at this point in comics psychic powers are so mundane, so common, that I think putting Superman into that box almost kind of dates him to a time when that was a lot more novel. Certain Byrne latched onto the idea and made it clear that his abilities were psionically derived (stealing from himself, as he had established that earlier with Gladiator).

But I don't think Superman needs to be explained away in concrete terms that way. He's an almost mythical figure, and rather than identifying the exact mechanics of the way his powers work, I'd rather just leave it relatively vague - senses which we have no names for - that HE'S labeling as sight/sound/etc. It feels more like an outgrowth of his nature as a big brother/father figure, always watchign in a good way. The way that for years Green Lantern rings had no power against the color yellow due to 'a necessary impurity', and it was left at that. But it in fact underlines the fact that the hero is all about courage, weak against the color of cowardice.

It's one of the things a lot of writers who try to replicate Ellis' technobabble don't really capture; it's not the scientific words that get people, it's the romance you put into it.

Quoted for the muthaf***ing truth.

I do agree that his abilities should be an outgrowth of the average Kryptonian's sensory set. High gravity, poor light, low heat, extreme weather patterns, all that. So even before his powers start to grow, he's already seeing the world in a much different way than we do. Adds to the concept that he's not one of us; the isolation, the lonely god. His humanity and humility are equally important character aspects, but without the lonely god all you have is a boy scout in a cape.

I always liked the idea that as he grew older and more powerful, he began to see into new wavelengths. I love the idea of an older Superman watching quantum fields bend around people and time and events. Literally seeing the universe itself unfold in its most basic, multidimensional form. Perhaps, someday, long after the point in time that we actually read about, he even learns to start pulling on those quantum strands? Of course at that point he's not a character, he's a plot device. But I like the idea that that is the place he ends up in, long after leaving earth for greater adventures.