I came up with a list of weaknesses, and I'm going to make a Silver Age vs Modern Age comparison, with a brief power outline for each age:
Silver Age
Superman is the unquestioned top dog. His peers are routinely shown and told that they are no match for him whenever there's a hero vs hero confrontation, and Superman always holds back or gives them something to even the odds. He's one of the most powerful beings in the
universe, and few creatures can match the guy who destroys galaxies with a sneeze and thinks nothing of pushing planets out of orbit, and villains almost always need a Superman-specific scheme.
Silver Age Weaknesses
Green Lantern
- Color yellow
- Ring needs to be recharged
Wonder Woman
- Loses powers when manacled or tied by a man
Martian Manhunter
- Completely nullified by fire
Superman
- Kryptonite
- Magic
- Red sun radiation
- Q-energy (
I kid you not)
- Random pseudo-scientific, one-trick pony gadgets
Modern
Hardly a month goes by where something to the effect of "this guy hits harder than Superman / could give Superman a run for his money" isn't uttered. A hypothetical fight between Superman and most of the Big 7 is no longer a clear-cut, no-doubt-about-it victory for Superman. Heroes have been buffed and pushed (some, like Wonder Woman, are now almost at Superman's physical level), and a number of deadly intergalactic threats and monsters sprung up, many of which Superman is hard-pressed to beat on his own, if at all. Depending on the writer, Superman is either the, or one of the most powerful men on
Earth.
Modern Age weaknesses
Green Lantern
- Ring needs to be recharged
Wonder Woman
- None
Martian Manhunter
- To be determined. Pre-Flashpoint, the fire weakness was very much under control
Superman
- Kryptonite
- Magic
- Red sun radiation
Can you spot the problem...?
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