What are Superman's most well known and least well known abilities?

[MorphyVSFischer]

Superman, and his abilities, are of course very well known to the public at large. What abilities do you believe would be his most identifiable, the thing people think of when they think of Superman?

The two that come to mind of course are flying and superstrength. Everyone wants to fly, and pretty much everyone associates this ability with Superman, even its highly common to superheroes. Same with super strength.

Conversely what would be a ability that only a comic book fan would know?
Super ventroliquism comes to mind, as does the super kiss although I believe that was a one off ability.
Thougts.

[Superlad93]

That only a comic book fan would know? Well his powers are pretty well known, but a lot of people really don't know that he has a super singing voice aka super vocal cords. So yeah you were right about the ventriloquism.

Most well known by everyone? Well I'd say the triple package that makes him up most of the time: Super strength, flight, and durability.

[the Sun God]

Super-weaving.

[GreenComixEnvy]

Super-weaving.

isn't this just him weaving at super speed.

[the Sun God]

isn't this just him weaving at super speed.

Yes, it is. The Pre-Crisis Superman called everything Super...
For example, the super-mathematics... isn't just is super-intelligence?

[Superlad93]

Oh and I'll add that most people outside of comics ton't actually know that he has super-intelligence. Thanks Sun God.

[the Sun God]

Oh and I'll add that most people outside of comics ton't actually know that he has super-intelligence. Thanks Sun God.

Unfortunately, he has lost it 27 years ago.

[Superlad93]

Unfortunately, he has lost it 27 years ago.

But he's got it back now

[marshal99]

[Self-DCeit]

For the most well known, it's a toss-up between flying, superstrength and durability. His most iconic and frequent depictions in pop culture are flying, though, so maybe I'd go with that. As for the most obscure, and disregarding the super-everything he had in the Silver Age, I'd say the recently revived super-intelligence. The average person doesn't see Superman as a particularly smart hero.

[Kurosawa]

The most obscure is the face changing ability which was only used in the Golden Age and only rarely then. I guess soul vision might be the next most obscure, only Maggin and a few other writers have touched on it.

[Last Son]

Of Superman's recurring abilities, I think I'm going to go with telescopic/microscopic vision as his least known abilities. Super strength, flight, super speed, x-ray vision, and super hearing are all his most well known abilities. Super breath is an ability that tends to get left out of his power set at times due to the perception that it's "silly" and heat vision is a relative late-comer so I don't think it ever quite developed the same sort of synonymy as his other powers.

[Tra-EL]

I always thought when it comes to Superman on the cleanest surface of a comic-book hero, and to a casual, I'd go with microscopic vision as a least known power. I always goof around with that since I have good eyes (and my finance' has TERRIBLE eyesight) and I always say "Yep, I totally read that. It's my microscopic vision" haha. Finally, she said 'Huh?' I'm like, you know, microscopic vision, the ability to focus in on the tiniest of things at such a far distance away...come on, within' Superman's power-set." She never knew. Now she does, lol.

An honorable mention would be freeze-breath. Though it's in his arsenal, he never uses it often than he does his others (though it may be well known because Reeve used it in the classic movies at times.) If we were talking what hurts him, I'd say magic. Most people I've come across have no idea Supes is weakened by magic.

The obvious well-known powers in my opinion would be: Flight, Invulnerability, Heat Vision, X-Ray Vision, Super-Hearing, Super-Speed and Super-Intelligence (I always viewed Superman to be an obvious smart and well thought out, responsible man.) I mean, come on, standing alongside The Batman and having the need to call yourselves "Worlds Finest", he would have to be quite intelligent.

[Coyote2010]

I think his ability to perceive matter and reality at it's vibrational level and effect change in different ways, sonics, counter vibrations, heat vision, yeah the molecular vision!

[Toreador]

His most common/well known would be flight, super-strength, invulnerability, heat and x-ray vision. Least known is his infra-red vision that allows him to see in the dark and super-voice mimicry of being able to mimic anyone's voice.