Odd powers are not uncommon when it comes to superheroes. The powers of flight, heat vision, or X-ray vision are really odd if you think about it. However, most fans don’t think so when considering traditional superheroes, like Superman, the first modern superhero. There is an X-Men character known as Soft Serve with the power to excrete ice cream. (The character is an Easter Egg who exists in the background of panels.) There is another X-Men, ForgetMeNot, whose power is to be completely forgotten the moment you look away from him. However, Superman might have some of the oddest and strangest powers ever.
The Odd Powers of Superman
You know that Superman has the power of flight, super strength, heat vision, cold breath, invulnerability, super reflexes, and more. However, did you know that Superman once had the power to expel his strength through a super flare as a destructive wave? Or that he had the power of super ventriloquism?
Superman has had a lot of odd powers since his debut in Action Comics #1 in 1938. Here are 10 of them.
1. Superman’s Super Flare
In Superman #38 from 2015, Superman battles the energy-absorbing villain Ulysses. The more energy Ulysses absorbs, the stronger he becomes. So, Superman begins projecting so much heat vision energy that his power overloads. Superman’s body expels every iota of yellow sun solar energy stored in his cells like a supernova or local solar flare.
Superman overloads the villain and wins the fight. However, writers have not made use of the solar flare power since. The side effect of the solar flare is that Superman becomes completely human for 24 hours. So, Superman is powerless for a day, the planet is vulnerable, and he can’t act in an emergency. Giving Superman odd powers like this doesn’t help to innovate when making new stories creatively.
2. Immortal Golden Superman
In DC One Million from 1998, it is the 853rd century. The future descendants of the Justice League must defend the Earth from a sentient A.I. This evil A.I. is fused to the center of a star and is known as Solaris, or the Tyrant Sun. Kal Kent is the 853rd century’s Superman, and a descendant of the original.
Clark Kent is still alive. However, he has spent over 15,000 years living in the center of the sun. He has spent so much time absorbing yellow sun energy that his skin is now golden. Superman is now omnipotent, immortal, and so God-like that he can do anything.
DC One Million Omnibus is a 1,080-page hardcover that collects the entire event and numerous tie-in issues. Buy it now at Amazon for $99.
The event is known as DC One Million because the 1 millionth issue of Action Comics would theoretically be published sometime in the 853rd century.
3. Gold Superman (Again)
Superman Unlimited #1 is a 2025 series by writer Dan Slott and artist Rafael Albuquerque. I want to like this comic, I really do. However, it features some new and odd powers that have yet to make sense. In the comic, a giant meteor made of kryptonite will soon collide with Earth.
Superman flies up and stops the kryptonite meteor, even though Kryptonite makes him incredibly weak. Superman thinks he is near death and falls into a coma for months. Upon awakening, he soon learns that he has a new power.
After stopping a mountain of kryptonite, Superman is now immune to the effects of kryptonite. Also, his skin and costume now have a golden hue when under the illumination of the right scientific lighting.
4. Becomes A Surgeon After Speed Reading and Learning
In Action Comics #12 from 2012, Lois Lane gets injured during a battle between Superman and Captain Comet. Captain Comet has many powers, including telepathy and telekinesis. So, Captain Comet toys with Superman’s mind long enough for Lois’ condition to go critical.
By the time Superman gets Lois to the hospital, it is too late. Also, the doctors don’t have the equipment or expertise to save Lois. So, Superman races to a medical library, reads every medical text at super-speed, and performs the surgery himself. It might have made sense if Superman performed test operations on cadavers or A.I. cadavers like a real medical student.
The point is, these are odd powers to have because reading a medical book really fast does not make one a surgeon, even Superman.
5. Super Ventriloquism
Superman has had the power of super-ventriloquism for decades. In Superman #13 from 1941, Superman uses traditional ventriloquism to fool some criminals. So, from the Silver and Bronze Age of Comics, Superman would throw his voice over extremely long distances to fight crime or save people.
In World’s Finest #259 from 1979, Superman uses super ventriloquism to get people off a collapsing bridge. Odd powers like this are seen as goofy by modern writers.
6. Facial Shape Shifting
In Action Comics #55 from 1942, Superman has the power to stretch and shift his facial features around. He can shape-shift his face to look like someone else. Odd powers like this were used a few times in the Golden Age of Comics, but not since. It’s kind of goofy and was probably seen as redundant with the advent of the secret identity.
7. Super-Hypnotism
In Superman #330 from 1978, Superman uses his glasses to super-hypnotize the citizens of Metropolis to protect them from the Spellbinder. Additionally, this ploy is also to explain that Clark Kent subconsciously mesmerizes people into believing that Clark and Superman are two different people.
8. Rainbow Beams and Mini-Clone Shooting Fingers
In Action Comics #125 from 1958, Superman exhibits some wacky and off powers that seem to have been forgotten with time. In this Silver Age story, Superman temporarily loses his powers while fighting a villain. So, Superman realizes that he can project disorienting rainbow beams from his hands. Then, he can project a mini-clone of himself from his finger that has his powers!
9. Amnesia Kisses
As the kids say, Superman has all the rizz. In Superman II, Clark Kent reveals to Lois Lane that he and Superman are the same person. The weight of this knowledge wears on Lois’ mind. So, Clark erases his super-identity from Lois’ mind with a super passionate kiss. How does Superman control this power via his lips without erasing Lois’ mind, causing amnesia, or brain damage? No one knows.
10. Super Smell
Superman was shown to have super olfactory senses as recently as 2013’s Action Comics #22. While at a party, Superman is able to smell traces of an element known as Infinitium on a famous actor. However, the only place with any Infinitium is the Fortress of Solitude. The element can be used to make weapons.
Why is this one of the odd powers of Superman? If Superman can smell the trace residue of a rare element on one person, then shouldn’t he be able to smell everyone on Earth? Shouldn’t Superman be able to discern the smell of over 8 billion people?
The more you think about it, the grosser the power becomes.
Odd Powers Are in the Eye of the Beholder
Context is everything when considering what is an odd power and what isn’t.
Fans thought that Superman being so omnipotent made him unrelatable. Also, having a superhero be that powerful took all of the tension away from the character. If Superman can sneeze and blow out a star, then he is unbeatable. A villain like Doomsday had to come along and kill Superman interesting again.
Superman was kind of an odd and campy character until 1986.
1986’s Man of Steel
Legendary writer and artist John Byrne would reinvent Superman for the 20th century. In 1986’s Man of Steel, Jor-El and Lara-El are seen as elitist Kryptonians who believe the humans of Earth are inferior. They find comfort in the fact that Kal-El would potentially be their ruler after sending him there.
Kal-El is an embryo in the rocket that leaves Krypto. He develops in an artificial womb within the rocket and is “born” when the Kents discover him. Since he is the “Last Son of Krypton,” there is no more Supergirl or Krypto the Wonder Dog, or the lost Kryptonian city of Kandor. In this series, Kal-El never became Superboy.
Lex Luthor was a wacky criminal and mad scientist in the comics until this series. Now, Luthor was the sociopathic billionaire CEO of LexCorp. Byrne also de-powered Superman a bit to make him struggle more in fights and create more tension. Byrne would excise some of the odder elements of the Superman mythos in this series.
This comic would some a lot of the Superman tropes fans take for granted today, like Luthor as a billionaire. I highly recommend you read this series. Superman: The Man of Steel Vol. 1 is a 478-page hardcover that collects all six issues and a few tie-in issues. Buy it for $32.49 at Amazon. I own this and read it a few times a year; they don’t make comics like this anymore.
This post includes affiliate links. If you purchase anything through these affiliated links, the author/website may earn a commission.
You May Also Like…
- 8 Reasons X-Men Leader Cyclops is Underrated
- 9 Comic Book Series That Brilliantly Blend Science and Fiction
- 10 Reasons Mr. Terrific is the Smartest Man Alive
- Forgotten Comic Book Epics: The Immortal Iron Fist
- 8 Epic Comic Book Stories Featuring Silver Surfer
The post 10 Odd Powers You Did Not Know Superman Had appeared first on Personal Finance Advice.
