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Author Topic: Superman's powers.  (Read 4070 times)

Ratman_tf

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Superman's powers.
« on: October 15, 2021, 06:25:49 PM »
I'm not a Superman aficianado, I just watch the films and used to read comics in the 70's-90's.

Has there ever been a version of Superman where his powers are explained as Kryptonian super-science tinkering with their own biology?
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Shrieking Banshee

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Re: Superman's powers.
« Reply #1 on: October 15, 2021, 08:11:05 PM »
Has there ever been a version of Superman where his powers are explained as Kryptonian super-science tinkering with their own biology?

I think some guy who wrote some wanky webcomic made his own version that had that. And dressed him as M-Bison for some reason.

Ratman_tf

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Re: Superman's powers.
« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2021, 09:18:53 PM »
Has there ever been a version of Superman where his powers are explained as Kryptonian super-science tinkering with their own biology?

I think some guy who wrote some wanky webcomic made his own version that had that. And dressed him as M-Bison for some reason.

 :o
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Shrieking Banshee

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Re: Superman's powers.
« Reply #3 on: October 15, 2021, 09:29:43 PM »
:o

Yeah it was an attempt to tie him into more his 'Working Class Roots' but the end result was that instead of a working class vest+boots, it looked like a military vest+boots.

His entire re-interpretation is a chunk of wank anyway, because the guy has a hard-on (literally and figuratively) for technology, and hates magic. So anything magical was remade into psuedo technology. And some stuff that was already technoology became more "Realistic".

Pat
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Re: Superman's powers.
« Reply #4 on: October 15, 2021, 09:30:14 PM »
I think it's been implied here and there, but really, really weakly. I was always surprised a bit disappointed they never really went there.

Novastar

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Re: Superman's powers.
« Reply #5 on: October 15, 2021, 10:04:32 PM »
Has there ever been a version of Superman where his powers are explained as Kryptonian super-science tinkering with their own biology?
There's like 90 years of alternate takes on Superman's origin; I'm sure someone has written something like that!

That said, the Elseworld's Red Son has something fairly similar for it's twist ending.

And Superman's Kryptonian enemy Doomsday, is almost exactly that origin.

Hopefully someone who's a bigger Superman fan than I, can help your search.
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Omega

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Re: Superman's powers.
« Reply #6 on: October 15, 2021, 11:44:58 PM »
I'm not a Superman aficianado, I just watch the films and used to read comics in the 70's-90's.

Has there ever been a version of Superman where his powers are explained as Kryptonian super-science tinkering with their own biology?

No. Least not in the normal comics. Theres been alot of "What If" versions in Elseworlds where his powers originated from other sources.

Doomsday on the other hand is exactly this. A genetically engineered creature forced to survive on the most deadly planet ever. Primordial Krypton and possessing all the powers of a kryptonian and more.

Theres also been paralell universes where their version of Superman was something else. Ultra Man from the Crime Syndicate for example.

But...

There is the Tangents Superman who IS genetically engineered. This one is a black detective named Harvey Dent. His power though is that his brain and intellect are constantly evolving and improving. Giving him eventually vast mental powers.

The Tangent univers was a pretty fun twist on everything DC.
The Flash was a girl who had light based powers. Wonder Woman was an alien who could think things out of existence. The Joker was a female vigilante. Batman was a knight who saved King Arthur but cursed to be trapped in Castle Bat until he can perform enough good deeds via an animated suit of armour. The Aquaman was a villain, a scientist turned into water and inhabiting the ocean, plotting to destroy the moon as the tides prevented him from gaining full power. and so on.


hedgehobbit

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Re: Superman's powers.
« Reply #7 on: October 16, 2021, 11:23:47 AM »
Has there ever been a version of Superman where his powers are explained as Kryptonian super-science tinkering with their own biology?

While it doesn't explicitly mention super-science, the original explanation of Superman's powers was that Kryptonian's physical structure was "a million years more advanced" than Earthlings. Pictures of Krypton in those days often shows them leaping around their own cities, as if Clark Kent was just an ordinary Kryptonian.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gary_dunaier/2777349330
« Last Edit: October 16, 2021, 11:28:16 AM by hedgehobbit »

Pat
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Re: Superman's powers.
« Reply #8 on: October 16, 2021, 03:49:51 PM »
Has there ever been a version of Superman where his powers are explained as Kryptonian super-science tinkering with their own biology?

While it doesn't explicitly mention super-science, the original explanation of Superman's powers was that Kryptonian's physical structure was "a million years more advanced" than Earthlings. Pictures of Krypton in those days often shows them leaping around their own cities, as if Clark Kent was just an ordinary Kryptonian.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gary_dunaier/2777349330
I've seen that referenced in later stories, but they never really did anything with it. It was just an off-hand mention.

Omega

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Re: Superman's powers.
« Reply #9 on: October 17, 2021, 01:26:35 AM »
Has there ever been a version of Superman where his powers are explained as Kryptonian super-science tinkering with their own biology?

While it doesn't explicitly mention super-science, the original explanation of Superman's powers was that Kryptonian's physical structure was "a million years more advanced" than Earthlings. Pictures of Krypton in those days often shows them leaping around their own cities, as if Clark Kent was just an ordinary Kryptonian.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gary_dunaier/2777349330
I've seen that referenced in later stories, but they never really did anything with it. It was just an off-hand mention.

The original comics and well into much later had it that they were normal people on Krypton. The idea that they were all super powered on Krypton is stupid on multiple levels.

HappyDaze

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Re: Superman's powers.
« Reply #10 on: October 17, 2021, 02:22:37 AM »
Has there ever been a version of Superman where his powers are explained as Kryptonian super-science tinkering with their own biology?

While it doesn't explicitly mention super-science, the original explanation of Superman's powers was that Kryptonian's physical structure was "a million years more advanced" than Earthlings. Pictures of Krypton in those days often shows them leaping around their own cities, as if Clark Kent was just an ordinary Kryptonian.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gary_dunaier/2777349330
I've seen that referenced in later stories, but they never really did anything with it. It was just an off-hand mention.

The original comics and well into much later had it that they were normal people on Krypton. The idea that they were all super powered on Krypton is stupid on multiple levels.
The idea in some versions that they were starfaring and could travel multiple galaxies and could go to places where they had godlike powers yet almost all choose to remain on Krypton is also stupid on multiple levels. Of course, in that version, they almost deserve to go extinct when Krypton explodes.

Pat
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Re: Superman's powers.
« Reply #11 on: October 17, 2021, 11:43:55 AM »
Has there ever been a version of Superman where his powers are explained as Kryptonian super-science tinkering with their own biology?

While it doesn't explicitly mention super-science, the original explanation of Superman's powers was that Kryptonian's physical structure was "a million years more advanced" than Earthlings. Pictures of Krypton in those days often shows them leaping around their own cities, as if Clark Kent was just an ordinary Kryptonian.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gary_dunaier/2777349330
I've seen that referenced in later stories, but they never really did anything with it. It was just an off-hand mention.

The original comics and well into much later had it that they were normal people on Krypton. The idea that they were all super powered on Krypton is stupid on multiple levels.
The idea that they were normal on Krypton and suddenly gained overwhelmingly massive powers if they left is far more stupid.

I wonder if that's the reason why they never really tried to justify Kryptonian powers. They realized even handwavium wasn't enough, so they gave up entirely and just ignored the problem instead.

Shrieking Banshee

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Re: Superman's powers.
« Reply #12 on: October 17, 2021, 01:40:22 PM »
If you want a decent explanation: The destruction of Krypton (however it happened) was the event that granted nearby Kryptonians superpowers, but in the process made Krypton chunks (kryptonite) radioactive and dangerous to Kryptonians.

Its comic booky, but I feel works well enough. Doesn't explain Kryptonians offworld at the time but celavi.

Pat
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Re: Superman's powers.
« Reply #13 on: October 17, 2021, 03:38:55 PM »
To really ground that, you'd need some kind of source for that energy. Could easily be Lovecraftian or magical, but if we want to keep Krypton as one of the most advanced civilizations in the universe, the most logical solution would be some new and untapped form of energy that even surpasses the nonsense energies of Oa.

Shrieking Banshee

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Re: Superman's powers.
« Reply #14 on: October 17, 2021, 04:27:09 PM »
To really ground that, you'd need some kind of source for that energy.
COSMIC RAYS  8)

If you want, the cause of the planets destruction was an attempt to inbue it with somekind of super-science thing (maybe grant everybody superpowers). It failed and caused the explosion but its rays gave superpowers.