BlackNight
05-17-2006, 06:25 AM
There are some things Superman cannot do. Since he is not human, it is generally thought that he cannot donate blood, tissue, or organs (a story in Superman Family #214 (January 1982) in which Clark Kent gives blood may no longer be canonical). Procedures like surgery are impossible without special equipment such as controlled kryptonite exposure. He does not sweat under earthly conditions, as no temperatures are high enough to make him secrete liquid to cool himself down. The issue of whether Superman can father children is humorously explored in the movie Mallrats, as well as in the essay Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex by sci-fi author Larry Niven (originally published in his 1971 collection All the Myriad Ways). During the Armageddon 2001 storyline, a possible future was seen in which Lois Lane, with the aid of fertility drugs, was able to conceive. However, a kick from the fetus inflicted fatal internal injuries. On the final episode of the television series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, the pair adopted a child who, like Clark, came from mysterious origins, and the "Death of Superman" novel established that Kryptonian DNA is twelve-stranded, and thus incompatible with two-stranded human DNA. But historically, many stories have established that Superman can in some manner have progeny.
Superman is also vulnerable to magical and psionic effects. Although he is no more detrimentally affected by such effects than a normal human would be, this is a significantly exploitable weakness in comparison to his incredible physical resilience. As a result, in the recent mini-series, First Thunder, which depicts Superman's first encounter with Captain Marvel, Superman notes that he would prefer that Captain handle these threats when possible since, although Captain Marvel's powers are similar to his own, their magical orientation makes him more capable of facing supernatural enemies.
During the JLA/Avengers crossover, Superman battled Marvel Comics character Thor. Although the thunder god manages to draw blood from the Last Son of Krypton with his mystical hammer "Mjolnir", it is evident that Superman's invulnerability still worked to resist debilitating damage from the blows, even going so far as blocking the weapon mid-strike (only achieved once before during Thor's battle against Count Nefaria), as well as the lightning from the god's warhammer. It's been established that if the effect of magic is used to simulate or enhance a naturally occurring force (such as the natural elements or concussive energy, for example), Superman's natural defenses reacts to them normally. Effects that specifically alter the established laws of science are another matter entirely such as the natural weapons of supernatural creatures (vampires, werewolves, etc.), spells and arcane energies targeted at the Man of Steel are treated as cast on any mortal.
Although Superman can resist telepathic/mental manipulation or outright domination thanks to his Kryptonian knowledge of "Torquasm Vo" (a mental training technique), as well as his own indomitable will, his natural powers do not provide him with any special defenses against such attacks.
Superman is also noticeably vulnerable to the absorption abilities of the villain known as the Parasite, whose powers are capable of weakening or even killing the Man of Steel.
Superman is also vulnerable to magical and psionic effects. Although he is no more detrimentally affected by such effects than a normal human would be, this is a significantly exploitable weakness in comparison to his incredible physical resilience. As a result, in the recent mini-series, First Thunder, which depicts Superman's first encounter with Captain Marvel, Superman notes that he would prefer that Captain handle these threats when possible since, although Captain Marvel's powers are similar to his own, their magical orientation makes him more capable of facing supernatural enemies.
During the JLA/Avengers crossover, Superman battled Marvel Comics character Thor. Although the thunder god manages to draw blood from the Last Son of Krypton with his mystical hammer "Mjolnir", it is evident that Superman's invulnerability still worked to resist debilitating damage from the blows, even going so far as blocking the weapon mid-strike (only achieved once before during Thor's battle against Count Nefaria), as well as the lightning from the god's warhammer. It's been established that if the effect of magic is used to simulate or enhance a naturally occurring force (such as the natural elements or concussive energy, for example), Superman's natural defenses reacts to them normally. Effects that specifically alter the established laws of science are another matter entirely such as the natural weapons of supernatural creatures (vampires, werewolves, etc.), spells and arcane energies targeted at the Man of Steel are treated as cast on any mortal.
Although Superman can resist telepathic/mental manipulation or outright domination thanks to his Kryptonian knowledge of "Torquasm Vo" (a mental training technique), as well as his own indomitable will, his natural powers do not provide him with any special defenses against such attacks.
Superman is also noticeably vulnerable to the absorption abilities of the villain known as the Parasite, whose powers are capable of weakening or even killing the Man of Steel.