Superman

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Superman
Superman.png
Species Kryptonian
Gender Male
Member of Super Friends
Affiliation Batman
Wonder Woman
Robin
Aquaman
Marvin White
Wendy Harris
Wonder Dog
Krypto
Mystery Incorporated[Note 1]
Occupation Superhero
Reporter
Works for Daily Planet
Father Jor-El
Adoptive father, Jonathan Kent
Mother Lara
Adoptive mother, Martha Kent
Cousin(s) Supergirl
Marital status Husband to Lois Lane[Note 2]
Son(s) Jon Kent[Note 3]
First appearance SF: "The Power Pirate" (1973)
Played by Danny Dark (1973-85)
Nolan North (2023)
TSPT Superman.png
The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians
Scooby Movie Superman.png
Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too!

Superman is a Kryptonian superhero and one of the main characters of the Super Friends animated franchise. His voice was originated by Danny Dark. Having been born on the planet Krypton, he was named Kal-El, but was quickly sent to Earth before it exploded, where he was found and adopted by two elderly humans who named him Clark Kent. He grew up to live a double life as the protector of the city of Metropolis and a reporter for the Daily Planet.

Character description

Superman as Clark.

Powers

  • Kryptonian physiology: While Superman may look human, his alien makeup differs significantly from that of any Earthling, allowing him to use all of his abilities.
    • Solar radiation absorption: Superman's physiology is absorbed by the solar radiation of Earth's yellow sun, and as such, gains the ability to use his powers.
    • Superhuman strength: Superman possesses a vast amount of strength compared to most people. How much of that power is used varies by how he is portrayed on-screen.
    • Invulnerability: Bullets or any physical actions with brute force have no effect on Superman, as he is nigh-invulnerable to them. This also extends to his protection against toxins and diseases.
    • Superhuman stamina: Superman is able to maintain strenuous physical action for a long period of time. Despite this, it is limited by physiological and psychological needs such as eating, drinking, and sleeping.
    • Superhuman speed: Superman's reflexes can move at incredible speed by sheer force of will. This extends to perceptions and allows for feats such as catching bullets in mid-flight, as well as covering vast distances in little or no time.
    • Flight: Superman is capable of defying gravity by flying through the atmosphere and beyond.
    • Heightened senses: Superman has heightened senses such as smelling, hearing, and sight. They are sensitive enough to pick at rates much higher than an average human.
    • Enhanced vision: Sometimes called "Superhuman Vision", or "Super Vision", Superman processes the entire electromagnetic spectrum as well as allowing vast control over selective perception and focus.
      • Heat vision: Superman can fire beams of intense heat simply by looking at a target.
      • X-ray vision: Superman can see through virtually any object, with the exception of lead, or anything made out of that material.
      • Telescopic vision: This ability grants Superman access to look at things at a greater distance.
      • Microscopic vision: Superman can see objects at the microscopic level, right down to at an atomic level.
      • Infrared Vision: Superman can see with better acuity in darkness, and to a degree in total darkness.
    • Super Breath: Superman's lungs are incredibly powerful, and can expel vastly strong winds by exhaling air. He can also chill the air as it leaves his lungs to freeze targets.
    • Superhuman Vocals: With precise muscle control, Superman can amplify his own voice as if speaking through a microphone.

Weaknesses

  • Kryptonite: Although Superman is invulnerable to nearly everything, Kryptonite is the one substance that can weaken him.
  • Magic: Various forms of magic can negatively affect Superman. Since it is as powerful or more powerful than he is, it can also hurt him.
  • Red solar energy: If Superman were to travel anywhere with a red sun, he will lose his powers, and therefore will just be as venerable as a regular human.
  • Lead: As mentioned above, Superman's X-ray vision is incapable of allowing him to see through this metal.

Appearances

TV series

Movies

Specials

Comics

Books

Video games

Biography

Past life

Superman was originally Kal-El, the son of Jor-El from the planet Krypton. Jor-El warned his fellow scientists that Krypton will explode in its final moment. Although his calculations were scoffed at by the elites around him, he used that knowledge to build a rocket ship for his newly-born son. He and his wife Lara sent their son's ship to Earth, where it managed to escape from the dying planet.[1][2] When the ship landed on an empty field, the infant Kal-El was taken by Jonathan and Martha Kent. Discovering that the baby was unhurt, the kindly couple hid his ship and took him to an orphanage, where he was soon adopted as Clark Kent.[2]

Now part of the Kent family, Clark was raised in the idyllic town of Smallville, where he slowly became aware of his abilities and heritage growing up. When he was a teen, he created the superhero mantle of Superboy, which would later transition into Superman by the time he reached adulthood. He briefly became a friend to a young Lex Luthor, who had once admired him and at one point wanted to create an antidote to Superboy's Kryptonite weakness. After a minor accident caused Luthor to lose his hair, he vowed revenge on Superboy and became his arch-nemesis.[3]

Later into adulthood, Clark left his hometown to pursue a career in Metropolis City. He was then hired as a reporter at the Daily Planet by editor and chief, Perry White. While working there, he also met up with Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen; both of whom became his closest allies. When not as the mild-mannered reporter, Clark uses his Superman identity to help out Metropolis' citizens — and the entire world — in the name of truth and justice.

Joining the Super Friends

Superman Goes to the Movies

Superman in the Funny Books

Development

Gallery

Main article: Superman/Gallery

Toys

Behind the scenes

In popular culture

  • In the My Adventures With Superman episode "Kiss Kiss Fall in Portal," Mr. Mxyzptlk briefly turns Clark into a version of Superman from the Super Friends cartoon when explaining that he knows his secret identity in every reality. Mxyzptlk assigns the Earth of this Superman as "Earth-50".

Family Guy

Main article: Family Guy
  • "A Hero Sits Next Door:" Peter thought being a hero would be all fun and games, like the time he played strip poker with the Super Friends at the Hall of Justice. A transition from The All-New Super Friends Hour featuring "SF" in a shield, shows Peter revealing three kings and asks Wonder Woman to bare her breasts, which she does after a sigh. Peter and the men are all excited to see Wonder Woman barechested, except for Robin who is curiously staring at Peter. The scene then shifts away with another Challenge of the Superfriends transition of two shooting stars.
  • "No Meals on Wheels:" Peter says that Mort is a bigger mooch than the Mexican Super Friends. At the Mexican Hall of Justice, the landlord enters and wants to know from Superman where all the extra superheroes have come from when he said only five would be living in the building. Mexican Superman insists they're just guests when Mexican Batman returns with 60 keys.
  • "Family Goy:" In place of the regular Family Guy opening, it is replaced with a parody of the original Super Friends opening. Peter is Superman, Brian is Batman, Stewie is Robin, Lois is Wonder Woman, Chris is Aquaman, and there's also Meg.
  • "Grumpy Old Man:" At the Drunken Clam, Peter and his friends watch The Super Friends Accountant, in which the Super Friends' accountant points out to them that the Hall of Justice is hemorrhaging them money as it is sitting on five acres of commercial real estate and they owe four million dollars in back property taxes.

Footnotes

  1. ^ In Scooby-Doo! Team-Up.
  2. ^ In Super Sons/Dynomutt and the Blue Falcon Special.
  3. ^ In Super Sons/Dynomutt and the Blue Falcon Special.

References

  1. ^ Super Friends: "The Planet Splitter," episode 15 (1973).
  2. ^ a b Challenge of the Superfriends: "Secret Origins of the Super Friends," episode 8B (1978).
  3. ^ Challenge of the Superfriends: "History of Doom," episode 16A (1978).
  4. ^ Farago, Andrew, McIntyre, Gina (October 29, 2019). Batman: The Definitive History of the Dark Knight in Comics, Film, and Beyond, page 101. Insight Editions. Retrieved June 17, 2023.