just wondering.

Farting?

if that were true, then the enormous amount of methane gas that he realeses would have destroyed the ozone layer by now.

Well thats whats happening at the moment :D

He leaps. At least, that was the cinematic explanation in 1978 (http://imdb.com/title/tt0078346/). I can't recall exactly how it was explained, except that it's not intuitive; he shouldn't be able to turn quite like he does, and he certainly should not be able to hover as he frequently did in Superfriends cartoons. But it has to do with Earth's yellow sun powering his strength; his body is unusually dense compared to Earthlings, which has something to do with deflecting bullets. Nonetheless, as I recall, his mode of propulsion was to simply leap with such strength as to defy gravity in such a manner. Strange, then, that he never left holes in the concrete like the Power Puff Girls (http://imdb.com/title/tt0289408/), whose Chemical X powers include simple defiance of gravity.

Or so says my two cents.

I didn't find a web page discussing Superman's propulsion directly, but that just means I haven't found it yet.

Remember:

Faster than a speeding bullet!
More powerful than a locomotive!
Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!

Look, up in the sky ...!

(Note: Bryan Singer's 2006-slated Superman Returns (http://imdb.com/title/tt0348150/), starring Brandon Routh (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0746125/) as Superman and Kevin Spacey (http://imdb.com/name/nm0000228/) as Lex Luthor, begins filming in March.)

There is a book which I am actually currently looking for since it is out of print called "The Science of Superman" which hypothetically explains that Superman's cells have an energy field around it which is essentially a forcefield. With this he can deflect bullets, have incredible strength and use antigravity. Its actually a really interesting book when I read it a number of years ago. I just actually found a link here (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743452739/qid=1107202193/sr=8-2/ref=pd_ka_1/102-2832065-6800924?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) on Amazon. Check it out.

-AntonK

bbcboy, or as he is known in the super-hero realm, Captain Point-Out-The-Obvious

-ZERO MASS

I've always been a huge fan of Superman. I collect just about anything Superman I can get my hands on (well, not really anything, but anything of quality). I really liked the above book because it gave it a "bit" (and I use that word liberally) of science and realism to the Superman Universe. He truly is the greatest super hero ever created. I've heard from different sources that, although not directly translating, the name Kal-el sounds like the Hebrew term for "All that is God". Pretty apt I'd say.

-AntonK

The pseudo-science of DC Comics states that his flight is a kind of telekinesis; why he can't use the same power to affect other objects at a distance, they never say. Certainly, the modern SuperBOY has powers which are "tactile-telekinetic" in nature - only with objects he can physically touch...

I always thought it was the cape.
I just thought capes were like wings.

Keep in mind, this was when I was about 5 and still thinking about superman.

while the subject on super heroes, if Spiderman is so much like a spider, shouldn't the web come from some other place besides his wrists?
Oh, the propulsion sytem is steam, he has a mini factory in his abdomen!

Spiderman's web is not natural. He created web-slingers with technology. This is where the movie failed by making it a natural consequence of his powers.

However, there was a brief period of time when he was able to sling webs naturally. When he had the black symbiont spider suit. Then he produced web from his body and would have to eat to replenish it if he used too much of it.

I never really cared for spider-man much, but I do have an issue of What if... around somewhere where they asked What if the Punisher had received the suit after Spiderman discarded it instead of Venom (Not the real title of course.) Venom rocks. Spiderman sucks.

In the comics, it was imagination. On the screen, it's "special effects". In the mind, it's entertainment. Who would really care?

http://plif.andkon.com/archive/wc189.gif

Venom rocks. Spiderman sucks.

But Carnage almost mopped the floor with both of them.

I hope Spiderman 3 has Carnage in it.

I always thought it was the cape.
I just thought capes were like wings.

I think Batmans sometimes flown, or glided, between buildngs using his cape like that.

way back when Superman was 1st invented (30s, was it?) he could only jump - not fly truly. When did that change?

I think Batmans sometimes flown, or glided, between buildngs using his cape like that.

way back when Superman was 1st invented (30s, was it?) he could only jump - not fly truly. When did that change?

I don't think Carnage will be in the next one. Actully, at the rate they are taking this, I expect him in Spiderman 6 at the soonest. :D

I think Batmans sometimes flown, or glided, between buildngs using his cape like that.

way back when Superman was 1st invented (30s, was it?) he could only jump - not fly truly. When did that change?

Superman has gone through a variety of changes. Every few decades he is reinvented to match the times, the story is kept (mostly) the same. There is Silver Age superman, Golden Age Superman, Modern Day superman (which is probably up for a redo in about 5 years).

-AntonK

I heard one explanation that Earth's explanation is much less that of Krypton. Don't know how flying works through gravity though. :S

I heard one explanation that Earth's explanation is much less that of Krypton.

Well, this goes without saying doesn't it? I mean how could Earth's explanation be as much as Kryptons?
I mean, come on.

Krypton gravity bein heaveir than ours goes some way to explaining super strength - but then, he grew up in Earth gravity so it shouldnt make that much diference. Its our yellow sun that realy makes him super, that includes some energyfield which he uses to fly. a few stories have seen him lose his flight power if in darkness like deep space, for to long.

Of course it is fiction. The hallmark of good science fiction, though, is a foundation on believable science (or even pseudoscience); as long as it's convincing.

"I hate things all fiction...there should always be some foundation of fact" - Byron
I think the film Unbreakable did that really well. It gave a logical reason to Superpowers, it also gave it a history. One of my favourite films, totally Under-rated.
Superman's powers aren't derived from our sun, the sun just enhances them.

That would mean that all Kryptonians had similar powers, even on their own world. As established in the movies and countless comics, it wasn't so at all. They were just like humans back home.

I suppose an entire race who had always possessed godlike physical powers would never have needed to develop any kind of technology, not even stone knives. So they certainly wouldn't have the means to send a baby across interstellar space to Earth, or even to predict that their planet was doomed.

Here's a link that may be of interest:
http://superman.ws/tales2/explanation.php

I think the film Unbreakable did that really well. It gave a logical reason to Superpowers, it also gave it a history. One of my favourite films, totally Under-rated.

It was cool yes, but I thinkit spent to long building up + only got brucey USING his powers near the end. Shouldve establishd them more qucikly.

I loved that gif about super kryptonian strength! Its a bit diferent from the modern films + comics though, which have their race without powers back home. how old was that comic?

I think the film Unbreakable did that really well. It gave a logical reason to Superpowers, it also gave it a history. One of my favourite films, totally Under-rated.

It was cool yes, but I thinkit spent to long building up + only got brucey USING his powers near the end. Shouldve establishd them more qucikly.

I loved that gif about super kryptonian strength! Its a bit diferent from the modern films + comics though, which have their race without powers at home. how old was that comic?

It was made in 39 i think - so it's pretty old.

Im not really a fan of the original Superman, i only really got into it coz of Smallville.
Although it makes no sense, because of the time era & the fact that Lois Lane just made an appearance even though he doesn't meet her till he works at the Daily Planet it's still really good.

Oh, a few comics (set in various different continuities) show Clark and Lois meeting briefly as teenagers years before they start working together: when they were both finalists in a national Young Journalism competition, or some such typical ploy.

Smallville is OK, but I'd prefer it to be set a few decades back - making it contemporary has thrown out all chance of continuity with previous Superman TV shows. Plus, given the number of people in Smallville who have developed metahuman powers after Kryptonite exposure, why does the World need Clark/"Superboy" at all? You've got enough super-kids to form a contemporary Legion of Superheroes...

he is propelled by movie magic oO