Is the Golden Superman canon, and what were his exact powers?

Question

In Superman one million, Superman spends 15,000 years, I think, inside the sun. I'm just wondering how powerful he is compared to other characters in the DC universe, and if it's canon.

Answer 1

Superman Prime (One Million) is arguably one of the most powerful versions of Superman to have ever existed (canon or not). He was so powerful, he was responsible for lending a portion of his fantastic powers to his descendants to utilize across the solar system to protect Human endeavors.

• As to his connection to DC canon, the character appears in a what was dubbed "a possible future". The Justice Legion came back in time to the canon DC Universe to recruit the Justice League, so his canonical nature is deterministic at best. That possible future was erased with the previous DC Universe, so this version of Superman currently cannot exist under canon.

• Superman Prime (Kal-El) left Earth after the death of Lois Lane and traveled the Universe for 700 years before returning to Earth. During his travels, he acquired vast abilities and skills from every being he met and gained perfection over all the abilities he received. He left the Earth defended by his descendant who was dubbed "Superman Secundus".

• It is believed Kal-El broke through the Source Wall during his travels and training and studied under the Source itself, meaning he could have a portion of the Source's power or more, the true extent of abilities he received from the Source are unknown. (The Source is believed to be the originator of metahuman ability in the DC Universe and the center of the power of Jack Kirby's New Gods line of heroes.)

The Source Wall, the boundary to the DC Multiverse and believed to be the source of metahuman abilities in the DC Universe. Beings who seek its power and are deemed unworthy become part of the wall adding to its protection.

• When he returned he forged a covenant with his descendants, he would bestow upon them a
  small fraction of his power as long as they served for truth and justice. He also gained the abilities of his lineage and magnified them with his own power; ie. the Superman of the 67th Century married the queen of the 5th Dimension, GZNTPLZK, which in turn gave Superman Prime the abilities and powers of a 5th Dimension Imp. (See: Mr. Mxyzptlk) After the covenant he left and returned to his Fortress of Solitude in the center of the Super Sun."

Superman Prime's Fortress of Solitude is inside what was now dubbed the Super Sun. All of his descendants draw their power from it and must recharge regularly or lose them after only a few days.

• Kal-El is the creator of the Superman Dynasty which protected Humanity in his absence. During is absence, the Superman Dynasty added to their powers by adding to their genetic heritage over the centuries. Superman Prime was still more powerful than they were, even after their genetic improvements.

In addition to the entire suite of superhuman abilities (super-strength, invulnerability, speed, vision powers, etc) common to the most powerful versions of Superman, Superman Prime had several advantages which pushed his powers to a level unforeseen by nearly any version of the character:

• Vast Energy Absorption Powers: Superman Prime remained in the Earth's sun for 15,000 years. It was theorized there was no upper limit to his powers at this point. Given his feats after only a few decades of living on Earth, this extended time "sun-dipping" increased his powers to a level that dwarfed his incredibly powerful descendant, Kal Kent, who was already more powerful than the gravitation pull of a collapsing star and capable of traveling faster than light. Kal Kent is considered the equal of the most powerful canon version of Superman known up to that time: The Superman of Earth-One.

• Reality Alteration: Shown as capable, with the aid of the Superman of the 5th dimension, of turning a fragment of DNA inside-out through time into a full-fledged human being with the soul of the original individual, presumably among other capabilities.

He resurrects Lois Lane giving her an immortal and probably superhuman physiology from a strand of DNA.

He also restores Krypton, almost as if he snatched it out of Time itself.

• Power Bequeathment: Superman Prime is noted as being capable of sharing a portion of his power with his descendants, this fraction alone itself being a degree of power "far beyond any held by any metahumans ever" (though tying them inextricably to the Super-Sun that Prime inhabits as the source of their powers).

Kal Kent is the distant descendant of Superman and the leader of Justice Legion Alpha in the 853 century AD.

• Immortality: Superman Prime has not visibly aged since the late 20th/early 21st century. It is this version of the character which gave rise to the idea that Superman might age slowly or not at all as long as he was exposed to solar radiation.

• In addition: Superman Prime also had access to what is believed to be the last Green Lantern ring and had the capability of powering and using it.

This version of Superman is reputedly the apotheosis of everything Superman could ever hope to become, saving the Universe many times over, leaving a cosmic legacy of defenders across the galaxy, reaching and accessing the Source, moving through time and restoring/saving his entire doomed planet and species, and losing and finding his one true love. This version of Superman has the power to alter reality, courtesy of his access to Fifth Dimensional energies and thus is arguably more powerful than any version of the character to have ever existed.

Apocrypha

• It is rumored that the vastly powerful Superman Prime exists in the same timeline as the Superman who appears in All-Star Superman, and is what the Superman of that series will become in the future. Kal Kent (or someone who looked suspiciously like him) claims to be from the far future and appears in All-Star Superman #6.

• Superman Prime (One Million) is also not to be confused with the canon character Superman-Prime aka Superboy-Prime (whose real name is Clark Kent) hailed from a Pre-Crisis reality (Earth-Prime) where superheroes didn't exist and were just comic book characters.

• When the Pre-Crisis DC Universe collapsed, Superboy-Prime was one of the few survivors. Unfortunately that happy ending was not to be as he returned to the Post-Crisis universe as a power-mad despot with powers rivaling that of the Earth-One Superman (making him the most powerful version of Superman since that Silver Age, Pre-Crisis powerhouse.) He was responsible for the deaths of Conner Kent/Kon-El (Post-Crisis clone-Superboy) and Panthra of the Teen Titans among many others before his imprisonment in the Source Wall.

Answer 2

The DC One Million continuity is separate from the current New 52 continuity, meaning that "Golden Superman" - known as Superman Prime - is not considered part of the same continuity. Even when it was introduced, DC One Million was considered a "possible" future of the DC universe and not completely canon. It DID cross over into several Post-Crisis titles, however, which would indicate that it is considered at least partially canon:

As for his powers & abilities, Superman Prime is essentially Superman to the Nth degree. He has all of the abilities normally associated with Superman plus the following:

• The ability to alter objects at the molecular/atomic level
• The ability to share a fraction of his power with anyone from his bloodline
• The ability to see light in the infrared spectrum
• Possesses a Green Lantern ring (possibly the last one)
• Immortality due to his centuries of absorbing solar energy

Also, it's important to note that - due to his extensive years of soaking up solar energy - Superman Prime's abilities have all been enhanced & "super-charged" to the point that he is basically a god. He has absorbed so much solar energy that his skin has transmuted into a golden alloy, literally containing the power of a sun within his own body.

Although his appearances have been limited, it's quite possible that he is the most powerful living being in the DC One Million continuity.