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We know that Superman can bleed, be bruised, and, more generally, sustain injuries under some conditions.

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Assuming these injuries are not fatal, how completely does Superman heal?

  • Is healing almost instantaneous, or does it take time like a human?
  • Can Superman be left with scars after an injury heals or is healing perfect?
  • Does Superman heal differently when in proximity to different types of star (e.g. develops scars under a red sun but not a yellow sun)?
  • If Superman were to develop a scar under a red sun and then move to a planet with a yellow sun would the scar disappear?
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    Well those injuries were fatal...but he got better. – Paulie_D Aug 24 '16 at 17:36
  • This is actually pretty broad, especially with all those follow up questions. His healing is going to depend upon the nature of the injury. The example injuries took so long to heal that he was entombed and replaced by various imposters. – DCShannon Aug 24 '16 at 20:55
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In issue #7 of Injustice: Year Four1 Batman tricks Superman into putting the Regime on stake in a trial by combat. Superman is confident (Man of Steel, blah blah) but Batman, being a tough cookie, picks Wonder Woman as the Opposition's champion. Since the trial is overseen by a hell of a lot of Greek gods, including Hera and Zeus, Diana can't refuse and they fight to death.

Long story short, Diana kicks Clark's butt:

Wonder Woman breaks Superman's hand

Then a list of ridiculously ill-timed events happens, and Superman must step up. In order to do that, Cyborg offers to focus sunlight to heal Clark faster:

Which shows us that Clark's healing ability is greatly amplified by concentrated sunlight.

You can also look up The Dark Knight Returns pt. II2 (strongly recommend). There, Supes is hit by a nuclear warhead, and his healing process is shown in detail. Since there is no sunlight available (due to nuclear detonation), he absorbs residual sunlight from plants:

This scene was featured (with minor differences) in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and it may give a fairly good measure of how fast Superman heals, given enough sunlight, in the DC cinematic universe.

Note:

1: As Thaddeus notes in comments, Injustice is not the main continuity (though they did have crossover), so it may not reflect the state of things in New 52, or in other universes.

2: Same goes for The Dark Knight Returns.

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  • Great answer! Does this fight happen on Earth? – Ubiquitous Aug 25 '16 at 9:33
  • @Ubiquitous yep. – Gallifreyan Aug 25 '16 at 9:48
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    Is Superman not significantly stronger than WW in this canon? Or does she just beat him with better training and skill? – DCShannon Aug 25 '16 at 17:06
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    It is strongly implied that she beat him with training and willpower. Generally in Injustice, Supes gets beaten by a number of people who are not supposed to match him in force; examples include Batman and Alfred, all augmented with green pills – Gallifreyan Aug 25 '16 at 17:17
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    Do recognize this is not the mainstream DC Universe and as such, it may not reflect the normal status of Superman from the normal timelines. Since the DC Rebirth, we have yet to have a true understanding of the current Post-Flashpoint Superman's capabilities. – Thaddeus Howze♦ Aug 30 '16 at 2:18

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