11

In the Death of Superman storyline of the early nineties -- Doomsday gets out and escapes with one hand tied behind his back.

The only time he gets fully out of these restrains was when the full Justice league attacked him with all of their powers, but until then -- he was basically restrained.

How is this possible?

Improve this question
2
  • 4
    Having not read the comic, I have limited info (hence answering in a comment), but I do know a bit about restraint. The principle is to restrain a being in such a way as to prevent them from being able to apply their full strength against the restraints; that's why they tend to be awkward positions, unless you are using overwhelmingly powerful restraints. It's not so much about the strength of the restrainee nor the strength of the restraints, but the leverage and position involved. For more info, ask any martial artist or wrestler about something they will usually refer to as a 'Lock.'
    – K-H-W
    Commented Jul 16, 2012 at 15:48
  • 6
    A good non-human example is the alligator; they are well known for the crushing power of their jaws, and rightly so, but one can easily hold them closed, once they are closed, and, in fact, the common way to render them helpless involves a few wraps of duct tape around their closed jaw. It's all about understanding the muscles and leverage involved. A similar idea is involved in Hogtying someone. I don't know how Doomsday was retrained, but, logically, a similar principle was probably involved.
    – K-H-W
    Commented Jul 16, 2012 at 16:06

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
8

According to the Wikipedia article:

Doomsday possesses extreme superhuman strength that, variable as it is, at one point enabled him to effortlessly stand his ground against the entire Justice League, including Superman and Orion.[19] He was able to break Superman's left arm with limited effort, as well as outmatch and beat Darkseid unconscious in combat.[17] However, his strength has limits: the immensely strong Calatonian alloy cables, in which he was entombed, continued to partially restrain during his initial rampage on Earth. It was never stated how long he had struggled to free his left hand before his escape.

I also agree with Keith H Weston, in that having your arm pinned in an awkward position will make it a lot harder to utilize the muscles to their full potentional. A person in a straight-jacket is at a huge disadvantage because their muscles usually work the opposite way.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.