86
votes
Accepted
Has Superman ever said, "Ouch!"?
Superman has indeed said "Ouch!", on the cover of Superman #106.
Lex Luthor creates an alloy that picks up energy Superman uses in his
super-feats and transmits it to a suit of electronic ...
- 652k
69
votes
Accepted
Has Superman ever crushed a piece of coal into a diamond?
Superman's done this trick on multiple occasions, notably in the movie Superman III
and Adventures of Superman Season 2 Episode 14 "Jungle Devil" (1953)
...
- 652k
68
votes
Accepted
Can Superman get drunk?
Superman can't normally get drunk when he has his powers.
Under the effects of a Yellow or Blue star, Kryptonians don't have to eat or drink anything and they can't get drunk. I'm not even sure they ...
- 20.2k
67
votes
Accepted
Why does Lex want to discredit Superman?
The quote you mention is the only motivator we're given but it should be enough to go on. Lex's full quote reads:
See, what we call God depends upon our tribe, Clark Joe, 'cause God is tribal; God ...
- 13.4k
64
votes
Accepted
When did Superman stop leaping and start flying?
He started flying in the 1940s right after the creation of the Fleischer films. This was because it became difficult so show him leaping from place to place. The Fleischer films used a form of ...
- 211k
63
votes
Accepted
Has Batman ever defeated Superman without kryptonite?
Yes
In the Red Son universe (Earth 30), the soviet Batman fought against Superman using Red Sun lamps, weakening Superman enough for him to beat him up.
However Wonder Woman, who was used as bait, ...
- 927
55
votes
Is there a depiction of Superman as an Asian?
Dean Cain, who played Superman in the 90's TV show Lois and Clark, is actually 1/4 Japanese, and does identify as Asian American. However, by looks, I could see the audience not necessarily reading ...
- 7,183
51
votes
Accepted
How do we know the Flash is faster than Superman?
It's already been established that all of the Flashes can move past light-speed via the Speed Force. As for Superman, he's never shown to move at light-speed while running inside a planetary ...
- 211k
50
votes
Accepted
Does Superman ever go sunbathing?
Yes. In "Whom the Gods Destroy #1" we see Superman sunbathing. On the Moon, obviously. Because he's Superman.
- 652k
50
votes
Can Superman get drunk?
In Superman: American Alien #3, Clark Kent is mistaken for Bruce Wayne by an assassin (Deathstroke). Deathstroke slips him a neurotoxin in a glass of champagne that would kill a human, but just makes ...
- 1,907
49
votes
Accepted
Is there a depiction of Superman where he is an African American?
There are at least five. (and an unnamed one)
Sunshine Superman
First appeared in Animal Man #23 (1990), as an illusion of sorts (generated by Psycho-Pirate's mask), along with other twisted versions ...
- 55.3k
45
votes
Could a recording be used to send Mister Mxyzptlk back to the Fifth Dimension?
Within Supergirl: The Girl of Steel (1984), the second Which Way book in the Super Powers series, Supergirl records Mister Mxyzptlk saying his name and plays it backwards, dismissing him.
- 207k
44
votes
What does Superman do with his regular clothes after changing in the phone booth?
He used to hide it nearby:
Later on he shrunk it, and put it in his pocket:
The modern era has it as a self-changing supersuit:
Thanks to Li hei Bao on Quora for referencing this for a different ...
- 23.5k
44
votes
Accepted
Has Superman ever been depicted to smoke and/or consume alcohol?
TL;DR: drinking yes, and willingly, smoking is debatable.
Drinking — yes
The first two images are courtesy of the answers to Can Superman get drunk?.
In this one, Superman is powerless after using ...
- 55.3k
42
votes
Accepted
Is there a depiction of Superman as an Asian?
Yes! At least three of them.
Kong Kenan
The recent New Super-Man comics feature Kong Kenan as the "Superman of China".
Note that he was some kind of replacement after the "usual" Clark Kent ...
- 55.3k
42
votes
Has Superman ever been beaten to death?
This is essentially how Superman's most prominent canonical death occurred, back in 1993. It's how Doomsday killed Superman—and, simultaneously, how Superman killed Doomsday. They just pounded each ...
- 91.5k
41
votes
Why, exactly, does kryptonite hurt Superman?
No, Krypton was not made of Kryptonite - at least, not initially.
Kryptonite is a radioactive mineral from Krypton. The most common form is Green Kryptonite, but it comes in other forms, including ...
- 625
41
votes
Has Superman ever used his heat vision to cook food?
There are two examples that I know of:
In the epilogue of Kingdom Come, the Trinity meets in a cafe. Bruce orders "Steak. Well-done.", but the steak he's brought is not even "a shade over medium". ...
- 20.3k
40
votes
Accepted
When was Superman's backstory and the fate of his parents revealed?
Our first exposure to Jor-El and Lara being shown sending baby Kal-el to Earth was in 1948 in Superman #53 by Bill Finger and Wayne Boring. This is almost a decade after Superman has been saving the ...
- 211k
39
votes
How did Superman and Spider-Man meet if DC and Marvel heroes don't exist in the same universe?
It turns out that this comic does not exist in normal continuity with either universe. Although they look identical to the DC Comics' Earth-One Superman and the Marvel's Earth-616 Spider-Man, they are ...
- 51.3k
38
votes
When was Superman's backstory and the fate of his parents revealed?
The fate of Superman's parents was revealed on February 12, 1940, with the broadcast of "The Baby from Krypton", first episode of the Superman radio serial. It is quite clear from the broadcast, which ...
- 153k
38
votes
Accepted
What Superman story was it where Lois Lane had to breathe liquids?
This is Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane Vol. 1 Issue 60 (1965), in particular the "The Amazing Hydro-Girl!" story line.
Lois Lane takes an experimental serum that will let her breathe ...
- 142k
37
votes
Accepted
Why, exactly, does kryptonite hurt Superman?
Kryptonite is a transuranic element or compound (we are never told which for certain) whose inherent radioactivity inhibits the absorption of high-energy solar radiation which Kryptonians use to power ...
- 211k
37
votes
Accepted
Can Superman fly through solid rock?
Superman flies (down) through solid rock and metal in Superman Vol. 1 #43: The Molten World
Probably the earliest instance of his "burrowing" through rock and soil is from Superman Vol. 1 #11: The ...
- 652k
35
votes
What utility does Superman derive from his secret identity?
The special edition of Superman: The Movie included a scene deleted from the theatrical cut, where Jor-El explained to his son that it was important to maintain his secret identity so that he wouldn't ...
- 88.9k
32
votes
Accepted
Could a recording be used to send Mister Mxyzptlk back to the Fifth Dimension?
Superman accomplishes precisely this in Superman Vol 1 #131 (1959) "The Menace of Mr. Mxyzptlk!".
Superman takes a recording of Mxyzptlk's voice and plays it backwards, shunting the hapless villain ...
- 652k
32
votes
Accepted
Why couldn't Henry Cavill simply shave his mustache for his Superman role and use a fake mustache for his other role?
According to user LDN_Films on Reddit (posting anonymously, but "checked out" and vouched for as genuine by Reddit's own AMA team), the issue was that Cavill was already in pre-production ...
- 652k
32
votes
Accepted
1970s team-up comic in which Superman nonchalantly kills a sentient brain?
This is George Dyke (AKA 'Gorilla Boss'). Sinestro blew his brain up to the size of a planet in World's Finest #251 - "Invasion of the Deathless Brain" and Superman and Batman teamed up to ...
- 652k
31
votes
Accepted
Is the Golden Superman canon, and what were his exact powers?
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 ...
- 211k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible