Seven Cool Movie Superman Powers That Make No Sense [Superheroes]

The Superman movies have grossed $513,702,171 in the U.S. so we know they’re popular.

Superman has dozens of little known powers, these are the ones from the movies that look cool, but make no sense when you think about it. The Man of Steel is the greatest superhero of all time and his primary powers of super-strength, super-speed flight and invulnerability are legendary. But, he has some lesser known powers. In fact, there’s a whole Wikipedia article about it.

Watching the movies we get some pretty silly powers that look good on camera. From throwing shields to rebuilding bricks to kissing away memories, these are seven superpowers that just make no sense but are really cool.

7. Flying Lois Lane

In the excellent Superman: The Motion Picture he takes Lois Lane on a flight with him. It’s romantic. It’s moving. It’s intimate. It makes no sense. We know Superman isn’t  aerodynamic. He doesn’t have wings or tail fins, but he doesn’t need them since he flies by super power. But why could he let Lois fly by herself? She should have plummeted to the ground or, at the very least, been hanging from his arm. Speaking of hanging…

6. Carrying An Ice Sheet

In the movie Superman III he stops a chemical plant from boiling over by going to a nearby lake, freezing it with his Super-Breath and carrying the frozen shelf to the plant and dropping it on it. It’s a great scene and I always think about when I think of his Super Breath, except it makes no sense. We know his breath would freeze the lake. We know he’s strong enough to lift it. But what stopped the ice from breaking off at the end before he got there? He would have had to fly around picking up pieces of ice along the way. Plus, it takes more than a gentle rain to stop four alarm fires. While we’re on the topic of fire…

5. Bullets Bouncing Off His Eye

A criminal is firing a Gatling gun at Superman in Superman Returns. Bullets bounce harmlessly off him and he coolly walks toward him. In desperation, he takes a handgun and fires point blank into Superman’s eye. The bullet hits his eye and falls to the ground in slow motion. Yes, Superman is bullet proof, but could he really see if his eyes were that hard? Normally the eye changes shape to adjust focus. But Superman used his eyes for something else once…

4. Rebuilding the Great Wall of China

The film Superman IV: The Quest For Peace has hundreds of laughable plot holes, but there’s one that stands out. When the Nuclear Man destroys the Great Wall of China, Superman shoots some beams from his eye that let him repair the damage. There are thousands of bricks in the Great Wall of China. First, he’s never had telekinetic beams from his eyes. Second, if he had the power to take all those bricks and put them back, in order no less, we would see him using it more often. That kind of control and finesse would be really handy. He shouldn’t have to punch anybody. He’d just use his eye beams to make them punch themselves.

3. Drilling Through The Street

In the first Superman movie, Superman knows Lex Luthor’s hideout is underground. He picks a spot, politely asks the passersby to step aside, and then drills through the street into the underground tunnels. It’s great and really shows Superman’s finesse, but it makes no sense. Even if we presume he could drill a hole with his toes, the hole he made was so wide we have to assume he was widening it with his cape. What? Superman has an invulnerable cape? Maybe, but it’s hard to believe his cape is strong enough to do that, yet blow gently in the breeze.

2. The Kiss Of Amnesia

In the end of Superman II, he kisses Lois Lane. She immediately forgets Clark Kent is Superman. Very touching and subtly sweet to think that it was his last kiss he would ever give the love of his life. Here’s the part that makes no sense: how did he know he could do it? Was he practicing? Did he kiss his Mom goodnight and she forgot he was her son? Did his prom date forget where she lived?  Does he go around kissing people all the time to make them forget? Is there a deleted scene of him kissing everyone who saw him changing in the phone booth? It’s a cool super power, but kind of scary too. Speaking of looking cool…

1. Throwing His Shield

In Superman II,
the three evil Kryptonians attack him in the fortress of solitude. As
Non flies at him, Clark Kent takes the shield off his chest and throws it at him. It wraps around Non and he falls to the ground. Pretty handy
to think he can take parts of his costume and throw them at people. Even if we
assume the powers were given him by the fortress, why his shield? Why
not his belt or even his cape? In the Richard Donner directors cut, they
changed it to his heat vision. It makes more sense, but doesn’t look as
cool.

Superman movies have always delivered thrills and chills, but laughable Superman moments. That’s why we love him.

For those here for the A-Z challenge, my brother has the scheduled post this week. Check back soon!

What did you think of the Superman movies? Do you have a favorite? Was there a moment where you said “That power makes no sense.”