Superman question

[MotionMan]

Has it ever been explained in the Superman comic books or movies how Superman is able to fly or the source of his superpowers?

I know he is from Krypton and people from Krypton apparently get superpowers when they travel away from Krypton. But is it ever explained that Superman can fly because his cells have a negative magnetic polarity that he is able to adjust which pushes him away from the core of the earth, etc., etc., or is it just left that people from Krypton have superpowers on earth and that is that?

I did find this on Wikipedia:

The source of Superman's powers has changed subtly over the course of his history. It was originally stated that Superman's abilities derived from his Kryptonian heritage, which made him eons more evolved than humans. This was soon amended, with the source for the powers now based upon the establishment of Krypton's gravity as having been stronger than that of the Earth. This situation mirrors that of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter. As Superman's powers increased, the implication that all Kryptonians had possessed the same abilities became problematic for writers, making it doubtful that a race of such beings could have been wiped out by something as trifling as an exploding planet. In part to counter this, the Superman writers established that Kryptonians, whose native star Rao had been red, only possessed superpowers under the light of a yellow sun. More recent stories have attempted to find a balance between the two explanations.

But all that really says is that, basically, he gets his power from the Sun, but it does not really explain that very well.

MotionMan

 

[waggy]

nope he kinda evolved.fom jumping to flying.

 

[BassBomb]

This is why Superman sucks

 

[Queasy]

It's a comic book. I don't think they need to come up with a thorough scientific/biological explanation.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: Queasy
It's a comic book. I don't think they need to come up with a thorough scientific/biological explanation.

I know they don't have to do that. I was just wondering if they ever tried to give one.

(Of course, that could have ruined it like they did in Star Wars, Episode I. )

MotionMan

 

[FallenHero]

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: Queasy
It's a comic book. I don't think they need to come up with a thorough scientific/biological explanation.

I know they don't have to do that. I was just wondering if they ever tried to give one.

(Of course, that could have ruined it like they did in Star Wars, Episode I. )

MotionMan

In the book, "the physics of Superheroes" by James Kakalios, he goes over the whole superman thing pretty well...although he only covers old school superman.

Basically, it boils down to Superman growing up on a planet that had 15x the amount of Gravity that the earth has. This enables superman to generate enough force to leap huge amounts, as his muscles would have to be able to support his weight on Krypton. Seeing as how Earths gravity is much less, Superman finds it very easy to move quickly and with greater power than any normal human being because his biology allowed him to survive on a much harsher planet. He also did the calculations to Krypton, to see what kind of density would be required to have 15x the amount of gravity that earth does without being much bigger. It boiled down to it requiring the core of a neutron star in order to have such a gravitational pull.

That being said, he basically dismisses the current superman incarnation as impossible to explain, as Superman has basically become immune to the laws of physics (he estimates the time to be around 1940's era superman, where he gained free flight.)

 

[middlehead]

He can move faster than light these days, so how he starts flying in the first place is the least of among worries.