One of Superman The most recognizable powers are his heat vision, and it is so iconic that many Superman variants over the years have used heat vision to varying effects. But despite how recognizable this ability is now, Superman didn’t always have it, and his history is quite long and varied.
When the Batman Who Laughs became a universal threat, he created an army from the Dark Multiverse to combat the forces of good. One of the many soldiers in his army was none other than a corrupted version of Superman known as the Last Sun of Kryptonwhich appears in the story “First and Last Men” by Magdalene Visaggio, Paul Pelletier, Norm Rapmund, Adriano Lucas and Carlos M. Mangual de Dark Nights: Death Metal – The Last 52: War of the Multiverses #1.
Superman’s Historic Heat Vision Power Reaches New Heights Thanks to Krypton’s Last Sun
The long history of power reveals more about this contemporary battle
This version of Superman flew through dozens of suns on his way to Earth and went crazy because of it. Faced with an evil doppelgänger of himself, Superman tried his best to defeat the Last Sun in an impressive battle of heat visions, but Superman was finally defeated by this evil variant, who spectacularly displays his own heat vision powers. It was necessary for Lex Luthor to sacrifice himself to save Superman, as Clark simply couldn’t keep up with this empowered heat vision.
The story of Superman’s heat vision reveals how unique the power is
Adventure comics #282 by Otto Binder, George Papp and Joe Letterese
When Superman started out, he didn’t really have heat vision. Instead, he had X-ray visionwhich he could modify to apply heat to objects if he so desired. Eventually, some bold editor decided that the ability to melt objects with a glance was useful enough to be its own power, and so, over the course of a few comics, it ended up being presented as something separate from her X-ray vision.
In fact, Supergirl originated what would become heat vision.
Although Superman has used his X-ray powers since he first appeared in Action comics #1 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, he didn’t start using heat vision, which at the time was called “infrared vision”, until Adventure comics #282. But Supergirl did originate what would become heat vision, using it even earlier in a story Superman’s girlfriend, Lois Lane #23 by Otto Binder and Kurt Schaffenberger.
Superman’s heat vision wouldn’t be officially named until 1961 Superboy #88, when the term was coined by Robert Bernstein and Mort Weisinger. Since then, it has become an iconic ability that Superman uses whenever he gets into big trouble. While most readers might think that using this incredible power as an offensive attack would be a no-brainer, it didn’t actually happen until more than twenty years later in the iconic Superman Annual Story #11 “For the Man Who Has Everything” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
Superman’s heat vision slowly evolved over many years
Superman’s X-ray vision predates his heat vision
Brands “For the man who has everything” the first time Superman is furious enough to use his heat vision against another living being. After Mongul traps Superman inside the Black Mercy, Kal-El experiences a life where he never lost Krypton. When he is finally rescued from this illusion, he is so enraged that he attacks Mongul with a blast of his heat vision, a first for the hero. Now, however, it is a common occurrence, eventually leading to Superman suffering one of the worst beatings of his life during Deadly Metal.
Another element of Superman’s heat vision that has been added over the years is how his heat vision directly utilizes his solar reserves. If Superman uses his heat vision too much, he will literally run out of power. Despite how powerful Superman is, he simply didn’t stand a chance against a version of himself that was bathed in hundreds, if not thousands, of yellow suns. That’s the magic of comic books: that someone, almost fifty years ago, decided that Superman should have more than just X-ray vision, resulting, decades later, in Superman having a giant laser battle with an evil version of himself.
Dark Nights: Death Metal – The Last 52: War of the Multiverses #1 and Adventure comics #282 are now available from DC Comics!