Almost every DC Comics fan knows exactly how Superman’s Powers work, but what still surprises even the hardcore fans is how weird his powers can really get. While it’s no secret that Superman gains power from a yellow sun, the powers he gains from a “violet sun” prove just how powerful he can really become.
Avid readers of Superman may have seen the powers in the story “Mind Over Money!” By Bob Rozakis and John Calnan from Superman #371. In this story, Superman ends up flying through hyper-space and finds himself in the direct path of a sun going supernova. But this is no ordinary son. The star has a violet color, emitting purple solar radiation. Superman immediately flees, but it turns out that he didn’t escape unscathed.
While stopping a robbery, Superman discovers that the tiny bit of purple solar radiation he was exposed to gave him incredible power over the physical world. Simply by thinking about things, Superman is able to manipulate reality as he wishesLike a dollar bill blowing up without even touching it.
Superman gains reality manipulation under a violet sun
“Mind over money!” By Bob Rozakis, John Calnan, Pablo Marcos, Tom Ziuko and Adam Kubert Superman #371
The source of Superman’s traditional powers has always been the yellow sun of Earth’s solar system. As long as Superman is near the yellow sun, he has a lot of energy that he can rely on to defeat whatever evil he comes up against. The yellow sun is why Superman can fly, has heat vision, and is so unbelievably strong. While long-time fans are aware of the other sun effects, like red suns removing his powers and blue suns powering him up even more, DC hasn’t really explored the full depth of what solar radiation really means for Superman’s powersAnd this Old Violet Sun adventure proves it.
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While yellow, red, and blue suns are commonly found in the DC Universe, they don’t have to be the only suns in the sci-fi world. When Superman came in contact with the Violet Sun, He gained power over the creation of matter and manipulation After being exposed for only a few seconds. If Superman stayed there longer, it’s possible he could have gained powers of reality. But DC can get even more creative, as in Superman/Batman #82 by Cullen Bunn, ChrisCross, Marc Deering, Brad Anderson and Steve Wands, when Superman is trapped in a future with a magical son who gives him magical powers.
Superman has an entire universe’s worth of potential
What other sons can the Man of Steel meet?
The DC Universe is a massive place, and DC can represent any colored sun imaginable. Yellow, red, blue, violet, magic, and even kryptonite suns have existed in the past. There’s no reason an orange or a black sun couldn’t be introduced, which would all have different effects on Superman and his psychology. A terrifying potential story, for example, would be Superman traveling with the League somewhere in deep space, only to be driven insane by the Black Sun’s radiation. In other words, there’s tons of story potential, and this old comic book plot proves that Superman Has so much more potential under the right sun.
Superman #371 is now available from DC Comics!