Gods are some of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe, and Superman It’s very close to being one. With his incredible range of powers, Superman has almost no limits to what he can do. He is able to cross galaxies in seconds and even travel through time. But as powerful as Superman is, the limits of his powers prevent him from achieving true godhood.
Superman has countless incredible abilities, such as super speed, super strength, invulnerability, x-ray vision, heat vision, among others. Any of these powers individually are incredible, but with all of them together, Superman is practically a god. Although Superman is not exactly on the level of a god, he has managed to break the limits of his powers a few times, and if he ever breaks them all, he will be able to reach a level of power that few characters can.
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Superman’s super hearing can be fooled
Talking in code can fool Superman
One of the hardest parts of living in Metropolis as a criminal is having to deal with Superman’s super hearing. It’s nearly impossible to plan a crime when Superman can hear every conversation in Metropolis. Although he isn’t actively listening all the time, he has trained himself to pick up on certain keywords. If someone starts talking about robbing a bank or murdering someone, Superman will chime in until he can discern the context.
The Invisible Mafia managed to bypass Superman’s hearing using code words, disguising what they really meant with other everyday phrases. Although Superman heard them, he could not discern what they meant. This gap is a major flaw in Superman’s hearing that he has never been able to overcome. If Superman is going to hear everything anyway, the only way around it is to disguise the words as something else.
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Superman’s super hearing may even be a real weakness
Superman’s hearing was used against him
Being able to hear everything, no matter the distance, may seem like a very good power, but it has huge disadvantages. Superman only works because he spent decades learning how to tune out noise when necessary. But if Superman isn’t prepared for a loud noise, it could catch him by surprise. When Superman was under the control of an inexperienced Poison Ivy, for example, Batman was able to disable him with just a sharp whistle.
When other characters with Kryptonian powers appear, they often struggle with superhearing, and Superman exploited this weakness by making sudden loud noises to throw them off balance. While the ability to control any conversation or heartbeat is certainly great, there’s no denying that Superman’s hearing is also one of his biggest weaknesses.
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Superman’s X-ray Vision Can’t See Through Everything
X-ray vision has some weaknesses
Not only can Superman hear almost everything, but he can also see through almost everything. He has perfect vision and can even change the way his eyes work, allowing him to use X-rays to see through people’s bodies or most materials. Unfortunately, he can’t see through everything, and Superman’s C-ray vision can’t pierce the lead.
The big problem is that it doesn’t matter how much lead there is. Superman has expressed his dislike for Gotham City in the past because there is so much lead in the air that he finds it difficult to see normally. This weakness means that weapons like smoke grenades mixed with lead would be incredibly effective at obscuring Superman’s vision.
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Superman’s super strength still needs to obey physics
Super strength still can’t overcome physics
Superman is so strong that he is more than capable of moving the moon and also lifting reality itself. Because of his strength, it may seem like Superman could overpower or push just about anything, but his strength still has to obey the laws of physics. If Superman is pushing a huge object, like a mountain or a giant monster, he won’t push the mountain or the monster, he’ll just walk right past them. He can only exert his incredible strength over a very small area compared to a giant being.
While Superman is more than capable of taking down people his own size, when he tries to use his strength on super-large beings, things can get very complicated very quickly, forcing Superman to try to figure out smarter ways to deal with giant villains or when he is put in absurd situations, like trying to catch an aircraft carrier in the air.
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Superman is not immune to getting lost in the vastness of space
Even Superman can get lost
Using his super speed, Superman moved across entire galaxies in a few seconds. While this is incredibly impressive, the problem with moving so fast means he can also get lost just as quickly. There have been times when Superman has been teleported to random points in space, and with absolutely no landmarks or any idea of ​​how to get home, he has ended up hopelessly lost.
Normally, Superman can avoid being in this situation by having a JLA communicator or even going to a Planet United Embassy, ​​but the universe is a huge place. Your communicator may not always be connected and not all planets in the universe are part of the United Planets. Being lost is a very scary thing to happen, and not even Superman is immune to it.
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Superman is not completely invulnerable despite his super strength
Big heavy hitters can take down Superman
Superman is almost invulnerable. There is no weapon on Earth that can pierce his skin, as bullets simply ricochet, and he even takes the full brunt of nuclear bombs. Many villains think that Superman is completely invulnerable, but this is not the case, and several villains have already proven that Superman is very vulnerable. If someone has enough physical strength, they can defeat Superman and even kill him.
Doomsday beat Superman to death, and Darkseid can physically match Superman at times. It’s hard to imagine Superman being beaten to death, but it’s happened before. He has even been knocked out by opponents with enough strength. Although Superman can increase his durability by absorbing more yellow sunlight, he will never become truly invulnerable.
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Superman’s body can be shut down by pressure points
Superman’s Durability Doesn’t Completely Protect Him
Superman can ignore any punch or kick thrown his way. Due to his durability, he can completely ignore most attacks that are not backed by physical power equal to or greater than his own. But its durability offers no defense against blows to its pressure points. Superman’s body has some pressure points that can be used to activate his powers against his will.
There are specific pressure points around his neck that, when activated, force his heat vision to fire. Naturally, this can throw Superman off balance and really mess up his body. Heat vision consumes a ton of solar energy, so being able to force Superman to use it against his will could be a huge problem as it would force him to deplete his solar energy reserves.
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Kryptonite completely messes with Superman’s powers
Superman’s Classic Weakness
One of the quickest and easiest ways to shut down Superman has always been kryptonite. After all these decades, Superman still can’t figure out a way to properly deal with Kryptonite due to the huge variety of effects it can have on his power. Green Kryptonite is the most common and can shut down his powers as well as cause radiation poisoning if he is in contact with it for too long. While this is the most common form of kryptonite that Superman encounters, it is far from the only one.
Kryptonite variants include red kryptonite, which causes a random effect, from turning Superman into a space dragon to making him half-ant. Most frightening of all is golden kryptonite, which has the power to completely remove Superman’s power if he comes into contact with its radiation.
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If Superman runs out of solar energy, he will become powerless
Superman does not have infinite energy
The reason Superman has so many incredible powers is because of yellow sunlight. Under a red sun, Superman is no different from a normal human being. Being under the yellow sun charges Superman’s cells with yellow radiation, but this energy can run out. Certain powers use more energy than others. For example, if Superman uses his heat vision excessively or uses his deadly solar flare ability, he will expend all of his body’s energy and become powerless.
While Superman could recharge after a few hours or days in the sun, he would be completely vulnerable during that time. If, for any reason, Superman were trapped somewhere without sunlight, he would also run out of power, even if he wasn’t using his powers. The lack of solar radiation is not a vulnerability that is often taken advantage of, but it is one of the main ones.
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Superman is incredibly susceptible to mind control
Superman was mind controlled by several villains
With the amount of power Superman commands, one of his biggest nightmares is being mind-controlled and used for evil. Unfortunately for everyone, this outcome happens quite often. Over the years, Superman has proven himself to be quite vulnerable to mind control, despite claiming otherwise.
The Man of Steel was instantly defeated by Mongul when he used Black Mercy on him. Maxwell Lord brainwashed Superman so completely that it was impossible to undo, leading to Lord’s death at the hands of Wonder Woman. Poison Ivy controlled Superman with the help of kryptonite, and the Joker managed to infect Superman and turn him evil as well. As powerful as Superman It’s just that even he has limitations, especially when it comes to his mind.