Description

Superman, was born Kal-El on the planet Krypton, before being rocketed to Earth as an infant by his scientist father Jor-El, moments before Krypton's destruction. Discovered and adopted by a Kansas farmer and his wife, the child is raised as Clark Kent and imbued with a strong moral compass. Very early he started to display superhuman abilities, which upon reaching maturity he resolved to use for the benefit of humanity. His appearance is a distinctive blue, red and yellow costume, complete with cape, with a stylized "S" shield on his chest.

Personality

Kal-El's personality is rough and aggressive. During battles, he is usually unconcerned with about the harm his strength may cause. However, since then, Kal-El banned himself from ever killing again. Today, he follows a strict, moral code, vowing to never take a human life, and if he did so, he would hang up his cape and retire.

Equipment

Superhuman strength - Physical strength far exceeding that of a normal human or any other known animal. The upper limit of how much weight he can lift has ranged from several tons to entire planets. Explanations include being adapted to the heavier gravity of Krypton, and his muscles using the power of the solar energy which fuels all his abilities. Superman's stamina is also limitless (whilst he remains in yellow sunlight).

Invulnerability - Physical invulnerability protecting his body from almost any form of harm. Effectiveness has ranged from his skin being piercable by nothing less than a "bursting shell" to being completely unharmed at ground zero of a nuclear explosion. Includes the immunity to most known diseases, viruses and toxins. Explanations for this ability have included Kryptonians having an extremely dense molecular structure to each of his cells emitting an unbreakable aura of solar energy. However, in the rare instances Superman has required medical attention, this resistance to injuries has complicated necessary procedures such as surgery. For instance, when a criminal shot him with kryptonite ammunition, a surgeon was forced to give Superman a controlled exposure to the mineral in order to temporarily weaken his skin enough to make the incisions necessary to remove internal fragments of the bullet. This power greatly retards his aging and increases as he gets older, sometimes rendering him effectively immortal.

Flight - Ability to propel himself through the air at will. Has ranged from simply being able to jump great distances using his superhuman strength, to being able to accelerate, float in midair, change direction and traverse interstellar distances without stopping.

Superhuman speed - Ability to move at speeds far greater than normal humans are capable of. Top speeds have ranged from hundreds of miles per hour to speeds far greater than the speed of light. Includes the speeding up of his thoughts and perception to be able to control his actions as well as normal while moving at high speeds.

X-ray vision - Ability to see through solid objects, usually with the exception of lead. Explanations for how this power works vary, but rarely include the emission and perception of actual X-Rays, as such high-energy radiation would actually be dangerous to living things he uses it on. A more common theory involves being able to see and concentrate on the patterns of natural cosmic radiation as it reverberates off objects.

Heat vision - Ability to emit heat energy from his eyes. Usually resembles bright red or orange laser-like beams, which may be invisible at low temperatures but extremely bright at high ones. Has been depicted as a focused variation of his X-Ray Vision, but is usually a distinct power involving converting solar energy directly into heat. Superman has been shown to be able use Heat Vision with surgical precision and at microscopic levels. In some stories, it can be reflected like a true laser, which Superman may use to shave his otherwise very durable whiskers. Sometimes shown to be one of his more physically draining powers to use as it uses such concentrated solar energy.

Super breath - Ability to inhale and exhale huge volumes of air with great force, capable of extinguishing large fires and moving heavy objects such as cars. Also allows Superman to hold his breath for extended periods in airless environments. The release (exhalation) of highly compressed air through a valve(such as pursed lips) causes it to drop radically in temperature. This is known as the Joule-Thomson effect, and when Superman does this, it is usually referred to as Freeze Breath, and can cool objects to sub-zero temperatures and freeze air moisture solid.

Super hearing - Ability to hear far more sounds with far more detail at far greater distances than normally humanly possible, including sounds on frequencies undetectable by humans such as dog whistles. Superman is able to mentally screen out most of these sounds to be able to function normally, even in a noisy environment, and can focus in on specific things, like a person's voice or heartbeat, even if they are in another part of the city. Like humans and most animals, he is skilled at automatically noticing his own name out of the jumble of several overheard conversations, making him adept at quickly responding to calls of distress all over the city.

Superhuman vision - Ability to see farther and with greater accuracy than normally humanly possible. Sometimes includes the ability to see EM frequencies invisible to humans, such as radio transmissions, infrared light and in some stories, even an energy aura which supposedly surrounds all living things. Offshoots of this power include Telescopic Vision, which allows him to "zoom in" on far away objects, sometimes hundreds of miles away, and Microscopic Vision, which allows him to zoom in on objects that would normally be too small to see, like those on a cellular or molecular level.

Superhuman Olfaction - A heightened and highly accurate sense of smell comparable to some animals such as dogs. Can be used to detect things like the chemicals in a bomb hidden somewhere in a crowded room.

Eidetic memory - Superman is occasionally shown to have flawless, total recall of everything he has ever seen, read or heard. In turn, he is often depicted as being fluent in many of Earth's languages. This "power" is shared by a number of real-life people such as Kim Peek, but in Superman's case it is likely a result of his invulnerability preventing any cell in his brain from deteriorating and related to his mind's ability to perceive events at superhuman speeds as if they were happening at normal speeds.

Superhuman Sound - Superman can whistle very loudly reaching almost 100 decibels on the Decibel meter. His whistle can stun dogs and stop moving objects.