How far does Clark's aura extend? his cape doesn't burn in fires. I"m working on a costume for Lois, but would a dress burn up? what about with a petticoat with it?
Nancy

I'm pretty sure in the series they mention that the aura extends 'a few millimeters' out from his skin. This is pretty much the same as they claim in the comics.

The comic books often shred and destroy Superman's cape as a visual means to show what a 'tough' battle he's been in. I'm sure the show didn't want to spend a lot of extra money destroying capes.

It also gives them a good reason to keep the costumes 'skin tight'.

Tank (who thinks that Lois should also be wearing a skin tight costume, after all, it's better protected... yeah, that's the reason)

Supergirl wears a short skirt, but I think I've seen that tattered in comic books and the cartoons after rough battles. But never *too* tattered....

The thing is that his aura extends to passengers. As long as he hold someone reasonably close, his aura extends out.

As mentioned, that doesn't seem to extend to clothes, except in L&C, where, as Tank mentioned, they kept the cape intact, probably for budgetary reasons. So, maybe in the L&C version, his aura extends out to the cape, too, as long as a significant portion of the cape is in contact with his body. <shrug>

Paul

I think the aura extending to cover passengers is a fanfic convention. I don't think that series ever mentioned it, nor do I remember the comics bringing in up.

Lois has expressed the fact that she was cold when he took her up to see 'his world' above the clouds, so he wrapped her in his cape.

Personally, I don't think the writers really gave the idea any thought, so whatever worked for the story was the way they let it go.

Tank (who found that consistancy was not necessarily a strenght of the television writers)

It has to extend to passengers, at least to some degree. It's the only way he could catch people the way he does without killing them, fly them around at super speed without seriously injuring them in some way or other, or do any of a number of similar things. Passengers aren't completely invulnerable, but they are at least somewhat protected.

Paul

I don't know, Paul. In Dead Lois Walking, Clark told Lois they couldn't fly fast enough for them not to be seen because she'd be vaporized. Wouldn't that leave you in doubt that his aura extended enough to cover passengers?

SQD

Like I said, not complete invulnerability. However, it's clear there has to be some measure of protection.

So, he can't go at full speed, and if someone was shot while he was holding them, they'd be hurt.

On the other hand, if someone is falling, and has already fallen 40 stories, and he rushes in at super speed and catches that person, you'd normally expect that to be a fatal impact. Since we've seen him do this, and since the person caught was unharmed, we have to assume there's something going on. Also, he can fly with someone at high speed (not full speed but pretty fast) without damaging the passenger. Unlike in a car or a plane, there's no windshield involved. There are other examples. His passengers survive a lot more than you'd expect them to without help.

So, I stand by my conclusion. A passenger doesn't get the full benefit of his aura, but does get some measure of protection.

Paul