Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Lois & Clark What could hurt superman...

Katy, I'm going to move this one into the LNC folder as it seems to be more a (interesting <g>) general query/discussion on the characters rather than a question for a fanfic you're writing and so not really Fanfic Related.

LabRat

I knew I wasn't losing my mind, (well, no more than usual ) took me a while to find this one again.

James

Yes, I wondered where it went, too. I just assumed kateydidnt asked because she had some evil plans for our hero.

Well, in Harry Potter, spells and curses can be evaded (by ducking or sidestepping). The same should hold true for the Avada Kedavra curse. The times I have read about its use (on the Potters, A.D.) it was either used at point blank range or the victim (A.D.) was hardly able to move. When Voldemort tried it again on Harry in "The Goblet of Fire", Harry is able to counter it due to the nature of his and Voldemort's wands, so there must be an instant where this curse can be avoided. Especially with super-speed.

Since magic does affect Superman, magic potions and magic creatures (werewolves, vampires) should be able to do so, too. Oh, and magic (or divine) weapons, too. (Does Wonderwoman's golden lariat work on him? I think so, but I'm not sure here.)

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet is this "aura-of-a red-sun-thing". The aura of a red sun is supposed to make him vulnerable for the duration of exposure. Is this only a pre-crisis concept, or does that still apply?

Personally, I believe that (normal earthern) bacteria and viruses can't affect Superman unless he is redered vulnerable. Because those affecting a human body harm the body's cells, usually by invading them. Poisons that affect human poysiology might be an entirely different matter, though. They don't necessarily harm the cells themselves, but induce some reactions that compel the cells to dysfunction or even harm themselves. And since even super-cells should contain pores (like doors through the membrane) and carriers (something like electric revolving doors in the membrane) pretty much like ours, I suppose they could get in, too.

Ah, yeah, somebody like that. I just got so disgusted when they killed off Superman that I quit reading for a while. (Interestingly enough though, I do have that comic.) And I would have sworn I already posted this. I hope I didn’t post it on the wrong thread.

Didn’t know that. Found it on Wiki and I was going by that. (Thought I’d posted this, too. Weird.)

"Avara Cadavara" isn't just from Harry Potter. It's an old magic curse, once believed to be amongst the deadliest known to man. It basically translates to "(You Will) Become a Cadaver (corpse)."

Over the years, as people started to take magic less and less seriously in real life, it became slurred and kind of a joke. These days, it's most commonly heard as "Abracadabra," a stage magician's "magic word."

As for Superman's vulnerabilities, there seems to be a pretty good list here.

Traditionally, the top 3 are:

1. Kryptonite
2. Lois Lane
3. Magic (including hypnotism and psionics)

"Red Sun Energy" was mostly a pre-Crisis vulnerability. The light of a red sun (real or simulated) would depower him, since Kryptonians don't have powers when living under their (natural) red sunlight. Lex Luthor used to use devices which charged henchmen and weapons with "red sun energy" on a semi-regular basis. The energy boost would give the henchmen a modicum of super strength and would make Superman vulnerable to their attacks.

The vulnerability was (I believe) mostly downplayed post-Crisis, but it did show up again recently in Infinite Crisis. Superman took an evil Superboy from another dimension through the heart of Krypton's sun, depowering both of them. The incident left Clark depowered for an entire year.

High-powered sonics, as mentioned, will also do damage, using his super-senses against him.

Other attacks can eventually wear him down. It's rare that they'll break his skin, but each hit takes a toll that can eventually add up, especially if he can't recharge.

In general, though, quite a lot is left to writer discretion. There aren't really hard and fast rules. As long as you make it plausible, you should be fine...

Didn't Superman get hurt in the episode "Chi of Steel" (the martial arts episode) when he fought with the "ninja"?

I remember him falling on concrete and wood (?) and touching his forehead, when Lois comes and tries to help him and he just goes away. Then he appears somehow "fixing" his forehead using heat vision in his bathroom, while talking to his parents.

I don't recall, Malu, but it is possible. Leaving aside all the stuff that was OOC and made no sense in that ep, the bracelets were magical artifacts, and Superman is vulnerable to magical attack.

That wasn't Chi of Steel, it was Metallo. The kryptonite which powered Johnny Corbin had affected him, and Johnny threw him across an alley. He later fixed the cut with heat vision.

In Chi of Steel, he just wasn't all up on the martial arts--what's-her-name was just too "fast" for him, and used his own strength and speed against him.

I was reading the scripts and looking at episode pictures online.

You're right, DSDragon. On "Chi of Steel", he *is* thrown into a crate or something, but he only gets mad (not hurt). It was in "Metallo" that he gets hurt (and that's most probably because there's kryptonite involved). Thanks. It's been some time since I last saw those episodes.

malu