“You’ve got ME? Who’s got YOU?!?

Lois Lane

With a new Superman movie now in theaters (James Gunn’s aptly titled Superman) it’s time to take a look at one of the biggest conundrums in all of popular culture. Just where do Superman’s powers come from? While there have been conflicting explanations for this given by comics, TV shows, animated series, and movies through the decades, one point has taken hold pretty solidly for most of the character’s eight-plus decades: many of Superman’s powers come from the fact that he comes from a race of aliens who developed under a red sun, which means our more intensely radiant yellow sun charges up his cells and gives him his amazing abilities.

The nature of Superman’s powers had been addressed in different ways in the comics over the years (at one point, ALL Kryptonians were simply born with super powers, before explanations like Earth’s lighter gravity, our yellow sun, and others were added to the mythos). But the first media adaptation that really tried to address the source of his powers came with Richard Donner’s masterful Superman: The Movie (1978). In that film, no less than Marlon Brando as Jor-El patiently explains to the audience the ways a Kryptonian would adapt to Earth’s environment and the powers one might get.

Look, there’s only so much realism we can expect with a character like Superman, who is more of an ideal to strive for than a hard science fiction character. But we dive into the science and the story, and also discuss the timeless vibes that make that first proper Superman movie such an enduring classic in this episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9jeGwHn57E

FURTHER VIEWING

Much of this episode’s discussion was based around two of the best superhero movies ever made, Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980). While Christopher Reeve might be the most perfect piece of superhero casting ever, the other two movies in that franchise are uneven at best. But there’s other Superman media that address the source of the Man of Steel’s powers!

While divisive, Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel made a valiant effort to explain why Superman can do the things he does (including the yellow sun). And James Gunn’s currently in theaters Superman (2025) leans heavily on the solar power angle. It’s also just an absolute blast and the best superhero movie in years.