On the Superman discussion: which Superman? Superman's abilities and even basic aspects of his origin and career have changed numerous times in his decades-long history.

The original Superman was a villain, a deadly enemy to mankind. That Superman never saw print, but appeared only in comic strips that Siegel and Shuster tried to sell for newspaper syndication, without success.

The original published Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1 by National Comics, now DC. Later, he and the other Golden Age heroes were retconned to exist on Earth-two, which in turn was made retroactively non-existent in the Crisis on Infinite Earths (more on that later). Those Golden Age heroes who did not have Silver Age versions with the same identity (like Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman, but unlike Green Lantern or the Flash) were made into older versions of modern heroes.

The Earth-two / Golden Age Superman could not fly (could only "leap tall buildings at a single bound" - later specified to be able to leap an eighth of a mile), had only limited invulnerability ("nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin!"), had no vision powers, etc., at least at first. He became more and more powerful as the series progressed, and new powers and other plot elements (such as Kryptonite) were added in the radio and movie serials and TV series and Fleischer cartoons and then incorporated back into the comics.

His powers were explained because Kryptonians were more physically evolved and had a more advanced "physical structure" than Earth humans. This means that the Kryptonians had those abilities even while still on Krypton. It obviously wasn't enough to save them from an exploding planet.

So, yes, adamantium or lightsabres would easily kill the original Golden-Age aka Earth-two Superman.

The Silver-Age Superman (Earth-one, 1960s through early 1980s) was ridiculously powerful. During this period, the yellow sun / red sun thing was used to explain pretty much all of his powers other than sheer super-strength, which was a result of the gravity difference (Krypton was basically a solid version of a gas giant, far more massive than Jupiter). Exposure to even a single photon of yellow sunlight was sufficient to give any matter from Krypton (other than Kryptonite, which was altered by the radiation of the explosion of Krypton) absolutely total indestructability. Furthermore, the sun-derived powers would last until exposure to red sunlight, which would instantly nullify them. Once the red sunlight was removed, even if more yellow sunlight wasn't supplied, those abilities would return full-force, instantly.

Adamantium or a lightsabre couldn't even penetrate one sheet of sopping-wet one-ply Kryptonian toilet paper (a single layer of which could also be used to wrap a hydrogen bomb, and would then contain the explosion, heat, and radiation when the bomb was detonated!), let alone Kryptonian matter as thick as, say, Superman's torso.

The modern Superman is somewhere in-between, and it varies depending on the writer. John Byrne, creator of the post-Crisis Superman, established that the invulnerability is actually a psychic telekinetic force-field, not super-dense material makeup or molecular bonds. Likewise, his flight ability is telekinetic in nature, affecting himself and anything he touches.

This has not been shown to be the case by later writers, though, and that explanation has since been used for Superboy's powers (note that the modern Superboy is not "Superman when he was a boy," but is a teenaged clone made from human DNA altered to resemble Superman's much more complex Kryptonian DNA). Superboy has powers that at first seem similar to Superman's non-vision and non-hearing powers, but they are all actually aspects of "tactile telekinesis." He is physically no stronger than a normal teenager, but he can lift any weight and punch through most any substance because he is actually telekinetically lifting or damaging the substance. This power works on a subconscious level, so bullets bounce off of him by reflex action: as soon as a bullet touches his skin or clothing, his tactile telekinesis kicks in and alters its path.

Both Byrne and later writers did make the case that yellow sunlight is responsible for Superman&rsqou;s powers, but because his cells act as "solar batteries." In other words, ordinary inanimate Kryptonian matter is not affected. Furthermore, it took years of yellow sun exposure of his cells for even the first powers (limited invulnerability) to manifest. Red sunlight does nothing, but the sustained absence of yellow sunlight while the powers are being actively used, thus draining the "batteries" will cause his powers to diminish and finally fade out. It then takes some time under a yellow sun to recharge him back to full power (this is usually speeded up by having him be closer to the sun, or having a solar-powered hero such as the Will Payton Starman lend a hand). Kryptonite works at least partly by forcing the stored yellow sunlight energy out of his cells.

So, could adamantium and/or a lightsabre hurt or kill the current Superman? Dunno. Depeneds on the writer, I guess.

Ninetynine, I'm ashamed to say that I've actually read, and remember, the story that that cover is from. Superman finds himself in what he first believes is an alternate universe in which everyone has switched genders (Superwoman, Superboy [opposite of Supergirl], and Wonder Man are shown on the cover). In that universe, Superman exists as a villain. Lois Lane is Lawrence Lane, Jimmy Olsen is Janey Olsen, Clark Kent is Clarence Kent, and so on.

Two hints lead Superman to realize that all is not as it appears to be. First off, Clarence Kent is not Superwoman, as both are seen at the same time. Secondly, in Superwoman's Fortress of Solitude, all of Superwoman's foes are seen and all but one have reversed genders as she does: Alexis (or was it Alexandra or Alexandria?) Luthor, etc.

The one exception is Mr. Mxyzptlk. The whole thing turns out to be one of his pranks. He didn't reverse his own gender out of pride, and he didn't have Clarence Kent be Superwoman because (this was in the Silver Age pre-Crisis Earth-one continnuity) he himself didn't know Superman's secret identity, so he didn't know to do that. Superman of course tricks Mxy into saying or spelling his name backwards yet again, and everything is back to normal - for another ninety days, at least.

Kangaroo_Ralph: I put that Specter series up there as one of the greatest, most consistant comics runs ever, with Preacher and Sandman. None of them can compare to Starman, though.

Master of the Flying Guillotine: Jack Knight is da man.

And any other fans of Starman - what do you think of the Will Payton Starman as a character? The reason I ask is that, long before Robinson's Starman was even announced, but after Will's heroic "death" in Eclipso: The Darkness Within #2, I wrote a fanfic that had Will as the PoV character to explain inconsistencies in the afterlife of the DC Universe, and also fix the mess made of Armageddon: 2001. Had that story actually been done by D.C., the Robinson Starman series would've been quite different.


Oh, and ninety-nine, I meant Clara Kent, not Clarence. Ack! I'm gettin' old!

So, seen Max, Laraby, or the Chief around lately? :-)