Superman

If you ask someone to think of their favourite superhero, which name would come to their mind first? Of course, it’s a difficult choice as there are so many to choose from. However, many will choose the man who has fantastic powers, can fly, wears a blue and red suit and doesn’t actually come from this planet. Who is he? Why, Superman of course!

How much do you know about this comic book fan favourite? Kal – El was born on Krypton to Jor – El and Lara during a time of terrible chaos on the planet. As the planet is going to explode, Jor – El and Lara have to make a difficult decision, should they keep the young Kal - El with them or send him off to another planet and hope that he survives? In the end they decide to send him away from Krypton just before the planet explodes. Kal – El crash lands on Earth and is found by Kansas farmer Jonathan and Martha Kent. They name him Clark and adopt him as their own child.

Jonathan and Martha soon see that Clark is different. Over time Clark, begins to understand this also and he practices using his powers. By the time he can control them, Jonathan and Martha tell him to use his powers to help people but to do it secretly. Clark decides to make a costume to hide who he really is and those he loves. He wears this costume under his clothes and changes into it whenever there is danger. It’s also what everyone thinks of when they hear the name “Superman”.

So, what powers does Superman have? Well, he has heat vision, super-strength, arctic breath, x-ray vision, super- speed and he can fly. He has many other crazy powers and one of the newest ones is the Super Flare. This is when Superman explodes and gives off the same power and radiation as a nuclear bomb. After he uses this power, he is human for 24 hours because his body needs time to recharge the radiation that gave him the power.

Superman might be superhuman but there are some things that make him weak. As readers of the comic book know, Kryptonite (the green space rock), red sun radiation and supersonic sound are all dangerous for him and slow down his powers. It is Superman’s strengths and weaknesses that make him a fan favourite. For readers of the comic books, he is the symbol for hope, truth and justice.