SUPERMAN (Clark Kent, aka Kal-El)
Created By: Jerry Siegel & Joe Schuster
First Appearance: Action Comics #1 (June 1938)
Role: The Big Hero, The Icon, The Originator The Powerhouse, Team Leader, Flying Brick
Voice Actor: Greg Newburn
Finest Moment: The "World of Cardboard", and the subsequent ass-whooping.
PL 12 (234)
STRENGTH 14
STAMINA 14
AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 7
DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 3
AWARENESS 3
PRESENCE 4
Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+10)
Deception 6 (+10)
Expertise (News Reporter) 8 (+11)
Expertise (Farmer) 4 (+7)
Insight 6 (+9)
Intimidation 8 (+12)
Perception 10 (+13)
Persuasion 5 (+9)
Ranged Combat (Heat Vision) 6 (+12)
Ranged Combat (Thrown Objects) 2 (+8)
Technology 1 (+4)
Vehicles 5 (+5)
Advantages:
Benefit (Friggin's SUPERMAN- People just listen to him), Benefit (League Member), Diehard, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Critical (Heat Vision), Inspire, Interpose, Last Stand, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Takedown, Ultimate Strength Check, Withstand Damage
Powers:
Flight 9 (1,000 mph) [18]
Movement 1 (Space Travel 1) [2]
Power-Lifting 2 (1, 600 tons) [2]
Impervious Toughness 11 [11]
Senses 12 (Microscopic Vision 2, Extended Vision 2, Extended Hearing 2, Vision Penetrates Concealment, Infravision, Ultra-Hearing) [12]
"Heat Vision" Blast 12 (24) -- [26]
- AE: "Super-Breath" Move Object 10 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (Flaws: Touch Range) (10)
- AE: "Super-Breath Knock-Back" Affliction 10 (Strength or Agility; Hindered & Vulnerable/Prone & Defenseless) (Extras: Extra Condition, Area- 60ft. Cone) (Flaws: Limtied Degree, Instant Recovery) (10)
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+14 Damage, DC 29)
Heat Vision +12 (+12 Ranged Damage, DC 27)
Initiative +2
Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +14, Fortitude +14, Will +11
Complications:
Relationship (Lois Lane)- It's complicated. He likes her, but she seems to like both him AND his alter-ego.
Power Loss, Weakness (All Powers, Kryptonite Exposure)- The dreaded green rock (which is VERY common at times) will neutralize Superman's powers, AND rapidly poison him.
Vulnerable (Magical & Electrical Attacks)- Superman loses his Impervious Toughness against either type of attack, and takes more damage as well. The former is quite obviously stated, but he DEFINITELY seems to be taking much more damage every time he gets electrocuted.
Power Loss (Red Sun Radiation)- Superman takes extra damage from Red Sun Radiation (Captain Atom figured this one out), and his powers will start to fade in proximity as well.
Power Loss (X-Ray Vision)- Kryptonian X-Ray Vision cannot penetrate Lead.
Relationship (Ma & Pa Kent, Kara)- Clark is very close to his family, and protective of his cousin.
Responsibility (Metropolis & The Earth)
Responsibility (The Main Hero of Earth)- Superman is an icon, and the things he does are often taken very seriously by the general public, even if he doesn't like it.
Enemy (Lex Luthor, Darkseid, Brainiac)
Reputation (Growing Power Base)- The League's advances are making very many people nervous.
Reputation (Boy Scout)
Responsibility (Feels Like He Lives in a World of Cardboard)- Superman has to constantly watch his power, in case he accidentally takes a life.
Total: Abilities: 94 / Skills: 64--32 / Advantages: 20 / Powers: 71 / Defenses: 17 (234)
-I really liked the
JLU Superman. In fact, he may be my favourite incarnation of Big Blue anywhere. This is mainly because, while clearly being the Big Daddy Superhero of the universe, he was both NOT unstoppable, and there was a very real chance of him screwing up and not just doing everything perfectly. All too often Superman comes in and renders the rest of his teams redundant because he's so great- his comics are among the most boring to read, because most writers want to tell Generic Super-Hero Stories with him, which requires the villains to kind of... HAVE A CHANCE in their fights. The best way to go is to go the "tell stories ABOUT Superman" route that Grant Morrison and others have, though this very easily falls into goofy-ass "Jimmy Olsen is a WEREWOLF and Superman has AMNESIA" storytelling for young children.
-The Timmverse Superman was strong, but barely strong enough to rescue a crashing 747. He was fast, but he couldn't punch a guy a dozen times in one second. He could beat any superhero ever in a one-on-one fight, but guys like Captain Atom could still fight him to a smashing stand-still. And in addition to that, they focused on the SKILLS of the guy, making him a survivalist in a future where his powers didn't work, and he was an excellent world leader. But still flawed. Deep down, he wasn't sure if the Justice League's total power was a good move, and he was tortured by the decisions he had to make. Sorta like
Kingdom Come, but without killing millions.
-Regarding his own cartoon series- I never really saw much more than ten episodes back in the day, and I wasn't really impressed. It was possibly Early-Season Jitters before it "Grew the Beard" (Star Trek fanspeak for TV shows getting better over time), but I never liked it that much. Part of the issue was Superman's crappy Rogues Gallery. I don't care for The New Gods as characters, Parasite & Metallo are lame and silly-looking, Toyman is basically a weak member of Batman's rogues, and only Lex Luthor really stands out as a great villain. And then his Supporting Cast is full of guys like Perry White (basically 1/100th the character J. Jonah Jameson is) and Jimmy Olsen (boring superhero sidekick/fan insert character). I never even really liked Lois Lane. Altogether, the key problem is I just never CARED for Superman as a character or as a concept- I was always a Marvelite tried & true, and Supes was the big boring icon of the big boring DCU.
-Superman is obviously very effective as a hero, even if "reduced" to PL 12 status- He's just got SO many powers, and I really dislike the tendency of some posters to Alt-Effect the Heat Vision off of the Super-Strength (I mean, how does that even MAKE SENSE? Forget all the times he's lifted stuff while shooting his eye beams, what kinda power-reserve is he operating under?). He used to have TONS of Drawbacks (16 points' worth!), but 3e helpfully reduces all of that to a more handy Complications system. Otherwise, he has an insane number, and more than anyone else I've ever statted- his Complications are still longer than almost any other DC character. I think it fits, though- the comics tend to understate alot of his weaknesses, but in JLU, just being exposed to Kryptonite (a really common element here) meant he'd be out instantly. Magic & Red Sun Radiation still mess him up badly, he's vulnerable to electrical attacks (maybe not exactly- but as the writers joke, he got hit with one every other episode, and it ALWAYS left him hurting), etc. It's always been ironic how the most powerful superhero alive is also the one with the hugest set of drawbacks and limitations (GL even lost the Yellow Impurity for the show).
-Aside from his limitations, Superman's still a balanced offensive PL 12, being stronger than he is accurate (he's actually a remarkably good fighter in the series, partially due to his speed), but only with a +14 Damage bonus without hitting Power Attack. His Dodge & Parry are rather low, as he admits that he frequently takes damage just so others won't have to. Superman was strong, but his biggest punches were not shown to be any more devastating than several other attacks, notably Green Lantern's or Hawkgirl's. Note that his total strength is a rather low "thousand or so" tons, compared to the INSANELY high strength of the comic book verison- I could go as low as 400 tons and still seem to be world-accurate- they never really gave him a total limit).
About the Performer: Tim Daly voiced Superman in the "Animated Series", and was also a drug-addicted screenwriter on "The Sopranos"- a role I barely remember existing on that show. His biggest role is probably as Joe Hackett on "Wings", which ran for seven years on NBC- Ken Levine, whose blog I follow consistently, has spoken about how much he enjoyed that show, but its legacy is ridiculously tiny. He was Dr. Kimble in an ill-fated 2000s remake of "The Fugitive"- a one-year role that unfortunately lost him the Superman role in "Justice League"- he was replaced by George Newbern, who has largely done smaller roles. And the infamous "Theodore Rex". He's also the current voice for Sephiroth in the "Kingdom Hearts" games. Daly's Superman had a slightly deeper, more emphatic voice, while Newbern's was a touch lighter- ironically, as the character grew darker. But they were so similar in tone and style that many fans couldn't even tell the difference.