Page 19 - cosmos4

SCIENCE FICTION.

The thematic term science fiction is chiefly associated with comics,
but the concept is widespread in general science fiction. Numerous
Superheroes are effectively defined by their superpowers and, very
often, corresponding weaknesses.

Superman, a major twentieth-century archetype, has a large
(though varying with character rewrites) assortment of special

powers supposedly resulting from his Alien origin, the lesser
Gravity of Earth compared to his home world Krypton, and the differing radiation of
our Sun: the usual catalogue includes vast strength, incredible speed (which with
some doubletalk about Relativity may allow Time Travel), unaided flight, near- or total
invulnerability, x-ray vision and the ability to project heat rays from his eyes. His main
weaknesses are kryptonite radiation and (in the frequent Science and Sorcery
crossovers of comics) Magic.

Many further Superheroes possess some subset of
Superman's powers: super-strength is common, as
with The Incredible Hulk (1977-1982), the Thing of the
Fantastic Four, and Mr.Incredible in The
Incredibles (2004); The Flash has the super-speed, the
Cyclops of the X-men has the eye-generated rays, and
so on.

Other popular superpowers include the entire range of
ESP and PSI Powers (Spider-Man has a convenient
sixth "spider-sense" and the blind martial-arts expert
Daredevil has a compensating "radar sense"),
Invisibility as in The Invisible Man (1975-1976), Matter
Penetration, Shapeshifting, Transmutation of elements,