
As a film enthusiast, I’ve always been captivated by the evolution of Superman’s powers. When he first appeared in Action Comics #1, his abilities weren’t on the cosmic scale we see today. His original powerset was more grounded, fitting for the Man of Steel. To understand what these early powers entailed is quite simple, as both the initial issues of Action Comics and Superman Volume One clearly laid them out in narration before the main story began. Essentially, Superman was extraordinarily strong, nearly invincible, incredibly swift, and capable of leaping over great distances. The first three powers align with what he has now, but with caveats – they were significantly weaker than his present-day abilities. In those early issues, there was never a clear indication of how much Superman could lift, but it was implied that there were limitations to his strength. He could easily pick up cars and demolish buildings, yet never did anything as monumental as lifting a building itself. His speed was similar, as Clark regularly outran bullets and trains, but covering large distances still required time, far from the near-instantaneous speeds we see today.