Introduction
The infamous Superman of of the 853rd century. He is renowned for being virtually featless and having his feats blown out of proportion by others across the internet, so today I'll be taking a closer look at our Golden Son of Krypton, and I'll try to separate the facts from the fiction.
Just to clarify, this is not a Superman hate thread, and I myself have nothing against Superman, however, the truth is more important than the untruth.
False Information
You may see people posting a list of his powers, claiming anything from him being second to the Presence to being so strong that he can lift omniverses.
Here's the list of supposed powers many people have used and have had claimed he has:
These supposed powers are simply ridiculous. Not only has Superman Prime One Million never shown any of these powers, but they are easily dismissible and contradict his actual feats, what little feats he does have anyways (which I will explore down below).
But one might ask where such claims came from? None other than a DC and Superman wiki, copied and pasted. All of those things listed above. The problem with wikis are that just about anyone can edit them and input whatever information they so choose. More often than not wikis tend to contain misinformation, and in some cases they can be misleading to the point where fanfiction would be a more proper term to describe them.
To my knowledge this has since then been removed from the said wikis, but that's where those claims of his "powers" above first originated from. And when someone is looking for information on a comic character the first thing that pops up are the said wikis, and not knowing any better they use the said information, and that's how it spreads.
Here are some examples of unknowing individuals passing on the said fictitious wiki information across various websites, forums, and threads:
I just wanted to get that cleared up before debunking the various claims and so-called feats of Superman Prime One Million.
Context and Circumstances of His Feats
Let's examine his few actual feats and see what we can deduct from them.
Claim: He recreated Lois Lane.
Take a closer look at the words.
Lzyxm Ltpkz (a 5th Dimensional Imp) used Lois's DNA samples (that Kyle Rayner retrieved from Solaris) and recreated Lois along with Superman Prime One Million.
Some people have also said that Superman Prime made Lois immortal and godly, but there is literally no evidence to support that.
Conclusion:
- He cannot recreate someone without their DNA.
- He cannot recreate someone without the help of a 5th Dimensional Imp.
Claim: He created a universe.
Once again, we need to take a closer look at what he's saying.
"Welcome to my universe."
His statement does not prove he created a universe in any way, shape, or form. Atom's universe (which is a separate, individual universe of its own) was destroyed. As a result Atom was sent through an interdimensional bridge that took him from his universe to the universe Superman Prime One Million as in. Not only does Superman Prime One Million admit he couldn't stop the destruction of Atom's universe, but being the polite man Clark was raised to be by the Kent family he was simply welcoming/greeting Atom to this other reality he just incidentally came into. For example, just because I greeted my friend and said "Welcome to my home" doesn't mean I actually built it.
However, there is one defining fact that most people overlook. DC One Million all takes place in the 853rd century. The 853rd century is simply Post-Crisis Earth, the main continuity and universe from 1986-2011. It's the same universe after Crisis on Infinite Earths and before Flashpoint, the only difference is that this takes place in the future which is where Superman Prime One Million made his statement. DC One Million does not take place in some alternate reality, universe or timeline for that matter. Again, it's just the regular, main universe (at least was the main universe before the New 52) we're all familiar with but in the future. We know for a fact that Superman Prime One Million did not create the universe he was already in because it had already existed, in fact, long before Superman was even born, further reinforcing the fact that he was just welcoming/greeting Atom because Atom had come from another reality.
Conclusion:
- He did not create his own universe.
- He could not stop the destruction of another universe.
Claim: He recreated Planet Krypton and resurrected all of its inhabitants.
Once again, look at the words.
"That's what they did. For him." and "It was all for him". Kyle Rayner, the narrator, is referring to what the Justice Legion (specifically Hourman) did for "him", Superman Prime One Million, who finally returned from the Sun after 15,000 years of inhabiting it in solitude. Nowhere in this scan does it say that Superman Prime One Million recreated Krypton and resurrected its inhabitants, the narrator says how the others brought back Krypton "for him".
In fact, you can see Hourman doing this on the page right before Superman Prime One Million visits New Krypton.
See anything familiar? The green object in the sky (right above Superman Prime One Million kissing Lois Lane) is planet Krypton as it was exploding. The rocket? It's carrying the young Kal-El, destined to Earth. Hourman uses the power of the Worlogog to bring it back as shown on-panel.
Worth noting that this was made to look like the exploding Krypton as originally depicted in earlier comics.
Conclusion:
- He did not recreate the planet Krypton.
- He did not resurrect its inhabitants.
Claim: He easily defeated the mighty Solaris.
Solaris fought the entire Justice Legion Alpha, Justice League, and the heroes of the 853rd century in a battle of epic proportions.
As the battle is raging on the outside, Kyle Rayner inside of Solaris speaks with the Justice League. He is told that he must increase the mass of Solaris and destabilize his core in order to make him go supernova and blow up.
Kyle does this, gets out, and proceeds to form a plasma bottle construct around Solaris. Solaris goes supernova and explodes. As Solaris is exploding, Superman One Million (Kal Kent) then comes to aid Kyle Rayner in containing the blast with his force-vision. The blast is contained and Solaris is defeated, vulnerable, and near-death. Shortly after, Superman Prime One Million then equips the Green Power Ring, emerges from the Sun, and proceeds to finish off this already defeated Solaris.
We can conclude that Superman Prime One Million did not defeat Solaris. The heroes fought the battle and succeeded in bringing him down, Superman Prime One Million just happened to be the one that gave the final killing blow. That is the real life equivalent of a bunch of people fighting someone, beating them to the verge of death, and then someone else coming along and delivering the fatal blow to the head with a gun. You wouldn't call that a real victory now, would you?
Conclusion:
- Solaris endured the entire onslaught of the Justice Legion Alpha, Justice League, and the heroes of the 853rd century.
- As if this wasn't enough, Solaris himself exploded. He was defeated, vulnerable, and near-death.
- Superman Prime One Million then finishes off this defeated, vulnerable, and near-death Solaris only after equipping the Green Power Ring, making the feat itself even less impressive.
Claim: He was fast enough to sense a universe in peril, go into that universe, save Atom before the universe was destroyed, and get out.
This claim is not as commonly used as the others, but some people try to use it as a speed feat. Even if it was a speed feat (which it isn't because he never saved Atom) it's an unquantifiable one making it obsolete. And even if Superman Prime One Million did save Atom it would have been a ridiculously easy task considering the fact that he was standing right next to the Universal Gate as the events in Atom's universe were unfolding.
The most definitive proof is provided in the scans below, in which Superman Prime One Million does not save Atom in any way, shape or form, nor is it even implied or suggested that he saved Atom. The scans speak for themselves, and what they say is completely different from this claim. However, we can delve in further.
Atom unwillingly created a singularity (as a result of his scientific experiments in order to extract a new form of energy) that was going to destroy the universe. In an attempt to stop this singularity from destroying his universe he was shot through the suppressor field as a gold ingot. As this happened his universe was destroyed, and Atom traveled through an interdimensional bridge which led him to the universe Superman Prime One Million was in.
This is what Superman Prime One Million then says after Atom arrives:
Superman Prime One Million acknowledges that Atom had appeared to have had survived the destruction of his universe, implying that he didn't save Atom. Now if he was there, and if he really did save Atom, then why did he make a presumption by saying "Appear to have"? Would it not be a clear and definitive statement instead, if he knowingly went into a universe that was about to be destroyed in order to save him? All Superman Prime One Million did was recognize the dimensional collapse which resulted in the destruction of Atom's universe from the safety of his own universe.
This is once again further reinforced when Superman One Million (Kal Kent) says this:
Kal Kent doesn't say Superman Prime One Million saved him, but instead he says "Incredible. You met Superman Prime at the Universal Gate?". This implies that they, Superman Prime One Million and Atom, didn't meet in Atom's universe. This is because if Superman Prime One Million really did save him and entered his universe like some say he did, then he would have had to have met Atom while he was travelling through the singularity in Atom's universe and not the Universal Gate, and the Universal Gate is obviously in the universe Superman Prime One Million is in, so since they first met at the Universal Gate that means Superman Prime One Million never even went into Atom's universe in order to save him.
Conclusion:
- Superman Prime One Million did not save Atom from the destruction of his universe.
Claim: He was so powerful that he entered the Source Wall and came back with godly powers.
The words are often twisted and misunderstood when people try to claim that he obtained godly powers from the Source. Now before I debunk the specifics all I have to say is that if you read the comics nowhere does Superman actually meet the Source, go through the Source Wall, or do anything related to the Source by either actual on-panel feats or statements. The scans speak for themselves, I could just leave the scan here and debunk that in itself would debunk this claim, but hey, why not go further.
The argument for Superman entering the Source is basically the narrator saying the following:
First of all, the Gates of Heaven is something some have tried to argue is the Source Wall, but that doesn't work. Why? DC already has a Gates of Heaven, and it isn't the Source Wall. It's as simple as it gets. Two separate locations of their own. Second of all, the Source Wall has never been referred to as the "Gates of Heaven", so I ask, why on Earth would we assume it's the Source Wall?
Moving on. Take another look at the words. "He looked like one who had gone as far as to crash the Gates of Heaven". Now look at Superman's face. Yes, all they're doing is describing the expression and look on Superman's face. It's figurative/metaphoric language. In fact, the fact that they're using figurative language is blatantly obvious if you read the text box before it.
A biblical reference to the son of Abraham, Ishmael. More figurative/metaphoric language, not literal. And if we were to take Superman crashing into the Gates of Heaven literally then we would also have to assume that Superman is the son of the Biblical Abraham, Ishmael, and not the son of Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van. It doesn't take that much brain power to read the narrator text in order to understand that they're not being literal.
No matter how you look at it Superman didn't enter the Source.
Conclusion:
- He did not enter the Source Wall.
- He did not gain any godly powers.
Claim: He has the reality warping powers of a 5th Dimensional Imp.
The argument for Superman Prime having reality warping powers is pretty much the scan below. A far-off future descendant of Superman marries the Queen of the 5th Dimension, and that somehow equates into Superman Prime having reality warping Imp powers, but that's not the case, and I'll explain below.
The Superman of the 67th century, Superman Purple, far after the regular Superman we know, married Gzntplzk, the Queen of the 5th Dimension. This means that any children Superman Purple produces will have inherit whatever 5th Dimensional Imp abilities or powers they may have. Superman Prime One Million cannot have 5th Dimensional powers because Queen Gzntiplzk and her bloodline entered the Superman Dynasty much later on. Superman's parents, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, were Kryptonian after all, and not Imps.
To say Superman Prime One Million has 5th Dimensional powers because one of his descendants married a 5th Dimensional Imp is like saying one of my descendants, a human, for example, marries a female Kryptonian tens of thousands of years in future. My descendant, the human, would not gain the powers of a Kryptonian simply by marrying her and establishing a relationship, that's not how it works. The only descendants of mine that would inherit such powers would be the children that were produced with the female Kryptonian. The notion that me, assuming I'm somehow alive, would gain the powers that one of my descendants inherited tens of thousands of years into the future is absolutely ridiculous.
The fact that he doesn't have 5th Dimensional reality warping powers is further evident by the fact that he needed the help of a 5th Dimensional Imp in order to recreate Lois. If he really did have the powers of an Imp then he wouldn't have needed Lzyxm Ltpkz's help in the first place.
And for the record, his descendants didn't even inherit any 5th Dimensional reality warping powers. The comic tells us that they inherited "ten alien sensory powers" as a result of Superman Purple producing children with Queen Gzntplzk. Not reality warping, but ten alien sensory powers. Throughout the DC One Million comics if you've ever read them it is continuously stated that the descendants of Superman Purple (such as Kal Kent) have such alien sensory powers, and nowhere is it even shown, implied, or stated that they have reality warping powers for that matter.
Conclusion:
- He does not have the reality warping powers of a 5th Dimensional Imp.
- His descendants, even though Superman Purple married Queen Gzntplkzk, didn't inherit reality warping powers. Just ten new sensory powers.
Claim: Superman sun-dipped for 15,000 years and gained new powers.
Yes, Superman Prime One Million did sun-dip for 15,000, however, there is much to keep in mind.
If we're to look at what has actually transpired within the comics the sun-dip did not grant him any new powers whatsoever. There is literally no evidence to suggest this. As far as that goes, like any other Kryptonian who dwells in a star, it merely enhances the power of their regular Kryptonian powers which they already possess. Nothing more, nothing less. I often hear this, but no, the energy accumulated from being in the Sun isn't permanent either.
Conclusion:
- He did not gain any powers by sun-dipping.
- The energy absorbed is not permanent.
Further Points
Nowhere to my knowledge is it actually said that he is completely immune and invulnerable to the following:
- Magic
- Kryptonite
- Telepathy
- Reality warping
- Energy absorption
- Soul manipulation
- Matter manipulation
As it has yet to be proven so.
But Wait, He Does Have Feats, and Lots of Them Too!
"Hold on MysticMedivh, what did you just say? You're telling me you just made this entire thread that debunks Superman Prime One Million, yet he apparently has lots of feats as well? But how could this be?"
Believe it or not he does have lots of feats, but they're just not the type of feats you'd expect him to have. Keep in mind that our normal everyday Superman of the Justice League is Superman Prime One Million, the only difference being that Superman Prime One Million is simply Superman in the future. This means Superman's feats (specifically Post-Crisis Superman) are indeed applicable to Superman Prime One Million. However, Superman Prime One Million specifically is still virtually featless.
The Verdict
Quite frankly, what few feats he does have are not impressive given the circumstances and context. Nothing he has done would even suggest he is on par with a notably powerful character such as Galactus.
My point being is that he's nowhere as powerful as others make him out to be, such as a godly omniversal entity second only to the Presence. There are many other characters and beings throughout Marvel, DC, and fiction in general that are simply greater. There is nothing factual whatsoever to back up his hype.
Superman Prime One Million has no new powers or anything along those lines such as heavenly powers from the Source, 5th Dimensional reality warping, additional powers gained through sun-dipping, etc. This means that Superman Prime One Million is quite literally regular Superman, power-wise, of course based off of feats, with the only difference being the fact that he sun-dipped for 15,000 years. It should be noted that he did wield a Green Lantern Ring for about 1-2 pages when he came out of the Sun and finished off Solaris, but was never depicted to have one after the said events.
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