Is Captain America superhuman or not?

@tg1982 said:

@spinningbirdcake said:

Does anyone else see the crappy logic here? You're arguing as to whether Cap is superhuman or not, but I haven't seen a single post asking or trying to define the term "superhuman."

Well dictionary.com defines superhumna as....

1.aboveorbeyondwhatishuman;havingahigher nature orgreaterpowersthanhumanshave:asuperhumanbeing.

2.exceedingordinaryhumanpower,achievement,experience,etc.:asuperhumaneffort.

@Joygirl said:

Wasn't Cap clocked at running a mile a minute? That is 2x the speed of Usain Bolt (fastest real person alive). That = Superhuman.

Yeah, basically. He clocked in at just over a minute. 1:13, IIRC. Where I think people get confused is Marvel has Cap at "peak human" and many people think current human, but instead Cap is at the peak of human evolution, which does make him "superhuman" by current standards. Basically in how ever long it takes for humanity to evolve to "the next step" Cap is the peak of that. Just my opinion, though.

Although evolution generally results in specialization. It's not biologically possible (in non-superhumans) to be faster than Usain Bolt & stronger than the strongest power-lifter. The average human might someday be stronger & faster than today, but they won't reach the extremes of BOTH aspects. Also, if we're getting really technical, it's being argued now that humans are now outside the effects of evolution (because neither our physical abilities nor our mental capabilities are what determine whether or not we live long enough to pass on our genes. (Insert some joke about Jerry Springer & dumb people reproducing) It's become totally random).

Yes and no.

@lightsout said:

@Timandm said:

I think it depends on how you define what it means to be "super" human... In my opinion, having an absolutely PERFECT body., that has absolutely perfect hand-eye coordination, a healing factor (not as strong as Wolverine's but it exists nonetheless), having perfect balance that matches Spider-man's (as seen long, long ago), having a mind and body capable of mastering the use of new weapons within minutes... (or is it days...) To ME, this all suggests Super human. Consider this, without genetic alteration or super soldier formulas, or radiation treatments, or magical enhancements, is it possible for a normal human to train their body to be as perfect as Steve Roger's body is. The answer is no... I understand that Marvel wants to slant things to make it look as if Cap really is "only human" because that somehow makes him even MORE of a hero... But he is NOT, "only human." He's PERFECT BODY human.... ergo, super human.

This. If a human wanted to run faster than any human ever, or to lift more weight (in 1 go) than any person ever, they'd have to train specifically for that. Athletics is all about specialization nowadays. For Cap to basically be Usain Bolt fast & also as strong as the strongest power-lifter, he'd have to be super-human - because it's not biologically possible to be capable of both feats with 1 human body.

You can train for more than 1 sport, many Olympians do that..

Cap is enhanced human which is super human

which basically means above a human (homo sapiens sapiens / modern homo sapiens)

and Cap is the peak of potential, but not exactly evolutionary potential, in the way that humans will become that. it's in the way that he is perfect on every level every human could ever accomplish. people will say that is peak human, but physical records are from time to time being broken. that means we are actually getting stronger and faster than we were, while not necessarily resorting to new genes. Cap is not the next step in evolution, he is the last point before evolution (which in Marvel's case would be the Homo sapiens superior or the Homo superior superior (Vargas if you dont know what Im talking about)

@Pyrogram said:

You can train for more than 1 sport, many Olympians do that..

No one's saying you can't. But it's not physically possible to be the world 100m dash champion & power-lifting champion (biologically/evolutionary). Those 2 things require your muscles to be built/trained in very different ways. And that's perfectly okay, Cap's a comic character and his abilities don't have to be within real-life human capabilities.

@lightsout: Ever heard of hybrid muscles? And its not possible, yet. It will be done sometime in the future by somebody.

Why is this so long? He is peak human, not superhuman.

@Pyrogram "will be done.....by somebody" - ie: technological alteration of human anatomy. It still stands that humans will not "evolve" to what Cap is capable of (and that's assuming humans will evolve more, which is unlikely).

@lightsout said:

@Pyrogram "will be done.....by somebody" - ie: technological alteration of human anatomy. It still stands that humans will not "evolve" to what Cap is capable of (and that's assuming humans will evolve more, which is unlikely).

Well athletes are getting better every year..so give it 100 years...

It depends.

He's gone through eras when he's been on and off the Super Soldier Serum.