The Golden Age had it all figured out

I was reading a re-printing of the first issue of Action Comics, and was struck by how simple Superman's origin and powers were.

• Can leap about 200 meters ("easily") with his super strong legs
• Can outrace a train
• Super strength extends to his upper body; can lift a car and shake all the passengers out
• "Nothing less than a bursting shell" could penetrate his tough skin (it was shown to repel a bullet and break the blade of a knife)

Essentially, super strength and invulnerability. What more do you need?

My question is, why can't this be enough? Why do we need to have a Superman that can see and hear everything, that can move planets and fly, under his own power, faster than the speed of light, but only if the author feels like it? The limits on the character in the golden age were and still are fine; Superman can fight organized crime as well as super villains and aliens without encroaching on realms occupied by other heroes. What's wrong with keeping Superman protecting Metropolis, Batman crime-fighting in Gotham, Captain Atom watching the skies, and Green Lantern policing in space, without the overlap that godlike, overpowered characters demand? This way, it really feels like they gain something when they team up.

It's not just Superman. Plenty of heroes had simple, exciting power sets back in the golden age that have since been inflated and become a noisy distraction from the actual substance of the comics, the storytelling, the characters. I feel like golden age comics had it all figured out when the heroes' powers were a consistent and reasonable while still remaining fantastic.

Cool scan.

Superman is OP.

Boring, they had it boring.

Underage b8.

BB

Because a lot of superhero writers are man-children who want their favorite character to be the most strongestest superhero evar.

Because.. staying at the same power level Isn't interesting. Character development is more than just personality, it's abilities as well.

I think they would have it wrong if Superman stayed the same. That goes with every character. Also, as the threats become more dangerous the Heros should get better.

@dbvse7: With Iron Man, it's important for his powers to evolve because, since they come from technology, he's always improving them. This is not the case with most heroes, especially those who were born with their powers. They use their powers in new ways, but they don't develop new powers, because they were designed with a particular kind of adventure in mind.

The same could hold true for Superman, and he could still take on any one of his foes, because they were designed to be a match for him in the first place.

@darthmummy: Enemies, man. They got more powerful and so our heroes had to up their game just as much.

And I don't think Superman is encroaching on anyone. He'll still get dusted in a race if Barry feels like it, Super Strength is common anyway along with Flight, Superman battles cosmic entities and so it makes sense that he needs to be able to go fight them where they are in the world or in space about to attack Earth. I'm not concerned about other heroes being "encroached upon," because they inhabit a world filled with people same as us. I'm not going to get mad at someone because they're a skilled writer like me (ego.) That's just the way things are and their world reflects that.

Besides, Superman barely showed up with the rest of The League early on, if I remember correctly. He and Batman were rarely seen with the others at first.

@darthmummy: When you're born with powers you'll always be improving. Because he's "Superman" I don't see why he wouldn't become more powerful as the years pass.

There's nothing wrong with Supermans power level developement. Look at it from a writers perspective.. he's not written to use his full potential, and just because he powerful that doesn't make him invisible.

@scouterv: Characters can be written with a lot of hidden potential without having them develop new powers. Batman and Spider-man overcome new challenges by adapting on the fly, using their heads and using their abilities creatively rather than relying on an ever-growing, all-purpose power set.

Part of my point was that flight and super strength needn't be common. I suppose "encroachment" isn't really the issue with the heroes segregated, each in their own titles, but the characters would be more unique if things like flight and super strength weren't "standard", but unique attributes.