I heard the most ridulous statement in my local comic book store recently. It was said by a customer that Zatanna could defeat Superman, and gave him the straightest straight face in existence. I refuse to believe that Zatanna could beat arguable the greatest Superhero of all time. I want to set the record straight. Magic-based powers make Superman susceptible them. Its not Kryptonite, he won't die if he gets too close or anything. Watch the video and skip to 5:10 to catch the effect that Magic truly has on Superman.

Now, I know what you're thinking, Yes, this is a video game, but it is the best example of magic use on Superman ever given. Mortal Kombat characters would never be able to stand up to the Man of Steel if not for their magic based powers. Scorpion is a Spectre(human reborn[usually evil]), but a human nonetheless. If you try to kick Superman with all of your might, you might break your leg, but because of Scorpions magic, it levels the playing field in terms of what can hurt him. NOTHING ELSE. It is unlikley that magic alone will kill the Superman.

Couldn't Zatanna use her death spell? It would kill her, but it would take him too.

Would that work? Anyone know?

If you give a magic user prep then yes they could beat Superman

Um....you do realize that it's not cause Scorpion was a Hellspawn, it was cause of the two universes were merging (thanks to Dark Khan) that cause Superman to be weakened. Otherwise, Superman would have been able to stomp most if not all of the MK universe regardless. (which levels the playing field game wise just like the Kryptonian pills in Injustice)

Yep, this is the right answer.

yup

If you shoot superman in the head with a magic bullet he dies... well sorta.

Magical stuff effects him exactly as it would a normal person. So if I had a sword that was enchanted and i tried to cut off his head it would succeed based on how fast he regenerates and how thick the blade is and how quickly goes down as well as if the head was separated or not.

So it effects him but you then have to take into account other factors. If you were to cast a spell that caused the target to die... Superman would die... but then maybe he'd punch his way back >.>

What i dont get is that Magic is highlighted As such a big weakness for Superman only.

firstly,its not a weakness,he's just vulnerable to it like any other normal person but doesn't that mean it would affect every other super being??

Wouldnt Martian Manhunter, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman also be vulnerable to it? all their powers are science based. Heck even Wonder Woman should be vulnerable,what just cause she has magical body accessories that means she cant be affected by magic?? even JLU did it right,WW got turned into a pig by Circe in one episode. Shazam too to an extent,sure he's the champion of magic but can be taken down by a superior witch/wizard(eg: Enchantress in flashpoint) atleast until he learns how to use his magic properly.

Batman is a Man and he hardly is affected by magic,i hated that back up in batman #20 and 21, Superman got sick cause his super senses couldn't handle the ghosts and stuff(what bullsh*t!) and batman was fine cause he was perceiving ghosts like any ordinary person,i mean seriously??

Yup.

I always saw it that way. Superman was affected by the magic just as any other mortal would.

I mean,it's not like he (or any of the people you listed) are immune to it....well,Shazam probably is,but he doesn't know how to use his magic as you stated

XD

@v_scarlotte_rose: Superman could crush her throat before she has the chance to open her mouth.

Doom could. More importantly Wonder Woman already did with her magic lasso.

/thread

But she could do it if he was distracted, or she snuck up on him?

@v_scarlotte_rose: Hard to sneak up on a guy who could hear footsteps from miles away and every voice on the planet fron Earth's orbit. If your question is, would it work, then it's possible. I'm not familiar with the death spell, but Superman is vulnerable to magic. He's not as vulnerable as some may think. In fact, he does have a degree of resistance against it.

@awesam: She used it to kill Enchantress during Flashpoint. She says it, and the victim dies instantly(though Enchantress survived because of some magic thing).

I'll get back to you if I can find a way for her to have the chance to say the spell, based on other spells she's used.

@v_scarlotte_rose: I actually remember her trying it on Enchantress, I just didn't remember when it took place. I'll look into the spell a bit. If it just kills someone instantly, then it should work. Really depends on how it works.

The two universes merging had not begun to show a true effect on Superman yet. Its safe to say that he was still at 90-95% healthy and completley unaware of of the crossover event. It was still early on in the story so no one drasticlly affected by the "RAGE" yet. Superman was affected because of their magic based powers. The Magic leveled the playing field.

depends if your comic book store buddy was talking about the old superman or the new 52 one....new one seems to be weakened by it, while the other one was vulnerable to it.

In a way he technically wasn't wrong....

The tie-in comic says otherwise. When Sub-Zero appears in the Fortress when the realms first begin to merge, Superman hits him only to have Sub-Zero endure it and hit him with a Ice blast. Dark Khan narrates the book and says he is the cause of the Kryptonian's weakening powers (due to Dark Khan trying to merge the realms). And in the game, Superman loses to Sub-Zero and has to be rescued by Wonder Woman. He was nerfed so that he could work in the game which has been confirmed by Boon a long time ago.

@w0nd said:

depends if your comic book store buddy was talking about the old superman or the new 52 one....new one seems to be weakened by it, while the other one was vulnerable to it.

In a way he technically wasn't wrong....

This IMO was rubbish...James Tynion should not be allowed to write superman, he really f'ed up here.

@w0nd: That was just really bad writing it make supes seem allergic

but is he now? I mean it's not like standing beside wonder woman would make him sick but if someone is trying to harm him with magic now it could harm him differently than before idk how the new 52 works yet

@thegreyoutcastx said:

@emperorjosh said:

@thegreyoutcastx said:

Um....you do realize that it's not cause Scorpion was a Hellspawn, it was cause of the two universes were merging (thanks to Dark Khan) that cause Superman to be weakened. Otherwise, Superman would have been able to stomp most if not all of the MK universe regardless. (which levels the playing field game wise just like the Kryptonian pills in Injustice)

@jonny_anonymous said:

If you give a magic user prep then yes they could beat Superman

Yep, this is the right answer.

The two universes merging had not begun to show a true effect on Superman yet. Its safe to say that he was still at 90-95% healthy and completley unaware of of the crossover event. It was still early on in the story so no one drasticlly affected by the "RAGE" yet. Superman was affected because of their magic based powers. The Magic leveled the playing field.

The tie-in comic says otherwise. When Sub-Zero appears in the Fortress when the realms first begin to merge, Superman hits him only to have Sub-Zero endure it and hit him with a Ice blast. Dark Khan narrates the book and says he is the cause of the Kryptonian's weakening powers (due to Dark Khan trying to merge the realms). And in the game, Superman loses to Sub-Zero and has to be rescued by Wonder Woman. He was nerfed so that he could work in the game which has been confirmed by Boon a long time ago.

Agreed, Superman would've most likely broken free if not for Dark Kahns powers affecting him. But this is later in the game when Superman found Sub Zero trying to invade his fortress out of pure curiosity. Remember, the Lin Kuei Temple had ended up being located like right across the street when the Dimensions were merged. The Lin Kuei thought that the fortrss contained invaders and they were trying to scout out area. By this time, Superman had no doubt been exposed to Dark Kahns powers and was weakening quickly.

At the beginning when Superman encounters Scorpion, Superman had been exposed to Dark Khans energy, but not to the point where its was showing any real effect yet. That is why I used that example rather than the Sub Zero one. Superman at near full strength can suffice for my point to get across. Was he at full power when he fought Scorpion? Probably not, but he was still near 100%, and Scorpions powers were still damaging the man of Steel. Thats the point that I want to get across to everyone. And yeah, addressing the other page above, @ultimatesmfan and @z3ro180 were right. Terrible writing. Magic looks like it has the affect that Kryptonite has in that page.