I know there's some forum that's that been done to death but i got to know.

Can Superman read minds?

Since he can use telepathy and all.

Short Answer- No

Long Answer- Noooooooooooooo

Silver Age Superman could.

No.

SA Superman had any power needed to easily resolve the plot. And then that power would be forgotten, bad business tactic :P

@jeremy1989: When has Superman ever used telepathy?

Outside of one episode of Smallville courtesy of Jor-El, I don't recall Superman being able to read minds.

@jeremy1989:

Well. There's only been two cases where Superman was able to read minds. And that was in one episode of Lois and Clark, when he met the Kandorians. And then in Smallville. When Jor-El gave him that ability temporarily so Clark could better understand what people wanted, what drove them. Oh! And he was also able to control minds or to be more specific Clark was able to influence them, when he was exposed to a kind of gem kryptonite.

In the Lois and Clark tv series he was able to comunicate telepathically, and in Smallville he was only able to read people surface thoughts and influence people by giving them verbal commands.

I know some of Superman powers, specifically his heightened senses, do seem to have a kind of tactical telepathy in their nature but that's just my idea of it.

Other than that it was only hinted sometimes in the past, and in the New 52 by Psycho Pirate that Superman does have psionic powers (telepathy amongst them) he just doesn't know or hasn't trained to be able to use them.

From Superman #45.

Needless to say, it didn't stick. And thank God for that.

@self-dceit:

Things might turn a little Star Wars if it was used all the time.

But it could still work. By making it a lot harder if he tried to control metas, magicians and psychics.

@heavenlydarkdragon: Nah. Superman really doesn't need it, and it doesn't jibe with the rest of his powers, nor their background.

@self-dceit:

I only agree that he doesn't need telepathy because he's still, in my opinion, years or decades from mastering the powers he already has. And as such he doesn't really needs to add more to his portfolio.

The Super-Flare was bad enough.

@heavenlydarkdragon: Oh, well, say what you will about the super flare, at least it fits with his powerset and its source.

And, lest we forget, a honorable mention for super-hypnotism, which lasted for decades and made dozens of appearances. Heck, Superman could even hypnotize himself into not feeling pain when dealing with kryptonite. That's some superjedi level stuff right there.

@self-dceit:

Does it?!

In power intensity alone it doesn't fit. If we compare what he's done with his other powers, including strength he shown that he possess way more energy that's released with the super-flare.

And his powers are more about the manipulation and control of electromagnetic energy. After all he can use microwaves, heat (infrared), x-rays and gamma. Even his flight power is most probably linked to his control of the energy inside of him.

More than this Flare power that turns him into a living bomb, in my opinion, the improvement he really needed was to better control his powers like Wraith did.

Wraith taught him how to use rapid fire heat vision, showed him how to use sound has a weapon, and later while they battled it was clear that Superman control over his powers is still lacking.

So, yeah, has I see it, he needs more control, than a another power he controls even less than the others. And worst, leaves him completely vulnerable.

@heavenlydarkdragon: You make a good case. But at the end of the day, Superman stores solar energy and expends it, period. The super flare is just an extreme manifestation of that, both figuratively and energetically.

@self-dceit:

That's what they say. It makes no sense at all. But thats what the writers say.

Because think of his powers levels and then tell me he's a solar battery.

And I'll tell you all the reasons that makes no sense at all.

You know it doesn't make any sense, but like so many others you simply go with the flow.

And please don't tell me his body hypermetabolizes sunlight. Because that's a slap in the face of anyone that knows anything about the laws of physics. More importantly the law of conservation of energy. Biologically speaking you simply can't produce more energy than the one you absorb.

@heavenlydarkdragon: Biologically and physically speaking, you also can't do most of what Superman does, and the "science" behind the super flare doesn't require more suspension of disbelief than his other abilities or the way they're explained. Don't take it so personally, man, especially since the main point of contention is that the flare dovetails better with his powerset than super mind reading and its derivatives. I think we can agree on that?

@self-dceit:

Absolutely.

But here's the thing. Why hasn't DC removed the solar battery nonsense and just says, they get their powers from the sun? Wouldn't you agree that it would be much more effective? After all no one even gives two seconds to try to explain the Speed Force, the Emotional Spectrum or magic. Because there's really no explaining to do. If DC simply removed the solar battery and changed it to solar reactor or just plain solar, then there wouldn't be so many fans trying to wrap their heads around how such a limit source of energy can give such immense amount of energy.

That's my only complaint about how kryptonian powers are explained. All the rest I leave it to each person to think what they want.

But eating meat when everyone says it's fish, when they know it's meat, it's frustrating.

@heavenlydarkdragon: I hear ya.

To be fair, though, and I have a sinking feeling that this is my memory deserting me, but when has DC last explicitly referred to Superman as a 'solar battery'?