Sent to Earth as an infant from the dying planet Krypton, Kal-El was adopted by the loving Kent family and raised in America's heartland as Clark Kent. Using his immense solar-fueled powers, he became Superman to defend mankind against all manner of threats while championing truth, justice, and the American way!
he rarely kicks, and as for fighting style he doesn't really have one in a traditional sense. Like a typical western style superhero with super strength and flight he throws a lot of punches, and incorporates some throws, speedblitz's and grapples I guess.
But his super speed agility and other senses make up for his lack of a fighting style.
If you watched the JLU, Superman TAS or JLU you get an idea how certain DC artists view Supermans fighting style
A lot of the time Superman's strategy is to simply overpower his opponent or use his other amazing abilities as an advantage and win the fight (i.e. heat vision frezze breath, super speed etc.)
EDIT: Also its hard for someone to generally need a martial art or something to that affect when they can fly (allows them to orient their position easily/keep their balance) and possess super speed
" So are we talking about Cinematic fist fighting and typical brawling?Interesting, a superhero who doesn't (maybe) or rarely kicks. "
well when Superman was first created all he needed to do was throw a punch or two. Cause he was so overpowered, and over the years his fighting style has improved/become more cinematic. However, I cannot recall a comic I have read or a fight Superman has been in when he threw a kick that was not just to shove/push someone or something away.
But I am sure someone with greater Superman knowledge than I could recollect a time when Superman threw a kick
Theoretically he has knowledge of a Kryptonian martial art that seems similar to Tai Chi, but he rarely uses it in combat. As Sunman said, he usual just overpowers his opposition with sheer strength and speed, not finesse.
Though it would be a good thing for him to learn to fight with a little more sophistication. Raw power works against everyday mooks, but many of his opponents are strong enough to fight evenly with him, and knowledge of grappling, holds, breaks and pressure points would give him an edge in those situations. Frankly I'm surprised he hasn't spent more time training in combat with Bruce and Diana.
Do you guys think if he had learned and utilized combat skills that he would have more chances against his adversaries, e.g. Him vs Doomsday back then will the results change if he used some throws and kicks?
I vaguely remember the details and i could be wrong, but i recall that back in the Legion Karate Kid commented that if Superman learned Martial Arts he would be better.
" What fighting style? All he does is fly at you, punch and then brag by crossing his arm like he is all that.. "
Surely he can do other things right? i mean is there another reason that he is on Mortal Kombat vs DC besides the fact that he is an Icon?
Moves of superman that i know so far:
Flurry of punches
Lift & Throw
Strong charged punch
Speeding bullet ram
Clothesline
"
Superman is a brute, that's all, he doesn't need a fighting style because everything he does is devastating, the dude can knock you out with a pinkie, why would he need to know a fighting style?
He hammers, punches, cross lines, uppercuts, but they are moves that anyone with the brain of a cave man can perform, is not like you ever see him performing a butterfly kick or even a spinning heel kick, but why would he if he can just sneeze and freeze you to death without trying?
" @Dragonet: What about against enemies his own strength or perhaps stronger, like Darkseid for example or maybe Black Adam . "
He didn't practice a martial art while he was becoming a nerd in Smallvile, he has no fighting stile or need for one except these random moves he picked up somewhere to cause damage
He probably picked these moves when his enemies hit him with'em and he just took them..
The guy farts and the world shakes, why learn to fight? lol
But it won't kill him to improvise , it is not the Golden Age anymore. In the video above superman only used his legs for knee-striking Doomsday, hell Doomsday had better brawling skills. Invulnerability and not strength is why he managed to last the battle, in a real fight (both with human attributes) Superman would simply die due to the sheer brutality of his opponents.
A few grapple moves to add up the spice but most are improvised or merely on the spot instincts.
and There are always stronger beings who can overpower the Man of steel.
for those who don't know He has been trained by both Wildcat (in Boxing), and Mongul in the fighting arts. He has also learned more advanced martial arts techniques from Batman.
Maybe superman did slack on his martial arts training by Wildcat, Mongul and Bats... or he didn't really care because he is already strong in his own right
In marvel there are supers who can brawl , Luke Cage for example can kick , punch and grapple also i heard that Juggernaut sometimes used Military Style fighting in conjunction with his strength. Rulk , the red guy uses an armbar to subdue hulk. Lets not forget the deadly Midnighter or Grunge in Wildstorm.
Movies: Neo in the Matrix had some martial arts in conjunction with his powers Cartoons: In teen titans Starfire's sister taught robin how to do some Tamaranian combat moves Comics: The Brit (i maybe wrong) use military moves sometimes
"@Apparition: Really? In marvel there are supers who can brawl , Luke Cage for example can kick , punch and grapple also i heard that Juggernaut sometimes used Military Style fighting in conjunction with his strength. Rulk , the red guy uses an armbar to subdue hulk. Lets not forget the deadly Midnighter or Grunge in Wildstorm.Movies: Neo in the Matrix had some martial arts in conjunction with his powersCartoons: In teen titans Starfire's sister taught robin how to do some Tamaranian combat movesComics: The Brit (i maybe wrong) use military moves sometimes"
you dont want me to name all of the girls who rarely fight with their hands do you? and that's just the girls. there are lots of guys like, dr. doom, magneto, lex luthor (most of the time), sinestro (usually), galactus... there are so many its crazy
"@Apparition: I may be dead wrong but when he fought against Tenebrous, Galactus attempted a knee-kick?and Cosmics tend to slap and back-hand alot compared to other types"
lol ok so out of all of his appearances galactus attempts to knee someone once? i'm gonna say he isnt much of a fighter then, cause he doesnt do it regularly. same thing with the other cosmics. they arent martial artists, brawlers, boxers or anything
The way I see it Superman only has limited fighting skills but still some at that but he doesn't need them to much unless someone uses kryptonite on him. I know he has boxing skills taught to him by Wildcat but he compares not very close in fighting skill compared to top martial artists like Batman,Green Arrow,and Lady Shiva. Pure fighting talent goes to Batman though.
Uh? Nobody here read that For the Tomorrow comic? In the end, he fights Zod hand to hand rather brutally. In addition to boxing (which he indeed picked up from Wildcat), there's also a panel where he kicks Zod repeatedly at superspeed (think Chun Li's signature attack), and credits Batman and Wonder Woman for teaching him how to properly fight.
I really hope the DCnu Superman utilizes Boxing skills. Boxing should be Superman's signature fighting style. I dont want him pulling off spinning roundhouse kicks likes Batman and I dont need him to be like Wonder Woman. Just give me a Superman that knows how to throw some hands, apply some holds, and make some takedowns!! Mike Tyson/Brock Lesner fighting style = Superman
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