Superman cannot age as we do.

WyreWizard · March 10, 2012, 12:15:44 PM

Yes, superman is impervious to a lot of things that nature can throw at him, save for kryptonite. But one thing superman is impervious to is free radicals. What are free radicals? Free radicals are electrically charged oxygen atoms. They get the electrical charge from the cells that use them for energy. This electrical charge turns the oxygen atom into a bullet which shoots out of our body and damages cells along the way. The body does try to repair this damage, but its not perfect. This cellular damage is what we see as aging.
But superman's cells would be impervious to this. If a free radical tried to shoot out of his body, it wouldn't be able to get out. Because superman's body cells would be impervious to any damage caused by a free radical and would not allow the atom to pass. So he would have trillions of free radicals ricocheting in his body until his natural antioxidants removed their electrical charge.
Thus, Superman is not only virtually impervious, he's also virtually immortal.

Flick James · March 10, 2012, 12:24:24 PM

My life is now richer for having read your analysis.

RCMerchant · March 10, 2012, 12:25:16 PM

That's why he's super,man.

tracy · March 10, 2012, 01:52:48 PM

Quote from: WyreWizard on March 10, 2012, 12:15:44 PM
Yes, superman is impervious to a lot of things that nature can throw at him, save for kryptonite. But one thing superman is impervious to is free radicals. What are free radicals? Free radicals are electrically charged oxygen atoms. They get the electrical charge from the cells that use them for energy. This electrical charge turns the oxygen atom into a bullet which shoots out of our body and damages cells along the way. The body does try to repair this damage, but its not perfect. This cellular damage is what we see as aging.
But superman's cells would be impervious to this. If a free radical tried to shoot out of his body, it wouldn't be able to get out. Because superman's body cells would be impervious to any damage caused by a free radical and would not allow the atom to pass. So he would have trillions of free radicals ricocheting in his body until his natural antioxidants removed their electrical charge.
Thus, Superman is not only virtually impervious, he's also virtually immortal.

Good points,Wiz....

akiratubo · March 10, 2012, 08:06:17 PM

Damn it, I can't believe I read a WyreWizard post. I should be more careful what I click.

The Burgomaster · March 11, 2012, 08:38:03 AM

Seems like Lois Land and Jimmy Olsen haven't aged much over the past 70 years either.

Flick James · March 12, 2012, 01:45:07 AM

Quote from: The Burgomaster on March 11, 2012, 08:38:03 AM
Seems like Lois Land and Jimmy Olsen haven't aged much over the past 70 years either.

Wait. You're not saying....Oh my. Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen are also from Krypton?

Living_Dead_Girl · March 12, 2012, 04:49:00 AM

His reputation for simply being awesome will not die. He was pretty much the dude that started the whole super hero culture. No kryptonite can defeat that,

lester1/2jr · March 12, 2012, 07:27:08 AM

Zan and Jayna TOGETHER however could destroy him.

WyreWizard · March 12, 2012, 07:45:15 AM

Quote from: lester1/2jr on March 12, 2012, 07:27:08 AM
Zan and Jayna TOGETHER however could destroy him.

The wonder Twins beat Superman? How exactly would they do that? I mean does Jayna turn herself into some large kryptonian animal that could overwhelm Superman while being super-enhanced by Earth's sun. And what does Zan do? All he can do is turn into water or some ice sculpture. Superman would break him easily.

Jim H · March 12, 2012, 10:30:59 PM

I guess at this point I should mention Superman is established as living waaaay longer than humans do. In Kingdom Come, it's like 30-40 years later and the only real sign of age on him is grey in his hair.

Leah · March 13, 2012, 07:32:06 AM

And here we are, pointing out Superman has a regenerating gene like Wolverine.

tracy · March 13, 2012, 01:20:50 PM

Quote from: Living_Dead_Girl on March 12, 2012, 04:49:00 AM
His reputation for simply being awesome will not die. He was pretty much the dude that started the whole super hero culture. No kryptonite can defeat that,

He's always been my favorite superhero...

Nakuyabi · March 13, 2012, 03:42:08 PM

Well, in Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, he did age a bit. However, the character Magog (who's looking pretty gray and wrinkled himself at this point) mentions that back when he was a teenager, people were already calling Superman old-fashioned, and we're shown that Superman was only beginning to show some gray in his hair a decade ago when he took Magog to court. In what might be a century's time since his arrival, Superman is only looking middle-aged.

He did get some benefits out of the aging, though. For one thing, a seriously decrepit-looking Lex Luthor mentions that all those years sucking up yellow sunlight have rendered Superman impervious to kryptonite in addition to everything else. The only thing that even marginally affects him anymore is supernatural stuff, as shown in a scene where he manages to nick his finger on Wonder Woman's magical sword.

I would say he's not completely impervious on the cellular level, however: his invulnerability comes from an energy field that his cells generate collectively. Individually, contrary to Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex by Larry Niven, his cells don't have so much power to them. (This still leaves him with the problem of how to make babies without killing the mother; in Kingdom Come, the solution was for him to marry Wonder Woman.) Even leaving invulnerability to those free radicals aside, he might also have telomeres in his DNA, the depletion through cell division of which also leads to aging.

So no, Superman's not completely immortal, just very long-lived; I'd say he's got a good two centuries' lifespan in him at least.

lester1/2jr · March 13, 2012, 06:14:32 PM

There are TWO Wonder Twins though. Superman is just one man. He's not SuperMEN.

Superman cannot age as we do.

Nakuyabi