The bodies of superheroes and superheroines for that matter are desired by all. Any time a superhero movie comes out you can look at tons of articles and magazine covers that promise to spill the secrets about how your favorite star got into such tremendous shape to look the part. But looking the part and actually having that body are two different matters entirely. Just for an example, let's take a look at Superman.

Yes, Henry Cavill might have the curl in his hair just right and is perfect chiseled physique needed to play the Man of Steel, but there is no chance in hell that push ups and sit ups are going to give him the body of Superman. Right from his hair all the way down to his toenails, Superman's body is full of secrets and superpowers that you can't even imagine. Oh, sure we might that we know the full gamut of Superman's powers. You know super strength, speed, intellect, stamina, heat vision, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Throughout his 80 years in fiction, Superman in his various iterations has been through stories where his body undergoes radical transformations only to turn back to his "normal" issues later. Other times his regular powers are boosted up to the point where he isn't just a god, he might as well be the deity. Let's just say that after doing the research for this list, I'm glad he is on our side... also that he's fictional. Well, enough waiting, let's get into the 20 weird facts only super fans know about Superman's body.

20 His Brain Can Control Others

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Superman has influenced the minds of children, adults, and anybody in between for decades. His moral righteousness, courage to stand up for what is right, and power has inspired generation upon generation. But for the most part, his influence is merely indirect. After all, Superman doesn't have telepathy right? Haha, oh, you child, of course he does.

Even this power can't convince us that Superman IV is a good movie.

Or at least he did at one point in time. Way back in Superman #45, Superman fought off a race of aliens who called themselves the Collectors. As far as I know, they have no relation Benicio del Toro's character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but who knows. Well, much like the MCU's Collector, these aliens collect anything they find interesting, including living beings. If Superman's physical powers were subdued, then the aliens would have won right? Yes, but they didn't count on Superman's out-of-nowhere telepathic brain! He takes control of his captor and convinces him to release him from his prison. Once free, he quickly rescues everyone else and defeats these creepy all-white alien abductors. This was the 40s, after all, plots didn't get more complex than this.

19 He Can See Through Time

Anyone remember the clip in The Simpsons where Lisa Simpson eats some spicy Indian food and then she mutters "I can see through time"? Now for most people that is just a funny line that they have no hope of actually accomplishing. But Superman isn't most people and you better darn well believe that his eyes are able to peer through the very fabric of time.

Superman better not look into the future and see just how dark comics get.

In the wonderfully bizarre world of Silver Age comics, Superman did battle with Titano The Super-Ape. Unlike future versions of the character, Titano wasn't so much a villain as he was a mindless monster who just needed to be taken care of by Superman. Instead of ending him, Superman merely spins him around so fast that he sends him back to the time of the dinosaurs. That would be crazy enough, but Superman can not only do that but also LOOK into the past so that us readers can see a giant ape falling on top of a T-Rex. This isn't with the help of some machine, this is just an extension of his telescopic vision power. Sure.

18 His Lips Cause Memory Loss

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This is one of the Superman's ridiculous moments that more casual fans of Superman may remember. At the end of Superman II, Superman regrets his decision to reveal his identity to Lois Lane and in one of the most bizarre endings to a comic book movie ever, he kisses her... which somehow causes her to lose her memory of the past few days. Now, as ridiculous as this sounds, it actually sort of has a source from the original comics.

Back in 1963's Action Comics #306, Superman runs into Lois Lane at the Daily Planet's annual Christmas party. When he's there, he's pushed by his boss Perry White under the mistletoe and Lois Lane takes this opportunity to plant a kiss on Kent. Superman though decides that if he must kiss her, then he shall give a SUPER kiss! This kiss leaves her stumbling and confused, ensuring that any suspicion she might have had about Clark Kent being Superman was snuffed out under the mighty smooch of the Man of Steel. Let this be a warning to those who criticize when superhero movies don't 100 percent follow their comic roots; sometimes, it's honestly for the best.

17 He Can Generate Walls?

Superman in Superman 4

The original Superman film series from 1975 to 1987 was chock full of bizarre moments and "science" that didn't make a lick of sense. The final film in this franchise Superman IV: The Quest For Peace contains what might be the biggest "what in the name of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel was that" moment in superhero movies.

During his fight with the incredibly dumb villain Nuclear Man, the antagonist blasts a hole in the Great Wall of China in order to distract Superman. Theoretically, with his super speed, strength, and intellect, it should take merely a few seconds for Superman to get some brick and rebuild the wall. In fact, it does only take him a few seconds, but not in the way you think. Just by looking at the wall, Superman is able to rearrange all the bricks into place using his... wall-building vision? Just what on earth are Superman's eyes made of!?

Of course, as most people know the budget for this film was incredibly low and all of the action in the movie looks awful as a result. Maybe the filmmakers wanted to follow my idea but when they saw they ran out of money they decided just to give Superman a new power. Well here's a hint for them; next time just cut the scene out. It'll save you a lot of ridicule.

16 His Body Is Made Of Clay

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Those familiar with Wonder Woman might know about her origin. While the 2017 movie decided to just turn it into a legend that Wonder Woman's mom tells her as a bedtime story, Diana was actually made of clay and given life by Zeus in the comics. Why am I bringing up this in an article about Superman? Well, how else do you explain what the heck is going in the above panel?

In the story I mentioned above involving the Collectors, I said that Superman escapes his confinement and defeats the aliens but I didn't mention how exactly he did that. Well, that's where this slide comes in. Once he breaks out of his tube, he finds that whatever the gas was inside his tube weakened him so he "must use strategy!" Thankfully his strategy is using the power of plot convenience as he unveils a never before or again seen power of contorting his face into a different shape. How was he able to do that? It's not explained, probably because the writers didn't want to bring that if Superman can do this, why not use it to protect his identity as Clark Kent further. Anyway, the aliens fall for his disguise, end up in the tubes they were using to keep people prisoners and Superman saves the day.

15 His Magical Weakness Is Not A Weakness

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There are three levels of Superman knowledge that one can have about his weaknesses. Of course, even the most casual of Superman fans will know that kryptonite can bring DC's mightiest hero to his knees. But then you have the other people who will chirp in from the peanut gallery to say "Superman is also weak to magic you, idiot!" Well, I'm part of that third level that would let you know this isn't exactly the case.

Captain Marvel above should really do his research before attacking the Man of Steel.

Saying the word "weakness" when it comes to Superman can be very misleading. While his body becomes absolutely pathetic in the presence of kryptonite, it doesn't work the same way with magic. So it's not like Doctor Strange can simply stand next to Superman and have Kal-El drop to his knees. All his "weakness" to magic means is that he has no special protection from magical attacks. So a spell from Doctor Strange would have the same effect on Superman as it would on any of us. It's good to know that in some way, Superman's body and our weak human bodies share at least one similarity. Now if only I can get his hair curl just right.

14 His Body Was Once A Vessel

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Some people might have heard about how ridiculous Silver Age comics were and how Superman's stories, in particular, would make the most out-there plot in Saturday morning cartoons look tame. The apex of this era for the character would likely have to be Superman 125 in 1958 where he gains the power to shoot a mini version of himself from his fingertips.

Maybe Superman didn't want to share royalty checks with his clone.

How does this happen? Well, and I'm quoting Superman here, he finds a "midget spaceship" that crashed into Earth. When it explodes, it covers Superman in something that makes him feel funny and strips him of all his powers except for durability. In his former powers' places is the ability to shoot a mini version of himself out of his fingertips. This... clone? I guess? Yeah, let's go with that, this clone has all of Superman's original powers and basically just chills in the original Superman's body until he is needed. Even if this seems pretty sweet for Superman, he is basically jealous of mini Superman's glory so he stages a stunt that erases the mini-me from existence so he can get his powers back.

13 He Can Withstand The Sun

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Here is a fun scientific fact for you: the center of the sun can reach temperatures of 27 million degrees Fahrenheit, aka 15 million degress Celsius for you non-Americans. Just for reference, the highest recorded temperature on Earth was set on July 10th, 1913 in California at 134 degrees F (56.7 celsius). That would mean the center of the sun is about 264,550 times hotter than our hottest temperature. But for Superman? Eh, that's just the best tan of all time.

Superman is the most scalding being in the universe.

Even if Superman is fueled by solar power, it would be insane if his body were able to withstand such temperatures. So of course he can do it. In the DC Comics storyline DC 1,000,000, Superman goes into exile and spends 15,000 years inside of the sun. When he emerges he is essentially a deity, able to alter reality, achieve immortality and basically whatever he wants. Another time he did this, though, was in All-Star Superman where he did this since he was losing his life and because the Sun was perishing. He decided to become the new sun. For all the garbage people give him about being a boy scout, the DC universe truly needs Superman.

12 His Eyes Are His Most Draining Body Part

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When Superman was reinvented for a new generation after the iconic 1985 Crisis On Infinite Earths storyline, one of the main goals of DC was to rein the Man of Steel in a little bit. No longer would he be able to sneeze entire solar systems out of existence or pull planets out of their orbits on a giant chain. No, he would have limits on his powers to make the stories more manageable and dramatic.

Superman has used his heat vision to crank the temperature up on a planet.

Even if his powers had more limitations on them, the core powers from his toolbox were all still intact. He still has super strength, super speed, super durability, intelligence, and most important for this slide, heat vision. Though we did learn as the fan site Superman Homepage tells us, "Heat vision does drain his solar power faster than any of his other abilities." This makes sense in the twisted logic of comic books. The energy needed not only to expel the solar power from his eyes but also to blast it as far as Superman does would take more energy than flying or punching something hard. Obviously, this drain isn't going to happen if he uses it to perform a lobotomy like he did in the movie Superman vs. The Elite.

11 He Originally Couldn't Fly

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Moreso than his super strength and heat vision, Superman's most iconic ability has to be his power to fly. While now there are hundreds and hundreds of superheroes who are able to fly, Superman was one of the first heroes to pull it off and with style thanks to his iconic red cape. He didn't actually exhibit that power, though, in the first couple of years of his existence, only debuting it inside the comics in 1941. Prior to that, he was only flying in cartoons and radio serials.

So if Superman couldn't fly, how exactly did he get around? Well, by leaping, of course! Yup, Superman would jump from place to place like he had cheat codes enabled on Assassin's Creed or something. This is where the quote "able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" comes from. The in-universe explanation as to why Superman's powers were growing was because since he had spent so much time on Earth, the continual absorption of yellow sunlight began to increase his powers. In reality, the Superman writers were likely running out of ideas on what to do with his move set so they decided to add some new tricks.

10 He Is A Living Battery

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I'm not sure if you know this, but solar power is the way of the future. Not to go on a political tirade here, but fossil fuels are just that; fossils. Relics of the past that have no place in the modern world except inside of a museum. How do I know this? No, it's because of simple resource management or scientific studies, it's because Superman is solar powered, you fool!

There should be a Superman in every city to power their energy grid. It just makes sense!

When Superman was originally introduced in the late 1930s, his creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster told readers that Superman just inherently had his powers. Later they said that Earth had lesser gravity compared to Krypton so that allowed him to possess super strength and all his other abilities. Finally, when Superman started exhibiting new powers like heat vision, it was settled that his body acted like a giant battery for yellow sunlight which granted him his powers. Since his body is a battery then, solar power is contained within his cells which means that he can be out of sunlight and maintain his powers as long as he doesn't exert them too much.

9 He Is Immune To Vampires

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A lesser known Batman story but a fan favorite nonetheless, Batman: Red Rain is an alternate reality story where Batman becomes a vampire in order to combat Dracula. Now, Batman as a vampire would be a scary enough though,t what with all his resources, training and knowledge. But what about Superman? A man who moves planets and is faster than the speed of light with a taste for blood? Good luck, Earth. Luckily for us, however, Superman cannot become a vampire.

If you really think about it, a vampiric Superman would be powerless. Dracula didn't think this through.

In 2002's Superman #180, Dracula tries to convert Superman to his army and fight off General Zod. He even comes close to doing as he uses mind control and tricks Superman into drinking blood. But just as he chomps on Superman's neck, the former Vlad seems to burst into flames. Just what the heck happened to the Lord of Vampires? Well, the explanation is shockingly logical and simple for a comic book. Since vampires perish in the sun, biting into Superman meant that he just got a giant dose of solar power. This vanquished him and he hasn't been seen since. Even when he's not even trying, Superman is just too overpowered for his enemies.

8 He Can Cause Natural Disasters

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Remember The Dark Knight Returns? While some feel the story hasn't aged well, there is no denying that its legacy on the character of Batman and comics as a whole. The sequel to that classic entitled The Dark Knight Strikes Again, however, was never considered a classic and in fact, is considered to be one of the worst comics stories of all time. Filled with countless idiotic moments, the stupidest one of all would have to be one involving Superman.

This is the best case I've heard as to why these two shouldn't be a couple.

At some point in the story, Superman is bested by Batman and is feeling a little disheartened by it. Wonder Woman, however, gives a pep talk, err... I mean a wake up call, and asks him, "Where was the hero that threw me to the ground and took me as his rightful prize?" Getting over the thrashing of Wonder Woman's character in one sentence, the two go off together. Superman, however, is just so powerful it causes the oceans to overthrow aircraft carriers, typhoons, and earthquakes across the planet. Not only that, but all of Superman's injuries from the previous fight are healed.

7 He Is Resistant To Psychic Attacks

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Trying to go toe to toe against Superman is a bad idea. As one of the physically strongest superheroes in existence, trying to win in a slugfest against the Man of Steel is tantamount to trying to move a mountain with your bare hands. A better chance of defeating him would be to have a psychic on your side. Yeah, like Jean Grey or Professor X of the X-Men, people like them would have a good shot against Superman, right? Well, their chances might be better than most, but it still isn't a walk in the park.

Knowing that his brain is more vulnerable than his muscles, Superman has trained his mind in order to defend himself. First off, his Justice League teammate Martian Manhunter placed psychic defenses into Superman's head as a primary line of defense. When that fails him, though, Superman can handle himself on his own with the Kryptonian martial Torquasm-Vo. Despite being called a martial art, this martial art is meant to protect Kryptonians from psychic assaults and can actually be learned by anybody, superpowers or not. Superman uses this martial art to defeat the villain known as The Eradicator back in Superman: Man Of Steel #114.

6 He Doesn't Need To Eat

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Despite being an alien, Superman is at least in appearance is identical to human beings. He's got a head, he walks on two legs, has two arms and a stomach. In reality, though, his stomach and entire digestive system is kind of redundant. After all, he is powered completely by yellow sunlight so why would he need to eat? Well, he actually doesn't.

With our growing food crisis, probably for the best that Clark Kent doesn't eat.

When Superman was just growing up, he wasn't aware of his heritage as the last son of Krypton. Therefore since he thought he was a human being, he ate food and drank water like the rest of plebeians. However around the coming of age is when Superman's powers started to develop. Because mentally he had conditioned to think that he needed to eat and drink, it took him some time to realize and adjust that he could sustain himself purely on solar radiation. If he wasn't overpowered enough, Superman never even has to feel hungry.

Here's a fun fact for you; Superman does actually have a favorite dish. It's called Beef Bourguignon, a hearty French dish that combines vegetables, beef, and gravy into a thick almost stew-like dish. He also slathers it in ketchup for good measure.

5 His Body Protects His Clothes

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There are questions about Superman's history that are truly important to know the answers to. Just what was Cannon Films thinking when they allowed Superman IV: The Quest For Peace to be released in the state it was? Why doesn't Superman use his powers in more productive ways than just punching bad guys? And finally, how the heck does his costume remain so pristine after all the battles he goes through? Well, believe it or not, there's actually an in-canon explanation as to why.

Not many superheroes have explanations as to why their clothes don't tear. Impressive.

Though we can't actually see it, Superman has a natural bio-electric aura around his body at all times. He is granted this because of vast amounts of solar power stored in his body at all times. Since his outfit is skin tight, the bioelectric field extends to surround his costume which ensures that it doesn't get torn except in the most extreme of situations. Or you know, if artists want to show that Superman is really beaten down. He also has at times wore an armor based on technology from his own world of Krypton, but that, of course, can survive on its own and Superman's body has no bearing on its structural integrity.

4 Blue Sunlight Affects His Body Differently

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Most fans know about how Superman and other Kryptonians' bodies react to yellow and red sunlight. Yellow sunlight like the one we receive on Earth powers Kryptonians greatly and gives them all of the same powers that Superman has. Red sunlight, however, like the kind received on Krypton, takes away all of their powers, although it's worth noting that due to Krypton's intense gravity, they would still be stronger than any human. However, most fans may not know what happens to Superman's body when it is under a blue sun. Get this; he gets even stronger.

Basically, a blue sun = an army of Supermen.

See, in terms of intensity, our yellow sun is actually only on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of heat and solar power. If you wanted to reach the absolute pinnacle of star heat, you would have to get yourself a blue star. Which is exactly what Superman did in Action Comics #856 as he traveled to Bizarro Superman's planet that was powered by a blue star. Under this kind of sunlight, Superman retained all his original powers and a new one to boot. In what seems like a throwback to his Silver Age adventures where he develops powers from all many of ridiculous situations, the blue sun gives him "Superman vision." This power lets him alter the cells of his target to grant them his powers. Not going to try an explanation for that one.

3 His Posture Is Key To His Identity

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People often scream from the rooftops that Superman's secret identity is completely unbelievable. "As soon as somebody sees him without his glasses on the jig would be up!" Several people have typed into their keyboards since the start of the internet. But the thing is though is that the glasses are just one part of his overall disguise. Superman adjusts his body in several ways to hide the fact that he and Clark Kent are one in the same.

How hard would most people have to resist being able to show off their muscular body?

One part of it is his personality as Clark Kent. Aside from having a corny personality and standing up for justice, Kent is bumbling, shy, and usually flees at the first sign of danger. Superman, on the other hand, is always brave, daring, and ready to take on any challenge placed in front of him. But in terms of physical body, the thing that really makes hide in plain sight is his posture. By slouching, keeping his head down with his hands in his pockets, Kent can look a bit pathetic despite his chiseled frame. Combine that with wearing baggy clothes that don't accentuate his physique in the slightest, and all of a sudden Superman's disguise makes a ton of sense.

2 His Body Was Turned Into Pure Energy

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The 1990s were not a good time for anybody in comic books, and even the mighty Man of Steel was no exception. For starters, Superman was put into a healing coma by Doomsday. After that happened he came back sporting a mullet and DC felt that around the year 1997 that Superman needed to be reinvented. The answer? Taking an old concept from the Silver Age of comics and doing something completely different with it.

So would a fusion of these two make Superman Purple?

And thus, we have Superman Blue and Superman Red. For reasons too long and boring to explain, Superman slowly becomes a being of pure energy to needs a special suit to contain him and essentially act as his "body." In this new form, he was faster than ever and was able to absorb any kind of energy but lacked super strength. When villains Cyborg Superman and the Toyman try to destroy him, though, they only manage to split him into two separate "bodies;" a red and blue one. The red one is more aggressive and likes to use force to solve problems while the blue is more rational and prefers to use his intellect. Eventually, things settle back to normal and he returns back to his normal body. It's never really brought up again and that's probably for the best.

1 His Hair Is Super Powered

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Superman's hair is perfect. Let's think about this; despite saving the world countless times, flying faster than the speed of light and being punched by alien war gods, have we ever seen his hair look out of place? I think not! Well, there probably is a good reason for that. After all, Superman's hair is super powered!

You may be strong, but you're not Superman's hair strong.

In Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, a single strand of Superman's hair is put up for exhibition at a museum. That strand of hair is the key to Lex Luthor's plan of creating a being capable of giving Superman a physical thrashing. Once we see the hair, we see that it's capable of holding up a half ton of weight. So basically what the film is saying is that the strongest human being is still weaker than a single strand of Superman's hair. Way to make us feel worthless, Mr. Kent. To add insult to injury, Luthor needs to use bolt cutters in order to snip it off. Just to further prove how strong his hair is, in the comics, he has to shave by bouncing his heat vision off a piece of a Kryptonian spacecraft.