One ofSuperman’smost recognizable powers is his heat vision, and it’s so iconic that many Superman variants over the years have used heat vision to varying effects. But despite how recognizable this ability is now, Superman didn’t always have it, and its history is pretty long and varied.
When the Batman Who Laughs became an omniversal threat, he created an army from the Dark Multiverse to battle the forces of good. One of the many soldiers in his army was none other than a corrupted version ofSuperman, known asthe Last Sun of Krypton, who appears in the story “First & Last Men” by Magdalene Visaggio, Paul Pelletier, Norm Rapmund, Adriano Lucas, and Carlos M. Mangual fromDark Nights: Death Metal - The Last 52: War of the Multiverses#1.
Superman’s Historic Heat Vision Power Reaches New Heights Thanks to the Last Sun Of Krypton
The Power’s Long History Reveals More About This Contemporary Battle
This version of Superman had flown through dozens of suns on his way to Earth and had become driven insane by it. Faced with an evil doppelgänger of himself, Superman tried his best to defeat the Last Sun in a stunning battle of heat visions, butSuperman was ultimately defeated by this evil variant, who spectacularly displays his own heat vision powers. It tookLex Luthor sacrificing himself to save Superman, as Clark simply couldn’t keep up with this empowered heat vision.
The History of Superman’s Heat Vision Reveals How Unique the Power Is
Adventure Comics#282 by Otto Binder, George Papp, and Joe Letterese
When Superman first started out, he didn’t really have heat vision.Instead, he had X-ray vision, which he could modify to apply heat to objects if he so desired. Eventually, some daring editor decided that the ability to melt objects with a glance was useful enough to be its own power, and so, over the course of a few comics, it was eventually introduced as separatefrom his X-ray vision.
Supergirl in fact originated what would become heat vision.
While Superman had been using his X-ray powers since he first appeared inAction Comics#1 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster,he didn’t start using heat vision, which at the time was called “infra-red vision,” untilAdventure Comics#282. But Supergirl in fact originated what would become heat vision, using it even earlier in a story fromSuperman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane#23 by Otto Binder and Kurt Schaffenberger.
Superman’s heat visionwouldn’t officially be named until 1961’sSuperboy#88, when the term was coined by Robert Bernstein and Mort Weisinger. Since then, it has becomean iconic ability that Superman uses anytime he gets into major trouble. While most readers might think that using this incredible power as an offensive attack is a no-brainer, it didn;t actually happen until over twenty years later, in the iconicSuperman Annual#11 story “For the Man Who Has Everything” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
Superman’s Heat Vision Slowly Evolved Over the Course of Many Years
Superman’s X-Ray Vision Pre-Dates His Heat Vision
“For the Man Who Has Everything” marksthe first time that Superman becomes enraged enough to use his heat vision against another living being. After Mongul traps Superman within the Black Mercy, Kal-El experiences a life where he never lost Krypton. When he is eventually rescued from this illusion, he is so infuriated that he attacks Mongul with a blast of his heat vision, a first-ever for the hero. Now, however, it’s a common occurrence, eventually leading to Superman getting one of the worst beat-downs of his life duringDeath Metal.
DC Just Killed Superman by Horrifically Reversing His Heat Vision
Superman’s strongest power has always been his heat vision, but Bizarro manages to turn this power back on the Man Of Steel in a terrifying way.
Another element of Superman’s heat vision that was added in over the course of years is how his heat vision directly draws on his solar reserves. If Superman uses his heat vision too much, he’ll literally run out of power. Despite how powerful Superman is, he simply had no chance against a version of himself who was bathed in hundreds, if not thousands, of yellow suns. That’s the magic of comic books: that someone almost fifty years ago decided that Superman should have more than just X-ray vision, resulting, decades later, inSupermanhaving a giant laser battle with an evil version of himself.
Dark Nights: Death Metal - The Last 52: War of the Multiverses#1andAdventure Comics#282are available now from DC Comics!
Superman
The icon who launched the entire world of superheroes, the last son of Krypton escaped his dying world to crash land on Earth and be raised as Clark Kent. The world knows him better as Superman, the Man of Steel, the leader of the Justice League, and the most well-known hero in the DC Comics Universe. Blessed with the powers of a demigod, Kal-El of Krypton fights enemies both small and cosmic in his endless pursuit of truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.
