Warning: Contains spoilers forAction Comics #1071!!Within the DC Universe, Superman’s Kryptonian powerset is among the most impressive, but he’s able to expand it further with a little innovation and the right circumstances. As Kal-El faces down some nightmarish alien arachnids that leave him blinded, he combines his incredible strength and hearing into a surprisingly effective version of echolocation. His latest ability isn’t just creative - it’s lifesaving.
Superman faces a daunting battlewith a species of alien spiders inAction Comics #1071. After resisting a brute force attack, they attack with a venom strong enough to blind Kal-El. Since he can’t see to attack or defend himself. it’s the perfect moment to reveal the new “trick” he’s been working on, and even the strange Phantom Zone environment doesn’t hamper it.He claps his hands together, effectively using his strength to produce sound waves that interact with his super-hearing and allow him to “see.“In other words, Superman developed his own echolocation, and it actually works.
Superman’s Echolocation Lets Him See in Any Circumstances
Action Comics #1071by Mark Waid, Clayton Henry, Michael Shelfer, Matt Herms, and Dave Sharpe
X-Ray vision andSuperman’s other natural abilitiesallow him to see practically everything. His sight is rarely removed entirely, as few things are powerful enough to blind him. However, the alien spiders prove that there are at least a few things strong enough to manage it. As long as soundwaves are present and his super-hearing is intact, Clark will still have one method of seeing what’s around him in those unlikely circumstances. Given that it’s effective even in the Phantom Zone, even in its bizarre and unpredictable state, the echolocation trick is likely work even better on Earth.
Kal-El is typically able to rely on his strength, flight, and heat-vision to get him through combat or free him from captivity. The standard-issue Kryptonian abilities are viable in nearly every situation, butlearning to use his gifts more creatively keeps Clark from becoming predictable.When one sense or power is removed, he’s theoretically able to fall back on other combinations to make up for it.Most of Superman’s enemieswouldn’t count on something like echolocation, for instance, giving him enough of an upperhand to win. In the case of his spider-battle, it nearly let him regain control of the battle.
Superman Will Need Creativity in the Battle to Come
Giant spiders and old enemies weren’t the only things waiting for Clark Kent in the Phantom Zone. After the reveal of the Phantom King, he is at an extreme disadvantage. He’s nowhere near full strength and is essentially trapped in the most dangerous place anyone from the House of El could possibly be. The same line of thinking that led him to developing echolocation may be the only way he gets out of this situation alive.Superman’sinnovation allows him to use echolocation through his super-hearing and generating soundwaves, and he’ll need that level of creativity to ever leave the Phantom Zone again.
Action Comics #1071is 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.
