5 Best Times Superman Lost His Powers, And How They Showed He’s Still a Hero

Superman is a legendarily powerful hero. He’s been the pinnacle of superheroic strength ever since his debut, and as the threats he’s faced have grown larger and tougher, his powers have expanded in turn. Superman is known for having an insane array of powers, even in a world filled to the brim with all kinds of special abilities. From heat vision to lightspeed flight, Superman’s powers let him overcome practically every challenge put in front of him, and when his current set won’t do the job, he’s been known to develop all kinds of new, fun abilities when the situation calls for it. It’s not uncommon for fans to say that Superman is too strong, with too many powers that make his opposition trivial. 

Of course, Superman is so much more than just his powers. He’s a hero because of his unyielding commitment to saving everybody in the world and saving the day. His will, hope, and heart are his real powers. Those aren’t empty claims, either, as Superman has shown just that. Given how strong the Man of Steel is, a ton of stories love to depower him to create stakes without introducing a million threats on his level. Today, we’re exploring Superman’s true heroism by looking at the five best times he lost his powers and talking about how they show us the real Superman. Without further ado, let’s dive right into it.

5) Superman vs. Muhammad Ali

There’s a common misconception about Superman being a bad fighter. It’s true that he relies mostly on his incredible powers to resolve conflicts, but he’s far from inexperienced. He’s been trained by some of the best martial artists in the DC Universe, including Batman, Wonder Woman, and even Mongul. He’s even mastered a Kryptonian martial art known as Torquasm-Rao. He’s a great fighter, and nothing showed that off better than when he clashed with one of the Earth’s greatest fighters of all, the very real Muhammad Ali.

Both men were selected as potential champions to defend Earth from an alien invasion, and boxed to determine who would represent their home. Under a red sun, Superman, despite Ali giving him some training, never stood a chance. But what makes this fight special isn’t that Superman couldn’t fight Ali but how much punishment he took. Ali decimated the Man of Steel, but Superman refused to fall. He stood through every beating and blow. In the end, Ali even tried to call for a technical knockout when Superman finally fell for the first and only time. Superman lost, but this fight showed his resilience to stay on his feet no matter what.

4) Superman (1939) #61

Superman and Lex Luthor’s rivalry is absolutely legendary. Lex has dedicated his mind, body, and soul to destroying Superman, no matter what. A huge part of Lex’s obsession stems from his insecurity. The Man of Tomorrow has powers that he never will, and the public loves him, while spurning Lex. As one of DC’s pettiest characters, he could never accept that and has routinely tried to prove that he’s more of a man than Clark. One of their most personal battles came in Superman #61, where Lex challenged Superman to a one-on-one brawl on a planet with a red sun.

This issue is great because it shows off Superman’s physical and mental prowess in equal measure. He soundly beat Luthor in a fist fight, and when Luthor tried to kill him with scientific traps, Superman’s quick wits let him escape at every turn. Superman is a whole lot more than most people give him credit for. In fact, back in the pre-Crisis era, he was considered even smarter than Batman. Superman’s intelligence is one of his greatest strengths. When he can’t punch his way out of a problem, you can bet that he can think his way out of it.

3) Infinite Crisis

Superman’s powers have never defined him. Yes, they allow him to fight as he does and are the main thing that alienates him from the rest of the world, but they’ve never been what made him Clark Kent. He’s always been willing to sacrifice his godlike abilities if it means saving the day, and no conflict demonstrates that better than Infinite Crisis. Superboy-Prime proved too powerful for anyone to defeat, so Kal-L and our Superman knew they needed to risk everything to depower him. They flew him through the remnants of Krypton and into a red sun, robbing all of them of their powers as they duked it out on Mogo.

Clark and Prime beat each other into submission, but what gave Clark the edge wasn’t his powers or experience but his mentality. He knew that being Superman meant being willing to give it all to save the day. Being Superman doesn’t mean having immense power; it means using what you have to do the most good. Clark knew that better than anyone, and that determination let him overcome even the much stronger Prime and save the day. He proved that Superman doesn’t need powers and was even willing to risk permanently sacrificing them to show Prime what being a hero meant.

2) “Warworld Saga”

When Mongul’s far more vicious son took over Warworld, Superman assembled a team to free the planet’s inhabitants. However, his powers had been waning due to radiation poisoning, and Mongul turned his planet’s core into a miniature red sun, leaving Superman completely powerless. The Man of Steel was abducted as a gladiator slave, but even so, he never let that stop him. Instead of falling into despair, Superman stuck to his principles, doing everything he could to save every life on the planet. He fought like a hero, even in the pits, inspiring an uprising and gaining the name the Unbloodied Sword.

Superman proved that his powers never defined his heroism. He was in the same position as everyone else, arguably worse, as Mongul took personal pleasure in beating him into submission. Yet, Superman was still an inspiration. He kept to his morals, choosing to stay even when he could have escaped, because that would have meant leaving innocents behind to die, and Superman never lets anyone die. Superman is a hero because he gives us hope, and watching him inspire and lead a bloodless slave revolt is peak Superman content, even if he didn’t have his powers.

1) “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?”

As we’ve explored in our previous entries, Superman holds himself to an unimaginable standard. He has to save everybody that he can, no matter the cost to himself. Superman only works because he is a bastion of hope and heroism in every circumstance, no matter how dark they grow. Yet, the true measure of principle is what happens after you’re pushed beyond your limits. In this legendary tale, Superman broke every rule he had and killed Mister Mxyzptlk. It went against everything he stood for, and for that, he had to pay the price. Superman couldn’t exist and be a killer. Those two ideas are fundamentally incompatible. So, if Superman killed, then he had to die.

Superman willingly exposed himself to Gold Kryptonite, permanently robbing himself of his powers. This is the ultimate act of sacrifice on every level. Nobody blamed Superman for crossing the line, but he knew that he had to be held accountable for his actions. Superman had to stand for something, and he proved that he couldn’t reach those standards anymore. This final act was redemption for the ideals that he had to let die, restoring them as he let go of his power. Superman has to be an impossible standard because, if he weren’t, then he would never inspire everyone as he does. This showed that Superman’s strength of character could not be overcome, even when he went too far.

Which of Superman’s depowerings is your favorite? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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