DC Comics Announces Superman's Newest Fiery Power [Infographic]

Superman has a new superpower - Super Flare.

IGN reported that DC Comics featured an infographic showing Superman's various superpowers through the years and introduced the latest, called Super Flare.

The art was made by artist John Romita, Jr. for Superman #38, written by Geoff Johns, showing Superman in blazing fiery form. The caption read, "First New Power in Decades" and "New Year, New Power Super Flare".

The infographic showcased the Kryptonian's powers with the corresponding years when they were introduced. His Super-Speed and Super Strength came first in 1938, followed by Super-Hearing, Invulnerability and X-Ray vision a year later. He gained the power to fly in 1941 then Heat Vision came in 1949. 66 years later, Super Flare arrived.

Newsarama reported that in the comic book, Superman uses his Super Flare for the first time while battling Ulysses in the peak of the "Men of Tomorrow" storyline. The superpower expels all the solar energy in his cells to create one powerful explosive blast. Ulysses is another sole survivor of a destroyed planet with superpowers that make him a real threat to Superman. The climactic blast left both Superman and Ulysses unconscious and Superman woke up in the Batcave, with his newly discovered power being investigated by Batman.

Superman generally gets his energy from the sun and when using Solar Flare, depletes all his solar cell energy, requiring a recharging period of about 24 hours. In the recharging process, he turns into a normal human being. His Heat Vision was a precursor to Super Flare, according to Batman. The original New 52 suit, his Kryptonian armor, was destroyed by Super Flare so Batman and Alfred comes up with a new costume for him.

Kotaku reported that Superman's power level underwent changes through the years, with the goal of making the character more vulnerable. During the 1950s and 1960s, new additions to his superpowers were made to fit different comic book plots. At one point, Superman was invulnerable to Kryptonite and could drag planets. In another Newsarama report, Superman was given a variety of other skills such as Super Breath, self-telekinesis which allowed him to fly, telepathy, self-duplication, shapeshifting, hypnosis and ventriloquism. However, these did not remain permanent. His core abilities mentioned in the said artwork remained his core abilities until the present.

In the same Kotaku report, Superman fans are still wondering whether the 24-hour vulnerable time will develop into new plots in the comic books.