Warning! Spoilers for War for Earth-3 #2
The evil DC Universe.
The Superman's opposite, Ultraman, shows off what he can do in War for Earth-3 #2, written by Dennis Hopeless and Robbie Thompson with art by Ariel Olivetti and Kieran McKeown.
When Ultraman holds a skyscraper above his head to throw at Amanda Waller, he demonstrates that he had more command of his strength than Superman. Throughout the Man of Steel’s history, he has often commented on how he holds back his powers. With the best interest of the public in mind, he has gone fairly easy on super villains and other threats. However, his consideration extends to his rogues gallery, as he doesn’t want to seriously injure or kill anyone he fights. As explored in the past, Superman secretly hopes that his villains are redeemed someday as heroes. Regardless, it has also been explained that Clark Kent’s powers can exceed him, as there is even a limit to what he is capable of.
Recent comics have further elaborated that Superman isn’t able to carry buildings in the way that Ultraman can. Although he is technically strong enough, the structure of a building can’t hold together. This is both intended to ground Superman’s powers more in reality, and make a nod at Joss Whedon’s Justice League which saw Superman carrying a building. The original theatrical rendition of the film made the Man of Steel feel like a plot mechanic similar to deus ex machina, as he could manage to do anything to save the day.
However, Whedon didn’t consider that with Superman’s strength, he should be able to burst through a building when the weight is pressed against him. Some writers have incorporated such limitations to Superman’s powers in comics before. Although Kal-El is vulnerable to things such as Kryptonite, magic, and loses his powers with red sun light, Superman’s dampened powers have helped to make him more relatable.
