There's a powerful threat just waiting to harm Superman, and it's one he sees every day. War of the Supermen #2 revealed how the Man of Steel's main source of power could be turned against him in a devastating way.
Thanks to the Earth's yellow Sun, Superman has a vast array of abilities he uses to protect his adoptive world from the forces of evil. With flight, enhanced strength, heat vision, freeze breath, and a host of other powers, Superman is one of the most unstoppable heroes DC Universe. However, despite his gifts, there are a few weaknesses that prevent Superman from being the hero that he is. The most notable weakness to his name is kryptonite, radioactive slivers of his home world able to reduce him to a severely weakened state. Other wild cards such as overwhelming strength and magic can do real harm to Superman.
But one of the hero's Achilles heels could be his most devastating when executed the right way. In War of the Supermen #2 by Sterling Gates, James Robinson, and Eduardo Pansica, the black-ops government entity Project 7734 has done the unthinkable and destroyed the revived planet of New Krypton. As Superman and Supergirl come to with the tragedy, General Zod’s forces head straight for Earth to destroy the planet in revenge. However, Project 7734's leader, General Sam Lane, is several steps ahead of the Kryptonian armies and prepares for his next attack. He consults with Lex Luthor, who has recently come into possession of a clone of the Kryptonian sun god Rao. Lane asks if the next phase is ready and Luthor delivers on his end, sending a rocket through a wormhole directly into the sun, turning it red and depowering every Kryptonian, including Superman, in orbit.
Superman's Source of Strength Is His Hidden Weakness
Red sun radiation is Superman’s lesser, but still highly effective weakness. Because Krypton orbited an older, red sun, exposure that form of radiation essentially robs Clark and other Kryptonians the powers a younger, yellow sun affords them. When red sun rays are cast upon Superman, the godlike abilities he has are gone in an instant, making him as vulnerable as an average human. Knowing that Superman could easily be brought down to a normal level with red solar rays makes the sun a lot more dangerous than it seems.
Superman lives in a world with powerful aliens, insane geniuses and magical villains. Any of them could exploit Superman’s weaknesses by changing the color of the sun from yellow to red. Some may have more ease with that than others, but a cadre of rogue magicians or even an extradimensional prankster like Mr. Mxyzptlk could almost certainly rob Superman of his powers. The sun may provide Clark with strength, but with a crafty enough villain, the celestial object could be turned into the greatest weapon against Superman.
