10 Most Powerful Incarnations Of Superman

10. Golden Age Superman

The original Superman who debuted on the cover of Action Comics #1 in 1938 is a far different Superman than the one featured in modern books. For one thing, he was "Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound."

All impressive, of course, but as Superman was published from the 1940s and beyond, the character changed. He went from being able to leap over buildings to being able to fly through the sky. He wasn't simply faster than a speeding bullet, he was faster than light, and a locomotive had nothing on Superman of the Silver Age.

Because he's been published continuously, and DC has a history of wonky canon, the Golden Age Superman has been relegated to Earth 2, which is the home of the Golden Age heroes. He's known there as Kal-L, and for the most part, he's the Superman who was read back in the '40s and '50s.

In terms of power, he's definitely not the top Superman in his field, but he's no slouch either. He has evolved some of his base powers over the years, and can now fly, has heat vision, freezing breath, invulnerability, and most of the other powers associated with Superman.