Among the greatest superheroes of all time is Superman. In fact, he helped originate the superhero genre with his plethora of strange abilities. Several of these are ironclad staples of his character, such as super strength, super speed, flight, heat vision, freeze breath, and x-ray vision. However, his moves weren't always so set in stone.
At certain points, Superman seemed to pull new powers out of nowhere. Many come from the Golden Age of DC and early screen adaptations, so the writers weren't quite sure what his limits should be. As such, they could make the Man of Steel do whatever they wanted.
7 Duplication
They say a person can't be in two places at once, but Superman actually can. After interacting with a mysterious spaceship, he gains a peculiar ability. He extends his hand and conjures a miniature version of himself. Despite his size, this pocket-sized superhero isn't diminished in any way.
He has all the powers and perks of the mainline Man of Steel. Since that's the case, what's to stop Superman from pulling this trick in perpetuity? He could have a whole army of Kryptonians, albeit a small one. Before he can even consider this, though, the little guy sacrifices himself to save the day. He's then out of sight and out of mind.
6 Turning Back Time
As accomplished as Richard Donner's original Superman movie is, this scene undermines all of it. The Man of Steel fails to save Lois Lane from a landslide, filling him with sorrow. In a rage, he flies around the planet again and again. The force slowly reverses its rotation. One would think this irreparably damages gravity and other natural forces, but that's not the case.
Instead, this maneuver turns back the clock. He then has enough time to save Lois from her unfortunate fate. Neither character acknowledges this. Superman breaks the space-time continuum and violated universal law with seemingly no consequences. In theory, he could do it again whenever he fails. It's his very own reset button.
5 Memory Wipe
The sequel hits a similar reset button. After Lois deduces his secret identity, Superman looks forward to a romantic life with her. Sadly, his duties must take precedence over normal life, so he restores the status quo. However, his final kiss to his love has an unforeseen side effect.
The smooch erases any memory Lois has of the movie's events. The Man of Steel uses this trick again in the fourth film, and it's equally nonsensical there due to the questions raised. Do Kryptonian kisses affect humans' mental recollection? Can it go further and produce, for instance, a lobotomy? Apparently, romantic chemistry translates to brain chemistry. At least The Richard Donner Cut forgoes this in lieu of reversing time again. It's still stupid, but it's consistently stupid.
4 Vocal Imitation
With his strength comes precise muscle control. This lets Superman change his voice to match others. The result is so convincing that it tricks even the sharpest listeners, whether they're heroes or villains. It's no wonder, then, that the Man of Steel has used this tactic several times. Many of these occur in comic adventures: he projects his altered voice to bamboozle the bad guys.
However, he also employs this gift in the 1990s animated series. One episode sees him fill in for Batman when the Dark Knight goes missing, and he masters the menacing tone that criminals come to fear. Who needs brute force with such effective misdirection? If the superhero gig doesn't work out, Clark could have a promising career as a voice actor.
3 Throwing His Logo
The Man of Steel doesn't need gadgets for obvious reasons, but his symbol seems to be the exception. In Superman 2, the crest on his chest doubles as a weapon. It comes in handy against the other Kryptonians.
The climax involves the hero battling General Zod and his cronies at the Fortress of Solitude. Superman tosses his shield at Non, and it covers him like a net. The brute can't break through it, making it more durable than any material on Earth. Credit goes to the extraterrestrial fabric and Superman's dexterous throw. It's like Wonder Womanthrowing her tiara, but without any of the pesky logic.
2 Telepathy
Contrary to popular belief, Superman has an exceedingly sharp mind. In fact, it's so sharp that it sometimes reaches others. Not only can the Man of Steel resist psychic attacks, but he can also communicate telepathically. It's not just the comics that assert this. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman pays homage to the mental ability through its unique twist on Kryptonians. In this show, members of the alien race speak with their minds. That's somewhat disconcerting.
It becomes even more so when he takes it a step further. Other comics see Superman use his telepathic prowess to overpower people's will. This lets him control their minds and influence their actions. Granted, he only resorts to this with villains, but even that's unethical.
1 Wall Repair
The fourth Superman flick is a patchwork job in more ways than one. The hero's fight with Nuclear Man spans multiple countries. Among them is China, where the screaming villain destroys the Great Wall. Luckily, the Man of Steel has a trick up his sleeve.
Superman stares intently at the shattered landmark. The bricks then fall back into place until the wall looks as good as new. The sound and visual echo his heat vision, but this deadly power never had any such effect before or since. If only Superman could work the same magic on the production troubles, then maybe the filmmakers wouldn't have resorted to such a random reversal.