Superman’s New Power Allows Him to Eat Villains

There are many superpowers that Superman can rely on to vanquish his enemies, but in the pages of his latest mature adventure the Man of Steel has defeated his enemy in the least likely… and most stomach-turning way imaginable.

Putting a strange new twist on Superman’s powers is exactly what the new Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum has set out to do for DC’s Black Label imprint for mature readers. But nothing could have prepared fans for seeing how Kal-El is forced to deal with Chemo, the living blob of radiation.

Despite the absurdity of the solution, Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #2 sees the arrival of Chemo on the scene, followed immediately by the villain’s defeat, thanks to Superman’s ability to swallow him whole.​​​​​​​

Superman Defeats His Villain By Drinking Him Through A Straw

Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #2 by W. Maxwell Prince, Martín Morazzo, Chris O’Halloran

Longtime fans will recognize the villains as one of Superman’s oldest enemies, making his debut all the way back in 1962’s Showcase #39. And credit is due to The Kryptonite Spectrum creative team for recognizing that Chemo, while less iconic than Lex Luthor, Brainiac, or Doomsday, proved to be a rare match for Superman’s strength.

Effectively a gigantic, self-aware swarm of radioactive material, Chemo poses a threat to everyone and everything it encounters. So before this engineered appearance of Chemo can harm any innocents, Superman deals with the beast as only he can.

Puncturing Chemo’s containment suit, Superman uses one of the creature’s many circulatory hoses to drink it up dry. Ingesting all the radioactive material composing the villain in a matter of seconds. Delivering one of his fastest, most concise, and nausea-inducing victories of all time.​​​​​​​

Superman’s Super-Eating is Canon, But Still Too Weird For The DCU

James Gunn Might Want Super-Eating, But Audiences Won’t

Readers are left to ponder the ethical questions at play in the story, with one more pressing than all others: even if Superman can suck a villain down his gullet and into his digestive tract, should he? But remarkably, this ability does, in fact, honor Superman’s historic power set.

In Superman’s earliest decades of crime-fighting, few demonstrations of his strength were as provocative as “super-eating,” chewing rocks, knives, or radioactive material without concern. But The Kryptonite Spectrum‘s showdown with Chemo reminds us that while Superman’s weirder powers may be canon, that doesn’t mean they hold up half a century later.

To be fair, the lighter tone of James Gunn’s Superman movie means witnessing Clark Kent engage in super-eating on screen has never been more likely. But even if the filmmakers were willing to take this leap from the comics, it would almost certainly prove too outlandish, too divisive, or just too weird for a modern blockbuster audience.

That being said, the oncoming “saga” of Superman family movies will mean more moments and battles to get fans talking. And nothing gets tongues wagging like swallowing a supervillain whole.​​​​​​​

Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #2 is available now from DC Black Label.

Created By

Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel

First Appearance

Action Comics

Alias

Kal-El, Clark Kent, Jonathan Kent

Alliance

Justice League, Superman Family

Race

Kryptonian

Franchise

D.C.