Does Superman commonly underestimate everyone he fights? had this used by other people in debates, saying he always underestimates his opponents, And i don't doubt he has before, but is it a habit?

Does Superman Constantly Underestimate His Opponents?

He does a lot

He doesn't underestimate them. He just overestimates their humanity which is why he holds back a lot of the time

It's actually the opposite. They underestimate HIM.

Depends on the opponent.

Also...

Especially on what he is willing to do.

@kenshima15:

Has I see it. It's worst than just underestimate his opponents. It's the old holding back thing. Although if I had his level of power I'd also hold back.

But using that has an excuse can become boring.

We see him being knockout by lightning and resisting a black hole. That's what anyone can call inconsistency.

Yes, he does. An awful lot. It's not a very flattering characterization.

Superman holds back against the usual menaces of Metropolis often not employing his full power simply cause it would be fatal for most of them and turn the entire world against him through fear. I think Captain Marvel said it best in JLU "Back home, I've come up against my share of pretty nasty bad guys, but I never had to act the way they did to win a fight. I always found another way."

However an angry heat vision eyed Superman is one of the most terrifying things on page. Especially when all you can see is the emblem, the cape and the eyes. You dun goofed when that happens.

P.S has Superman ever not taken a threat seriously? His most powerful foe is a short imp in a purple hat with stupid looking hair who can casually rearrange reality. I do not think Superman is in the habit of underestimating people.

Actually he does underestimates his opponents a lot. Any time he arrives with his bright colors, with crossed arm's, and waiting for the other guy to make the first move. That's within the range of underestimating other people.

But then again he does it because he takes his invulnerability for granted. If he analyzed every scenario before he rushed in like he usually does, he'd not be so easily surprised.

Why does he falls so many times for the kryptonite trick? Because he rushes in. And magic is the same.

How many times he was slapped around because the opponent powers were actually magic based? Again, more times than he should have.

But it's not so much Superman fault, as much as it's the writers fault. They make him overconfident, too much actually. And we can't deny that if he didn't have those power levels that allow him to resist and recover from practically everything, he'd be a dead Superman a long time ago.

I understand why writers, write him like that. After all, if he had only half of Batman focus, combat skills and caution, and used his powers to their current full potential, he'd be unstoppable. It would be almost impossible to catch I'm off-guard or unprepared. What would make his stories a challenge to write.

It wouldn't be impossible, mind you. It would just take writing to another level. Each arc would be like almost half a year long, complex and filled with surprises. It would be like writing mini books. Something that fans would most likely not go along with.

I personally wouldn't like to have to deal with such long arc's. Just look at Truth. It has its ups and downs. I'd say half of Truth is actually very good and the other half has been poor and sometimes terrible.

@kenshima15: he has to for the sake of the story. With all his powers used at once he could solve half his fights in one page. he gets up close and personal to opponents who always have an ace up their sleeves

Well Superman, with his power levels can afford to underestimate opponents a bit. After all he is Superman.

it's mostly pis to me. he could easily dodge any hit coming his way. he needs to leave metropolis and fight more universal enemies. he should be having more green lantern type adventures.

That's not really inconsistency, see the brain is completely run off of electrical impulses which can be thrown off by massive power surges like a bolt of lightning so when he's knocked out by lightning its more that his brain is basically temporarily short circuited than from it causing any actual physical harm.

we know the only reason that superman actually gets hit by slower enemies or have people sneak up on him despite him being able to pick out voices from space is due to the plot. anyone else besides charactes like the flash or ww hitting him is just plain dumb. give superman better enemies.

When written correctly - and I emphasize this bit because it always comes down to who's writing Clark - I'd like to think that Superman doesn't throw the first punch not because he underestimates his foes and overestimates his own power...but because he's a hero. Superman always gives a chance for his opponent to stand down. And of course, most times the baddies will decline the offer (because, hey, we need punching and drama in our comics!), but I think it's a subtle reminder to the reader that violence is always the last resort for Clark.

Of course, context is key. I'm not saying Superman shouldn't immediately disarm a criminal pointing a gun at a hostage. But I like it when - under the pen of guys like Morrison, Waid, Pre-52 Johns, or Busiek - Superman gives the baddie an opportunity to surrender before making a move. He doesn't immediately fly off the handle, which is something I feel like New-52 Supes sort of invokes. Superman, as one of the most powerful beings on the planet, shouldn't be that aggressive.

Long story short, I'm more concerned with the character implications rather than any notion of 'feats' or 'power'.

he still can dodge when people punch him. they should be moving in super slow motion to kal. however, he will sit there and get hit by strong characters like doomsday who really are nowhere near as fast as he is. i can see him taking some kind of energy blast because if he dodged it then the blast will hit someone else. however, he doesn't have to sit there and get punched. the only time he actually fights smart is when he gets all red eyed.

Like I said a long time ago:

Superman is NEVER written to his full potential. Not making him a chump won't automatically make stories boring, writers. Exercise some creativity in how Superman takes out his opponents, make him look cool, instead of having him get slapped around by each and every two-bit super-villain that comes around.

No, he doesn't need to shrug off everything. I actually oppose God-Level Superman most of the time. But he needs to be clever about it, and win the day in style.

That's how you make it interesting AND make Superman cool at the same time.

I think the story Up, up and away would be to your liking as Superman there shows this cleverness to his fight, studying an opponent and using a quick solution to shut them down without having to cause that much damage. His power level's are also not godlike and has clear limits and won't be lifting the earth anytime or moving faster than light.

He shows too much mercy for them if anything.

Very well put.

Yes your point makes perfect sense.

Thanks.

The problem with UP, UP AND AWAY, is that the clear increase in at least his mental power (maybe the only increase), later on disappeared. Or we never saw him again using that incredible brain both in battles and other more simpler things.

This ^^^^^

@heavenlydarkdragon: This happens in so many stories I just enjoy it for when it is around. Countless comics introduce something only for it to be lost to time or a new writer and it could be years before it comes back, if ever.

Enjoy it while you can.

@midnightknight: QFT.

Beata

Interesting question. Never thought about it before. Someone posted above that Superman's villains underestimate him. I'd have to agree with that. They have no idea just how powerful Superman really is.

I think DC writers forget Superman has a brain. They write him as a dumb brick...a kind one so I guess it supposedly is okay to be dumb. But it really isn't. Superman never being actuallu prepared after he gains experinece and very reactive is one of the things that frustrates me about the character.

If Superman underestimates his opponent then that means that writer who is behind the story isn't really well educated Superman and how he should act. Superman is a character who never acts in a rush, never strikes first, never underestimates his opponent no matter how small the threat is and he always gives his enemy a chance to surrender and everything to end quickly and in peace.

That is the way Superman should be written like and that is who he really is.