If Superman wanted to, could he minimize, even a little bit, the impact to a person's fist when they punch Superman's side? Or is his body just way too different from humans, that he can't soften his muscles (by relaxing them) on purpose, to minimize any pain a human could get by punching him? I'm not sure if links are acceptable, but someone's answer on Reddit mentions "Superman's skin is impenetrable, but not umpliable" and "Superman has an epidermis of skin cells, dermis of connective tissue, and subcutis of fat just like you or I. And also just like you or I, the dermis and subcutis serve to cushion external stress." Not sure if the user means external stress to him or to an outsider, but I just wanna know if it's really completely impossible for Superman to slightly cushion someone's pain after punching him?

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No? Supes is consistently durable a person punching him would break their hand....NORMALLY. With PIS however and the general structure of stories that's not really the case

I think Batman tried it, and Superman said he rolled with it. Pretty sure Batman still injured his hand, but Superman said had he not rolled with it, it would have been worse.

The best Supes can do, at least to my understanding, is roll with a blow thrown at him. But, still, best not to try punching him unless you're a Meta. And even then, it's iffy.

@nerevarine_11: No, that's not what I mean. I meant, just crippling their hand. Normally, their hand would break. But is it at all possible for their hand to just be crippled, if Superman could help minimize it? And could he?

@scouterv: Where did that happen?

@starlightglimmer: I thought it was Supermans aura which protects him? Not muscle, makes more sense to me...

@errorinscript: He has a superhumanly dense cellular and anatomical structure, as well as a radiating bio-electrical aura.