Original X-Men=Superman?

I just had a thought the other day that Cyclops's power is similar to Superman's heat vision. Then I started thinking, if you added up the powers of the original X-Men you could make a Superman (sort of). I wonder if this was an inspiration or just coincidence.

So you have Cyclops (heat vision), Angel (flight), Beast (strength), Iceman (cold breath, and later armored skin), Prof. X (X-ray vision and other heightened senses). Ms. Marvel is the only one that doesn't quite fit, though her telekinesis could be seen as another form of strength.

Funny, I just made a thread somewhat related to this the other day... http://www.comicvine.com/forums/gen-discussion/1/build-your-own-superman/747947/ I don't think prof x would fit in anywhere either

Cyclops doesn't have heat vision, his eyes shoot 'force beams' (as said in Civil War). Professor X doesn't have x-ray vision, either.

I don't really see it. You could say the same thing about the original Avengers or many other teams.

I think it's a coincidence, but a neat one none the less.

@Dayvid3 Great minds, eh?

@Squares I wasn't going for a direct translation. Probably tried to shoehorn a few in there. I was just thinking If you were going to create a team based on Superman's powers it would look something like the original X-Men.

@PrinceIMC That's interesting. I want to test that out in a minute.

@Kairan1979 Wow, I was not aware of that. I'd heard comparisons to Doom Patrol, but not that.

@Decoy Elite Thanks.

Okay, let's see how this applies to other groups...

Original Avengers: Thor and Hulk definitely have the strength and invulnerability covered. Thor could also cover cold breath with weather control and lightning is somehwat similar to heat vision, and of course flight. Iron Man definitely invulnerability. Wasp's stings could be like heat vision (did she have them at first?). Ant-Man, microscopic vision?

Fantastic Four: Thing, strength and invulnerability. Human Torch, heat vision. Sue could turn objects invisible to have an x-ray vision of sorts. Reed's the odd man out here, though he could replicate flight with his inventions. No cold breath here.

All New Original X-Men: Collosus and Thunderbird, strength and invulnerability. Wolverine, heightened senses. Cyclops or Sunfire, "heat" vision. Storm, flight and again cold breath -> weather control. Nightcrawler's the odd one out here.

New Mutants: Cannonball, flight and invulnerability. Magma, heat vision. Wolfsbane, heightened senses. Warlock, alien origin. Sunspot, strength...

Yeah, I guess this could apply to a lot of groups. Now I wonder if these are essential for every superhero group.

@friendlyNeighborhoodSpidey said:

Okay, let's see how this applies to other groups...

Original Avengers: Thor and Hulk definitely have the strength and invulnerability covered. Thor could also cover cold breath with weather control and lightning is somehwat similar to heat vision, and of course flight. Iron Man definitely invulnerability. Wasp's stings could be like heat vision (did she have them at first?). Ant-Man, microscopic vision?

Fantastic Four: Thing, strength and invulnerability. Human Torch, heat vision. Sue could turn objects invisible to have an x-ray vision of sorts. Reed's the odd man out here, though he could replicate flight with his inventions. No cold breath here.

All New Original X-Men: Collosus and Thunderbird, strength and invulnerability. Wolverine, heightened senses. Cyclops or Sunfire, "heat" vision. Storm, flight and again cold breath -> weather control. Nightcrawler's the odd one out here.

New Mutants: Cannonball, flight and invulnerability. Magma, heat vision. Wolfsbane, heightened senses. Warlock, alien origin. Sunspot, strength...

Yeah, I guess this could apply to a lot of groups. Now I wonder if these are essential for every superhero group.

Yeah Superman is kinda the one man super-team.

what? I think you got some powers wrong there

@friendlyNeighborhoodSpidey: Yeah, I think it's an analogy many comic readers make at one point or another. I know I've thought about it before myself.

To me, the team on a whole isn't actually a direct liquidation of Superman, but rather a team based around that general concept. Where as Superman has just about every power you could want or need and fights alone, the x-men each only have one gift and need to come together to accomplish Superman sized tasks.

The X-Men aren't "Superman broken down into parts" in actuality, but I'd be shocked if "Superman broken down into parts" wasn't an idea floating around the room when they were conceived.

Could be that Superman has rather generic powers, if you think about it.

@JediXMan said:

Could be that Superman has rather generic powers, if you think about it.

They're only generic because he was the template for all superheroes for the longest time. :P

Could be that Superman has rather generic powers, if you think about it.

@friendlyNeighborhoodSpidey: I started thinking about what you've said... and then I started to wonder if it could be applied in a similar fashion to other super hero teams... if you pic them at random (the teams) I think you'll find a combination of super-strength, flight, energy projection, super speed, and healing... And all of those are found in Super Man...

It seems to me that he's sort of the 'be all' of super heroes.. I'm wondering, if I picked and chose individual heroes from the Marvel Universe, that I could combine to make Super Man, who would they be.... First, I have to avoid characters like Hyperion, The Sentry, Gladiator, and Blue Marvel because they basically ARE Super Man... So, what would be the right combination of heroes to make a Super Man...

1: Captain America - Just the idea of having "the perfect" body... perfect balance, perfect hand/eye coordination, ability to master weapons and fighting styles quickly.

2: Thor (minus the hammer) - Strength, invulnerability.

3: Iron-Man - for the energy projection and intelligence. I think Super Man's I.Q. is often downplayed.

4: North Star - Flight at super speed.

5: Wolverine - (minus the claws) for the healing factor. Super Man does suffer damage at times, but he heals rapidly..

6: Sunspot - Roberto absorbs solar radiation. It makes him strong. Superman also absorbs sun light and it makes him stronger...

7: Daredevil - super senses

And I feel like I'm probably missing a few... You know, except for North Star, everyone on that list is an Avenger..... hmmm...