Superman and Red Suns

And Supergirl, I guess.

Random thought: If Superman is weakened by red sun radiation, what is he going to do when Earth's Sun becomes a red giant? Eventually it will as it expands and gets older. I mean will he just, leave? Or would he adopt some kind of radiation suit that can filter out THAT much red sun radiation? And of course, what is he gonna do for the people of Earth? I mean surely he'd want to try and save them before the Sun engulfs the inner part of the Solar System. Moving the entire planet back would take some careful planning, and luck to not somehow cause serious damage to Earth and it's environment and people. He could find a way to bring them all to Alpha Centauri, but that Solar System has a red dwarf (by then it may have evolved to a normal yellow star by the time our Sun becomes a red giant).

The reason I'm not mentioning Batman or Lex Luthor or any of the other smart guys (Superman's smart I know) is because by the time the Sun becomes a red giant, they will be long dead, as well as many of his other friends, just due to old age. Superman would be pretty old to, actually, though still able to be Superman (maybe), just not as strong as he used to be.

So what are your thoughts? What would he and the rest of the people of Earth do to save the world before the red sun becomes a serious problem for them, and the Man of Steel?

Exact notes on what Red Sun Radiation does varies depending on the Superman you're talking about, and who you're talking to. At the moment, I can't be sure if it is simply a radiation he can't absorb, and thus continual use of his powers will drain the reserves on hand, or if it actively robs him of his powers. Even then, you're discussing how long this drain is going on for, whether it's gradual or instant.

Generally, it's down to the strength of the sun that determines its colouration, as you'll note that Blue stars, which are hotter and stronger than a yellow star, will provide much more power to Superman, and even new powers he might not have had before.

He'd likely do what he can to save the world, evacuate folks to another planet, one with a yellow or blue sun if possible, but considering his motivations, I doubt that the guy would prioritise what colour the sun is. He's proven various times that he wants to keep being a hero even without the super powers, and he might go one to die a mortal death because of it.

In Countdown Arena Earth 13 Superman revealed to other Supermen that their physiology has the potential to be a conduit for all energy varieties. It just takes increased evolutionary aptitude. I assume that Superman could either reconfigure his physiology to align with Red Sun energy or evolve to account for it based on Earth 13 Superman's statments. It's also possible he could simply overcome the weakness as he does with KC Superman. Then he could use the Solar Furnace/ Generator in the Fortress to recharge himself instantly (lasting at least half a day) and then still perform necessary super-feats with the Red Sun simply not effecting him at all. He'd have to incorporate a recharge every day but it wouldn't be a huge inhibitor. If he didn't overcome the draining effects a lead suit and daily Fortress recharge would have the same effects.

Good question.

He has a few billion years to worry about that.

I am going to guess that humanity in that time will be advanced enough to manage it.

Considering that Earth will be unlivable by the time that happens so I'm guessing he'd really have no reason to hang around. Plus he may not be alive a few billion years from now. He ages slower than humans but he does still age. If he ages at an eighth of the speed humans do then he'd still be long dead way before our sun went red.

By the time Earth's sun turns red, Superman will have absorbed enough sunlight to become omnipotent. He won't be hurt by Kryptonite, red sunlight, nor magic.