Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Supermonth: A Totally Hetero Thought

So, most representations suggest that Superman has indestructible hair. It makes some sense (though not a huge amount), though it depends on how Superman's powers are supposed to work.

One thing I wonder, though, is what the texture must be like. I mean, I'm sure the hair on his head is relatively normal, but depending on the artist, Superman's often been shown to be pretty hirsute. Body hair, at least in my limited experience, is generally fairly coarse; would body hair of steel in turn be like steel wool? If Clark Kent's showering, does he wear holes in the washcloth with his indestructible man-fur?

If I were to guess, I'd suspect that his hair is the same texture as human hair, but much stronger, but what does that mean for his plumbing? I imagine the super-mullet was hell on his drains.

5 comments:

ticknart said...

I've never been a fan of super strong hair (although it was the coolest image in Superman IV). Hair isn't alive. If Superman's dead cells are invulnerable, does that mean his toenail clippings could be used to puncture tires or hammered like nails? Do his skin cells not decompose?

I like to think that Superman's dead cells can't absorb the sunlight and therefore aren't any more super than my dead cells.

Don said...

Okay, I just spent 4 days sleeping in the same room as you, Tom, and now I'm beginning to regret every moment of it.

At least I didn't get The Spoon.

Diamondrock said...

One thing I've always wondered is how the heck Clark cuts his hair. Clearly he doesn't just let it grow crazy long (except for that super-mullet you mentioned).

I mean, we've seen him shave before -- he usually reflects his heat vision in a mirror. That never made sense to me, because I don't think heat vision is lasers.

But even if it is, he couldn't exactly use it on his head, could he? Was there a pair of Kryptonian shears in that little rocket or something?

Sea-of-Green said...

Wow, Ticknart, that's a brilliant observation!

I think there was an issue way back in the Silver Age in which it was stated that Superman's hair (including his beard) doesn't grow (of course, that idea has long since been ignored). Of course, that scenario brings up the question of, just how much hair did Superman have as a baby, then? He must have started off with quite a mop if his hair doesn't grow. It also implies that Supes must not have sprouted any more hair during puberty. But that's another (and much more complex) issue altogether.

SallyP said...

Tom, your mind goes to strange and wonderful places.