Someone Figured Out Exactly What Would Happen If Superman Punched Your Fragile Human Body
The Strength Of Superman Is Extraordinary
Photo: Warner Bros.As one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe, Superman possesses an enormous amount of strength. He has been shown to be able to lift everything from large vehicles to mountains. On occasion, his power has grown enough to even allow him to move entire planets. In terms of his punches, they are strong enough to cause massive amounts of damage to anyone they hit. In an episode of Smallville, Clark Kent demonstrated just how powerful his punches could be in terms of sheer physics. He was able to cause shockwaves with his blows in the Season 6 episode “Combat."
Superman Is So Powerful He Has To Restrain Himself When Fighting Others
Photo: DC ComicsSuperman has noted several times that he is often scared of unleashing his full power out of a fear of the destruction he could cause. He has such immense strength that he has to limit himself in almost every circumstance, otherwise he would cause unintentional harm to everyone and everything around him. This causes the superhero to act as if he is walking on eggshells for most of his life. One of the few times that he allowed himself to fight without any limitations came in an episode of the Justice League animated series. In a fight with Darkseid, a New God who is one of the most powerful villians in the DC Universe, he is able to match him in terms of strength.
He Can Subdue Even The Most Powerful Superheroes With His Hits
Photo: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice / Warner Bros.Although he is not all-powerful and has, in fact, been beaten by many villains and other superheroes, most don’t come off too well if they get into a fist fight with the Man of Steel. He has been shown capable of knocking Wonder Woman unconscious with a single blow and once punched Captain Marvel from Metropolis all the way to Hawaii.
In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Bruce Wayne is forced to create a powered exoskeleton in preparation for his battle with the Krypton-born superhero. It is only this immensely high-tech piece of equipment and the fact that Superman is probably pulling his punches somewhat that allows Batman to survive the fight.
Just How Hard Can Superman Actually Punch, Then?
Photo: DC ComicsYouTube user Vsauce3 did some calculations to try and figure out exactly how hard Superman can punch. He argues that the strength of the punch is determined by the force and the acceleration of his fist as it moves through the air. It is also established that the laws of physics say that it couldn't be moving faster than the speed of light – so the speed of the hand is set at 1% lower than this at 99% the speed of light.
Doing the calculation reveals that the punch would have a force of 190 quadrillion joules. To put that into terms that you can get your head around, it is the equivalent of 45 megatons of TNT or almost 3,000 nuclear bombs that could potentially be hitting you right in the kisser.
You Wouldn’t Even See The Punch Coming
Photo: Man of Steel / Warner Bros.What makes a punch from the Man of Steel even scarier is that you would never even see it coming. This is because it takes a certain amount of time for the brain to process any light than enters through the retina. While the common thought has been that it can take up to 100 milliseconds for this to happen, recent research has shown that people are capable of recognizing images after an exposure of just 13 milliseconds.
That time period is completely insufficient for a person to see something moving in front of them. At 1% the speed of light, Superman’s punch would reach your face in less than 3 nanoseconds. He's operating at 99% of the speed of light. The human victim wouldn’t even be able to tell what had happened before they had already been hit.
A Punch That Powerful Would Create A Lot Of Heat
Photo: DC ComicsThe energy transferred from such a powerful force being created would release an unimaginable amount of heat. According to Vsauce3, this figure would be an astonishing 80 trillion Kelvin. Considering that the sun itself is only around 15 to 16 million Kelvin at its core, that makes it a lot hotter than anything else in the solar system. In fact, the punch would create a heat blast that was some 5 million times hotter than the sun. It’s no wonder then that the punch would require the calorific equivalent of 82 billion Big Macs.
Everything In The Surrounding Area Would Be Destroyed
Photo: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice / Warner Bros.A full-force punch from Superman would not just be bad for you. It would cause mass devastation to everything and everyone around it. The sheer amount of energy released from the fist moving through the air would cause the particles in the air to fuse together. This nuclear fusion event would release gamma rays and even more energy, causing a huge explosion and shockwave that would flatten anything in its path.
It Would Also Be Super Bad For You
Photo: Warner Bros.Being hit by the Son of Krypton would be like being attacked by a proton beam. Every atom that made up the victim’s physical form would be disintegrated in an instant. Any normal human would essentially be liquefied by the impact, as the blow would simply be too powerful. There would be nothing left in the immediate area other than a kilometer-deep crater at the site of the punch. RIP you.
If You Didn’t Disintegrate, Superman Would Punch Your Head Straight Off
Photo: DC ComicsIf an unfortunate victim was able to withstand the intense physical forces enough to not break down at the atomic level, Superman would still leave a pretty big mess. Just imagining that he pulled his punches enough not to create a massive nuclear explosion, he would still be powerful enough to punch straight through a skull. The victim’s head would travel so quickly that it would snap off. Meanwhile, the Man of Steel would be pushed into the ground at it crushed beneath him from the recoil.
Even Some Tender Loving From The Superhero Would Be Deadly
Photo: Justice League Animated Series / Warner Bros.As pointed out by the noted science fiction writer Larry Niven, it is not just violence that would cause problems for Superman. If he ever became romantically involved with anyone, it could also end in disaster. Niven notes in the Essay “Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex” that during sex, men typically lose control of their muscles in a spasm-like fashion at orgasm. In the case of Superman, this could be disastrous due to his immense strength. Losing control in such a way could easily kill anybody he was with at the time. That’s not even considering the super speed of his semen and the damage it could cause.
