How Strong Is Superman Really?

DC’s Man of Steel is, by most standards, the strongest superhero in history and, in a lot of ways, one of the strongest comic book characters ever. The comic books have shown us some of his amazing feats and Superman has gone down in history as a man who can lift almost anything he wants. So, how strong is Superman exactly?
Superman is able to lift around 2,000,000,000 (two billion) tons, which has been proven in the comics. Thanks to the differences between Krypton, his home planet, and the Earth, Superman’s skills have been enhanced multifold, thus allowing him to become the strongest being on Earth.
The rest of this article is going to be divided into several sections, each of which is going to deal with certain aspects of Superman’s strength. You’re going to find out how strong he is and how much he can lift, but also how he compares to some other characters and/or entities.
How Strong Is Superman? [Explained]
Superman is known as the Man of Steel. Superman is known as the strongest man on Earth. Superman can fly. Superman can see through walls. Superman can move at great speeds. Superman can also do plenty of other things but what interests us here is just how strong he really is.
We’ve seen that Superman is able to move and/or lift things normal humans cannot even shake, let alone actually move. Now, on his home planet, Superman was not as strong; he wasn’t a wimp, but he could certainly not do what he can on Earth. Allow as to explain the physics behind that.
Superman was born on the planet Krypton, a planet that is much bigger than Earth and, thus, has a greater gravitational force than Earth. On Earth, Superman surprisingly discovered that he was much more powerful.
This was a result of the fact that he landed on a planet with a much weaker gravitational pull than that of Krypton. Superman could do all of these amazing things simply because Earth’s gravity didn’t affect him as much as Krypton’s.
To give you a better perspective, just think of humans on the Moon. The Moon’s gravity is weaker than ours and thus humans can bounce around because the gravity is much weaker.
Now, the difference between Krypton and Earth is much, much bigger than that between the Earth and the Moon, which allows Superman to measure his strengths not in kilograms, but in tons. In fact, the comics have shown us that Superman is able to lift around two billion tons, which is around 5,500 times the mass of the Empire State Building!
Is Superman Stronger Than a God?
The answer to this question depends on what god you’re referring to. If you’re talking about the “Old Gods” such as Ares and Zeus, Superman could probably lift more than them.
Some New Gods also fit the bill, but we’re not sure that he could overpower Darkseid’s True Form, for example. The same goes for the likes of The Presence and Doctor Manhattan, who’s technically not a god, but had god-like powers.
So the answer here is both yes and no, as it depends on who you’re comparing Superman with.
Can Superman Lift the Earth?
The exact mass of the planet Earth is now known, although scientists have been able to calculate what we now think is an estimate of the planet’s mass. Earth mass has since become a unit of mass in astronomy and is used in comparative calculations quite often.
So, what is the estimated mass of our planet? It’s: M🜨 = 5.9722×1024 kg. This is an estimate of course, and a number that would, when fully written, look like this: 5.972.200.000.000.000.000.000.000.
As you can see, this is much, much more than two billion tons, which is the projected mass Superman can lift, based on the official information we have from the comic books. So no, Superman cannot lif the Earth.
Can Superman Lift Godzilla?
We all know that Godzilla is simply huge. Depending on the iteration, his height has changed and the giant lizard was inconsistently portrayed as being between 50 and 300 meters tall, with numbers around the 100-120 mark being used most often. Knowing that Superman is 1.91 m tall, it puts things into perspective. So, can Superman lift Godzilla?
Godzilla’s weight has also been a subject of change, as was his height. Plus, it wasn’t always too relevant. As we know, Godzilla has been portrayed as weighing between 20,000 and 82,000 metric tons (22,000 and 90,000 short tons), depending on the version. Now, knowing that Superman can lift around two billion tons, this gives us a clear answer – Superman can lift Godzilla.
Can Superman Lift Thor’s Hammer?
Well, lifting Mjolnir, as we have already written on here, is not a question of strength as much as it is a question of worthiness; we are, of course, talking about Marvel’s comic book version of Mjolnir, not the mythological hammer (that one, Superman could certainly lift). So, in order to answer this question, we have to see whether Superman would be considered worthy.
The answer to our question was officially given in the Avengers/JLA crossover event, in a story titled “The Brave and the Bold,” published in December 2003. Namely there, after a battle, Thor simply throws Mjolnir to Superman, who was already in possession of Captain America’s shield, telling him to use it well, which Superman did.
The plot is not that relevant now, but the answer is clear – Superman can, indeed, lift Mjolnir.
Is Anyone Stronger Than Superman?
Well, Superman is one of the strongest comic book characters ever created and is probably DC Comics’ most powerful superhero, especially if you count some of his more powerful versions. Still, is he the strongest among the comic book characters?
No, he is not. There are beings that are much more powerful and much stronger than Superman, regardless of whether he could ultimately defeat them. Battles are one thing, but this is a pure comparison of strengths.
If you just look at some of the gigantic superpowered characters like Galactus, the Celestials, or Darkseid’s True Form, you’ll see why these guys are simply bigger than him and are superpowered as well, which is why they could lift more.
The same goes for characters like the Presence or Doctor Manhattan, characters who are omnipotent and thus have greater powers and abilities than Superman. So, no, Superman is not the strongest character you’ll encounter, but he is among the strongest.