KAPOW!
Comic-book expert Rob Cave presents his rundown of
superhero superlatives. Watch the forces of good and
evil face off against one another as they vie to become
intergalactic record-breakers, putting the puny efforts
of^ mere mortals firmly in their place...SUPERHEROES
Largest superhero
A number of heroes –
including Mr Fantastic,
Plastic Man and Elongated
Man – have the ability to
reshape their bodies but
cannot significantly alter
their mass. Thom Kallor,
aka Star Boy/Starman, has
the power to increase the
density and mass of an
object, while original Ant-
Man Hank Pym grew beyond
the Macroverse and into the
Overspace, “a point above
and apart from all other
realities”, in The Mighty
Avengers Vol. 1 #30.
However, discounting
characters who can change
SUPERHERO: Thor, Hercules and The
Incredible Hulk are all mighty contenders
for this title, but it’s Superman (left) who
comes out on top. Thanks to an overcharged
solar battery, he was able to lift 200
quintillion tons in
All-Star Superman
#1.And in three heavyweight battles
against Hulk (“the Strongest one there
is”), Superman was the clear winner
in^ at least two of the bouts.
SUPERVILLAIN:
Prehistoric
Kryptonian monster Doomsday (right)
beat up Superman seemingly to the
point of death, and kept the Justice
League at bay with his strength. He
can’t be beaten the same way twice.SUPERHERO: DC’s The Flash has access to the Speed
Force, an extra-dimensional energy that allows him to
move at incredible speeds. He has appeared in several
incarnations, with the fastest being Wally West (left).
Rival Marvel speedster Quicksilver used the Terrigen
Mists to travel faster than time in the limited series
Son of M, but could not sustain this ability.
SUPERVILLAIN: Hunter Zolomon, aka Zoom (right),
was even faster than The Flash. InFlash Vol. 2 # 1 9 9,Wally West struggles to even see Zoom as he runs,
let alone match him for pace!FASTEST
their size, the largest
superhero is Mogo, a
sentient planet and member
of the Green Lantern
Corps. Introduced in Green
Lantern Vol. 2 #188, Mogo
is sufficiently massive
that it possesses its own
gravitational field.Smallest superhero
Several superheroes,
including Ant-Man Hank
Pym, The Wasp (akaSTRONGEST
Janet van Dyne) and The
Atom (aka Ray Palmer)
have developed the
ability to shrink in size
to the sub-atomic level.
However, Arcturus Rann
and his fellow Micronauts
were born and live in the
Microverse, a space only
accessible by shrinking
below the sub-atomic level.Smartest superhero
Michael Holt, aka Mr
Terrific, holds 14 PhDs but
estimates in Infinite Crisis
#5 that he is only the third
smartest person on Earth in
the DC Universe. Hank Pym
discovered Pym particles
and was dubbed “Earth’s
Scientist Supreme” by
the cosmic entity Eternityin The Mighty Avengers
Vol. 1 #30. However, Reed
Richards of the Fantastic
Four has displayed
intelligence beyond his
scientific exploits. Aware
of his own limitations,
Richards regularly solicits
the expertise of others –
including his own children
Franklin and Valeria –
enabling him to solve
seemingly intractable
problems such as the
ruthless Interdimensional
Council of Reeds.Smartest supervillain
The extra-terrestrial/
android villain Brainiac
might possess a 12th-level
intellect, but he has been
outsmarted and defeatedby Superman on
various occasions.
Adrian Veidt, aka
Ozymandias,
is dubbed “the
smartest man on
the planet” in Watchmen.
He successfully fools the
governments of the world- and Doctor Manhattan
- with his deadly scheme
involving a fictional
alien threat of his own
manufacture.
Least powerful
superhero
Created by Mark Millar and
John Romita Jr in Kick-
Ass #1, Dave Lizewski, aka
Kick-Ass, is an ordinary
teenager who dons a wetsuit
to take on the forces of evil.
Lacking training, gadgets
and a certain amount of
common sense, Lizewski
learns the realities of crime-
fighting the hard way, but
refuses to let his mishaps
and injuries deter him.