Superman’s powers are legendary in the comic books. Fans know that, thanks to the energy he gains from exposure to the Earth’s yellow sun, Kal El gains virtually limitless superhuman strength and speed, not to mention flight, invulnerability, heat vision, and a host of other amazing powers. Over the years, the Man of Steel’s feats have delved into near-godlike territory, with Superman showing he can literally move planets or entire solar systems if he wants to. In one comic book, Superman even revealed he’s strong enough to generate his own power source – suns. While played mostly for laughs, this power showed the Man of Steel truly is basically a god.
The scene happened in All-Star Superman #2 when Superman gave Lois Lane a tour of his Fortress of Solitude. At one point, they pass through his interplanetary zoo where Lois meets Superman’s pet Sun-Eater. Although the Sun-Eater is normally a vicious monster that can literally destroy entire solar systems by devouring suns, the Sun-Eater in Superman’s care was a friendly infant that Superman felt very close to.
When Lois asked what Superman fed the alien creature, the Man of Steel simply replied, “Suns, what else?” He then went on to reveal he could make his own miniature suns just by banging a hammer against a cosmic anvil he’d obtained from New Olympus. Moments later, he demonstrated by creating dozens of tiny, marble-sized suns by slamming his hammer on the anvil like the Greek god Hephaestus, to the delight of the Sun-Eater.
It’s an amusing, yet strangely beautiful scene that captures both Superman’s immense power and his desire to engage in normal, mundane activities like taking care of a pet. Later in the storyline, Superman found his Sun-Eater was growing too big for the Fortress and released him into space where it could feed on wild suns (ideally orbiting non-populated worlds). The Sun-Eater proved so loyal to Superman, however, that when the Man of Steel fought the giant computer Solaris, the Sun-Eater returned to help his former master – and was killed by the villain.
Notably, although the All-Star Superman story spotlighted an overpowered Superman who had absorbed a dangerous amount of solar energy that magnified his strength to near-infinite levels, the fact that Superman was able to generate suns on the cosmic anvil even before his power-up reveals that he could create yellow suns to maintain his superpowers even if something happened to Earth’s sun. Even more interesting, if the Man of Tomorrow could make any kind of sun he wanted, he could create miniature blue suns which increased his power to an even higher level, giving him the ability to magnify his superpowers whenever he wanted. While this might not be scientifically feasible, it certainly celebrates the weird and wondrous feats Superman was capable of at the height of his Silver Age period.