Picture: Superboy "staying with it" as the years roll on

[MatterEaterLad]

When Earth-2 Superman 1st appeared he looked just like Earth-1 Superman.

http://comics.org/coverview.lasso?id=35935&zoom=4

Even in 1982 he was still being drawn looking the same as his Earth-1 counterpart.

In the early JLA/JSA crossovers, he often wasn't even drawn with the old timey S shield.

I was convinced in the 60s that Earth 2 was MEANT to not only made up of the older characters but that the entire universe was 20 years older in time.

Of course, now there can be an Earth 2-O old and Earth 2-Y young, with Earth 2 young being marketed to fan boys who want more adult stories where Black Canary hasn't gone through menopause.

[DBN]

Here is a good question for you all...

If Superman is invulnerable, then how come he ages?

 

This bugs me, too... the Earth Two Superman shouldn't look as old as he does, but that was to differenciate him from Kal-El...

I always figured Superman would live for centuries and age very slowly... but then again he aged normally til 18.

On the unified Earth, he still could have been the first hero in 1938 and due to his slow aging still be active today with little difference, looks wise.  His girlfriend/wife back then could have been Lana Lang. He could have had a different secret ID (or could now pose as Clark Kent Jr)

Just my thoughts

While the E1 and E2 Kryptonians may have had the same powers, they were genetically different. The E2 Kryptonians had powers on Krypton (around Action #1 levels IIRC) and it took them a bit longer to reach their full potential on Earth.

As for E1 Kryptonians aging, there is the theory that they only aged because they wanted to. This theory is backed up by this Cary Bates story:

"Hypnotists use the power of suggestion to make subjects believe what they want them to -- But with my super-power of suggestion -- my mind can make whatever I believe has happened really happen!"
-- Superboy's/Superman's thoughts, AC #466, page 16, panel 5.

[Permanus]

"Hypnotists use the power of suggestion to make subjects believe what they want them to -- But with my super-power of suggestion -- my mind can make whatever I believe has happened really happen!"
-- Superboy's/Superman's thoughts, AC #466, page 16, panel 5.

Huh? Buh? Am I understanding this correctly? So whatever Superman believes, actually happens? So if he believed that Krypton never exploded, it wouldn't have, and he'd never have been sent to Earth and he'd never had the super-power of suggestion?

[crispy snax]

oh my god, that quote breaks reality!!!

so if superman dies, does the universe stop because he ceases to observe it?

he can add "superman: reality destroyer" to his resume now

[DBN]

"Hypnotists use the power of suggestion to make subjects believe what they want them to -- But with my super-power of suggestion -- my mind can make whatever I believe has happened really happen!"
-- Superboy's/Superman's thoughts, AC #466, page 16, panel 5.

Huh? Buh? Am I understanding this correctly? So whatever Superman believes, actually happens? So if he believed that Krypton never exploded, it wouldn't have, and he'd never have been sent to Earth and he'd never had the super-power of suggestion?

That's what I get from the quote and just about the only way to explain why E1 Kryptonians age. The question is would he use the power to that extent? I don't think he would, given that he could have done the same with the Sword of Superman and wound up giving up the power.

[Great Rao]

I think that bit of dialogue has to get filed wherever "The Master Mesmerizer of Metropolis" ended up getting filed.  ie, it never happened because it's just too insane.

Why does Superman age if he's immortal?  I've long held the belief that Clark started out aging normally, but the older he gets, the more his rate of aging slows down.  So it never stops, it just keeps getting slower.  Like a reverse exponential thing.

He'll eventually get grey at the temples, white hair down the road, maybe a beard.  But by that time we'll all be dead and buried.

[kirby911]

i just had to laugh at that one rocket landing in  1998 lol ha,ha ha