What influences the power growth rate of a Kryptonian on Earth?
I'm struggling to understand how Kryptonian powers develop as they spend time on Earth.
It took Clark years to discover his powers, yet when he's fighting the two Kryptonian warriors, they appear just as strong and fast (if not more so) than he is. In the final battle, against General Zod has to breath the atmosphere (and get used to it) before he can match Superman.
On Krypton, neither Jor-El nor Zod have any special powers, this implies that the speed and strength of the two Kryptonian warriors was due to being on Earth. However if this is the case, then why did Zod have to expose himself to Earth's atmosphere to gain these powers and why would Clark lose his strength when he wasn't breathing Earth's atmosphere?
The answer I'm looking needs to explain why the powers took different amounts of time to develop and which came from the atmosphere and which came from the Sun.
Best Answer
My answer draws on the ideas that Zod is a trained entity vs Kal'el who is an untrained entity.
Basically, a bit of history. Krypton is a planet with a Red star, because of this, the Kryptonians act and have the physique and abilities of normal humans. This is explained due to the level of radiation the star is giving off. Jor'El knew this about the planet and also knew that Earth has a Yellow star, signifying a different radiation level on the planet. He theorized (or even knew) that his son would be 'like a god' to humans due to his exposure to the different radiation of our Sun.
Judging by the school scene where his x-ray vision starts bugging out that Clark had always had these powers since arriving and has regular freak-outs controlling his abilities and his 'parents' are used to this, signified by his 'mother' knowing how to quickly calm him down enough. This event also appears to have happened to him around age 8, signifying one of the earliest scenes in the timeline.
Shoot ahead 30 years, Clark has obvious control over his abilities, using them without strain and never losing control of his hearing/x-ray vision/etc.
Now we reach Zod and his gang. Assuming Jor'El's knowledge of yellow stars causing Kryptonians to have immense strength and speed was available to military types like Zod, this would explain why they had a bit of a handle on the strength aspect of the abilities. Also the important fact here is that they are trained military personnel meaning they would be able to easily deal with a rapid change in their body in a better state of mind than a scared child would. Remember that in this continuity, Kryptonians were bred for a specific purpose and all 3 of these Kryptonians were bred for war and combat.
Now it also seems that the x-ray vision and eye-beams comes from direct exposure to the atmosphere instead of just being within the radiation. We can only assume that it requires the eyes themselves to become exposed to the open air in order to trigger this change. Clark notices this slight weakness and exploits it in the battle. The only other explanation is that it could be a reaction caused from breathing in unfiltered Earth-air when it reaches their lungs that causes this direct change.
If memory serves, Zod did also have the strength and speed of the other warriors, just got exposed first to the air and retreated.
TLDR: Earth's sun causes Super Strength and Speed, Earth's Atmosphere causes X-ray vision and laser eyes.
Pictures about "What influences the power growth rate of a Kryptonian on Earth?"
How does a Kryptonian get stronger?
In later depictions, their abilities are attributed to the differences between Earth's gravity and that of Krypton and the different radiation of the stars they orbit. Kryptonians use solar energy from yellow, blue, orange or white stars on the cellular and molecular levels to gain superhuman abilities.Why does Kryptonian have power on Earth?
Superman has powers on earth because of the lower gravity and yellow solar radiation of our sun. even while off Earth, the Yellow solar radiation gives superman most of his powers. Krypton's sun is red which does not give any Kryptonian the powers that they would have with a yellow sun.Why are Kryptonians so powerful?
The Kryptonians are the strongest race because of how efficiently they can exploit solar energy. Thanks to the Photonucleic Effect, their body cells rejuvenate, and their physical strength, and other bodily senses amplify, making them the most powerful race in the entire DC universe.Why is Superman more powerful than other Kryptonians?
And in modern comics Superman is said to be more powerful than all other Kryptonians because he is the reincarnation of the Kryptonian Sun God Rao.Kryptonian Growth Codex Explained
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