h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In my limited exposure to the films, he doesn't flap his arms, he doesn't emit any kind of visible jet (not dust generated) and he doesn't bend his knees , so what mechanism is he supposed to be using ? Or is it all a lie ?

Magic?

Don't be silly !

Strings ?

Skyhooks?

Have you ever considered the effects of Super-Flatulence? Oh yes, this is the answer to Superman's powers of flight. Simple Action, REaction and lots of carbohydrates. Clear the tallest building? Oh yes, but it takes a real Superman to clear the ROOM! Kryptonite is just the cosmic equivalent of a charcoal pill.

Levitation. It exists, so why couldn't he use it?

his arms are full of helium so when he wants to fly he takes out the lead wheights in his cuffs (when no one is looking) and lifts up his arms.

OK this is almost plausible.

According to the Hitchikers Guide, flying is accomplished by throwing yourself at the ground and missing.According to Issac Asimov most
fantasy movies are ridiulous:The Invisible Man would be The Blind
Invisible Man because his retinas wouldn't register anything,The Incredible Shinking Man would be The Incredible Mute Shrinking Man
because his vocal cords would be so small dogs couldn't hear him
and King Kong would topple over,unable to support his own weight.
Science can't explain a bumblebees flight or Asimovs sideburns
both seem impossible. Why do you hear explosions in the vacuum of
space in movies? In the 1950's Superman Tv show, bullets would bounce off Superman and then the bad guys would throw their guns at him.
Why?Then Superman would duck.why? A certain suspension of disbelief is necessary, but things should be logical within their own context.
I have never unerstood how Superman flies, so far I like the farting theory best.

I hate to lower the tone but I think it's something to do with releasing stored solar energy to generate thrust. DC Comics, quite properly, seem more interested in playing the piano than discussing acoustics.

Superman was born on the planet Krypton as we all know. I heard somewhere that this planet was much bigger than earth so the kryptonians(?) were used to a much heavier gravity, their muscle/skeletal structures were adapted to this high gravity, high friction (due to increased density of the gaseous atmosphere brought about by the gravity). Superman's abilities on earth are due to nothing more than a different set of environmental adaptations. Therefore his flying was a result of just jumping off the ground, and the speed due to his enhanced abilities in a (comparatively) frictionless world. His cold breath can be attributed to the extra power he can get from his lungs over earth species again due to having to breathe in against the atmosphere on krypton. Those things with the eyes? I haven't a clue.

This can be compared to humans going to other planets or the moon. We would be able to virtually fly on places such as the moon or mars, our natural abilities would become vastly improved by living in a less strenuous environment (assuming we could overcome the problems associated with things like atmosphere).

As for the laser sounds in space raised by Zaphod, StarWars explains this by saying that the X-Wing has an auditory warning system alerting pilots through their other senses as to when they are being fired on a bit like threat warnings in modern day fighter aircraft. They than get that extra couple of seconds in which to manouvre, supposedly useful in a dogfight.

I hope some of that has been of help thoughI'm not definite about the accuracy of it.

Can't comment on the SW thing. As far as Big Blue's concerned the basis of his powers was redone about 15 years ago. It's not down to being from a place with higher gravity any more, apparently every cell in his body acts as a solar battery and absorbs energy that way. He can use the energy to boost his senses, and it automatically boosts his physical abilities and gives him an aura of invulnerability. The flying and laser vision are a result of the same process. If he's too super for too long he runs out of energy which is how they were able to kill him back in 1992. (He got better.) In the current continuity it initially took him 15 years to build up enough energy to be super at all, thus explaining why he didn't grow up as Superbrat.

I obviously missed when they did that. Again I stuck to watching the films (and more recently the TV series) so don't get these little plot twists quite as well explained

It doesn't matter most of the time, only when he loses his powers or whatever. There was a miniseries where he bumped into the Aliens (the Sigourney Weaver Aliens) and to make it a fair fight set it out in deep space where his powers drained away very, very quickly. I think the TV show stuck to the old power-base. To get unnecessarily technical the new setup kicked off with John Byrne's Man of Steel series in 1986 (one of the best Byrne things I've read).

Sorry.....I still prefer my flatulence theory. Besides, how can Superman's body collect solar energy when he's got CLOTHES on? A spot of Super-Sunbathing, perhaps? If so, what factor does he use?. Does melanin interfere with his abilities

Hey, I didn't make this up, I'm just passing it on. Don't shoot the messenger. So you're happy to accept he's an alien from the planet Krypton, completely indistinguishable from a human, able to disguise himself perfectly with but one pair of specs, but you have difficulty believing he can absorb solar energy through his clothes. Well, sounds like your incredulity trigger is set a trifle off...

In my dim distant childhood I remember reading an already 10 years old 1970s DC series superman. They explained it then by saying that Krypton (planet) orbited around a red giant (this is why supey was spirited away, the thing was going nova).
Apparently the radiation output from a red giant was supposed to be a lot less than a bog standard yellow youth star a la Sol.
When the effects of the much greater radiation from our sun hit El Soop his molecular structure became charged.
This charged potential could be directed 'psychicly'(sp?) to manifest physically.
So when Superman thinks 'up' the extra charge in his being acts against gravity and he goes up. When Grandehombre thinks laser eyes the extra charge manifests. This charging of red sun worlds by yellow sun radiation is also supposed to explain why kryptonite is so harmful to Mr Redpants. It doesn't explain why Superman is not highly radio-active but it does give us a clue as to why he can't see through lead.
Personally, if asked in conversation, I would say something like "Oh it's all Quantum indeterminacy, using sum over histories modelling and energetic particle matrices." and then I would go short on the detail to cover myself. But yeah that's how they explained it in the comics they were writing in the 70s.

Yes Marvin, it's all a lie.

Maybe, Maybe, but what's that up in the sky? A bird? A Plane? A comet redirected toward earth by NASA to promote a Bruce Willis sequel? Come on Amazing Joe live a little.

Through IDL (imaginative deactivation of logic). In order to convey a
story, authors often start with a "What if.." and then depict some
often completely incredible scenario. Sometimes this leads to great
results, but sometimes it's just goes silly.