Superman has one of the largest array of powers of any DC superhero. While most fans know that Superman’s powers come from the sun, that wasn’t originally the case. In Superman’s earliest appearances, the Man of Steel wasn’t powered by the sun, but instead got his powers from somewhere much stranger.

In 1939’s Superman #1 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the legendary creative duo tried to explain exactly how Superman gained his immense powers. The explanation they came up with isn’t nearly as fun as being powered by the sun, but it was good enough for 1939. Instead of being powered by the yellow sun, Superman was actually taking advantage of Earth’s weaker gravity compared to Krypton.

The comic explains that on Krypton, every Kryptonian is at the peak of physical conditioning and can easily leap tall buildings or lift cars or anything else they want. These powers are only enhanced while on Earth, making Superman even stronger and able to leap even further.

Superman’s Sun-Based Powers Didn’t Come Until Much Later in His History

Superman’s Golden-Age Powers Were Radically Different

The Golden Age Superman simply wasn’t as affected by gravity on Earth, and he was completely independent of the sun. This means that on any planet Superman went to, unless the gravity was more powerful than Krypton’s, he’d be able to hold his own no matter what. Whether it be under a red, yellow, or blue sun, it wouldn’t matter. It’s a fun detail that shows the Golden Age Superman was likely the most powerful version of Superman to date. While the current version of Superman is obviously strong, not requiring a yellow sun is a pretty major advantage.

Eventually, as comics changed, Superman would have to rely on the yellow sun to power up. The explanation of the lighter gravity was entirely removed, and it makes sense why. Having Superman be put under different suns or having Earth’s yellow sun change colors is a neater narrative device than the gravity of Earth being changed. If the sun turns from yellow to red, that really only affects Superman, but if Earth’s gravity was increased, it would affect everyone. Just like Kryptonite wasn’t introduced until later in Superman’s career, his power dependency on the sun also came later.

Superman Would Be a Very Different Character If He Kept His “Gravity” Origins

Superman Would Be Unstoppable If He Didn’t Rely on the Sun

The explanation of Krypton simply having higher gravity — and Kryptonians simply being stronger than humans — is honestly a great explanation. There isn’t really anything wrong with it, and it worked perfectly when Superman was stopping muggers as an unstoppable icon of justice. But as comics went on, the plots got more complicated and Superman was capable of actually losing fights, so writers needed to have more easily accessible weaknesses for him. So, while Superman originally derived his powers from Earth’s weaker gravity, that’s no longer the case.

Superman #1 is available now from DC Comics!