Warning! Spoilers ahead for Action Comics #1067!Fans who have been curious about Superman’s fluctuating power levels finally have their answer thanks to a new story. A glimpse into the Man of Steel’s earliest days digs into the way his power works and finally clears things up about why Superman’s amazing powers just aren’t as consistent as they should be.

In a preview for Action Comics #1067 by Gail Simone, Eddy Barrows, and Danny Miki, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen hit the streets on an unusually hot and sunny day to conduct an interview. Unfortunately, the team’s hard-hitting story is interrupted by a group of aliens that suddenly burst onto the scene.

While several students fight the aliens and Lois and Jimmy document the invasion, Clark sneaks away to put on his Superman attire. The narration points out that the day was far more sunny than usual and for someone like Superman, unrelenting sun also means unrelenting power.

Sunnier Days Officially Make Superman Much Stronger

Superman is undeniably the most powerful hero in the DC Universe. From the moment he burst onto the scene, he’s wowed and impressed people both in-universe and in real life with his amazing feats of strength. However, the consistency of his powers is something that continues to perplex fans. Sometimes he’s strong enough to fight gods, other times he struggles in battles against lower-level villains. To be fair, some of these inconsistencies are rationalized through some of Clark’s weaknesses like red solar radiation or kryptonite. But more often than not, Superman’s exact power level is in flux to some degree.

Any experienced Superman fan knows how the Man of Steel draws his powers from Earth’s yellow sun. However, this scene makes the point of addressing that the amount of sun Clark is exposed to directly correlates with just how strong he is. This would explain a lot about why some stories have him strong enough to hold a black hole while Superman’s nowhere near as powerful in others. While kryptonite and red sun rays can help throw a wrench in the works when necessary, sun exposure informing just how strong Superman is is a good way of rationalizing his varying strength.

DC Provides the Best Way of Dealing with Superman’s Strength

It’s hard writing a character like Superman consistently. He’s been around for decades and creative teams have had him perform literal miracles. But an in-universe explanation for why Clark isn’t always at god-level strength goes a long way. It justifies why his strength seems to vary from story to story and adds a degree of unpredictability into the mix. Creators are always going to find new ways of explaining how Superman’s powers work and this latest wrinkle is an interesting way to look at Clark’s shifting strength.

Action Comics #1067 is available on July 10th from DC Comics.