History StoryBreakerPower / ComicBooks

*** The modern approach (since the mid-[=90s=]) is to give him UniquenessDecay. Whereas Superman stood paramount among the DCU from the 1950s unto the 1980s, he's now actually just a JackOfAllStats, who shares his position with several ComicBook/NewGods, ComicBook/WonderWoman, every other Kryptonian and Daxamite, ComicBook/{{Icon}}, Lobo, and ComicBook/MartianManhunter, and he is easily overpowered by RealityWarper characters utilizing magic like ComicBook/DoctorFate, ComicBook/TheSpectre (at full power), etc., or even just hyper-powerful villains like the Anti-Monitor. Basically, DC's current answer to Superman's power level is to raise the bar for StoryBreakerPower in their universe up so high that even Superman can feel mundane. The main drawback to this approach is that he faces problems in [[{{Crossover}} team-up stories]] that involve other heroes outside his "weight class", particularly BadassNormal heroes like Batman or even lower-level powered heroes characters like Aquaman, to the point where writers must contrive reasons for an antagonist to be an equal threat to both Superman and his partner of the month. Outside those stories, he tends to undergo SupermanStaysOutOfGotham, itself requiring contrived reasons for him to leave other "territories" to their respective heroes.

* The "Illuminati" is a secret club consisting of the Marvel Universe's richest and most powerful heroes; among their ranks include [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] and [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]] (both of whom are so rich and intelligent that [[ReedRichardsIsUseless they can't use their inventions to change the world]]) as well as [[ComicBook/XMen Professor Xavier]] and ComicBook/DoctorStrange (both of whom are listed on this page independently). Other on/off members include [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Black Bolt]], ComicBook/BlackPanther, and [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]], all of whom are royalty of highly advanced nations. In theory, they came together in order to pool their efforts to defend the Earth from worldwide threats, but their combined wealth, power, and intelligence means they have no choice but to be a NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering to maintain any sense of conflict in their universe.

** Superman and his associated family has struggled with this trope to varying extents throughout his existence, as he and his family shrug off pretty much ''anything'' below nukes ([[StrongAsTheyNeedToBe and sometimes even then]]) unless it's one of their explicit weaknesses: Kryptonite, magic, or red sun radiation. Making something other than Kryptonite, magic or Doomsday-level villains challenge him without nerfing Superman severely is not a task just any writer can accomplish, so various solutions have been attempted to make him more manageable to write for, though each approach has its drawbacks:

*** ''ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore'' was specifically penned to bring Superman's power down to more manageable levels. However it was undone ''one issue later'' due to fans protesting. Various other attempts since then were made [[PowerCreepPowerSeep rein him in to more-manageable levels]] like being ONLY able to lift an aircraft carrier with some effort, though his power still tends to quietly creep back up to planetary scale anyway

*** ''ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore'' was specifically penned to bring Superman's power down to more manageable levels. However it was undone ''one issue later'' due to fans protesting. Various other attempts throughout the [=80s=] and [=90s=] were made [[PowerCreepPowerSeep rein him in to more-manageable levels]] like being ONLY able to lift an aircraft carrier with some effort, though his power still tends to quietly creep back up to planetary scale anyway
*** The modern approach (since the mid-[=90s=]) is to give him UniquenessDecay. Whereas Superman stood paramount among the DCU from the 1950s unto the 1980s, he's now actually just a JackOfAllStats, who shares his position with several ComicBook/NewGods, ComicBook/WonderWoman, every other Kryptonian including his cousin ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}/ComicBook/PowerGirl and [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} his clone]], ComicBook/{{Icon}}, Daxamites, Lobo, ComicBook/MartianManhunter, and is easily overpowered by RealityWarper characters utilizing magic like ComicBook/DoctorFate, ComicBook/TheSpectre (at full power), etc., or even just hyper-powerful villains like the Anti-Monitor. Basically, DC's answer to Superman's omnipotence was to not only nerf him, but also raise the bar for StoryBreakerPower in their universe up so high that even Superman can feel mundane.

** Superman himself tends to face story-breaking problems in team-ups, as he and his family shrug off pretty much ''anything'' below nukes unless it's Kryptonite or fueled by magic or red sun radiation. Making something other than Kryptonite, magic or Doomsday-level villains challenge him without nerfing Superman severely is not a task just any writer can accomplish, so his and his cousins' power diminished significantly in the past few decades not only by [[PowerCreepPowerSeep reining him in to more-manageable levels]] (like being ONLY able to lift an aircraft carrier with some effort, though his power has crept back up to planetary scale since then), but also due to severe UniquenessDecay. Whereas Superman stood paramount among the DCU from the 1950s unto the 1980s, he's now actually just a JackOfAllStats, who shares his position with several ComicBook/NewGods, ComicBook/WonderWoman, every other Kryptonian including his cousin ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}/ComicBook/PowerGirl and [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} his clone]], ComicBook/{{Icon}}, Daxamites, Lobo, ComicBook/MartianManhunter, and is easily overpowered by RealityWarper characters utilizing magic like ComicBook/DoctorFate, ComicBook/TheSpectre (at full power), etc., or even just hyper-powerful villains like the Anti-Monitor. Basically, DC's answer to Superman's omnipotence was to not only nerf him, but also raise the bar for StoryBreakerPower in their universe up so high that even Superman can feel mundane.
** During his heyday in [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks the Golden]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Ages]], few if any Superman stories hinged on his physical survival; even Kryptonite was generally used as a barrier instead of a full-on weapon. Instead, the plots were usually a BattleOfWits between him and the VillainOfTheWeek, and once Superman actually ''found'' the villain and/or saved his squishy mortal friends from said villain's plot, the actual "battle" was barely an afterthought.
** ''ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore'' was specifically penned to bring Superman's power down to more manageable levels. However it was undone ''one issue later'' due to fans protesting.

** Hellbat Armor is a suit of PoweredArmor Batman built with unique materials supplied by various superhuman allies. This thing doesn't just allow Batman punch above his weight class, but deliver a CurbStompBattle to the most powerful beings, like Kryptonians or New Gods. Batman used it only once, where he had to go against ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} himself, then put it on the Moon so it don't fail in wrong hands. Since then Lois Lane once used it to effectively hold off Eradicator, a robot with all of Superan's powers, and later stole its gauntlet, which in itself allowed her to do real damage several Superman-level villains.

* The "Illuminati" is a secret club consisting of the Marvel Universe's richest and most powerful heroes; among their ranks include [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] and [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]] (both of whom are so rich and intelligent that [[StoryBreakerPower they can't use their inventions to change the world]]) as well as [[ComicBook/XMen Professor Xavier]] and ComicBook/DoctorStrange (both of whom are listed on this page independently). Other on/off members include [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Black Bolt]], ComicBook/BlackPanther, and [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]], all of whom are royalty of highly advanced nations. In theory, they came together in order to pool their efforts to defend the Earth from worldwide threats, but their combined wealth, power, and intelligence means they have no choice but to be a NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering to maintain any sense of conflict in their universe.

*** The comic ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'' shows exactly ''why'' the writers give Mister Mxyzptlk this treatment. He's ultimately revealed as the BigBad behind the events of the story, and explains that the greatest challenge to an immortal being is [[WhoWantsToLiveForever not getting bored]]. He spent 2,000 years perfectly still, another 2,000 doing good deeds, and the last 2,000--the ones we've seen--as a ChaoticNeutral playing jokes. But now he's decided to try being evil for once...and that single decision leads to the death of nearly all of Superman's loved ones, the near-destruction of Metropolis, every member of the Man of Steel's RoguesGallery becoming obsessed with killing him, a full-scale genocide (Bizarro is compelled to be a "perfect imperfect duplicate" of Superman, and so goes on a killing spree--as Superman never kills anyone--and then, since Krypton exploded accidentally as a baby, ''deliberately'' blows up his own planet--and all life on it--to fulfill the opposite theme), and Superman permanently sacrificing his own powers, leaving the Earth without its primary defender. The ''only'' reason Superman is able to defeat Mxy is because the imp decides to draw out the kill with psychological and physical torture, and even then, the Man of Steel's victory is [[PyrrhicVictory bittersweet]], as he inadvertently murders the imp (he's caught between two dimensions and ripped apart) and thus breaks his ThouShallNotKill rule, which leads to the power-sacrifice mentioned above.