Super Question

January 28, 2006 6:31 AM

I have a strange question, and maybe an answer, and am questioning whether I made the answer up, or actually read it somewhere... What does Superman do with his "street clothes" according to the cannon? I have a weird memory, but I may be totally making it up...

My memory is this:

He compresses them to the size of a pea, and stores it in a pouch in his cape.

That begs the question.... what does he do with his glasses?

Not earth-shattering stuff here, but I need to know if I made this up, or actually read/heard it somewhere. I'm old enough that I may have heard it on the old (George Reeves) Superman television show...

Thanks in advance.

posted by jpburns to media & arts (15 comments total)

... and by "cannon," yes, I mean canon...
posted by jpburns at 6:39 AM on January 28, 2006

According to the Wikipedia entry for Clark Kent, "When in action, Superman usually stores his Clark Kent clothing inside a secret pouch hidden inside of his cape, though some stories have shown him leaving his clothes in some covert location for later retrieval."

Also, by "begs the question," you mean "raises the question." (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
posted by brownpau at 7:06 AM on January 28, 2006

Makes you wonder what happens during those occasional fight scenes where we see his cape decimated, e.g., in the Superman: Birthright graphic novel.
posted by WCityMike at 7:13 AM on January 28, 2006

LOGICAL FALLACY COMICS
posted by funkbrain at 7:29 AM on January 28, 2006

Not a derail exactly I don't think.

I remember how much I loved this shot in Superman 2 when I was a kid where he'd just start running and he blurred and when he blurred his clothes just came off and disappeared. I tried to emulate that constantly. It's very difficult to disrobe while running. Especially when you're 4 and can't disrobe well in most stationary situations.
posted by Brainy at 8:24 AM on January 28, 2006

Spider-Man's "street clothes question" was usually answered with either "Let me just web my jeans and t-shirt under the eave of this brownstone over here. Nobody will notice." or "I'll just whip up an impromptu backpack out of webbing and wear it as I'm swinging." This made sense for Spidey, as he was a struggling photog and student. Clothes cost money and he didn't have much.

For Superman, I just figured he said "Screw this suit and tie, 'cause I'm Superman, dammit."
posted by grabbingsand at 8:29 AM on January 28, 2006

funkbrain!
posted by Hankins at 8:49 AM on January 28, 2006

Hankins!
posted by funkbrain at 9:19 AM on January 28, 2006

I think he probably just swallows his glasses whole, then retrives them later through Super-Regurgitation. He is basically an alien Houdini.
posted by Nedroid at 9:35 AM on January 28, 2006

His street clothes were reversible. This is what reversible-clothing technology was inspired by.
posted by user92371 at 10:10 AM on January 28, 2006

The compress-and-store-in-cape methodology was only true for the Silver Age Superman. It worked, in part, because the cape, like the rest of his outfit, was indestructible.

As WCityMike notes, above, it is common now for Superman's cape to be shredded in a fight. (The cape is not indestrucible in the current continuity.) So the cape is a poor choice for storage.

Based on my reading of the current stories, Superman leaves his clothes somewhere and comes back for them when he needs to change back. And, likely, he stashes changes of apparel in various places around the world, like in his Fortress.
posted by SPrintF at 11:12 AM on January 28, 2006

o/t: funkbrain, I LOVE those dino-comics -- thanks!
posted by davidmsc at 11:58 AM on January 28, 2006

On a related note, where do the raptors in WoW keep those weapons and armor that they drop when you kill them? I have to assume Superman's clothes end up smelling like ass.
posted by crunchland at 3:30 PM on January 28, 2006

Additional support, from "Superman, Last Son of Krypton" by Elliot S. Maggin, page 166:

"...the pouch in his cape where he kept his Clark Kent clothes compressed into little wafers."
posted by attercoppe at 4:36 PM on January 28, 2006

Does he keep an iron hidden somewhere too? Because, every time I compress my clothes into little wafers, They come out all wrinkly.
posted by graventy at 10:28 PM on January 28, 2006