SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH

'Superhuman strength', also called 'super strength' or 'enhanced strength', is an ability commonly utilized in fiction. It is the ability for any creature to be stronger than normally possible given their proportions. Characters with super strength have been found in many ancient mythologies and religions, which implies that the desire to be stronger than anyone else has been in a common form of wish-fulfilment or fantasy since the beginning of recorded history. Superhuman strength is a common feature across a wide range of mediums, such as novels, comic books, television, film and video games.
Nowadays, superhuman strength is used in for several characters in fantasy and sci-fi, with a variety of proposed mechanisms such as cyborg body parts or genetic modification and even telekinetic fields in science fiction, or divine or magical/supernatural sources in fantasy. A plethora of comic book superheroes and supervillains usually have a degree of super strength. The level of strength portrayed can vary greatly, from just outside the "normal" human range of the strongest weightlifters of a given size or muscle mass, to nearly unlimited. In most portrayals, superhuman strength is usually accompanied by superhuman stamina and durability as well.

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Feats of superhuman strength

Notes and references

See also

External links

Feats of superhuman strength

Super strength commonly portrayed in fiction and comic books allows for an abundance of feats with varying degrees of plausibility. A standard example is the ability to lift objects many times one's own weight or slow down or stop momentous objects. Impacting an object with considerable strength can make it move great distances. Strength can also allow the throwing of objects and people (Fastball Special) incredible distances. Some fictional characters find they can create a concussive force by slamming body, foot, or fist on the ground, or generate shockwaves with the force of a punch.
Strength and durability in tandem mean for some characters it is possible to run and smash through solid walls, barriers, and obstacles whilst losing little momentum. In some cases, the leaping of vast heights and distances is possible due to enhanced leg muscles as is scaling sheer surfaces by digging hands and feet into said surface.

Notes and references

See also

★ Superhuman

★ Übermensch

★ Superhero

External links

★ Response to Superhero Play: To Ban or Not to Ban?; Childhood Education, Vol. 74, 1997

★ The Homeric Way of War: The 'Iliad' and the Hoplite Phalanx (II); Greece & Rome, 2nd Ser., Vol. 41, No. 2 (Oct., 1994), pp. 131-155

★ Dependence in Anesthesia Providers; Psychosomatics 40:356-359, August 1999