Superman's Lifespan

[supermanpal]

Okay so clark lifespan puzzles me a bit because from what i understand clark stays in his prime alot longer then human do and will outlive everybody else he know and loves.

So my question how long does clark live to be with his alien DNA?

In lois and clark tv show Dr.Hamlton says that by the time lois,perry and jimmy dies clark will still be in his prime and in the batman beyoud episode the call bruce wayne is in his late 70's i think and him a clark is to be the same age give or take a few years. But clarks seems to be in his mid 40's and i don't know much about the comic but i heard in DC one million clark went out to space and never came back to look for a way to bring lois back from the dead.

:cool: :cool: :cool:

[supermanpal]

Slow crowd tonight or stupid question you decided tonight on news 2 houston at 5 ?

[The Guitar Slayer]

Eh? Didn't get the last post, but I have a theory.

Superman's grey hair is from stress. Yes, his body is probably in prime condition, but between the events of Legacy and JL, anyone would have a few grey hairs. The Apocalyse of '09 probably contributed to it.

Or maybe Kal El is just one of the few poor Kryptonians that suffer from prematurely grey hair. :D

[Naraht]

I think the question is "What is Superman's Lifespan" and the answer is...whatever the writers decide it is. There is no set Kryptonians living on Earth will live to" answer.

[supermanpal]

The second post was just a stupid joke . :D :D :D :D

[Calhoun07]

Trying to imagine Superman eventually dying a natural death of old age is harder to imagine than Bruce Wayne dying (which is probably the one Batman Beyond story people DO NOT want told!). I agree....it's whatever the writers decide it to be. I doubt it would ever come into play outside of Elseworld type stories anyway, and the rules in those change so often I don't think we're gonna see anything concrete on it anytime soon.

[DR.MID-NITE]

Wasn't their a story plot in either a regular book or an elseworlds that showed that Bruce eventually starts using the Lazarus pits and becomes immortal? I remember reading a part where it is like thousands of years from now and Bats and Supes are still around. I think it was called "Generations"??

[Apache Chief]

But if Clark is going to live so long, then why did he reach adulthood at the normal rate? Why would just his "prime years" be streched out?

[metaphysician]

Because maturation and aging are actually two entirely separate functions. Aging can be completely retarded without having any effect on maturation.

[Calhoun07]

Originally posted by metaphysician
Because maturation and aging are actually two entirely separate functions. Aging can be completely retarded without having any effect on maturation.

That's true. Human physicalology (is that the right word? Cal tries to sound smart. :rolleyes: ) is set up where the body actually starts to kill itself off after you turn 20 or so. That's when your body starts to slowly wear down, whether you realize it or not. I forget the technical terms and the name of the gland but Clark Kent clearly doesn't have this problem with that gland.

Interestingly enough, humans used to live hundreds of years. Back in the days of Noah, it was nothing for people to live 800 or 900 years or even more. Of course, they didn't have kids until they reached 400 or 500 years old. Now, those were the days! Clark Kent repesents a more prefect form of man, and the prefect form of man was made to live a whole heck a lot longer than 70-80 years on average.

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by Calhoun07
Interestingly enough, humans used to live hundreds of years. Back in the days of Noah, it was nothing for people to live 800 or 900 years or even more. Of course, they didn't have kids until they reached 400 or 500 years old. Now, those were the days! Clark Kent repesents a more prefect form of man, and the prefect form of man was made to live a whole heck a lot longer than 70-80 years on average.

You just know someone's going to touch this, don't you, cal? ;)

So as a friendly face I'll be the first in line and try to ward off some of the debris.

Exaggerated boasts about the long lifespans of one's ancestors are pretty common around the world. So, absent independent corroboration they need to be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism. Biblical claims about the lifespan of the patriarchs, or about the life spans of human ancestors, need not be held in contempt, but they can stand a certain amount of qualification.

:)

[Kal-el]

From what I've read and discussed, much of what is mentioned in the bible is of a symbolic nature. An example of this would be creation happening in 6 days and the 7th day was for rest. Each "day" as the creation story describes most likely represents hundreds of thousands of years, with each developmental stage of creation given a new "day" to differentiate it. The same theory would go with the ages of major biblical characters. 800 years old may equal only 60 or 70 years old in contemporary terms...with 60 or 70 being a very advanced age for that time period.
Now, dealing with Superman and his aging, I see it this way. In his pre-teen and teen developing years, his body is absorbing the yellow sunlight, slowly yet consistently developing and enhancing his powers and physical prowess. Assuming the kryptonian physical development is similar to that of a human (a major assumption in my own personal little theory), his growth would stop anywhere from 16 to 19 years of age. His bones would then 'fuse' at the ends, thus stopping any further gains in height. Once his body reaches it's physical growth potential, his unique DNA wouldn't start breaking down for the next 60 to 80 years as a normal human would. This, combined with the constant solar energy he absorbs, may enhance the slow DE-generative properties of his physical make-up. Also, his "prime" would be a bit later in life, maybe around his late 40th year to his late 60th year (or beyond), as the rate of solar enhancements may be at their maximum by that point (of course, this is all very much speculation...it seems to work for me and in my enjoyment of Superman)
He may also have super-enhanced melenin, keeping his skin soft and wrinkle-free after all that sunlight he takes in :cool:

[Calhoun07]

From what I've read and discussed, much of what is mentioned in the bible is of a symbolic nature. An example of this would be creation happening in 6 days and the 7th day was for rest. Each "day" as the creation story describes most likely represents hundreds of thousands of years, with each developmental stage of creation given a new "day" to differentiate it. The same theory would go with the ages of major biblical characters. 800 years old may equal only 60 or 70 years old in contemporary terms...with 60 or 70 being a very advanced age for that time period.

This is like one of those unsolved mysteries things, really, because the fact is neither one of us were there. And I've read "scientific proof" on both sides of the coin to know that debating it really doesn't get anybody anywhere, because in the end, people tend to believe what they want to. All I have to say is if time was measured on a different scale for the Biblical writers, and a 70 year old man was determined to be 800 years old (which I do not buy. I think even back then they had an understanding of the 4 seasons and the rotation of the sun and such and had an idea that a year equalled 365 days. I don't know how accurate early calendars were, but I doubt they had them so screwed up they were measuring a few months as one whole year and were celebrating birthdays every sixty days or what have you!) then why do we read of men dying before they ever reached 100 after God said he would cut down the years of man's life? It was a judgement of God that ended the days of man's longevity as a result of sin. (and no, I am not quoting anything, for the same reason Stan Lee used big words in his comics without explanation. He figured if you want to know what it means, you will look it up yourself.) But like I said, none of us were there, so who really knows? But I don't read it as something to be taken symbolically.