Clark Kent's powers and abilities have grown more powerful as he's gotten older while under Earth's yellow sun. Each new Kryptonian ability has generally manifested itself suddenly and uncontrollably, as well as Clark has had to work to establish control without exposing his secret.
All of Clark's powers are linked to the Earth's yellow sun. He can absorb and store solar energy, which means he can grow increasingly powerful. If Clark's powers have upper limits at all, it is currently unknown. Clark recovers from any wounds more rapidly when he is exposed to direct sunlight. (Pilot, Perry, Fallout, Nemesis, Bizarro, Odyssey, Lazarus) Being able to save solar energy within his body inside his cells, Clark is capable of using his abilities inside roofed-structures, at night, or even in space for long periods of time before he must recharge.[1]
Clark was at first (somewhere around age 14) only aware only of his super strength and super speed. Soon after came his invulnerability. It took Clark over a decade to develop powers beyond strength and speed. However, as shown throughout the series, other Kryptonians arriving on Earth as adults have, in most cases, developed nearly the full array of Kryptonian superpowers in a very short time, including Jor-El and the Disciples of Zod. Though not justified, but it can be argued that the reason Clark's abilities took over a decade to develop may be because Clark has been on Earth since he was a toddler. Being that young, his body had to develop and grow. His body grows and develops as does his abilities. Other Kryptonians were adults when they came to Earth and because they already had matured physical bodies, is possible for their abilities to develop right away.
Clark can, though sometimes passively and inadvertently, absorb and store solar energy emitted from Earth's yellow sun inside his body. This solar energy is likely stored within his cells for conversion into fuel for his superhuman powers and abilities, as this process is the core from which his other abilities manifest. Despite the fact that Kryptonians require the rays of yellow sunlight to charge their abilities, they can use their abilities under roofed structures, in the dark or during the night and even while in space, indicating that Earth-bound Kryptonians under a yellow sun may act as solar batteries. Clark and Kara have both used their abilities in space. (Crusade, Hidden, Kara and Veritas)
When Clark is directly exposed to sunlight, his strength levels are greatly increased.[2] He also heals faster when in direct sunlight.[3]
Clark was not aware the source of his powers until Perry, where he learned that his powers come from Earth's yellow sun. This process is alluded to when Sean Kelvin gets a major power boost by sucking Clark's energy, but Clark eventually wakes up. (Cool)
Season 3: Clark's powers flicker on and off and he gets unpredictable and tremendous boosts of power during the unpredictable effects of a solar flare. After the solar flare ends, his powers are fully restored to normal levels. (Perry)
Season 6: Clark loses all of his abilities after exposure to kryptonite while trapped in some underground tunnels, although a certain amount of strength returned as he was climbing the ladder. After he escaped and was exposed to the sun, his powers were restored. (Nemesis)
Season 7: Bizarro knocked Clark down, but Clark landed under a hole in the wall, directly underneath a beam of sunlight. The sun healed Clark, allowing him to take Bizarro's best punch, then uppercut Bizarro high into the sky. (Bizarro) When Clark travels back in time via the Fortress of Solitude and goes to Krypton with Kara to stop Brainiac from killing his baby self, he loses his abilities due to exposure to the rays of the red sun of Krypton. When he sends his baby self to Earth and leaves the planet before it explodes via a portal, his powers are fully restored when he reaches Earth. (Apocalypse)
Season 8: Although largely powerless, he maintained some power, according to him, which he used for minor Super strength. When Clark was without powers, absorbing a large amount of yellow solar radiation in outer space regenerated his powers. (Odyssey)
Season 9: In the future, Clark was left powerless due to red solar radiation: however, Chloe's computer virus knocked out the solar tower, which brought back the rays of the yellow sun, thus allowing Clark to regain his powers. (Pandora)
Season 10: After Lois removes the blue kryptonite knife from Clark's body, he is bathed in yellow solar radiation, fully restoring his body and super powers. (Lazarus) Clark stood in the sunlight to relieve his headache after his first drunken night out. (Fortune)
Season 11: Emil theorized that Clark powers could go uncontrollable if he enters into the Sun (Haunted). During his battles with a Monitor, one of the few species than can actually hurt him, Superman flew many times closer to the sun and his wounds immediately healed. (Alien)
"Okay, that's doable, but then how are we gonna get the PIN? I mean, they keep those things under lock and key at the dealership. What are you gonna do, break in and rip open the safe?" – Chloe Sullivan, Recruit
Clark stacks three pickup trucks.
Clark's chief ability is that he is astronomically physically powerful. Even as a child, Clark broke doors, smashed tables, as well as put holes in walls during tantrums. As he ages, his strength significantly increases. As a teenager Clark can easily pick up vehicles, heavy-duty machinery, punch through reinforced steel, as well as throw humans across long distances. Most of the time, during his adolescent years, he used his super strength primarily to take care of the Kent Farm. Clark is still being seen lifting heavy farm equipment, plunging fence posts into the ground, or driving nails into wood with his thumb. (Perry, Sneeze, Action) He seemingly had super strength when the Kent's first found him. Clark's strength is magnified if he is in direct sunlight. (PerryandFinale)
Childhood: Clark was said to have put some holes in the walls during temper tantrums, as well as he was kept away from other children for fear that he might hurt them. Jonathan Kent told Roger Nixon that, as a toddler, Clark crawled under a 500-pound bed frame and lifted it over his head when Jonathan tried to get him. When he was 3, he broke the dining room table in half. When he was 6, Clark threw a 9-year-old through a door, tearing the door off its hinges and reducing it to splinters. (Leech, Zero, Vortex and Krypto)
Season 1: At age 14, Clark was able to, although off-screen, lift multiple pickup trucks and stack them up on each other without straining himself in the process. (Pilot) He later fights with Greg Arkin, a fellow high school classmate, as well as eventually overpowers him. (Metamorphosis) While talking with his friend Pete, Clark notices that Principal Kwan is trapped inside his car that is burning at Walt Arnold's will and easily rips Kwan's car-door from its hinges and tosses it across the parking-lot. (Hothead) Clark battles Sean Kelvin, as well as manages to overpower him when he threatens to take his family, friends, as well as the girl he loves, Lana Lang, from him. (Cool) Clark easily throws Harry Volk into a wall, as well as later manages to rip open a hatch on the corn filter to save his mother Martha from getting smothered. (Hourglass) During a school field-trip to Lex's power-plant, the students including Clark, are kept hostage there by Earl Jenkins. After Lex convinces him to release them, Clark runs to one of the primary gas-pressures and manages to twist the knob back, which surprises Lionel Luthor. Later, Clark manages to, despite the fact that Earl's skin calluses are laced with green kryptonite, pull both him and Lex up from a breaking bridge, suggesting that Clark experienced a brief adrenaline rush. (Jitters) Clark, while working alongside of Sam Phelan, throws a titanium-based safe from a window onto a road, landing right next to Sam. In a fit of rage because he father was sent off to jail, Clark destroys a wooden beam inside his house. While on the job for Sam, Clark picks up a bag and hurls it out of a window and it lands at least a yard away. (Rogue) Clark, to save his mother Martha, easily lifts a man by the name of Tyler Randall off his feet and hurls him into a set of boxes. (Reaper)
Season 2: After he entered the tornado, Clark was able to, despite the strong winds and currents of the storm, rip off the door of Lana's truck and pull himself in to save her (it is worth noting that Clark's ability to fly may have helped propel him into the truck). He was capable of lifting a mobile home with little visible strain. (Vortex)
Season 3: Clark's strength has increased dramatically since the first season. Clark, as Kal while under the influence of red kryptonite, smashes many heavy duty, reinforced ATM machines easily, as well as later overpowers some thugs at a bank. (Exile) As Kal, he fought with his father Jonathan, who had Kryptonian powers thanks to Jor-El: he showed some signs of difficulty in battling his superpowered father. (Phoenix) Clark was able to easily rip off Perry White's car door from its hinges and toss it aside. (Perry)
(Lionel) Clark prepared to snap Lex's neck "like a twig"
Season 4: While he was Kal-El of Krypton, he became extremely powerful, even more so than his human persona of Clark Kent, but after he got merged with Clark by Martha via black kryptonite, Clark lost this potential. (Crusade) Clark easily overpowers many military agents. (Gone) He pushes Mikhail into a wall, knocking him out and easily breaks apart a set of handcuffs. (Jinx) Also, when Lionel was inside his body, he threatened Lex he could snap him like a twig.
Season 5: Clark, after the two prime Disciples of Zod use the Phantom Zone bracelet, which opens a portal to the Zone, almost gets sucked into the vortex vacuum, manages to pull himself out and pushes them both into the portal, closing the door to the Zone. (Arrival)
Season 6: Only Aldar, a Zoner with vast super strength, was shown to be clearly stronger than Clark. (Static) Clark defeated Titan in a mortal combat with a few punches (Combat) and managed to fight Bizarro to a standstill until Lionel Luthor unintentionally supplied the latter with green kryptonite. (Phantom)
Season 7: Clark was able to send Bizarro into Earth's upper atmosphere with just one punch: at the time, he was powered up from being in direct sunlight. He also ripped a steel refrigerator door off its hinges to save Lois and Jimmy Olsen. (Bizarro, Descent)
Season 8: Clark, with no effort, ripped open a bus to free the survivors. However, Doomsday is significantly stronger than Clark who's completely helpless and powerless against him, though Clark was strong enough to overpower him while Doomsday was in his human form of Davis Bloome. His strength later got the better of him when he was frustrated about Chloe's situation and crumpled a file cabinet. (Plastique, Bride, Beast)
Season 9: Clark was easily able to catch a monorail train with no apparent effort and put it down carefully. Clark was easily able to tear off a limo car-door. After ripping the car-door from its hinges, Clark threw it to the side with tremendous force. (Savior, Hostage) While trying to rescue Lois Lane, Clark hit Zod with such force, he sent him sailing across Metropolis. Later, when slightly depowered by blue kryptonite, Clark is shown to still possess considerable strength, as he is able to lift Major Zod off his feet with a single punch. (Salvation)
Season 10:Clark grabbed the Daily Planet globe in the air and was still able to soar higher, without losing any momentum or speed, even though the globe weighed more than a ton. (Lazarus) Clark was able to effortlessly block and catch numerous attacks from Oliver, even though he was powered by Darkseid. (Finale, Part 1) He was capable of flying straight through Lionel-2's chest while Lionel was possessed and enhanced by Darkseid with no difficulty Then he was later able to save Lois and numerous government agents from crashing in a plane by lifting it back into position. He lastly was able to lift a full-sized planet rivaling Saturn in size and fly it into the upper atmosphere and back into space, showing no signs of strain in the process. (Finale, Part 2)
"I do realize it's a lot to ask, but I mean, you do run faster than a speeding bullet and I know you don't want to disappoint all of those underprivileged children." – Chloe, Lexmas
Clark dodges a bullet in Rogue, moving so fast that he is able to watch it fly by him.
Clark can move any part of his body at super-speed that specifically registers higher than the sound barrier. He can function in super-speed mode for eternity, theoretically. Due to his supercharged brain, through his hyper-brain activity, Clark can think at a very fast pace, allowing him to read very fast and to retain great amounts of information all at once. (Pilot, Instinct and Prey)
Even as a child, Clark could move faster than other kids his age and even full-grown adults, as iterated in Transference. Also, in terms of the limit of his speed, Lionel directly stated that Clark is capable of moving faster than the speed of light itself. Clark can push the limit of this ability when his loved ones are in danger. (Ryan, Crisis and Lazarus)
Also, Clark can swim extremely fast, but not as fast as Arthur Curry, who has outclassed him on several occasions (Pilot, Redux, Accelerate and Aqua). Also, as he grew older, Clark seemed to have gained the ability to run across water, like Bart. (Toxic, Apocalypse and Masquerade) As his abilities advanced and grew more powerful, somewhere along the way, he became able to use his X-ray vision while running at super speeds, as implied by Lois. (Masquerade)
Despite Clark's sharpened reflexes, he appeared unable to catch Alisha before she teleported away. (Unsafe), (Pariah) However, in Season 9 he is able to achieve teleportation-like speeds, so he could theoretically catch her (if she was still alive, of course).
Clark (like most, if not all, his abilities) can mentally control this ability, the rate, the intensity, as well as everything of it. (Nocturne, Fade, Turbulence) When playing football, Clark intentionally runs as a normal human would. (Devoted, Jinx) Somehow, when with no abilities from Blue kryptonite exposure, he, as blue kryptonite fire tilted onto Lois, ran from a ways away, taking the damage. (Harvest)
Although rarely seen, mainly because he used this ability and still does to save people, Clark can control and minimize the rate and speed of his movement, though when he is moving extremely fast, he can't slow down. In one instance, Clark purposely ran into Byron at super speed, elbowing him along the way, sending him flying across a lawn, though he most likely didn't use his true speed in this case, as that probably would have killed him. (Nocturne) While Clark was searching for a doctor for his friend Ryan, he was seen running around Smallville and other close towns, speeding up and then speeding down rather easily. (Ryan) When Clark was changing from his mild-mannered reporter clothes and into his Blur attire, he ran to a phone booth, everything was in slow motion, but he wasn't moving his fastest. (Booster)
At first, as growing teenager, his speed was incomprehensible to all humans except for those who were aware of his powers, as others would often notice his random, quick disappearances. During this time, Clark generally took the bus to school, unless he missed it, in which case he ran to school, as well as he would often use this ability to save the citizens of Smallville, Kansas.
Sometime after moving from freshman year to sophomore, then to junior year, Clark's speed increased, as he could travel to outside cities and towns in Kansas quite fast, shown when he travels to Hub City in about four minutes and showed no signs of tiredness afterwards.
As a humorous recurring theme, Clark frequently super-speeds away without any apparent concern that anyone present will notice his inexplicable disappearance.
Clark runs to find Ryan a doctor.
Clark's movements make him invisible.
Childhood: From a story Clark tells Martha Kent in Transference, it can be assumed that Clark developed this ability when he was 6, during a game of tag with his father: Clark claims that he suddenly found himself in the woods, all alone. However, he showed signs of enhanced speed as a toddler. (Lineage) When he first met Chloe at age 13, Clark used super-speed to retrieve a book that Chloe told him she lost. (Abyss)
Season 1: In Season 1, Clark was able to move very fast - way faster than automobiles. However, people could bear his speed. Furthermore, to his secret keepers, he could be seen as a blur, but to others, only could detect his movements if actually physically watching him. Clark runs to school from the Kent farm easily. (Pilot) Surrounded in flames, Chloe screams and Clark darts through the school, the halls and saves her in a matter of seconds. (Hothead) When realizing Sean's motive, he rushes to Chloe's defense, in a matter or minutes. (Cool) While at Metropolis' Museum, he, after talking to Lana, says he needs some air. He spots an out of control bus, which is heading towards a sleeping man and his dog, it comes inches from hitting them....but Clark, who was 20 feet away, appears in front of it, which heavily devastates the bus' structure. (Rogue) Later in the episode, Clark manages to dodge his first speeding bullet. When Lana is "attacked" in the forest, Clark is at her side momentarily. Later, Lex, while under the influence of Bob Rickman's persuasion, shoots Clark with an automatic weapon and Clark is unable to dodge them all. (Hug) When Chloe gets tossed out a window, Clark is unable to save her in time. (Kinetic) Clark saves Lana as she falls off the windmill in Chandler's Field. (Nicodemus) Sasha sends a swarm of bees bees at Martha and Clark even enters "Clark Time" and the bees, despite them flying at ferocious velocity, freeze and he saves his mom. (Drone) After Clark figures out that Chloe is buried alive underground in Chandler's Field, he super speeds to and up the ladder of the windmill rather quickly. Deputy Watts fires at Lana and Clark arrives in time to stop the bullet and was also able to stop a glass mirror from hitting her. (Obscura) Lana, near the end of the Season One finale, gets caught in a raging tornado, but Clark manages to run from the school to the tornado very quickly, knowing that she was in danger: he ran into the tornado to save Lana. (Tempest)
Season 2: Clark is kind of a smidgin faster than in Season 1, but again, his movements are still visible to those conscious of his movement, but not to those standing further away. Martha analogizes his speed to lightning, it's unknown if this designation is correct, it could be. Desirée Atkins, Lex's former wife, turns on him, as well as makes Jonathan Kent shoot him using her powers, but Clark arrives and destroys the bullet in mid-shot with his newest ability of heat vision. (Heat) Clark is seen shooting hoops and he throws the ball at the hoop and super speeds to it and then dunks it. While Pete attempts to leave, Clark at first hesitates, but then mysteriously appears in front of Pete's car, where he reveals his secret to Pete. (Duplicity) Clark is in swimming in a contest at school. Then suddenly, a classmate starts to sink and Clark dives underwater and swims over to him extremely fast. (Redux) Clark pushes his speed at little bit, as he runs from Smallville to an outside city called Hub City in a matter of (4) minutes to find his friend Ryan a doctor. (Ryan) Clark is seen talking with Pete when all of a sudden, he notices Emily Dinsmore rush by, so he super speeds and sees the raindrops in slow motion through accelerated vision. (Accelerate) Clark was able to easily out-run a high-voltage energy beam emitted from Frederick Walden. (Calling)
Season 3: Clark's super speed is now too fast for the human eye to see him, including those who are aware of his powers. Clark, as Kal while under the influence of red kryptonite, steals cash from a bank in Metropolis, causes great damage to many police cars and hurts many officers using his heat vision, then dashes away quickly. (Exile) Jonathan, after making a deal with Jor-El and gaining Kryptonian powers, battles with his son, Clark. Later on in the fight, Kal throws a rod at his father who dodges it and when he looks up, his son is gone, then he appears right behind him. (Phoenix) Clark was able to run from his house through other neighborhoods very quickly, but this power got jammed briefly during a solar flare. He then rushed over, ran through some power cords and saved Perry White. Later on, Clark's mother Martha calls him to come help her with something and Clark, while in Perry's eyesight, runs normally, but then he suddenly can't control himself and super speeds, then stops, then it starts up again as he runs off to help his mother. (Perry)
Season 4: By now, his speed has increased dramatically, although those conscience of his speed, like Jonathan or Martha, can perceive his movements. Clark, after being reprogrammed as Kal-El by Jor-El, was able to fly from the Kents' grounds to space, then to Lex's jet very quickly. Young speedster Bart Allen outraced Clark twice. (Crusade, Run)
Season 5: Clark is now fast enough to run vertical distances, running straight down a wall. He saved Lana from a C-4 explosion at Warehouse 15 what makes him evidently faster than 8.5 kilometers per second (the speed of the shockwave). Clark was even capable of running from Kansas to Honduras in less than 10 seconds. He ran from Smallville to Metropolis before Chloe could finish the sentence, "I think you'd better get over here." Clark also swam at super speed, managing to swim fast enough to catch up to an escaping Arthur Curry who was also using super speed to swim. (Lockdown, Lexmas, Void, Aqua)
Season 6: Clark's super speed is now depicted as instantaneous reappearance at his destination. Clark traveled from South America to Metropolis in a matter of minutes, but, at his own admittance, was still slower than Bart Allen (whose speed had also increased somewhat during the intervening time). Clark made the trip from the Kent barn to the Luthor Mansion instantly after Chloe was trapped in the wine cellar. Clark retrieved a button from several yards away and returned without Chloe even realizing he had left. He is much faster than a speeding bullet. He stated to Martha that Washington D.C. is no different for him than Topeka, only a few more seconds away, implying that Clark can run across the United States within seconds. (Justice, Promise, Progeny, Phantom)
Season 7: Clark ran from LuthorCorp Plaza to Smallville in a few seconds to rescue Pete from Lex. While approaching a weakened Brainiac, Clark moved considerably faster than ever before since the (visible) flow of electric charges came to a standstill from his point of view: this could mean that his speed is now somewhat on par with the speed of accelerated electrons. (Hero, Arctic)
Season 8: Clark is certainly too fast for people to see him, but as usual, the viewers can see the red/blue blur. He appears to be allowing this to happen, as he had demonstrated in the past that this was not unavoidable. Clark clarified that he can use his super speed to speed-read. (Prey) He was fast enough to save Chloe from Bette Sans Souci and easily ran to Brazil and back, apparently running over water to do so. When Lois was almost hit by a car, Clark saved her and all time seemed to be frozen: the scene revealed that the light from the flash of Jimmy's camera was moving slower than Clark, who moved approximately x1.5 the distance in the same time: i.e. Clark is able to move at least in the speed of light. At the incident, the camera managed to catch a picture of a blue/red blur. Lana, powered by the Project Prometheus suit, was capable of moving at a level of super-speed that rivaled Clark's at the present time and could possibly be even faster, though Clark was easily able to watch her movements in super-speed: to both of them, everything was at a complete standstill, even the bullet Tess Mercer had fired. However, judging by a few instances afterwards, Lana is a bit slower: Clark reaches destinations just a few seconds before Lana arrives, as seen twice. Apparently, Clark has been slowing from top-speed so people can at least see the fast-moving blur on videotaped footage and has also been working on changing between his Daily Planet work clothes and his usual red jacket/blue t-shirt outfit at super speed. He was barely fast enough to attempt and stop Chloe from killing Davis. When Clark super-sped to save Jimmy, it seemed he was able to stay in super speed for a few moments while exposed to a massive amount of kryptonite, but once he was weakened enough, he slowed and fell over. Clark was fast enough to stop Davis from killing Oliver. Clark was fast enough to grab a little girl from Doomsday without it or anyone really seeing him. By the season's end, Clark seems to have mastered changing between work-clothes and his red-and-blue: when he super-sped to go and attempt to save Chloe from Doomsday, the blur changed-colors as he ran through the Daily Planet office. (Plastique, Toxic, Identity, Power, Requiem, Turbulence, Eternal, Stiletto, Beast, Doomsday)
Season 9: He is now capable of moving at such great speeds that he can run to any place on Earth almost instantly: he does this at teleportation-like speeds. When Clark runs, he emits a blue or red aura depending on his clothing. Clark was fast enough to run from the ground to the top of a building instantaneously. (Savior). Clark was able to get coffee for Lois, put out a fire at the other side of Metropolis and run back to the Daily Planet all in approximately 2 seconds. (Rabid) Clark was fast enough to, after locating Oliver and Lois who were being shot-at, run in front of them and take the bullets, blast the gun with his heat vision and quickly catch the last bullet just before it hit Oliver, though oddly, the bullets seemed to be moving faster than they have in the past few years, as if he was either moving slower than usual, or, the bullets were faster than any he had encountered before. (Crossfire) Clark proved that he is fast enough to super speed over to some Daily Planet employee and steal their donut for Lois. It may be noted that no one seemed to notice Clark using his super-speed during this incident. (Echo) Clark moved so fast that in between the flickering of lights, he managed to subdue multiple guards between each flicker and then rescue Chloe from Checkmate and appeared in Watchtower almost instantaneously. (Checkmate)
Season 10: Clark's speed is now extremely vast and powerful. He pushed this ability to a higher velocity of speed than he even thought possible, as he
Clark using super speed
saved Lois from being burned to death and saved some Metropolis citizens from the Daily Planet globe tumbling on top of them. Lex's clone even though he couldn't save them both. (Lazarus) Clark was able to save Cat Grant from an explosion which was caused by a bullet that was fired into her car's muffler. At first, Clark didn't notice this until it was almost too late, but he was fast enough to save her in time before the car blew up. (Shield) Clark was able to move Cat Grant to a different location before her camera went off. (Isis) Clark was fast enough to save Lois from the explosion that destroyed the Talon, the explosion seeming to freeze from his perception. (Ambush) After being called by Lois, Clark ran from London to Metropolis in a matter of seconds. However, it remains unclear, if he used the country way over the Arctic and Canada or if he simply ran across the Atlantic Ocean. (Masquerade) Clark Kent was fast enough to run up a building and saved Tess from Clark Luthor. (Kent) He was fast enough to have a conversation with Booster Gold and run to his location in under a second. He later was able to change into his Blur outfit in Phone booth and deflect an energy blasted aimed at Cat Grant. (Booster) He told Lois he can unpack and set everything up in under 2 seconds in their new apartment. (Dominion) Fighting with an infected Oliver, Clark gets heaved out the chapel window, Lois gets thrown away with great force and Clark runs through the broken window and catches her before she is pushed out of the chapel. After having a conversation with his parents, he is able to run from the loft to Tess' car in a second. Clark runs from the Daily Planet to the decimated Luthor Mansion, up the stairs and into the house, very quickly. Clark, after harnessing the power of flight, flies to the Fortress very fast. He was also able to change out of his professional attire and don the Superman suit in a split second when flying out of the Fortress then flying to Metropolis and saving Earth from Apokolips. (Finale, Part 1 and Finale, Part 2).
Clark possesses a stamina phenomenally greater than humans. However long Clark can lengthily go without tiring, he eventually does need to rest or relax. He's seen resting/relaxing or getting up from bed in the following episodes, proving that he does need sleep on some level: Gone, Krypto, Lucy and Commencement Jonathan tells Clark, "You don't wanna be half asleep tomorrow when they hand you that diploma."
He can exercise for extended periods of time without tiring or straining himself and has sweated only rarely, such as during his power losses, while in the presence of Green kryptonite, while infected with Silver kryptonite (though his abilities were still intact), in the presence ofDesiree Atkins and finally, from a Phantom Zone virus. This ability has increased with age.
Season 1: Clark, at age fourteen, was able to do a lot of manual labor around the farm without straining his body and could use his abilities for long periods of time before tiring himself. After he missed the bus for school, Clark was able to run from the Kent farmhouse to school and appeared rather un-phased afterwards. (Pilot) Clark, after seeing that Chloe was enveloped in flames, was able to run through the schools' doors from the football field, through some hallways, up a flight of steps and appeared at Chloe's side unscathed. (Hothead) Clark was able to run from the Talon to the carnival grounds to save Lana from Watts, deflect a bullet and save her from a falling mirror without tiring. (Obscura) Clark was able to protect Lana from a raging tornado with some apparent difficulty. (Tempest)
Season 2: Clark was able to run to Hub City, a city outside of Smallville, to find a doctor for his friend Ryan and appeared completely unscathed afterwards. (Ryan)
Season 3: Off-screen as Kal, Clark was able to run from Metropolis to Lex's "funeral" without getting tired. (Exile) Still as Kal, Clark was able to fight his father Jonathan, who temporarily possessed Kryptonian powers and abilities, without tiring in the process. (Phoenix) Clark was able to run a vast distance from hotline headquarters in Smallville to save Lana from a bullet that had already been fired. (Crisis) Clark was able to brawl with Jeremiah, a young man who had gained Kryptonian powers from the use of the Starblade, without tiring. (Talisman)
Season 4: While under Jor-El's influence and operating as Kal-El, Clark was able to operate in extreme conditions, such as when he flew from his house, into space and into Lex's jet without fatigue. (Crusade)
Clark was able to chase and race a boy named Bart without tiring, though Bart was considerably faster than him. (Run) Clark was able to stop playing football for a brief moment, save Chloe in the interim and then continue playing football, all without tiring or alerting the crowd to his absence. (Jinx) Clark was able to battle the witch Isobel, who was in possession of Lana's body at the time, without becoming overly fatigued. (Sacred)
Season 5: Clark was able to resist the wormhold leading to the Phantom Zone with great difficulty by super-speeding out of it. (Arrival) While without his abilities, Clark was visibly sweating and tired while working on a barn-raising. (Mortal) After infection by a sliver of silver kryptonite, Clark's overall stamina appeared unaffected, though he did sweat and breath heavily during that time, which were likely psychosomatic responses to the paranoia induced by the silver kryptonite. (Splinter) Clark was able to deliver gifts to underprivileged kids throughout Metropolis on Chloe's request without tiring. (Lexmas) Clark was capable of running from the Talon to a medical facility, fighting guards and freeing Victor without tiring. (Cyborg) Clark was able to fight Zod, who was in possession of Lex's body, without tiring. (Vessel)
Season 6: Clark managed to survive the battle against General Zod with great effort. (Zod) Back from the Phantom Zone, Clark incubated a virus he had contracted while in the Zone, developing a cold. Though he appeared fatigued, he still managed to help rebuild Metropolis after the events of Dark Thursday. (Sneeze) Clark traveled from South America to Metropolis in a matter of minutes without tiring. (Justice) Clark was able to battle Titan without losing strength. (Combat) After Clark went up against Wes, he admitted to Chloe that Wes's blows hurt similarly to those of Titan, yet he was still able to overpower him. (Prototype)
Season 7: Clark battled Bizarro without losing strength. (Bizarro) Powerless due to exposure to blue kryptonite, Clark tired easily when he faced Zor-El. (Blue) While he was mentally engaged inside Lex's mind, Clark was completely powerless and Lex was able to pick him up with one hand. (Fracture)
Season 8: While he was without his abilities, Clark's stamina was shown as normal when he fought some Russians and failed to overpower them. (Odyssey) Clark runs from Kansas to Brazil and back again with ease. (Toxic) Clark grabbed Davis and supersped from the Talon to the Fortress without undue strain. (Beast) Clark fought Doomsday with great difficulty, but managed to imprison him underground. (Doomsday)
Season 9: Clark was able to save many lives and stop dozens of crimes in one night without tiring. (Savior)
Season 10: Clark ran from Lawson's Field to Miller's Field and put out a fire to save Lois and then ran to Metropolis to save citizens, showing of fatigue afterward. (Lazarus) Clark was able to run from London, England to the Daily Planet in Metropolis with ease, demonstrating the growth of this ability. (Masquerade) Clark was able to run from the Daily Planet to the Luthor Mansion, fight Darkseid, fly to the Fortress, redirect a plane and then cradle Apokolips and fly it to space, without showing fatigue. He can run and fly at super speed. (Finale, Part 2)
"You asked your father if we'd ever seen you trip before. Never. Not without kryptonite. I was so excited to see you get a chance to be like everyone else that I guess I forgot for a moment that you aren't. I didn't think anything of it when you tripped, but you've never had mishaps like other kids." - Martha, to Clark, Jinx
Clark is completely accurate in all of what he knows how to do, whether it be reading, playing sports, running, or throwing objects. This ability manifested over time. Green kryptonite and magic can impair this ability.
Season 1: Clark, at age fourteen, was more dexterous than normal humans. He trips while approaching Lana, due to her kryptonite necklace. (Pilot) Clark was able to catch a football thrown at Chloe with one hand and was able to throw it back at the guy easily, adding a bit of strength to his throw. (Hothead) Clark throws at bowling ball through several wooden boards obscuring the target and it hits James Gibson right in the chest, knocking him out. (Stray)
Season 2: While drawing his family tree, Clark uncharacteristically misses the bin when throwing a paper ball, which was likely due to his frustration and being distracted. He also misses the basketball hoop when playing basketball in front of Lucas Luthor but that might have been on purpose. (Rosetta, Prodigal)
Season 4: Clark trips due to the coercion powers of Mikhail Mxyzptlk. While trying to figure out what made him trip, Clark, Martha and Jonathan all confirm that he's never tripped before. Martha also tells Clark that she's "never seen you miss before", after Clark fails to throw a football through a swinging tire. He opens his hand, revealing that he is holding a shard of kryptonite. Also the majority of passes Clark throws while playing football appear to be with 100% accuracy. (Jinx) He also tripped while skating because he didn't know how to do it. (Unsafe).
Season 8: When Jimmy Olsen is being attacked by Randy Klein, Clark throws a rubber car tire at him from distance with pinpoint accuracy as well as not throwing the tire too hard to kill him considering Clark's super strength. Later, Clark is able to perform a super-powered jump with perfect accuracy: while carrying Doomsday, Clark jumps from Metropolis to a distant LuthorCorp geothermal facility. (Prey, Doomsday)
Season 9: As Clark was on the phone with Lois, he threw a can to the back of a crook's head with precise aim, ensuring that the crook would not escape from him. (Warrior)
"Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" - Lois to Clark, Crimson
Clark can leap extremely high distances, both vertical and horizontal, by combining his super strength with his super dexterity to perform highly accurate super leaps.
In some episodes, Clark has, without directly showing it on screen, been at the bottom of a building and somehow is then on top of the structure. This is hinted when he saves about 50 people, including Lois, who gets up to see the Blur, who was already gone and perched on a building above her. (Savior) It is implied again when Clark and Zod are seen on top of the Space Needle, suggesting that he leaped and Zod flew. (Upgrade)
Season 2: To save his mother from a siege at LuthorCorp Plaza, Clark leapt from the Daily Planet roof to the LuthorCorp building, leaping his 'first tall building in a single bound.'
Clark's first leap.
Season 4: Clark super-jumped from a bridge to the truck with the kidnapped Lois and the supposedly kidnapped Lucy Lane. (Lucy)
Season 5: Clark jumped very high onto a nuclear missile launching into outer space. (Hidden) Later, Clark jumped onto an upper level of the Fortress of Solitude with Lana in his arms in an alternate timeline. (Reckoning) Interestingly, before his leap onto the missile, force was seen gathering around him, just as it was right before he flew as Kal-El in Crusade.
Season 6: Clark leaped across Metropolis from the Daily Planet building to Queen Tower with Lois in his arms, after which she first stated the well-known line, "Leaping tall buildings in a single bound." (Crimson)
Season 8: When Clark was investigating an attack at the Ace of Clubs, he traveled from the ground floor to the upper balcony in a single jump. Clark leapt from the streets of Metropolis to the top of the Daily Planet easily: as seen in Crusade and Hidden, force is seen gathering around him before this super-jump. During his battle with Doomsday, Clark grabs the beast and takes a flying leap to a geothermal facility that has a deep tunnel where Doomsday is trapped. (Prey, Hex, Doomsday)
Season 9: Clark super leaps to Chloe's rescue after Zatanna's counterspell blast her off the rooftop. (Warrior) Later he leaps onto a rooftop after saving Lois. (Charade)
Clark catches the globe.
Season 10: Clark super leaps off a cab to catch the Daily Planet Globe in mid-air though it can be argued that he also did some flying. (Lazarus)
"I know it could've been the wind, but all of a sudden, I was moving toward the truck and it felt like I was willing myself to do it. It felt like I was flying." - Clark, to Jonathan, Vortex
Kal-El flying in Crusade.
Clark Kent can defy the laws of gravity, allowing him to levitate, hover, as well as fly at extremely fast velocities.
After he fully embraced and basked himself in his destiny, he has learned how to fly. After gaining this ability, he lunged towards a possessed Lionel Luthor of Earth-2, and destroyed both him and defeated Darkseid with his fists. In a rather short amount of time, Clark has proven to have completely mastered this ability.
In Crusade, a mind-controlled Kal-El at age 17 could fly, but, later as a 24-year-old, Clark was unable to after the merging of his other side.
It is possible that like X-ray vision and super breath and other powers, it has to be physically developed. It is also possible that his childhood spent on Earth under the influence of Earth's yellow sun, which gave him his powers, also hinders their development.
In addition, flight among Kryptonians does not seem to be universal. Some Kryptonians have flown, like his father Jor-Elwhen he was on Earth in 1961. His cousin Kara Kent can fly as did the replicant of his uncle Zor-El. General Zod when he possessed Lex Luthor's body in could also fly despite the body not being biologically Kryptonian. However, other Kryptonians couldn't (or didn't know they could) fly. The Disciples of Zod in Arrival didn't demonstrate an ability to fly and like Clark, ran everywhere at high speed. Raya didn't fly in Zod, Reunion, or Fallout but ran with Clark.
In Metamorphosis, Clark dreams of himself floating above Lana and wakes up floating above his bed.
Despite the fact Clark has never truly flown, he has broken the laws of gravity often. In these instances, somebody has been pushed off a ledge and Clark has then jumped off after that person has already fallen a good-distance. Despite the fact Clark should be unable to reach the ground before the person that fell first, he has been able to will himself downward faster, allowing him to save that person.
After 10 years of trials by Jor-El, all mental blocks that don´t allow him access to this power were broken and mastered it in matter of seconds.
He was also able to defy the laws of gravity in other ways, without necessarily flying. These instances are in red text. Instances where Clark has floated/flown or attempted to fly under normal circumstances are in blue.
Season 1: After dreaming of flying and floating, Clark awoke several inches above his bed and immediately fell and destroyed it afterward.When he saved Jonathan from being sliced, he fell faster than his father and seemingly broke the law of terminal velocity. (Metamorphosis) It is possible that feats such as this are possible due to Clark being able to alter his own density and weight, though it is safe to assume that the audience is meant to think that Clark is able to defy gravity without really flying: instances of gravity-defying are most likely signs that he is beginning to learn how to fly and are arguably possible because Clark is, over time, accepting his destiny, if not only subconsciously.
Season 2: While being blown about in a tornado, Clark felt as if he might be flying.He jumped off of the top of the dam to save Chloe after she was thrown off by Ian Randall, but Chloe had already been thrown off, so Clark must have been utilizing some kind of external force: gravity alone could not have pulled him down first.He dreamed of flying to the Kawatche Caves and woke up in the middle of Route 8, apparently having flown there in his sleep. (Tempest, Vortex, Dichotic, Rosetta) Clark super-leaped for the first time, taking a superspeed-running leap from the Daily Planet rooftop into LuthorCorp Plaza. (Insurgence)
Season 3: During his stay on Earth, Jor-El once demonstrated the power of flight. It foreshadows that Clark will eventually obtain this ability. Clark was only able to fly with the help of "Kara". (Relic, Covenant)
Season 4: After Jor-El "reprogrammed" Clark into Kal-El, his Kryptonian talents were increased and also gave him the ability to fly. When Kal-El was defeated, however, Clark explained that he was still "earthbound." (Crusade)
Season 5: When Lex was possessed by Zod, he threw a phantom Zone bracelet outside the Clark's loft and Clark jumps out to stop it from putting someone or something else in the Phantom Zone. Clark could have flown then since he was focused on stopping that bracelet. (Vessel) - Although one could argue that he was pulled into the Phantom Zone by the bracelet since he left the barn back first and appeared to be against his will.
Season 6: Bizarro's flight out of Reeves Dam perhaps indicates Clark's potential to fly, since the wraith extracted a sample of his DNA to create a Kryptonian host. (Phantom)
Season 7: Clark was able to run across a broken bridge by running on nothing but air, heavily indicating that he levitated over the section where bridge was missing. (Bizarro) Clark was able to accelerate his fall in order to save Lana from a fatal fall, similar to when he saved Chloe five years earlier. (Action)
Season 9: Clark confronts Jor-El about not being able to fly. Jor-El informs him that his powers lie within him and that his physical composition is no different than Kara's, but that Clark still thinks of himself as human. Clark deduces that his inability to fly is all in his head. Later, in a mental trial, he attempted to fly, leaping off the Statue of Liberty, but did not succeed. (Savior)
Clark and Lois flying off of the Daily Planet.
Season 10: Clark made a super-leap to catch the Daily Planet globe. However, when he caught it, he stopped in mid-air for a brief second, but then he carried the Globe back to the top of the building: later, he told Jor-El that it felt like he had been flying, if only for a moment. (Lazarus) When Kara again attempted to teach Clark how to fly, he briefly flew through the air, but lost concentration and fell down and through the roof of the barn. (Supergirl) While Clark was dancing in the barn with Lois, he levitated off the ground as they danced, his eyes closed and in that moment, seemingly unaware that he was even doing it. (Homecoming) Later when both he and Lois were trapped in cyberspace, Clark flew with Lois to escape: he later stated that he still could not fly in the real world, but had faith that he would someday fly. (Collateral) Clark ability to fly was unblocked for the first time while fighting against Darkseid, allowing him fly over the skies and hover on air at will. (Finale, Part 2)
Season 11: After gaining his power of flight, Clark finds himself often in space. Clark has admitted that ever since he gained the power of flight, he has became slower whenever he runs but he is nearly as fast as Impulse when he flies. This is the ability he uses the most after defeating Darkseid.(Finale part 2, Smallville Season 11, Alien, Chaos)
The Future: In Clark's dream of the year 2013, Clark flew and caught a runaway plane before it hit the Daily Planet globe. (Salvation) In the future year of 2017, Clark witnessed his future self fly off as Superman at super speed to save the city of Metropolis from a nuclear explosion. (Homecoming)
"Clark, you don't hesitate to run into a burning building or jump in front of a bullet because nothing can penetrate that iron flesh of yours." – Chloe, Promise
Clark is virtually impervious to harm. After this ability first manifested in Clark after he got hit with Lex Luthor's car (Although it may have been active before then and Clark simply never knew it as he was never in a position to be hurt badly enough for him to notice its existence), he became extremely resistant to harm through some mystical genetic aura that surrounds him. Much like his strength, speed and hearing, his durability capacity potential increases as he gets older and he has been said to be stronger than steel.
Clark doesn't seem to need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep to maintain himself. But because he was raised on a farm, he can be seen eating sometimes.
The invisible aura that surrounds seems to sometimes extend some invulnerability to his clothing, as well, but this has not been portrayed consistently. In one instance, Lana, while being possessed by a witch, tries to cut Clark's hair with scissors but they break after it touches Clark's hair.
At first, as growing teenager, Clark was unable to get sick by earthly diseases and sicknesses, he was unaffected by extreme temperatures, as well as knives, swords and maces wouldn't leave even a scratch on him, as they would only break over his skin and bullets couldn't penetrate his skin but would often leave behind bruises, but a lot of metahumans' abilities worked on him.
As he grew older and more powerful, in addition to being resistant to the list above, Clark has become almost indestructible.
Clark is shot with an automatic weapon.
Season 1: Jonathan was shocked when, at age 14, Clark stuck his arm into a running wood chipper and then removed it without harm. Clark casually walks through fire. (Hothead) Weather/temperature doesn't affect him: when talking with Chloe, he's adamant that he isn't cold, with it being below 20 degrees. (Cool) With meteor rock in hand, he survives being struck by lighting in the heart, but of course, he feels pain, as by the kryptonite. (Leech) He survived having a generator dropped on him and a bus exploding around him. When a medieval weapon slammed into his face (by a fellow teenager who presumably had ordinary human strength), it shattered, but Clark seemed to show pain, though that might have been because the boy was covered in a kryptonite formula that made him invisible, though a moment later Clark exhibited super-strength enough to throw the boy flying (unless the paint dumped on the boy somehow canceled out the kryptonite). Clark was shot with an automatic weapon and the bullets only left large bruises all over his body. Tyler Randall could cause Clark's face to turn darker for a moment where he had instantly killed anyone else he touched. Clark deflected a bullet with his bare hand and used his own body to shield Lana from broken glass. Clark survived when Roger Nixon tried to blow up his truck with Clark inside, but Clark commented that he almost didn't even feel the heat from it. (Pilot, Hothead, Cool, Rogue, Shimmer, Hug, Kinetic, Reaper, Obscura, Tempest) Clark is not depicted as completely indestructible throughout most of this season (he was surprised to survive when Nixon blew up his truck, hinting that even in earlier examples when no visible injury is apparent, he might still feel pain on occasion), mostly when it comes to meteor freaks. Clark mentioned later in Vortex that, while inside the tornado he ran into in order to save Lana, things were "bouncing off him": however, he left the tornado without any visible injury. (Tempest, Vortex )
Season 2: Clark didn't sweat during a heat wave that hit Smallville. While under the influence of red kryptonite, Clark demonstrated his invulnerability by shooting his own hand with a handgun at point-blank range. Other than superficial gunpowder marks, no injuries were seen. (Heat, Red)
Season 3: Clark's body is now strong enough to take dozens of bullets with ease. He was able to block a bullet with his chest and did not suffer any injury. (Exile, Crisis)
Clark takes a copious energy surge unscathed.
Season 4: Clark was able to repel bullets fired from point-blank range. He states that he is immune to the effects of alcohol. Also, Clark was immune to Geoff Johns' metahuman paralysis power. Though they harmed him, he was able to survive Isobel's magical energy blasts, which were powerful enough to kill humans instantly. Later, an evil version of Lex drops a massive concrete slab on top of him, which instead of crushing him, splits in half upon contact with his back, allowing him to absorb the brunt of the block while protecting Chloe Sullivan. When Evan Gallagher's accelerated aging caused a massive surge of energy that destroyed the windmill in Chandler's Field, Clark took the brunt of the blast with his own body and emerged relatively unscathed. (Lucy, Recruit, Sacred, Onyx, Ageless)
Season 5: Clark was able to survive in the vacuum of space for a short amount of time, atmospheric re-entry from orbit, a distant nuclear explosion and the effects of heat vision from another source. While powerless, Clark stubbed his toe and was amazed that it could hurt so bad. (Arrival, Hidden)
Season 6: Titan made Clark bleed after repeated punches, but he showed little pain. Wes Keenan's super-powered punch didn't cause Clark to bleed. Clark was unharmed by Baern's radiation blast, though he was stunned for a few moments. When weakened by kryptonite dust, his left arm was impaled by a large piece of shrapnel, which he failed to notice until Lex pointed it out to him and he also survived after the ceiling collapsed on him. (Combat, Prototype, Fallout, Nemesis)
Season 7: Intensive exposure to sunlight enabled Clark to endure Bizarro's best punch unharmed. Clark entered Lex's mind within the framework of Project Intercept, but Clark's central nervous system proved to be immune to the fatal side effects of the procedure. (Bizarro, Fracture)
Bullets bounce off of Clark.
Season 8: Clark was unaffected by Bette Sans Souci's energy-blasting powers, the blast deflected back at her and knocking her to the ground. Faora, wife of Zod, threw him so hard it nearly immobilized him. A bullet bounced off of Clark and apparently went back to the shooter at a speed capable of injuring the man. In the alternate time line in which Clark reveals his identity, he was attacked by multiple gun-toting federal agents, whose shots prove completely harmless and display the same ricochet effect seen in Bulletproof. Clark was severely injured by the atomic axe of the Persuader. Assuredly, Clark was not harmed at all from jumping from a falling Queen Industries jet. When Clark took a bullet for Lois, he was severely injured due to the exposure to a vast amount of kryptonite. Even when at full strength, Doomsday was still able to overpower Clark and cause him to bleed. (Plastique, Bloodline, Legion, Bulletproof, Infamous, Turbulence, Stiletto, Doomsday)
Season 9: Clark was completely unaffected by the explosion created by the bomb after he used his own body to contain the effects of it. When Rick fires his gun at Lois and Oliver, Clark steps in and the bullets bounce right off his chest not leaving a scratch. (Echo, Crossfire)
Season 10: Even with a dagger of Blue Kryptonite logged in his abdomen, Clark retained a portion of his invulnerability. This is evidenced when his body remains relatively undamaged when he hits a street pavement after falling more than a dozen stories, when it should have been pulverized upon landing. (Lazarus) Clark was completely unaffected, when the car that he and Cat Grant were in exploded, due to a bullet been shot through the exhaust by Deadshot. (Shield) Clark may be physically invulnerable, but he isn't mentally. His doubts about himself have made him vulnerable to the dark force inhabiting Gordon Godfrey, also known as Darkseid. (Supergirl) While depowered by Blue Kryptonite, a fire merely scorched his back instead of incinerating him. (Harvest) Later, Clark was in the last vigilante prison facility when Slade Wilson activated the self-destruct mechanism. The explosion did not harm Clark in any way, who was inside a kryptonite cell at the time. (Patriot) Clark is able to shrug off blows from Conner Kent, which while taking him off his feet and sending him through solid walls, did not appear to actually hurt him. (Scion) Clark Kent was uninjured when he was smashed into the Fortress by Clark Luthor. (Kent) He was able to take an energy blast to the chest without any damage. (Booster) He was able to be heaved out of a window and fall 3 metres and take a beating from an infected Oliver. (Finale, Part 1) He was then able to survive being thrown threw the loft by Darkseid uninjured. (Finale, Part 2)
Although some metahumans get their power from kryptonite, Clark is often immune to them.
Physical immunity
Clark was mostly unaffected by Jeremy Creek's electric shock. A more intense voltage threw him back a bit, but he was not hurt. (Pilot)
When Sean Kelvin first absorbed Clark's heat from his body, he suffered hypothermia, but regained consciousness in a few minutes. The second time he was largely unaffected. (Cool)
Tyler Randall was able to temporarily darken his skin and cause him pain, but could not turn him into ash. (Reaper)
Due to the remarkable effects of the yellow sun, Clark possess a regenerative ability. Clark can heal his body from virtually any wound instantly, as long as he is not exposed to green kryptonite. If Clark is wounded due to the presence of green kryptonite, he heals automatically once it is removed. This extends to internal healing, such as blood purification, since the Lazarus serum (made out of his blood) was ineffective after kryptonite exposure. If he is wounded by other aliens, Clark might remain unconscious for several hours before waking up, fully recovered. This ability is peculiar, in that it's not normally displayed or demonstrated, as it's nearly impossible for Clark to get hurt anyway.
Despite this, he can, by certain forces (kryptonite, some cosmic weapons, Jor-El, other Kryptonians, etc.), get hurt. There are even some objects than can permanently scar his body, like the Star Blade/Palak and Gold kryptonite.
While fighting an enemy who can somehow damage Clark (e.g. Aldar, Titan, Gloria, Bizarro, Kryptonians, etc.), Clark's healing factor is especially critical.
Season 1: When his powers, stolen by Eric Summers, were returned to Clark, a wound on his forehead was closed instantly. (Leech)
Season 2: Thugs overpowered Clark with green kryptonite and threw him into a furnace, but after they left, Clark was able to recover, break out of the furnace and heal himself. (Witness)
Season 3: Clark healed immediately after exposure to kryptonite bullets. He remained unconscious for a while after the bullets were removed, before recovering fully. Clark was blinded by a combination of kryptonite and his own heat vision, but it didn't begin to heal until a blowtorch passed over his eyes. (Extinction, Whisper)
Season 4: The citizens of Smallville are affected by a deadly LuthorCorp experimental toxin and Clark is infected as well. Unlike the other victims, Clark eventually recovers and wakes up from his nightmare on his own. (Scare)
Season 5: While Clark's powers were taken by Jor-El, Clark is shot and killed. However, he revives and his bullet wound heals after he regains his abilities. (Mortal, Hidden)
Season 6: After being thrown into a field by General Zod, Clark wiped blood clean from his face, revealing he had completely healed. He completely healed in a few seconds after being impaled in the abdomen by Gloria's deadly vines. (Zod, Wither)
Season 7: During his battle with Bizarro, Clark demonstrates that his healing factor is tied to, or at least augmented by, exposure to direct sunlight: in their second encounter in Reeves Dam, Bizarro caused Clark to bleed, but Clark healed almost instantaneously upon moving into direct sunlight. Edward Teague surrounded Clark with kryptonite and carved symbols into his chest, but when Chloe removed the kryptonite, a yellow glowing light surrounded Clark and he was instantly healed. (Bizarro, Quest)
Season 8: After he was shot through the heart by a mind-controlled Green Arrow while temporarily powerless, the Martian Manhunter took Clark all the way to the sun, where its radiation allowed Clark to both regain his powers and recover from his injuries. Assuming, he healed from being shot, though how he did so without Lois or Jimmy noticing is unknown. Clark also healed from his wounds automatically after Jimmy removed the kryptonite arrow from his shoulder. Later, he is able to heal from the massive beating he took at the hands of Doomsday. (Odyssey, Stiletto, Doomsday)
Season 9: Clark took damage from Alia's attack, while vulnerable because of blue kryptonite. Afterward, he healed quickly. (Savior)
Season 10: After Lois removes the blue kryptonite knife from Clark's body and throws it a great distance away from him. Clark begins to regain consciousness just as the first sunrise begins. Clark is bathed in the yellow sun rays which heal his wounds and restores his powers. (Lazarus) Clark is slashed in the abdomen with a sickle by the village leader who had Blue kryptonite in his body and once the villagers buried him in the ground and were at a safe distance away from him, he is automatically healed just in time to save Lois from being burned alive by blue kryptonite fire. The fire burns the back of Clark's skin as he shields Lois with his body and once the people move far away from him, his powers are fully restored and is healed instantaneously. (Harvest) Clark healed from being scratched by Harriet's claws. (Abandoned)
Season 11: He was immediately healed from his wounds caused by a Monitor, when he stood in the sunlight. (Alien)
Season 3: Clark's blood has the power, when converted into the Lazarus Serum, to revive the dead for twelve hours, although this was only applicable to those who had died of a particular liver disease and required regular doses of the serum. (Resurrection)
Season 4: Clark's blood (or soul) was able to heal Lionel Luthor's liver when their bodies were swapped. (Transference)
Season 9: Clark's blood was used in part to cure an airborne virus that was created and released by Coats, which turned the citizens of Metropolis into zombie-like creatures. (Rabid) A drop of Clark's blood can bring back even a depowered Kryptonian from a seemingly fatal wound and also restore their Kryptonian powers. (Conspiracy)
Season 10: Clark's blood was used by Lex Luthor to correct genetic flaws in a clone of himself, creating Conner Kent. (Scion)
"Hold on a minute, are you telling me that you can see through solid objects?" – Chloe Sullivan, Blank
Clark sees Pete's muscles.
Clark recognizes Tina Greer's skeleton.
Clark can see through literally anything except for lead. As pointed out by Lois, Clark could potentially use it while super speeding.
Clark developed this ability at age 14 shortly after starting high school. Clark can see through any solid object except for lead. The exact mechanism by which he does so is not yet known. His X-ray vision has been depicted to function at varying degrees. Originally, he was depicted as being able to control whether he saw an x-ray like image of the skeletons of those he was looking at, or simply saw through solid objects. The latter has only been seen in the first and second seasons.
At this point, he has mastered both aspects both: full-color and x-ray and the scope and power of this ability have been enhanced.
Season 1: Clark first discovered his X-ray vision when he saw a bank robber with green bones. Later, he saw Pete's muscular structure and saw through the wall into the girls' locker room. Finally, it settled down and consistently manifests itself (at least to the audience) as images similar to x-ray photographs. (X-Ray)
Season 2: Clark used his X-ray vision to identify Tina Greer. Although she has disguised herself as Whitney Fordman, he recognized her kryptonite-infected bones. Clark read through the cover of his teacher's grade book to peek at Pete's shop class grade. Clark was able to see a birthmark through Chloe's clothing, implying that his X-ray vision is not exclusive to an X-ray-like image. He used his X-ray vision to see a metal plate in a masked robber's head and later was able to identify the robber without his mask. (Visage, Dichotic, Red, Witness)
Season 3: Clark's X-ray vision has by this point gotten stronger. He can now zoom in over large distances, when he tried to find Lana and rescue her. (Slumber)
Season 4: While at the top floor of a hotel, Clark used his X-ray vision and looked down an elevator shaft all the way to the ground and focused on a particular object. (Bound)
Season 5: While about to rescue Lana again, Clark zoomed in and scanned the area in a matter of seconds. Clark was able to see Victor Stone's internal robotic parts. (Lockdown, Cyborg)
Season 6: Clark X-rayed Chloe to get the tracking device out of her. He also found a tiny tracking device on Lex's car by X-raying it. He was able to tell Lana was pregnant just by looking at her. (Freak, Progeny and Crimson)
Season 7: Clark used X-ray vision to uncover Lana's secret viewing station at the Isis Foundation in Wrath.
Season 8: Clark used his X-ray vision to uncover Maxima's symbol underneath scorch marks on the pavement. He detected Randy Klein who was trying to choke the life out of Jimmy. Clark used his x-ray vision to find the sniper rifle in Joe Simmons's car. He also x-rayed a field to find Doomsday's victims. (Instinct, Prey, Bulletproof, Eternal)
Season 9: Clark used his X-ray vision to uncover the bomb Toyman had placed under Oliver. Clark also used his X-ray vision to uncover Jor-El's crest underneath sand in the desert. Clark x-rayed Oliver's office to find his Celtic arrows. Clark X-rayed Kent Nelson's bag and found the Helmet of Nabu. Clark used his x-ray vision to find the enchanted comic book. Clark found Siobhan's portrait underneath Bevan McDougal's using his x-ray vision. Clark x-rayed John Jones to find an earpiece hidden in his jacket and later x-rayed Tess's office to find her hidden weapons. (Echo, Kandor, Disciple, Absolute Justice, Part 1, Warrior, Escape, Checkmate)
Not much is said or confirmed about these abilities to date. It can be inferred that Clark's vision has evolved gradually over the course of time, probably starting somewhere around season two. His microscopic vision or rather "microvision" first manifested at age 23 while investigating a string of murders. (Masquerade) His telescopic vision first manifested when he looked at a diagnosis report from afar so he could locate his friend Ryan. (Ryan)
Clark currently uses his enhanced eye sight to watch over the people of Metropolis from the Daily Planet rooftop.
Clark demonstrates some extent of his enhanced eye sight (Clark x-rays an entire field).
Clark can see vast distances via telescope.
Clark's accommodation has apparently been improved recently. Not only can he can magnify his x-ray vision to see through objects at a greater distance away but also can see 50 feet away as well as tiny residues on people's bodies.
Season 1: Clark reads "Pepper" on a dog tag on the floor from the next room. He spots Chloe in a buried coffin from the top of a windmill. (Reaper, Obscura)
Season 2: From down the street, Clark sees Rachel Dunleavy attack Lex. To find Ryan, he reads the roster from the other side of the desk. He reads his shop teacher's grade book from across the classroom. (Lineage, Ryan, Dichotic)
Season 3: Clark telescoped his X-ray vision to find Lana at a great distance. He looks through the trees to find her in her car about to be blown up by Nicholas Conroy. (Slumber)
Season 4: Clark can focus particular objects from a greater distance, as seen in an elevator where he scans the floor several meters under his feet (see X-ray vision). Clark can perceive various details from outer space by looking through an ordinary telescope, whereas a human (Lois) can just see a cloudy picture with clusters of stars. While using X-ray vision, he was able to see a LuthorCorp ID chip under a dog's fur. (Bound, Lucy, Krypto)
Season 6: Unlike Chloe, Clark was able to recognize Raya on a satellite image that shows a crater in Australia. (Reunion) Clark was able to see Oliver's tower clearly from the Daily Planet rooftop. (Crimson).
Season 7: Clark scanned every inch of the Luthor Mansion with his x-ray vision and therefore had to have used telescopic and microscopic vision. (Descent)
Season 8:When Martian Manhunter was shot, Clark zoomed in on his hospital bed to see his face. (Bulletproof) When Clark and Chloe were searching for Davis they found his car abandoned, his car was abandoned at the exact field where Clark's ship landed: Clark then saw the field was full of dead bodies and then zoomed in on the entire field using X-Ray vision combined with his enhanced eyesight, in which a field full of skeletons was revealed to Clark. (Eternal)
Season 9: It is assumed that Clark uses this ability along with super-hearing to monitor the city of Metropolis from the rooftop of the Daily Planet. Clark has learned over a span of approximately 2–3 years how to control this ability. As of now, Clark can see 50 feet in every direction. Clark quickly zooms-in on the bomb under Oliver's feet with his X-ray-vision. (Echo) Clark quickly zooms in on Lois and sees her hanging from a flag pole and he super speeds to the roof of the Daily Planet to save Lois. (Idol) During a phone conversation, Clark tells Chloe that he can see 50 feet in every direction. (Upgrade)
Clark uses his Microscopic Vision.
Season 10: Clark uses his Microscopic vision to find ink residue on the body of a victim. Clark has referred to this ability as "micro vision". (Masquerade)
Season 11:Clark mastered this ability thanks to the help of Emil. While high in the air he was able to squint his eyes and spot something happening miles away in an alleyway in Metropolis. Clark also used this ability to see what was the glowing green object that was coming towards him. (Lantern)
Multi-spectrum Vision
Clark displaying Multi-spectrum Vision.
Season 3: Clark was typing without any of the school Torch's lights on and Chloe came in and turned it on. (Asylum)
Season 6: Clark used his powers all night trying to repair the damage done as a result of Dark Thursday, obviously meaning he at some point learned how to see things in the dark at least at a superhuman level (although he seemed blinded by the helicopter's light in "Gone," which might be an error or the actor, Tom Welling, was blinded while rolling as Clark). (Sneeze)
Season 8: Clark could see perfectly in a heavy shower of steam. (Committed)
Season 11: With the help of Emil, Clark learned that his sight was not limited to visible light and x-rays but allows him to see the entire electromagnetic spectrum enabling him to see gamma radiation, ultraviolet radiation, infrared radiation, microwave radiation and radio waves. This would also allow him to see in the dark and thermal heat signatures. Using his multi-spectrum vision he was able to tell that a spaceship had a leak of radiation. (Guardian)
"I started to feel hot. And my eyes started to burn. All of a sudden, the spot I was staring at burst into flames." – Clark, Heat
Clark's heat vision goes off without warning.
Clark can emit heat/shoot fire and microwave heat from his eyes. The actual temperature of this is unclear, however it's enough to cause objects to combust or melt and can also deflect moving objects, possibly by causing rapid expansion of the heated air in the objects' path.
This power first manifested at the age of 15 and was linked to Clark's level of sexual arousal. Since developing this ability, Clark has also learned to control the temperature for varying tasks. He has used it to pop popcorn, light candles and warm up hot chocolate and baby bottles, but can also increase the temperature enough to vaporize bullets, fix leaky drainpipes and weld metal. He can shoot a steady beam of heat or intermittent blasts. The heat can effect only the surface of an object like a laser, or heat it evenly throughout like a microwave beam. By Season 6, his control is pinpoint-accurate enough to burn through Chloe's shoulder and stop directly in front of a microchip that was implanted there without causing her serious injury and the maximum intensity is comparable to a nuclear weapon.
Season 2: It first manifested itself during a summer heat wave. Humorously, Clark's first brush with heat vision occurred while watching an educational video about sexual reproduction: Desirée Atkins, an attractive teacher, taught the class and was the trigger of Clark's heat vision, as he was constantly turning his head to look at her, triggering his first burst of heat vision. During a practice session at the Kent farm, Clark whispered "Lana" to himself and he ignited the scarecrow serving as a target dummy. Within a short time, his control becomes precise enough to light candles and pop popcorn. Clark, in unison with his super-speed, used accurate heat vision when he saved Lex from Jonathan's gunshot by vaporizing the bullet in flight. (Heat)
Clark melts the road.
Clark utilizing his heat vision to 1000 degrees Kelvin.
Clark uses his heat vision to initial a baseball in Legion.
Season 3: Clark learned how to adjust the focus of the heat beams. He melted a 5' x 10' section of asphalt in a single pass in order to trap Seth Nelson's getaway car. Clark used short blasts of heat vision almost like bullets: unfortunately, one "bullet" is reflected back at him by a piece of kryptonite. (Magnetic, Whisper)
Season 4: Clark has complete mastery over this ability now. For one thing, Clark used his heat vision to deflect various hurled handheld tools with great precision. (Spell) He heated up antidotes to 1000 Kelvin in seconds. (Scare) He even managed to heat the bottle and not have it curdle. He displayed immense control here. (Ageless) When he lost all of his memories and saw Lana again for the first time, his heat vision was triggered uncontrollably. (Spell, Scare, Blank)
Season 5: Clark used heat vision to weld a diamond onto a ring in order to propose to Lana. While it's true that those events never happened in the current timeline, it's reasonable to suppose he could do something similar again. His Heat vision is also powerful enough to project force against people. (Reckoning, Oracle)
Season 6: Clark's heat vision is powerful enough to shatter Kryptonian metal: he destroyed the Kryptonian black box that General Zod was using to transform Earth into a new Krypton. Clark's heat vision is also now assuredly pinpoint accurate. He burned a small hole in Chloe's shoulder in order to extract a GPS microchip that had been implanted under her collarbone. Clark ripped a door off its hinges in the Luthor Mansion and welded it back so as to avoid suspicion. Clark used heat vision that is apparently of greater intensity, with increased reddening effect in his eyes and more concentrated beam, in order to break through Wes Keenan's force-field. (Zod, Freak, Promise, Prototype)
Season 7: Clark's heat vision is powerful enough to stop a tidal wave of water dead in its tracks. Bizarro, who replicated a body using Clark's DNA, exhibits heat vision, although his heat vision also shot bolts of electricity out of his eyes, as though heating the air to the point of ionization. Clark demonstrated a diffused, mild form of heat vision to unfreeze and revive Lois and Jimmy after they were trapped in a freezer. (Bizarro, Descent)
Season 8: Clark used his heat vision to break an electrical pylon so it would fall and hit Marcos to stop him from attacking Tess. He also used this power to burst some pipes in order to create a cover of steam so he could use his superpowers to overpower Macy and rescue Lois. Clark used his heat vision to sign a baseball that Garth Ranzz asked for. (Toxic, Committed, Legion)
Season 9: Clark seems to possess extreme control over this ability as seen when he burns his family crest into nearby walls, signs, to indicate the "Blur" was there. (Savior) Clark's heat vision has increased greatly as he was able to melt a lead plate in a matter of seconds and place it on Metallo's kryptonite heart. (Metallo) Clark uses his heat vision on Rick's automatic weapon to cause it to explode. (Crossfire) Clark used heat vision to destroy Zod's solar tower the night before it would be activated to give the Kandorians their powers. The heat vision was shown to be exceptionally powerful as Clark completely decimated the structure with it. (Persuasion) Clark also used heat vision in bullets and offensively, as demonstrated against Icicle. (Absolute Justice, Part 2)
Clark using his heat vision on the amulet of Isis.
Season 10: Clark used his heat vision on the Amulet of Isis to trap her back in it. The process worked because his heat simulated the rays of the sun as sunlight was needed in order for the entrapment to work and it was at night when the incident occurred. (Isis) Clark used the heat vision to prevent Tess from being strangled to death by Lashina's lashes. (Abandoned)
"It's like someone turned on a giant stereo full blast. Suddenly all the sounds were magnified." – Clark, Whisper
Clark's highly improved auditory canal.
Clark's hearing seemed to have always been more attuned than that of humans. In one episode, Clark had headphones on, listening to music and Martha exclaimed he could still hear her. When he was in the Talon with Lana, he knew what exact vent a noise was coming from. (Drone) When Lex hung-up with Roger Nixon on his cell-phone, Clark, although he was far away, told Lex he knew who he was talking with. (Vortex) Despite this, this ability officially developed around age 16. He can hear indirect whispers, pitches, frequencies, as well as both sides of telephone conversations from several yards away, or even through rooms, as well as while in his loft, can hear his parents talking in the house. On screen, this is showed by close-ups of whatever is making the noise with sound waves rippling away from it. On occasion, a close-up of Clark's eardrum is shown. In Season 7, however, this effect is changed and Clark's ear faces the camera with a bright light all around him.
Season 3: Super hearing first manifested itself when Clark is temporarily rendered blind. Judging from the show's earlier depictions, he is able to consciously activate and deactivate it, like his X-ray vision and heat vision. However, other times it appears he is using the power without conscious awareness. (Whisper)
Season 4: Chloe whispered Clark's name to him from outside a room, activating his super hearing without him consciously listening for her. (Blank)
Season 5: When re-located in the Arctic, Chloe triggered Clark's super hearing with minimal volume and Clark even unaware of her suffering. Clark located Graham Garrett by listening to his heartbeat in a crowded room: presumably, this means Clark can discern individual breathing and heartbeats (because he once this while trying to find Lana in the Luthor Mansion), or he could track Graham by maintaining focus on him. (Arrival, Splinter, Fade)
Season 6: Clark was able to hear Tobias Rice whispering on the phone from blocks away. (Freak)
Season 7: Grief-stricken by Chloe's temporary death, Clark lost control of his super hearing, as well as it focused on everything including Chloe's cry for help: he then came to her rescue. Clark is able to hear subsonic noise and it can hurt him. Bizarro was able to use his super hearing to detect the beeping from a bomb and save Chloe and Jimmy. He could also hear the frequency from Lana's cell phone when she called Clark to warn him of his presence. Clark uses his super hearing to hear Lois and Jimmy trapped in a refrigerator. (Bizarro, Gemini, Siren, Descent)
Season 8: After the bus exploded, Clark was able to hear the policemen talk about how there was no bomb used on the bus and uses it to save Lois from Macy. Clark's super hearing picked up on Lana saying his name even without activating it consciously, though he could hear her more clearly and louder when he actually started super hearing. His super hearing was used just in time for him to hear Oliver being beat-up and almost killed by Davis Bloome. Later, he used his super hearing to hear Eva/Chloe's screams in a nearby forest and later to find Chloe and Davis in Edge City. Then he used it to hear Doomsday terrorizing the citizens. (Plastique, Committed, Power, Beast, Injustice, Doomsday)
Season 9: Standing vigil atop the Daily Planet rooftop early in the morning on patrol in Metropolis, Clark used his super-hearing to listen in on thousands of conversations in the city and then finally he heard a police call of a robbery. (Metallo) Clark seems to have much more control over his super hearing as of late, he used it to hear cries of help numerous times consecutively during his movie night with Lois Lane. (It's to be noted it was used while also watching a movie and maintaining conversation with Lois at the same time). (Roulette) Clark could hear Lois was in danger through the ear-piece. (Crossfire) Clark used super hearing to hone in on Chloe while she was being held by Checkmate. (Checkmate) He also used it to hear the heartbeat of Faora's unborn child. (Sacrifice)
Season 10: Clark uses the super hearing ability on the butterfly on top of Chandler's Field's windmill, he uses it to clear his mind in order to fly. (Supergirl) He later used it to hear that a little girl was in danger and saved her from Granny Goodness. (Abandoned) He was able to hear Jaime Reyes trip in front of a car. He was also able to hear a conversation between Ted Kord and Booster Gold even though he was 10 feet away and they were whispering. (Booster) When Tess sent Lois a scrambled voice message due to interplanetary interference, Clark was able to decrypt it using his Super hearing. (Finale, Part 2)
Enhanced lung capacity
Clark underwater
Clark's has an enhanced lung-capacity and through it, he can hold his breath for long periods of time and survive in space.
Season 4: Kal-El is able to breathe in the atmosphere while he flew to catch up to Lex's plane. (Crusade)
Season 5: Clark was able to hold his breath underwater for a long period of time. Clark was apparently able to hold his breath in the upper atmosphere of Earth when trying to disable a nuclear missile. (Aqua, Hidden)
Season 8: Clark was able to function normally when the plane he and Tess where traveling on de-pressurized, which causes Tess to pass out from oxygen deprivation. (Turbulence)
Season 10: Clark, while wearing the Superman suit, flies into the atmosphere and redirects an off-course plane, without any discomfort. He was also able to survive without any discomfort in outer space after pushing Apokolips out of Earth's atmosphere and he observed a safe Earth from space for a time. (Finale, Part 2)
Season 11: Thanks to his newfound ability to fly, Clark finds himself often in outer space and is able to survive indefinitely without oxygen. But he always keeps his distance from the Sun because of Emil's warning.
Clark can suck-up massive amounts of air by inhaling, then just by exhaling, he can release the waves of air in the form of a hurricane from his mouth, which are strong enough to break through metal, steel-doors, as well as windows.
Through the evolved version, arctic breath, Clark can chill his breath, allowing him to freeze objects and people just by breathing on them. .
At age 19, Clark did not have his powers in the Phantom Zone and upon returning to Earth, developed a head cold which manifested itself as super-strong sneezes. The accompanying illness also shorted out his other powers, but eventually, he was able to restore them and control this new gift.
Season 6: Clark's sneezes could blow doors off their hinges. Clark used his new power to put out a warehouse fire and blow clouds away. He also learned how to control the intensity: he used it to simply blow some papers around to distract Dr. Robert Bethany to steal his laptop. He quickly developed sufficient precision to blast a lead-lined steel safe door open while not harming Chloe, who was standing nearby, with the backlash of the pressure wave. (Sneeze, Freak)
Season 8: Clark used his super breath to smash open a door in order to save Lois, which was the first time he was seen to be using this ability in two years. (Committed)
Clark blowing away the sand.
Season 9: Clark used his super breath presumably twice in the episode Rabid. First it's assumed that Clark used his super breath to extinguish a fire in Metropolis, managing to do so in the time span of 2 seconds. (Rabid) While in the desert with Oliver, Clark used his super-breath to blow away the sand covering his family crest. (Kandor) He later combined his arctic breath with Zod's to freeze John Corben. (Upgrade)
Season 10: Lois told Clark there was a refinery on fire in Smallville and he supersped away to stop it and most likely used his super breath to put out the flames. (Ambush) He later used his arctic ability to freeze metal chains so that he could release himself from chair that was close to Green kryptonite. (Abandoned)
Super-intelligence
Super-intelligence is Kryptonian ability to have an intellect beyond than those human beings.
Clark is very smart and his brain works similar or superior to high powered computers, he is capable to make immensely fast calculations and multi-tasking at alarming rate. Clark while in super-speed mode he sees everything at a virtual stand still because his perceptions are greatly enhanced to cope while moving so fast, if they were not enhanced he would crash into every building or object he came in contact with.
Under a yellow sun, Kryptonian intelligence is increased thousands of times.
Super-Memory
Super memory is the ability of having a photographic memory or speed-reading. Clark has the ability to speed read, as quoted in Prey when he read the list of Chloe's Isis Foundation members but denies that he has a photographic memory. Chloe quotes in Season 7 when Bizarro, who is impersonating Clark, does not know the whereabouts of Dax-Ur's shield, "You never forget anything; your mind is like a titanium
trap."
Other Kryptonians have displayed signs of having super memory, such as Raya. She mentions past memories on Krypton that occurred many years before she was in the Phantom Zone. Kara Kent also has memories of Krypton from a young age. However, as to whether this is a Kryptonian power is yet to be clear, although it is likely.
Season 1: Chloe says that Clark has a "freakishly good memory" when he recalls when and where a girl's blood drive appointment is. (Shimmer)
Season 3: Clark was seemingly able to travel across his father's property purely on memory when blinded. (Whisper)
Season 7: Chloe mentioned that Clark never forgets anything, that his mind is like a titanium trap. This suggests that Clark has an eidetic memory. (Persona)
Season 8: Clark clarifies that he does not have a photographic memory, but can speed-read. (Prey)
Season 11: Clark can remember past events of his life, to the most minimum detail.
Multilingualism
Is the ability that full-blown Kryptonians and these Kryptonians who are raised on Earth gain under a yellow sun, allowing them learn, speak and understand any language they come in contact with. In Clark´s case, this ability was locked due to Clark earth-upbriging and fear of embracing his alien destiny and Clark could finally having a fully access to it after 10 years of trials by his father Jor-El plus 6 and half months.
Season 11:On a mission to rescue Russian astronauts, Clark admitted he haven't had the chance to learn Russian yet, but promised to get right on it. (Guardian)Later on he is shown to be able to speak Hindi, French, Ape and Japanese and understanding Russian. (Haunted and Alien)
Throughout the series, it has been implied that, while under the rays of the yellow sun, Clark will at some point stop aging. When Clark goes to the future and finds his future self, he sees that they both look exactly the same, indicating that at some point in his twenties, he will stop physically aging. It has been hinted at several times that Clark will live forever or at least live a greater lifespan than most, but he can be killed permanently if not resurrected by Kryptonian technology. This has never been officially confirmed.
Season 1: Clark shared a vision of the future with the precognitiveCassandra Carver, in which they foresaw Clark outliving everyone on Earth. (Hourglass)
Season 3: Jordan Cross, another person with precognitive abilities, with the ability to see people's eventual method of deaths, failed to see Clark die when he touched him. He speculated that this was because Clark will live forever. Jonathan later speculated that Clark will never die. (Hereafter, Legacy)
Season 4: Interestingly, Chloe, unbeknownst to her, admits that for some reason, she isn't sure she can promise that she'll always be there in Clark's life.
Season 7: The episode Cure deals with the issue of Clark's possible immortality, with the Martian Manhunter confirming that Clark will outlive all of the people he loves. Later, Clark meets a Kryptonian scientist named Dax-Ur who had lived on Earth for roughly a hundred years. At some point, Dax-Ur had donned a bracelet of blue kryptonite, which took away his abilities and allowed him to age like a human. (Persona)
Season 9: When Doctor Fate reads Clark's Fate, he sees the same thing that Jordan Cross saw years earlier: Superman's cape flying through space. (Absolute Justice)
Season 10: When Clark goes to the future and finds his future self, he sees that they both look exactly the same, indicating that at some point in his twenties, he will stop physically aging. (Homecoming)
Season 1: Clark was able to see the same visions seen by a precognitive named Cassandra Carver while she held his hand, who stated that this had never happened with anyone else whose future she had foretold.
Season 4:He has also had a possibly precognitive dream relating to the arrival of the second ship, though this is not clear. Although he has not been heard speaking it. Clark also had a precognitive hallucination about a second meteor shower when infected with a fear toxin. (Scare)
Season 9: While inside Lois' mind, Clark was able to see what the future would be like if the Kandorians got their powers back. (Pandora) Later, he experiences a precognitive dream in which he and Lois are star reporters at the Daily Planet, Perry White is the Editor-in-Chief, Lex is alive and running for the U.S. Presidency and he himself appears briefly in his future costume preventing an airplane from crashing into the Daily Planet building. (Salvation)
Season 9: Part of the many trials to come, Jor-El temporarily granted this ability to Clark and said this power would activate due to feelings of doubt but would later dissipate in time. Clark was able to hear thoughts close around him and it was mainly focused on Lois for the time being and later to discover the identity of the bomber, later revealed to be Toyman. Clark, after learning the key points of Jor-El's trial was stripped of this ability, then using what he had learned to better himself when saving people. (Echo)
Persuasion
Season 9: When Clark Kent and Lois Lane entered a Valentine's Day party, they get sprinkled with Gemstone kryptonite dust. Lois is unaffected, but Clark winds up infected and unaware of the kryptonite's powers until he persuades Lois to be in a traditional relationship causing Lois to revert to a traditional housewife: he as well persuades Chloe that she needs to be more protective of him, persuades Emil Hamilton to be more relaxed and persuades Zod to confess to his involvement in Jor-El's murder. However this power was only temporary and was taken away. (Persuasion)
Lana Lang - Wrath - Same way as Eric Summers, though in this case the transfer was 'incomplete', meaning both Clark and Lana had Kryptonian powers.
Lionel Luthor - Transference, Hidden - The Crystal of Water transferred Lionel's soul into Clark's body. He was possessed by Jor-El, gaining Kryptonian powers in the process in order to save Clark. (See Notes below)
Lex Luthor - Vessel, Zod - Lex Luthor was used as General Zod's vessel and had Kryptonian powers when Zod possessed him.
Lois Lane - Bloodline - from Faora the wife of Zod, while possessing Lois's body and in Prophecy - From Jor-El as an early wedding present to help both Lois and Clark understand each other from a different perspective.
Rudy Jones - Injustice - Stole Clark's powers after he confronted Bette Sans Souci. He later returned them after experiencing the pain after being beaten by Oliver who was holding a green kryptonite ring.
Kal-El - Crusade - After brainwashed as Kal-El, he is more confident with these abilities than Clark Kent.
Conner Kent - Scion - Conner shared Clark and Lex's DNA which gave Conner the same abilities as Clark.
Superman's powers have undergone many changes in the comics and other media over the decades: originally, in Action Comics #1, he was described as having merely super-strength, speed greater than a train, the ability to leap "1/8th of a mile" and "nothing less than a bursting artillery shell" could pierce his skin. However, these abilities were constantly upgraded throughout the Golden Age. By the time of the Max Fleischer cartoons in the early 1940s, he could fly, had x-ray vision and was able to withstand far greater destructive forces. These abilities were attributed to the "highly evolved" nature of the people of Krypton.
Superman's speed.
By the 1950s, his powers had grown to the point where not even a nuclear bomb could harm him, he could see farther than the best telescopes and resolve smaller objects than the best microscopes, fly faster than light, project heat (originally described as an alternate use of his x-ray vision, later as a separate power), see the entire energy spectrum and move planets. His hearing and even his breath became vastly amplified. The explanation for these powers were a combination of the facts that Krypton had high gravity, requiring great strength and durability just to survive and that all life-forms originating under a red sun developed superhuman abilities under a yellow sun, including analogues of apes, dogs, dinosaurs and other animals similar to Earth life. Often this even extended to inanimate materials such as cloth and glass from Krypton being indestructible on Earth.
Superman lifts up a car in Action Comics #1
However, as the Silver Age of comics drew to a close, an emphasis on realism made it harder to write believable foes for an all-powerful hero. In the 70s, writer Elliot S! Maggin attempted to reduce the Man of Steel's abilities, but this move proved unpopular and was soon forgotten by other writers. When the Crisis on Infinite Earths event wiped the slate of established DC Comics history, it was seen as a new chance to make Superman seem less unbeatable.
John Byrne's revamped Superman was still one of the most powerful heroes on Earth, but not in the entire universe. His abilities were described as a consequence of Kryptonian evolution: since a red sun produced little energy, the plant life of Krypton just didn't have enough food energy to allow animal life to thrive, so a means of absorbing energy directly from the environment evolved. Kryptonians had an electromagnetic aura surrounding and permeating every cell in their bodies that absorbed and stored radiant energy and under Earth's yellow sun, Clark absorbed far more than any Kryptonian had ever been exposed to, supercharging his body's natural abilities such as strength, speed and sensory perceptions and giving him powers that no Kryptonian had ever manifested, like the power to fly and project heat from his optic nerves. The energy density of the field also made him nearly invulnerable.
In recent years, Superman's abilities have again been written back up to near Silver Age levels.
Notes
Clark Kent worries that his powers will hurt his sexual partner. In the episodes Mortal and Hidden, both of which occurred when Clark didn't have his abilities. In Wrath and Requiem, Clark and Lana made love again when they both had powers. However, Bizarro demonstrated no such restraint when with Lana and managed not to injure her in any way during their encounter (Bizarro), although this may have been due to his weakening under the yellow sun (Persona). In "Pandora" Clark was able to engage in sexual intercourse with Lois due to the Red Sun. In Escape, Clark explains that thanks to his training with Jor-El to control his abilities, he can now make love and control himself with Lois. Clark Luthor seems able to control his abilities when having sex with his partners (Luthor).
A human having the Kryptonian powers seem to have affected different people different ways.
Except for Jonathan and probably Lana (the latter wasn't exactly evil due to having Kryptonian powers, but she was perfectly willing to kill Lex), both Jeremiah Holdsclaw and Eric Summers became "evil" after getting the powers: this generally appears to be the result of them rapidly inheriting this power without being presented with moral guidance on how to use them, with Clark once commenting that Eric's main disadvantage when compared to him was that Eric had lacked the understanding parents that Clark had.
When Jonathan possessed the powers due to Jor-El, his heart condition had worsened, while in Transference, when Lionel and Clark switches bodies, Clark's powers cures Lionel. Of course, in this case, Jonathan got Kryptonian powers and kept his own body, but with Lionel, he and Clark switched bodies and Clark's presence in Lionel's body healed him.
Similarly to how Jonathan helped his son Clark adjust to his abilities as they manifested, ironically, Clark did the same for Lois when she wielded his powers for a day due to Jor-El. (Prophecy)
Oddly, Clark's speed limits seem to fluctuate throughout the series. For example, in Season 1, Clark was able to dodge a bullet in Rogue, but in Hug, he wasn't able to get to Kyle in time to stop a bullet hitting him, even though the bullet whizzed straight past Clark. Also, in Hug, Lex was able to see Clark super speed, while in Jitters, Clark was able to run from one end of his house to the other during a house party without anyone noticing him. In Season 10's Lazarus, Clark doubts that he can save Lois in Smallville and the people of Metropolis, and claims to have pushed himself after he does so. This is strange, as Clark has been seen performing far more impressive feats in episodes such as Void and Rabid, among others.
This also seems to be the case with Clark's invulnerability, at least in the early seasons. In Season 1, Clark's skin is invulnerable enough to break knives, baseball bats and maces on impact, without injury (Hourglass, Hug, Shimmer), but bullets, which would cause similar harm to knives, were able to give him bruises (Hug).
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
