Nigh invulnerability and Overconfidence

[Chuckg]

Re: Nigh invulnerability and Overconfidence

 

I've never heard anything about Clark that indicated that he could really rake in the cash without breaking laws. Where do you draw this from? Accepting donations for being Superman or something?

 

Three things that come to mind...

 

* Super-powered gold or diamond mining.

* Undersea salvage (although Aquaman and him would have to work out arrangements there)

 

And at superspeed, this wouldn't take more than a few minutes a day.

 

* Licensing Kryptonian technology for production and collecting royalties (As the last surviving member of his race /sans/ his minor cousin, Kal-El is the legitimate owner of all intellectual and other property owned by the Kryptonians. Granted, most of the real estate done be gone, but Kryptonian tech is so awesome that it's worth a mint by itself).

 

This is Bill Gates money just by itself.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Nigh invulnerability and Overconfidence

 

Wealth for Superman? Surely the "squeeze coal into diamonds" trick hasn't been forgotten.

 

Lots of good ideas above. I like the mining one. He can locate the minerals with his sensory powers, dig them up with his STR and Speed, refine the ore using heat vision and ship the stuff himself with superspeed flight.

 

How much did the Mars Rover cost? Pay the same amount and Superman can get you all the photos you require - and he won't get a wheel stuck.

 

Who would be the world's highest-paid bodyguard?

 

Replace the entire garbage collection and snow removal payroll - Supes can do it all by himself (for more than one city).

 

Construction? Why pay a union crew and take months when Superman alone can build the new site in an hour?

 

The possibilities are literally endless.

[Manic Typist]

Re: Nigh invulnerability and Overconfidence

 

In the earliest stories Superman could be injured by fire and gasses, as well as some heavy weapons. As his power level ramped up, so did the threats he faced. Throughout his career, he saved lives at the risk of his own. You may like or dislike the character or power set, but he was absolutely qualified as a hero.

 

 

 

He could be the world's most successful athlete in any sport he liked, or every sport until people got tired of seeing it. How much is a guaranteed Superbowl victory worth? He could charge fortunes for carrying satelites and other payloads into space, and he'd still be cheaper than maintaining a space program. The US government hires mercenaries every day to provide support services in Iraq and around the world; how much would they pay to have Superman clean out the insurgency? He could kill thousands, we'd pay him millions and we'd still call him a Hero. How much could he have charged for disaster relief services in New Orleans? He could build his own little chatteau in the Antartic or on the moon with every luxury he could possibly want and servants glad to be there and just leave saving lives to underpaid cops and firemen.

 

It is not his obligation to be "Superman", any more than it is your obligation to volunteer at a soup kitchen or as a fire-fighter. So long as he pays his taxes, refrains from crime, votes and shows up for jury duty, Clark Kent is doing all that society asks of a good citizen. Superman volunteers to do all that he does in the DC Universe. He does it because he is a Hero.

 

Thank you everyone for the ideas on how Supes would earn dough. I now see the error of my ways.

 

However, I would have to say that OddHat's post was perhaps one of the best posts I've seen, ever. It was concise, yet thorough. It addressed the issue and elaborated. It took apart my argument, but in a way that made me feel better at the end.

 

For your ideas and your style, sir, I dub you a Genius. Rep is coming to you.