The Superman must NOT Kick

[SweetShark]

I read a very interesting interview in Videogame Magazine "Edge" about a Key Person of an old Fighting game "Justice League Task Force".
At some point the developers send the pixel art/animation of Superman to the offices of DC Comics to get their approval. Everything was ok unless sadly for one major thing: Superman must NOT kick!
The developer which worked in the making of the game asked why Superman doesn't kick and why it is important for him to kick. It was after all A FIGHTING GAME!
Sadly the only answer he recieved was "He just not kick. That all. He never needed to do so in the comics."

So after reading this I need to ask, is it true? Does Superman doesn't kicked at all in his whole carrier as a the most powerful superheroe in the whole universe?

 

[Queen Michael]

Can't recall that he ever did, in any of the comics with him that I read.

 

[Elfgore]

Spoiler: Uno

Spoiler: Dos

Could be fake, but I'm counting it anyway.

Spoiler: Tres

That was just from googling "Superman Kicking". I fear to imagine what a fan of Superman could pull up. I mean I understand where they're coming from, kicking seems a little to graceful for our man of steel.

 

[DrownedAmmet]

Spoiler: Uno

Spoiler: Dos

Could be fake, but I'm counting it anyway.

Spoiler: Tres

That was just from googling "Superman Kicking". I fear to imagine what a fan of Superman could pull up. I mean I understand where they're coming from, kicking seems a little to graceful for our man of steel.

Excuse me, the first one was a "kik," the third one was a "kranch," and while the second one was indeed a kick he had kicked himself when the OP was clearly looking for Superman kicking an enemy

True DC fans know #SupermanDoesn'tKick(badguysthoughhedidkickhimselfonce)

 

[aba1]

I have seen and read a lot of stuff with superman in it and I can honestly say he really does not kick all that often. I can likely count on my hand the amount of times I have ever seen him kick and none of them even come to mind I think I would have to attempt to find examples.

For the life of me I don't know why he only ever punches but for some reason that is what he does. I always find it strange he doesn't use his eye lasers more too. I mean the amount of times he could have just shot the enemy with lazers and not gotten caught in some kryptonite trap I can't get count.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

Because kicks are a lot more powerful than punchs I guess and usually Superman is just trying really hard to apply force but not to snap them in half when he fights most enemies.

 

[anonymity88]

Spoiler: Uno

Spoiler: Dos

Could be fake, but I'm counting it anyway.

Spoiler: Tres

That was just from googling "Superman Kicking". I fear to imagine what a fan of Superman could pull up. I mean I understand where they're coming from, kicking seems a little to graceful for our man of steel.

That third one, right in the plums!

Not very heroic, no wonder they were anti-kicking...

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Superman sort of falls into the class of "brawler" (as opposed to Batman being a true martial artist) and brawlers basically just kick things with their fists until those things fall over.

Spoiler: Tres

Are we sure that isn't just Serious Sam in a different shirt?

 

[Kevlar Eater]

Considering how much force he could generate with a punch if he were to truly let loose, a kick from him would be considerably more powerful.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Wait, doesn't he kick now or he still doesn't like in Justice League: Gods Among Us or that DC Vs Mortal Kombat games? (I haven't played those games.)

 

[Something Amyss]

Spoiler: Uno

Spoiler: Dos

Could be fake, but I'm counting it anyway.

Spoiler: Tres

That was just from googling "Superman Kicking". I fear to imagine what a fan of Superman could pull up. I mean I understand where they're coming from, kicking seems a little to graceful for our man of steel.

Yeah, but the second one is hardly anormal circumstance and I don't even need to be a Supes diehard to tell you the third is from The New 52, both a rebooted version of Supes and way after the game came out. Or was intended to. I forget whether it ever did. I can't rule out the first one isn't elseworlds or something without Googling, either.

*Googles*

Looks like this is also a recent one, or more recent than that, if the source of your image is to be believed.

Though I did find this:

Spoiler: boot

That totally counts, right?

I mean, maybe some diehard could find instance of him kicking, but they appear to be rare or limited to modern interpretations. I mean, I can find images of Batman or The Doctor, two characters who "never use guns," using guns. Hell, I can find more pictures of Superman killing someone (though those are generally Elseworlds stories, at least I can find them).

I mean, yeah, it means it's untrue that he doesn't kick "at all," or that he "never needed to." But it's close enough, from the looks.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Spoiler: Tres

I'm just chiming in to say: Who the hell is this smug, buzzcut, nut-kicking, jeans-wearing douchebro? I don't even like Superman, but that still screams character assassination to me.

 

[DementedSheep]

huh...come to think of it he doesn't really kick. I don't think it's a hard rule for him of course (why would it be?) but he seems far far more inclined to just stick to punching and throwing.

 

[Something Amyss]

I'm just chiming in to say: Who the hell is this smug, buzzcut, nut-kicking, jeans-wearing douchebro? I don't even like Superman, but that still screams character assassination to me.

Young Superman was a real ass at the beginning of New 52. I dont'know if he's grown out of it, but yeah.

 

[Abomination]

I'd put it along the whole "kick is far more powerful than a punch" and one of the emphasized aspects of Superman lately is how he has to handle everything like it's porcelain - even his opponents.

Or, he needs to keep his legs down because otherwise he loses his grounding and balance when he strikes. We're talking about someone who can punch so hard he'd send himself flying if he just stomps into the ground. The physics behind him only having one foot on the ground and kicking with the other raises a lot of questions.

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

I think that with Superman there is this "clean-cut, all American, plays by the rules, and fights fair" image that that DC was trying to reclaim in the mid 90's. The idea of Superman throwing a kick isn't anything new, or controversial, but they were leaning back on Supes having that clean cut super boyscout image.

Then again Justice League Task Force was a terrible game anyways, which had far worse problems than Superman not being allowed to kick.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I'd put it along the whole "kick is far more powerful than a punch" and one of the emphasized aspects of Superman lately is how he has to handle everything like it's porcelain - even his opponents.

So...he can pull his punches, but not his kicks?

Or, he needs to keep his legs down because otherwise he loses his grounding and balance when he strikes. We're talking about someone who can punch so hard he'd send himself flying if he just stomps into the ground. The physics behind him only having one foot on the ground and kicking with the other raises a lot of questions.

But...he can fly. Surely he can account for that?

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

Spoiler: boot

Combining this with Elfgore's "Dos" it seems to me like Superman only really kicks when it's required for a pun.

It looks like everyone breaks their rules if the circumstances are dire enough

 

[FalloutJack]

Yo, people. We're forgetting something important here.

What'd Supes play back in Smallville when he was just a student?

FOOTBALL.

Superman kicks.

/thread

 

[SweetShark]

I think that with Superman there is this "clean-cut, all American, plays by the rules, and fights fair" image that that DC was trying to reclaim in the mid 90's. The idea of Superman throwing a kick isn't anything new, or controversial, but they were leaning back on Supes having that clean cut super boyscout image.

Then again Justice League Task Force was a terrible game anyways, which had far worse problems than Superman not being allowed to kick.

But sadly a reason why the game also is bad, is because the limitation the developers had to wotk with the game. As I said DC Comics was demanding at some specific things and for that reason the developers said they didn't cared if it was good or bad....