Quote: the G-man said: Actually, it always bothered me that DC, at least since Byrne and probably before, forgot how smart Superman should be.
Think about it: On Krypton, both his father and grandfather were the greatest scientists their world had to offer. His father was able to deduce, when no one else could, that Krypton was going to explode. And his father didn't have superpowers. Are we to believe that Kal-el didn't inherit at least some of his family's brainpower?
Actually, Kal-El not inheriting at least some of his father's and grandfather's brainpower is VERY conceivable. Smart parents and grandparents do not ensure a child will be smart. Same thing with proficiency. My dad is a master mechanic. I'm far from it.
Also, he could simply take after his mother.
Plus, even if we say that Kal-El inherited his father's potential, that's not the same thing as saying he inherited his father's knowledge. In other words, Superman would need a whole lotta experience in the field of science to work on his father's level, experience that he just doesn't have.
Sure he may dabble, but The Atom (and others mentioned) are DOCTORS and MASTERS in the field of science. Ray Palmer works with dwarf matter and is a college professor. Are you really trying to say that you believe Superman can best these guys in analysis?
Quote: the G-man said: Furthermore, when you consider some of the creative ways that Superman has used his powers over the years, he demonstrates very deep understandings of chemistry, physics, biology and other sciences. For example, in his battle with the Elite, Superman didn't just hit them all until they fell over. He used his powers to attack them in ways that required him to figure out things about the Elite's anatomy that would have stymied most forensic teams.
He's also demonstrated an advanced ability with robotics and other technological marvels, and can operate various alien technologies with ease.
Someone with that much brainpower is going to be able to do some damn fine detective work.
If we take everything that's been written about the character, he can understand and talk to mermaids and has a super-resilient face that allows him to change his own facial features and disguise himself as another person.
I believe your examples help prove my point. There are limits to how he should be written, in order to keep some semblance of reason to the character's general outline. Superman spends his time as an investigative reporter. Having him build super-powered androids (without one heck of a cheat sheet) makes about as much sense as having The Flash or Wonder Woman do the same thing. Same with placing him above some of the world's greatest scientist, not to mention the universe's greatest escape artist himself.
