Superman Used A Gun In His Most Intimidating Moment

Superman is one of the strongest heroes in the entire DC Universe, who doesn’t need weapons when he wants to take down his enemies. However, Superman once made an exception, using a gun to send a message to an arms dealer who provided guns to teens for a school shooting.

Superman is blessed with numerous powers and abilities that make him nearly unbeatable. He’s got super strength and hearing, X-ray vision, both heat and cold vision, and can only really be taken down with Kryptonite. In one of the most intimidating moments the character has ever had, Superman proved he’s faster than a speeding bullet when he confronted an arms dealer after he stopped a school shooting.

In 2003’s Superman: Birthright by Mark Waid, Leinil Francis Yu, and Gerry Alanguilan, the iconic superhero’s origin was retold for a modern audience. The sixth issue of the series opens with a live news report from a high school outside Metropolis, where two students carrying a gym bag full of guns go on a shooting spree. Thankfully, before there are any fatalities, Superman arrives on the scene and manages to stop the teens. He doesn’t stick around for an interview with the news, instead, he flies to the home of a white supremacist who sold them the guns. After Superman confronts him about selling guns to teens, the redneck responds by telling him he didn’t sell them – which Supes can tell he is a lie due to hearing his heartbeat. Superman proceeds to grab a gun and shoot at him.

Superman isn’t a killer, so in one of the most intimidating moments in the Man of Steel’s history, he catches the bullet before it hits the arms dealer. In some tremendous writing by Waid, before firing the shot Superman tells him that a nine-year-old girl will forever remember getting shot at and that “now you will, too.”

When police raid the arms dealers home, they find him stuck to the wall with a shotgun wrapped around him, holding him in place. Meanwhile, all of his prize guns on the wall have been destroyed. Superman made sure to set an example out of the arm’s dealer. While firing a gun at him might seem out of character for Supes, the fact he caught the bullet and destroyed the guns just shows how powerful and in control he really is. He’d never kill someone if he didn’t absolutely have to. In this case, striking fear into the heart of the bad guy was badass and necessary. Even Superman needs to be intimidating sometimes.

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Liam McGuire
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Lead writer for Screen Rant’s comic team. [email protected]. Find me on Twitter @LiamRMcGuire for comic news and reporting.

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