WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story “Deadline” from Superman: Red & Blue #3 by Jesse J. Holland, Laura Braga, Hi-Fi, and Dave Sharpe, on sale now.
While it’s not as famous as kryptonite or magic, one of Superman’s most consistent weak points has always been the effect of lead on his abilities. The metal can have both a positive and a negative impact on how he uses his powers. On the one hand, lead can provide a useful shield for harmful objects like Kryptonite — with the metal effectively reflecting any radiation away from Superman. On the other hand, lead can be used to hide something from the Man of Steel, as his x-ray vision can’t see through the substance.
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If someone needs to hide something from Superman, then a lead-lined box might be the ideal tool. However, that while some villains think that gives them an advantage over Superman, he proves how it can actually be used to pretty easily cut through their schemes too.
“Deadline” focuses on Superman trying the juggle his various responsibilities — as a reporter for the Daily Planet, as the super-powered protector of Metropolis, and even towards his friends — with Batman and Wonder Woman both waiting for Superman at a local restaurant. While the two joke about how thin Clark Kent always spreads himself, the hero ends up coming up against a brief but unexpected challenge: at one point, Superman halts a robbery by lifting the car full of criminals into the air to bring it to the police. But one of the passengers reveals he’s hidden bombs all around the city inside lead boxes. Activating all the timers, the criminal brags that Superman won’t be able to see through the lead to find them.
The plan is for this to keep the Man of Steel busy while the crooks escape, otherwise, he risks the bombs causing massive destruction around the city. But Superman points out why this is a bad plan inherently — although Superman can’t see through the lead, he can still see the lead specifically. More than anything, he can now turn his attention towards looking for lead boxes in particular, which makes it fairly easy for Superman to find them across the city and collect them before they can cause any damage. The criminals are supremely surprised by this, with their leader seemingly at a loss for words over when he was able to accomplish with ease. Thanks to using lead as their primary means of disguising the bombs, they found the only way to make them incredibly easy to notice.
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It’s a similar tactic that Superman brought up while dealing with the Invisible Mafia in the recent “House of El” storyline from Action Comics by Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita Jr, with the group knowing to search for lead itself as a clue towards locating where the Invisible Mafia had been operating. While the method can work well if Superman doesn’t know he’s supposed to be looking for something specific, it falls apart the second “lead boxes” themselves can become whatever he’s keeping an eye out for instead of just what’s inside them.
Superman’s inability to see through lead isn’t nearly the weakness his enemies seem to think it is, and if they continue to make that mistake then Superman may be able to argue that it’s actually quietly a strength that people keep underestimating. It’s a clever way for the Man of Steel to adjust to his few limitations and find ways to use them for good.
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