It’s called x-ray vision because he can see past atoms. I’m sure there could be some “he uses super vision to see through the empty spaces that make up 99% of an atom (similar to how Flash can control his atoms to phase through walls by using the empty space in atoms). I don’t think he actually emits x-rays
The George Reeves series played with this a bit. The Short Answer these days is: it isn’t really X-Rays, but it does work like that. He can see through just about anything.
I’m tired of this dumb ass bit. X-ray vision doesn’t mean he has an X-ray machine attached to his eyes, it just means he can see through shit. Ice breath doesn’t mean he has an ice machine in his stomach that requires maintenance neither does laser vision mean that he has a laser machine in his brain
Well his xray vision could actually just be his ability to detect xrays exceptionally well. Technically we’re bombarded with a lot of different kinds of radiation all the time but in small amounts. In theory if he has the receptors for it he could just be seeing that. I have no idea how realistic it would be tho.
I think that if Kryptonians were supposed to be adapted to a planet closet to their sun then there would be a significant amount of radiation which would be a plausible explanation for why they’d have this ability, however I would think it would be incredibly dim on a planet further from their sun like earth.
In the Superman: Red Son comic (pretty sure it was this one), they do reference this.
In it, Superman lands in the Soviet Union and the U.S. creates the clone (don’t remember if it was Bizarro or not). The clone uses literal x-ray vision and fully irradiates a sub.
That would mean that Superman’s x-ray vision isn’t actual x-rays but a sort of see-through vision. X-ray vision just sounds better.
that’s not even close to how it works lmao. x-ray pictures are like the shadow of your bones captured on a piece of x-ray sensitive photoresist. he’d need to bounce x-rays off of something and then see them coming back into his eyes if that’s how it worked
infrared cameras don’t shoot infrared radiation at everything. normal cameras don’t shine a bunch of colors at something from behind.
ex xray tech here. That’s not how xray vision works. While light bounces around and that’s how we can eventually see things with our eyes after the light ricochets off an object to us, xrays do not deflect or bounce around. They stay going in one direction. The way we get xrays is to “Catch” the image on the other side of the object that the radiation passes through. The things that “catches” this image is called an IR (Image receptor). Its placed behind the patient/object, we aim radiation towards them, and the radiation that passes through in different amounts at different densities makes an image on the other side. (Like shadow puppets or a stencil).
For Superman to see these radiation images and different densities he would have to the the IR which means he is on the receiving end of the radiation, not the source of it.
I could also go into how his brain interprets the images would have to be some crazy manipulation OR he sees everything as a FISHBOWL lens switching to xray vision but that’s not as important rn
This isn’t how it works. He isn’t shooting xrays from his eyes, and even if he was, that’s not how they work. We see xrays by shooting them onto plates and then seeing the shadow imprinted on them.
Superman’a vision can zoom so far they can bypass atoms allowing him to see through things.
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Jimmy just be thankful it’s not gamma ray vision.
cue the family guy scene bout this exact scenario
It’s called x-ray vision because he can see past atoms. I’m sure there could be some “he uses super vision to see through the empty spaces that make up 99% of an atom (similar to how Flash can control his atoms to phase through walls by using the empty space in atoms). I don’t think he actually emits x-rays
The George Reeves series played with this a bit. The Short Answer these days is: it isn’t really X-Rays, but it does work like that. He can see through just about anything.
At least he doesn’t have radioactive sperm like spiderman
Family guy already covered that lol
I’m tired of this dumb ass bit. X-ray vision doesn’t mean he has an X-ray machine attached to his eyes, it just means he can see through shit. Ice breath doesn’t mean he has an ice machine in his stomach that requires maintenance neither does laser vision mean that he has a laser machine in his brain
Well his xray vision could actually just be his ability to detect xrays exceptionally well. Technically we’re bombarded with a lot of different kinds of radiation all the time but in small amounts. In theory if he has the receptors for it he could just be seeing that. I have no idea how realistic it would be tho.
I think that if Kryptonians were supposed to be adapted to a planet closet to their sun then there would be a significant amount of radiation which would be a plausible explanation for why they’d have this ability, however I would think it would be incredibly dim on a planet further from their sun like earth.
You assume he’s using actual x-ray. Which would require an image plate, or sensor to see said x-rays.
Is it lore that he does?
What do you think those glasses are for? A disguise?
In the Superman: Red Son comic (pretty sure it was this one), they do reference this.
In it, Superman lands in the Soviet Union and the U.S. creates the clone (don’t remember if it was Bizarro or not). The clone uses literal x-ray vision and fully irradiates a sub.
That would mean that Superman’s x-ray vision isn’t actual x-rays but a sort of see-through vision. X-ray vision just sounds better.
Its not actually x-rays. He can just see through shit. Being around Dr Manhatten though….
What if it just cured cancer. Like radiation treatment
Wasn’t there a Family Guy joke that all of Clark Kent’s coworkers got breast cancer?
that’s not even close to how it works lmao. x-ray pictures are like the shadow of your bones captured on a piece of x-ray sensitive photoresist. he’d need to bounce x-rays off of something and then see them coming back into his eyes if that’s how it worked
infrared cameras don’t shoot infrared radiation at everything. normal cameras don’t shine a bunch of colors at something from behind.
He’s not shooting xrays he’s just seeing in a broader band of frequency, right?
Even if he emitted x-rays, the ability seems to be something he can turn on or off.
So unless he’s constantly perving on his acquaintances, they’ll be fine.
ex xray tech here. That’s not how xray vision works. While light bounces around and that’s how we can eventually see things with our eyes after the light ricochets off an object to us, xrays do not deflect or bounce around. They stay going in one direction. The way we get xrays is to “Catch” the image on the other side of the object that the radiation passes through. The things that “catches” this image is called an IR (Image receptor). Its placed behind the patient/object, we aim radiation towards them, and the radiation that passes through in different amounts at different densities makes an image on the other side. (Like shadow puppets or a stencil).
For Superman to see these radiation images and different densities he would have to the the IR which means he is on the receiving end of the radiation, not the source of it.
I could also go into how his brain interprets the images would have to be some crazy manipulation OR he sees everything as a FISHBOWL lens switching to xray vision but that’s not as important rn
Yes they’ve made many skits on various shows about this over the last 25 years.
This isn’t how it works. He isn’t shooting xrays from his eyes, and even if he was, that’s not how they work. We see xrays by shooting them onto plates and then seeing the shadow imprinted on them.
Superman’a vision can zoom so far they can bypass atoms allowing him to see through things.
Similar to Doctor Manhattan! Sexy Lexy could play the long game and give people cancer in effort to prove Superman is a menace to society.
I just assumed ‘x-ray’ was a misnomer and an easier concept for a human’s feeble brain.
Eyes are receivers of X-rays, not projectors.