Previous Post Quote: Thor did not use a lightning bolt attack in this fight as Primetime detailed below. He may have charged Mjolnir. I believe those are different things. What Primetime says is almost always opposite of what happens in a comic. Quote: Regarding Reed's comment: 1) Reed's "Perhaps" comment does not mean much, if anything. In the comic, if Reed somehow hooked up both Superman and Thor to a machine and it measured their power output and Superman outclassed Thor then yes, that would mean something. But that didn't come close to happening. That's one way to handwave a clear cut statement. Quote: 2) Reed's comment may not have even reflected the writer's actual thoughts on the matter. The writer may have just used the comment because it helped the narrative. You don't know the writer's thoughts or motivations. That's another way. Quote: 3) And even IF it was the writer's belief that Superman is greater than Thor, what does that matter? Other writers believe differently. If it's not shown in the comic (and one character's uncertain thoughts on the matter don't count), it doesn't matter. Reed's in-comic statement bears little to no weight because it was not a quantitative analysis and he himself was uncertain ("perhaps"). It was a throw-away comment. May I know where Thor is stated to be more powerful than Superman? Quote: Regarding Thor's power vs. Superman: If your opinion is that Superman is greater than Thor at everything except energy projection, you're entitled to it. But I think they are relative peers. By the very nature of comics, everything varies so much. And there are also different ways fans interpret this variation. Some fans go with the original take on a character. Some fans take a characters' best showings. Some fans try to average out showings to derive out what you would typically expect from a character. But some of what you're saying is hard to back up. I can respect your opinion, but without anything backing them up, they are just opinions.

I'll have to check if Thor used the lightning. Whether he did or not isn't really crucial to the point I was trying to make. The point I was making was that they are clearly close peers. This is evidenced by Superman's comments on the matter, as well as Superman's physical state after their fight. Based on this, and based on other factors about their powersets and weaknesses, my point was that a fight could go either way. Of course Superman could beat Thor. It doesn't mean he would every time, nor does the fight definitely prove one was more powerful than the other, as the full scope of their powersets (from both sides) weren't used.

Regarding my "handwaving" of a "clear cut statement" - what exactly about it is clear cut? Or more clear cut than Superman absolutely being in awe of Thor's power after grabbing Mjolnir? Let's look at the definition of the word "perhaps"

per·haps
1) used to express uncertainty or possibility.
synonyms: maybe, for all one knows, it could be, it may be, it's possible, possibly, conceivably;
2) More used when one does not wish to be too definite or assertive in the expression of an opinion.
"perhaps not surprisingly, he was cautious about committing himself"
3) used when making a polite request, offer, or suggestion.
"would you perhaps consent to act as our guide?"

Silver Surfer and Superman met in a crossover. From that it seemed Superman was in awe of Silver Surfer. I could say something like "Perhaps Silver Surfer is more powerful than Superman".

That doesn't mean that I am sure that's the case. And when you dig into it, and realize that I am basing my opinion on something that is not quantitative, not definitive, all of a sudden my opinion loses weight. That's what's happening here. We have some one-off comments prefaced by an admission of uncertainty and you are using it to prop up your point.