Superman is one of the most powerful figures in the DC Universe thanks to his body's ability to absorb sunlight and channel it into pure strength, making him a nearly unstoppable force. But there's actually one version of Superman from the distant future who took his powers to their absolute limit and discovered there may actually not be any such thing as a limit for the Man of Steel.
How did Superman achieve his ultimate golden form, and how powerful is this futuristic transformation?
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Golden Superman was introduced during the events of DC One Million by Grant Morrison, Val Semeiks, Prentis Rollins, Ken Lopez and Pat Garrahy. The storyline focused on the modern-day JLA being visited by the inheritors of the legacy in the 853rd century, Justice League Alpha. The team protects the entire galaxy, with humanity and other species spreading out across the cosmos. In that future, Superman had remained one of the most famous and powerful heroes in the universe throughout the modern era. After leading the Justice League, marrying Lois Lane, and leading a perfect life as Superman, the hero eventually realized his powers essentially made him immortal. By the end of the 21st century, almost all of Superman's closest friends and family had passed away, including Lois.
A grieving Clark Kent left Earth under the protection of his successor, Superman Secundus, and departed the planet he'd so long called home. This led to the birth of the Superman Dynasty, a strong family heritage of generations using their Kryptonian powers for the betterment of humanity and the galaxy as a whole. Meanwhile, the original Superman traveled the cosmos for seven thousand years, learning many new skills and perfecting his own abilities. In the year 7000, he returned to Earth and revealed a new ability: to bestow some of his massive energy reserves within others and empower them to become super-powered in their own right. After inspiring his descendants to spread further across the galaxy, Superman ventured into the center of the sun -- which became known as his new Fortress of Solitude.
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Superman spent 1500 years in the sun, soaking up the solar energy the entire time and only occasionally venturing out. At one point he attempted to save an entire alternate reality as it collapsed but only arrived in time to save one man (who would become the Atom of the 853rd century). By the 853rd Century, Superman announced his intent to finally leave the sun and return fully to the universe. A universal festival was planned to honor his legacy -- prompting Justice League Alpha to return to the past and bring the JLA as honored guests to the festivities. However, this sets the plans of Vandal Savage and Solaris the Tyrant-Sun in motion. Evidently, the pair had spent thousands of years preparing their ultimate attack to kill Superman, regardless of how powerful he's become.
This involved unleashing a Kryptonite bullet, hidden within Solaris for centuries, to strike Superman just as he left the sun. Thanks to machinations of long-living heroes like the Martian Manhunter, the Kryptonite was really just the lost Green Lantern ring of the era. Taking the ring and wielding it with ease, Superman steps out of the sun and easily destroys the Tyrant Sun once and for all. Coupled with the Green Lantern Ring, Golden Superman is one of the most powerful forms of the character. All of his natural powers have been enhanced by the centuries of exposure to sunlight, making his full potential possibly limitless. His descendant, Kal Kent, is shown helping contain supernovas and punching time-barriers to pieces -- but even he pales in comparison to Golden Superman's power.
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It's the ultimate form of the hero, outside the exceedingly meta Thought Robot from Final Crisis. Golden Superman is also shown to have grown even more wise and kind than he was before. It's likely his full powers can't even be measured and that he's become an immortal and unstoppable force for good. With Kryptonite stated to be all but destroyed by this time period, there's very little that can be done to slow down this version of the character. In the end, he even gets his own personal reward for his return -- with scientists of the future finding a way to not only restore Lois Lane to life in a new silver body but to even effectively restore Krypton. This Superman was also seen in All-Star Superman as the leader of the Superman Squadron, hinting at a proud future for Golden Superman.
The Golden Superman still exists in some form, as a weakened version from the year 2735 was introduced in Electric Warriors. He was briefly and forcibly fused into a Firestorm-esque fusion with Lex Luthor, but was saved by Warcry and his allies -- giving the hero the chance to venture back into the sun to become fully restored once more. It suggests that Golden Superman is indeed the ultimate and final form of the Man of Steel, even in the current DC Universe.