When it comes to comic books, there will always be some characters who are infinitely more powerful than most others. However, this is often relegated to the character's respective universes and the rules that exist therein. As a result, one powerful character in one universe may only be a fraction as powerful as the strongest character from another. This explains why it can often be fun to pit the strongest characters from one reality against one from another.

One such pairing that seems unorthodox at first is a battle between DC's powerful Man of Steel, Superman, and Image's mystical powerhouse, Spawn. While both characters are the products of very different eras, their feats and abilities make them equally formidable.

What Are Spawn's Powers and Weaknesses?

The hellish magic user of Image Comics first appeared in Todd McFarlane's Spawn #1 in 1992. The story follows soldier and assassin Al Simmons, who is double-crossed, killed, and sent to Hell. Once there, he makes a deal with a demon named Malebolgia to be a hellspawn in his army in exchange for being able to see his wife again.

As Spawn, Simmons has multiple abilities at his disposal. For starters, he's a skilled hand-to-hand combatant and weapons user due to his time in the military. As a hellspawn, his body is comprised of necroplasm that can regenerate lost limbs and fire energy blasts as well as host a multitude of other magical abilities. Some of these higher-level skills include flight, teleportation, shapeshifting, and the manipulation of time and reality. In addition, Spawn's suit, the K7-Leetha, can also generate chains, spikes and armor at his command, and keeps him safe if he is ever rendered unconscious.

For all of his strengths, Spawn also has weaknesses he must account for. For example, he once had a timer that kept track of how much necroplasm he had available to use that eventually ran out during the "Armageddon" arc. Afterwards, he was reborn as a God and used his powers to resurrect Earth after it was destroyed. Spawn's powers are also diminished in the Dead's Zone, a domain on Earth claimed by Heaven that leaves Spawn powerless.

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Superman's Powers and Weaknesses, Explained

First introduced in Action Comics #1 by Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster in 1938, Superman is the world's most traditional hero when it comes to style and abilities. Rocketed to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton as an infant, the Kent family found and raised Kal-El in Kansas.

When he was of age, the human-looking alien traveled to Metropolis and took on the guise of reporter Clark Kent, staying close to the action and springing into action when needed as Superman, the Man of Steel. His abilities include flight, speed, strength, invulnerability, heat and x-ray vision, and freeze breath. His most impressive ability is easily his strength, documented in Superman #13 (by Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Roccafort) as being sufficient enough to bench press the weight of the Earth. With this strength, he has taken on many deities such as Darkseid and Trigun, and also achieved godhood in a manner similar to Spawn. However, he did so by becoming pure energy in Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's All-Star Superman.

But even though he is strong, Superman isn't immune to everything. His most notable weakness is Kryptonite, an irradiated rock from Krypton that has the potential to weaken and ultimately destroy him. Another major weakness of the Man of Steel is magic. While it hasn't been proven to kill him like Kryptonite, magic can deliver extensive damage and easily injures him in ways most normal weapons can't. As a result, it is imperative that Superman is vigilant when facing magical opponents.

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Superman Vs. Spawn: Who Wins?

In a full-on fight, Spawn would have to be on his toes to keep up with the speed and strength of Superman. But because of his necroplasm abilities, there is a high probability that he could command reality to slow down his opponent, granted he is given the chance. This means that the moment Superman is caught in one of Spawn's traps, the Man of Steel would be at the mercy of his magic.

Furthermore, since necroplasm is powered by negative energies, Superman would have to endure painful attacks that would pierce his skin...or worse. Considering how merciless Spawn has proven to be, the Man of Steel would likely lose the fight - decisively.

KEEP READING: Darkseid Almost Killed A DC Hero With Kryptonite - But It Wasn't Superman