Superman Debuts Brand New Superpower, Never Seen Before

3 days ago 8

Published Jul 27, 2026, 8:30 AM EDT

Robert Wood is a writer and editor based out of Cheshire, England. He is the author of 'The False Elephant: and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories' - 100 stories, each told in exactly 100 words.

Rob got into comics via Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and the UK anthology 'The Mighty World of Marvel,' which was running Frank Miller's Daredevil, Classic Hulk and Contest of Champions II.

Prior to journalism, he worked in copywriting and copyedited for Oxford University Press. He is on X as @PinchTwigs and Instagram as roobwoodjourno.

Over the eight decades since his debut, Superman media has introduced some of DC's wildest powers, many of them wielded by the Man of Steel himself. From super-ventriloquism to amnesia-inducing kisses to firing tiny doppelgängers from his hands, Supes can get weird with the best of them.

Now, DC has introduced a wild new superpower into official canon - one never seen before, and with major consequences for Superman and the Justice League's future.

Here's what you need to know about Superman's wild new power, and where you can see it used again soon.

Superboy-Prime Adds 'Continuity Vision' to Superman Lore

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In the recent Superman #40 - from Joshua Williamson, Dan Mora, Alejandro Sánchez and Ariana Maher - Superboy-Prime (currently filling in as DC's Superman, in Clark Kent's absence) faces off with powerful telepath Manchester Black. While Manchester Black uses his powers to warp reality, Superboy-Prime is able to fight back using "Continuity Vision."

One of DC's most meta characters, Superboy-Prime is a comics fanboy from an alternate universe with no other heroes (implied to be our own.) As a comics fan, Superboy-Prime is aware of the readers and all of DC history and its biggest secrets, including past retcons that rewrote reality.

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Up against Manchester Black, Superboy-Prime is able to shunt all of that information into Manchester Black's head. The antihero-turned-villain is unable to cope with the informational overload, collapsing and being imprisoned in the Phantom Zone by the Justice League.

Manchester Black Just Became a New Type of Threat

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While Superboy-Prime stopped Manchester Black from altering reality to his liking, using his 'Continuity Vision' means that the villain now knows all DC's secrets. Every hero's identity, all their loved ones, and every potential weakness are now scorched into his memory.

Originally a villain, Manchester Black was pseudo-redeemed by working with Superman. However, even as a 'hero' he has proved dangerous, trying to use Superboy-Prime's flexible relationship with reality to retcon history. Thankfully, due to the psychic connection Manchester Black forged to try and control Superboy-Prime, he was rendered vulnerable to Continuity Vision.

However, while his grand retcon has failed, Manchester Black successfully brought himself back from death, and he now has the knowledge he needs to rewrite events by other means. If and when he escapes the Phantom Zone, he'll be more dangerous than ever before.

Superboy-Prime's Redemption Arc Is Complete... Or Just Beginning

While Superboy-Prime has been attempting to achieve redemption as the interim Man of Steel, this month saw Clark Kent's Superman return to reclaim his title. However, Superboy-Prime has done enough to be welcomed into the Superman Family, and will fight by their side in the upcoming 'Kingdom of Zod' event.

While Conner Kent's Superboy isn't happy working alongside Prime (since the former villain killed him in Infinite Crisis), the rest of the team are more welcoming, with Lois Lane advocating for a second chance. Prime even hints at plans to give him a new series. Speaking directly to the reader, the character says, "You're not totally done with me yet! Because next year, I'll--"

While he's cut off, it seems like DC is teasing a solo series for Prime in 2027, or at least a series starring him as a main character. That makes sense given the groundwork the last few issues of Superman have put into developing the character and establishing his new status quo and supporting cast.

Of course, if Superboy-Prime does get his own series, it's likely he'll once again face Manchester Black, now powered up with the knowledge he gained from Superman lore's new Continuity Vision superpower.

Superman #40 is available now from DC comics.