That goes for the people on the train too though. If he had so little time that he couldn’t move the kid 2 meters without giving him whiplash, then stopping the train in that same amount of time would send everybody on the train flying to the front of their cars at whatever speed the train was going.
Comment on at least no more trolley problems
finitebanjo@piefed.world 3 weeks ago
Technically what Superman did was correct. Superman COULD scoop the child up and move him out of the way, but that sort of sudden acceleration would be a lot like getting hit by a train.
0ops@piefed.zip 3 weeks ago
finitebanjo@piefed.world 2 weeks ago
Why are we assuming it's a passenger train? It's probably just a choice between a small child or a middle aged conductor who did survive according to the illustration if only because they decided to draw him in afterwards as a form of censorship.
0ops@piefed.zip 2 weeks ago
I only assume that it’s not an autonomous train. And I’m not making any points about morality here, that sounds exhausting and I’d rather leave that to a lawyer or judge. I’m just saying, from a physics standpoint, moving the girl instead of stopping the training would’ve saved no fewer lives and not damaged any infrastructure. Just some constructive feedback Supes, I love what you’re doin ♥️♥️♥️
magnetosphere@fedia.io 2 weeks ago
Please pardon me if I’m missing something obvious. I don’t understand how censorship is involved.
finitebanjo@piefed.world 2 weeks ago
Well if they didn't draw him in we'd all be assuming Superman murdered that guy just like user Oops just declared.
ImWaitingForRetcons@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
It’s long been a fan Theory that Superman can cover some form of durability to the items he handles, otherwise a lot of the larger items he handles would crumble/collapse under their own weight, or people he carries would be crushed/chopped to chunks.
Macchi_the_Slime@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
Didn't they try to make something like that canon years ago? That Superman has some kind of field he extends to objects he touches that in part dampens some of the physics implications of the movements he's shown to be able to do carrying objects and people that don't immediately rip themselves apart from G forces? Or am I misremembering?
JcbAzPx@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
They did that for superboy at one point. He is said to have tactile telekinesis.
magnetosphere@fedia.io 3 weeks ago
I read something about his old outfit suggesting that this was an early outing. Superman hadn’t quite worked out the physics/consequences of using his powers yet.
Also, by the look on the conductor’s face, the train wasn’t moving very fast.
psx_crab@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
He did it all the time in movies tho.
And the sudden deceleration of that train mean whoever in that train is not gonna have a good time lol
NoSpotOfGround@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This is not like a falling kid problem…
If he had more than 0.5 seconds to move the kid he could have done so without severely hurting him. On the other hand, if he had less than 0.5 seconds he’s now killed everyone on the train.