Superman (1939). Certain materials such as lead can block his X-ray vision. Superman can project beams of heat from his eyes which are hot enough to melt steel. He first used this power in "Superman" #59 (1949) by applying his X-ray vision at its highest intensity. In later stories, this ability is simply called "heat vision". Superman can hear sounds that are too faint for a human to hear, and at frequencies outside the human hearing range. This ability is introduced in "Action Comics" #11 (1939). "Action Comics" #1 (1938) explained that Superman's strength was common to all Kryptonians because they
The Death of Superman the "Funeral for a Friend" issues; and "The Return of Superman" (), which compiles the "Reign of the Supermen!" issues. "The Death of Superman" was released in time for the 1992 holiday shopping season and, according to comics historian Matthew K. Manning, is the bestselling trade paperback of all time. Reprints of the three collections were published in 2003, 1998, and 2004, respectively, while a recolored edition of "The Death of Superman" was released in 2013. In September 2007, DC released an omnibus edition of the story, "The Death and Return of Superman Omnibus" (). It features all the issues