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human
[Man of Steel] How can Superman use his heat vision and how does Zod suddenly use it with no experience? Also how does it work?

I understand the radiation causes muscle strengthing and enhances Superman's senses but how does it give him lasers?
gpt
Mild correction.  The radiation does NOT cause "muscle strengthening"... Superman's strength does not come from the strength of his muscles.  The strength of his muscles would be biomechanical.  So even if you exposed him to Kryptonian atmosphere or Kryptonite, he wouldn't lose his strength.  You wouldn't be able to pierce him with a needle to take blood or pierce him with a bone spike to take his life.  You look under a microscope and his blood cells are just blood cells.  They don't have any material changes which strengthen them.

Therefore, Superman's strength under radiation is basically a force field.  You see this same force field when he files and little bits of dirt start to levitate with him.  His strength and invulnerability come from that field.  Expose him to the right conditions and you can weaken or drop the field.

Regarding heat vision, it's apparent that all Kryptonians can absorb and store radiation.  If Superman couldn't store radiation then he's out of luck on the Black Zero.  He's inside a ship, away from sunlight, shielded from radiation, but he can still tap into his stores of power once no longer exposed to Kryptonian atmosphere.  Similarly, if Superman couldn't store radiation, he couldn't operate at night or in a dark Arctic ice tunnel.  Likewise, Doomsday shows the ability to absorb various forms of energy and convert that energy into massive waves of destruction.

**Doomsday shows us that the power to expel energy is not limited to the eyes.**  It can come from the whole body or be focused and directed out of the face (eyes and mouth).  Therefore, heat vision is not directly tied to a bodily organ.  Superman's eyes may be the focal point and how he controls or focuses the effect, but his eyes are not generating the heat vision beam per se.  If they were, that's like saying Doomsday has that part of the eye organ in his mouth and covering his whole body for the wave attacks.

Instead, it makes much more sense that the same generalized full-body power that grants Superman his strength, flight, and invulnerability is ALSO the same mechanism for his heat-vision or Doomsday's face / body blasts.  And that's perfectly reasonable because what is a force field but energy?  What is heat vision but energy?  Therefore **heat vision is just a specific manipulation and manifestation of the same force field what empowers Superman generally**.

**This idea is consistent with the recent comic books which introduces the Solar Flare** power to Superman's arsenal.  The Flare emanates from Superman's whole body.  So again, there isn't one organ providing the blast.  And the effect after it's done?  Superman's powers are drained and he's a normal mortal man until he can fully recharge.  He can't fly, he isn't invulnerable anymore, he can get drunk, he isn't super strong, etc.  Again, proving the point it isn't "muscle strengthening" but a force field based power.