1394: Superm*n - Revision history

81.179.199.253 at 19:16, 6 May 2026

2026-05-06T19:16:14Z

64.189.140.61 at 00:43, 6 May 2026

2026-05-06T00:43:40Z

81.179.199.253: Undo revision 411430 by 216.145.71.130 (talk) Not (yet?) a thing.

2026-04-29T21:18:57Z

Undo revision 411430 by 216.145.71.130 (talk) Not (yet?) a thing.

216.145.71.130 at 20:49, 29 April 2026

2026-04-29T20:49:28Z

82.132.237.234: /* Explanation */

2025-10-08T16:47:28Z

‎Explanation

134.60.67.135: /* Explanation */

2025-10-08T08:15:46Z

‎Explanation

172.68.205.73: /* Explanation */

2025-06-03T15:59:05Z

‎Explanation

GreatWyrmGold: /* Explanation / is a flexible thing.

2022-10-19T20:22:38Z

‎Explanation: * is a flexible thing.

Davidy22: Reverted edits by Explain xkcd server admin (talk) to last revision by 172.70.114.247

2022-05-21T02:50:40Z

Reverted edits by Explain xkcd server admin (talk) to last revision by 172.70.114.247

Show changes

Explain xkcd server admin at 00:03, 21 May 2022

2022-05-21T00:03:23Z

Show changes

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 [[Category:Supermoon]]
-[[Category:Superheroes]]
+<!-- Proposed: [[Category:Comics featuring Superheroes|Supermoon-Man]] (!-- distinct from Superman? --) -->

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:43, 6 May 2026
Line 32:		Line 32:
	[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]		[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
	[[Category:Supermoon]]		[[Category:Supermoon]]
		+	[[Category:Superheroes]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:18, 29 April 2026
Line 32:		Line 32:
	[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]		[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
	[[Category:Supermoon]]		[[Category:Supermoon]]
−	~~[[Category:Superheroes]]~~

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:49, 29 April 2026
Line 32:		Line 32:
	[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]		[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
	[[Category:Supermoon]]		[[Category:Supermoon]]
		+	[[Category:Superheroes]]

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-By depicting how unimpressive the superhero {{w|Superman}} would be if his increase in powers, when compared to humans, were the same as the moon’s increase in apparent size during a {{w|supermoon}}, Randall points that the use of the term supermoon is an exaggeration. This comic was released two days after such a supermoon and there was a hype in 2014 because there were [https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/10jul_supermoons three supermoons in a row] as NASA said.
+By depicting how unimpressive the superhero {{w|Superman}} would be if his increase in powers, when compared to humans, were the same as the Moon's increase in apparent size during a {{w|supermoon}}, Randall points that the use of the term supermoon is an exaggeration. This comic was released two days after such a supermoon and there was a hype in 2014 because there were [https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/10jul_supermoons three supermoons in a row] as NASA said.
-A supermoon is an informal astronomical event where a full moon occurs when it is closest to earth, causing the moon to appear 10% brighter and about 7% larger than the '''average''' full moon appears. This is due to the {{w|apsidal precession}} of moon’s {{w|elliptic orbit}} which has an {{w|orbital eccentricity}} of about 0.0549. The conditions for a supermoon happen once every 411&nbsp;days, and the loose definition of the term means that the supermoon lasts for about two or three full moons.
+A supermoon is an informal astronomical event where a full moon occurs when it is closest to Earth, causing the Moon to appear 10% brighter and about 7% larger than the '''average''' full moon appears. This is due to the {{w|apsidal precession}} of the Moon's {{w|elliptic orbit}} which has an {{w|orbital eccentricity}} of about 0.0549. The conditions for a supermoon happen once every 411&nbsp;days, and the loose definition of the term means that the supermoon lasts for about two or three full moons.
-Returning to the not-so-Superman, the average American adult man is 69&nbsp;inches (175&nbsp;cm) tall, with a {{w|standard deviation}} of 2.9&nbsp;inches (7,4&nbsp;cm). Not-so-Superman, at an assumed 74&nbsp;inches (188&nbsp;cm) tall, is within the 94th percentile—certainly a tall man, but by no means phenomenal. Basketball players, by way of example, are often more than 80&nbsp;inches (203&nbsp;cm) tall. “7% stronger” (most likely a reference to how the supermoon is 7% larger) is a bit harder to quantify, but it communicates “not actually impressive” to the reader all the same. For example, if an average man can lift 50&nbsp;kg, the not-so-Superman would lift 53.5&nbsp;kg.
+Returning to the not-so-Superman, the average American adult man is 69&nbsp;inches (175&nbsp;cm) tall, with a {{w|standard deviation}} of 2.9&nbsp;inches (7,4&nbsp;cm). Not-so-Superman, at an assumed 74&nbsp;inches (188&nbsp;cm) tall, is within the 94th percentile — certainly a tall man, but by no means phenomenal. Basketball players, by way of example, are often more than 80&nbsp;inches (203&nbsp;cm) tall. "7% stronger" (most likely a reference to how the supermoon is 7% larger) is a bit harder to quantify, but it communicates "not actually impressive" to the reader all the same. For example, if an average man can lift 50&nbsp;kg, the not-so-Superman would lift 53.5&nbsp;kg.
-The comic’s title makes use of an asterisk that is being used as a wildcard. When using search queries an asterisk represents one or more characters. Therefore, Superm*n can represent the strings “Superman” and “Supermoon,” as well as “Supermen,” “Supermoan,” and “Supermax prison”.
+The comic's title makes use of an asterisk that is being used as a wildcard. When using search queries an asterisk represents one or more characters. Therefore, Superm*n can represent the strings "Superman" and "Supermoon", as well as "Supermen", "Supermoan" and "Supermax prison".
-The title text makes this same comparison with {{w|Spider-Man}}. Spider-Man is capable of firing large amounts of webbing, can cling to surfaces with superhuman gripping abilities, and has a sixth sense, “spider sense”, that warns him about impending danger. The title text describes trivially minimal versions of these powers, analogous to the trivial size and brightness difference between a “supermoon” and a normal full moon. This also shows a much more accurate depiction of an actual spider’s abilities, where they can produce several inches of a thin web, not the unrealistic amounts depicted in use by Spider-Man (usually by technical means, though occasionally [https://screenrant.com/tobey-maguire-spiderman-organic-webshooters/ organically]).
+The title text makes this same comparison with {{w|Spider-Man}}. Spider-Man is capable of firing large amounts of webbing, can cling to surfaces with superhuman gripping abilities, and has a sixth sense, "spider sense", that warns him about impending danger. The title text describes trivially minimal versions of these powers, analogous to the trivial size and brightness difference between a "supermoon" and a normal full moon. This also shows a much more accurate depiction of an actual spider's abilities, where they can produce several inches of a thin web, not the unrealistic amounts depicted in use by Spider-Man (usually by technical means, though occasionally [https://screenrant.com/tobey-maguire-spiderman-organic-webshooters/ organically]).
 Supermoon is also referenced in [[1052: Every Major's Terrible#Verse 3|panel 25]] of [[1052: Every Major's Terrible]] and shortly thereafter in [[1080: Visual Field]], in both cases displaying the same distaste for the formulation, although not as clearly as here. Since then other comics have referred to the term, see this [[:Category:Supermoon|list]].

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 The comic's title makes use of an asterisk that is being used as a wildcard. When using search queries an asterisk represents one or more characters. Therefore, Superm*n can represent the strings "Superman" and "Supermoon," as well as "Supermen," "Supermoan," and "Supermax prison".
-The title text refers  makes this same comparison with {{w|Spider-Man}}. Spider-Man is capable of firing large amounts of webbing, can cling to surfaces with superhuman gripping abilities, and has a sixth sense, "spider sense", that warns him about impending danger. The title text describes trivially minimal versions of these powers, analogous to the trivial size and brightness difference between a "supermoon" and a normal full moon. This also shows a much more accurate depiction of an actual spider's abilities, where they can produce several inches of a thin web, not the unrealistic amounts depicted in use by Spider-Man.
+The title text refers  makes this same comparison with {{w|Spider-Man}}. Spider-Man is capable of firing large amounts of webbing, can cling to surfaces with superhuman gripping abilities, and has a sixth sense, "spider sense", that warns him about impending danger. The title text describes trivially minimal versions of these powers, analogous to the trivial size and brightness difference between a "supermoon" and a normal full moon. This also shows a much more accurate depiction of an actual spider's abilities, where they can produce several inches of a thin web, not the unrealistic amounts depicted in use by Spider-Man (usually by technical means, though occasionally [https://screenrant.com/tobey-maguire-spiderman-organic-webshooters/ organically]).
 Supermoon is also referenced in [[1052: Every Major's Terrible#Verse 3|panel 25]] of [[1052: Every Major's Terrible]] and shortly thereafter in [[1080: Visual Field]]. In both cases displaying the same distaste for the formulation. Although not as clearly as here. Since then other comics have referred to the term, see this [[:Category:Supermoon|list]].

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 Returning to the not-so-Superman, the average American adult man is 69&nbsp;inches tall, with a {{w|standard deviation}} of 2.9&nbsp;inches. Not-so-Superman, at an assumed 74&nbsp;inches (188&nbsp;cm) tall, is within the 94th percentile - certainly a tall man, but by no means phenomenal. Basketball players, by way of example, are often more than 80&nbsp;inches tall. "7% stronger" (most likely a reference to how the supermoon is 7% larger) is a bit harder to quantify, but it communicates "not actually impressive" to the reader all the same. For example, if an average man can lift 50&nbsp;kg, the not-so-Superman would lift 53.5&nbsp;kg.
-The comic's title makes use of an asterisk that is being used as a wildcard. When using search queries an asterisk represents one or more characters. Therefore, Superm*n can represent the strings "Superman" and "Supermoon".
+The comic's title makes use of an asterisk that is being used as a wildcard. When using search queries an asterisk represents one or more characters. Therefore, Superm*n can represent the strings "Superman" and "Supermoon," as well as "Supermen," "Supermoan," and "Supermax prison".
 The title text refers  makes this same comparison with {{w|Spider-Man}}. Spider-Man is capable of firing large amounts of webbing, can cling to surfaces with superhuman gripping abilities, and has a sixth sense, "spider sense", that warns him about impending danger. The title text describes trivially minimal versions of these powers, analogous to the trivial size and brightness difference between a "supermoon" and a normal full moon. This also shows a much more accurate depiction of an actual spider's abilities, where they can produce several inches of a thin web, not the unrealistic amounts depicted in use by Spider-Man.

1394: Superm*n - Revision history

81.179.199.253 at 19:16, 6 May 2026

64.189.140.61 at 00:43, 6 May 2026

81.179.199.253: Undo revision 411430 by 216.145.71.130 (talk) Not (yet?) a thing.

216.145.71.130 at 20:49, 29 April 2026

82.132.237.234: /* Explanation */

134.60.67.135: /* Explanation */

172.68.205.73: /* Explanation */

GreatWyrmGold: /* Explanation */ * is a flexible thing.

Davidy22: Reverted edits by Explain xkcd server admin (talk) to last revision by 172.70.114.247

Explain xkcd server admin at 00:03, 21 May 2022

GreatWyrmGold: /* Explanation / is a flexible thing.