1792: Bird/Plane/Superman - Revision history

81.179.199.253 at 19:18, 6 May 2026

2026-05-06T19:18:31Z

64.189.140.61 at 00:44, 6 May 2026

2026-05-06T00:44:59Z

64.189.140.121: changed links to a more reliable source with context, removed speculative language

2026-04-09T22:05:26Z

changed links to a more reliable source with context, removed speculative language

DollarStoreBa'al: I marked this as incomplete a few months ago. I now realize it was a non-issue.

2025-08-27T16:55:30Z

I marked this as incomplete a few months ago. I now realize it was a non-issue.

108.228.40.64: /* Table */

2025-08-21T05:02:49Z

‎Table

162.158.74.94: /* Explanation */

2025-05-08T22:33:25Z

‎Explanation

DollarStoreBa'al: planes fly in holding patterns. also the cat plane video. also ultralight planes may be damaged from a punch.

2025-05-08T17:46:16Z

planes fly in holding patterns. also the cat plane video. also ultralight planes may be damaged from a punch.

162.158.216.114: /* Explanation */ Nothing obviously missing, at first glance.

2025-05-05T19:00:07Z

‎Explanation: Nothing obviously missing, at first glance.

DollarStoreBa'al at 13:19, 5 May 2025

2025-05-05T13:19:52Z

DollarStoreBa'al at 13:19, 5 May 2025

2025-05-05T13:19:38Z

@@ Line 187: / Line 187: @@
 [[Category:Food]]
 [[Category:Fiction]]
-[[Category:Superheroes]]
+<!-- Proposed: [[Category:Comics featuring Superheroes|Superman]] (!-- reference only --) -->

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:44, 6 May 2026
Line 187:		Line 187:
	[[Category:Food]]		[[Category:Food]]
	[[Category:Fiction]]		[[Category:Fiction]]
		+	[[Category:Superheroes]]

@@ Line 76: / Line 76: @@
 There has never been a case of a cat successfully catching and eating a plane,{{Citation needed}}although there may be cases where cats have attempted to chase planes. There was a viral video uploaded to YouTube in 2015, in which a couple are climbing after taking off in an ultralight aircraft before discovering a cat, which stowed away in the plane's wing structure.
-In the comics, Superman has never been eaten by a cat, although he has been [http://www.themarysue.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/power-girl-22.jpg devoured by a dinosaur]...
+In the comics, Superman has never been eaten by a cat, although he has been [https://archive.org/details/power-girl-2009-11/Power%20Girl%20%282009-11%29/Power%20Girl%20022%20%282011%29%20/page/n17/mode/1up devoured by a dinosaur]...
 |-
 ! Occasional mid-air sex || ✓ || ✓ || ✓
@@ Line 92: / Line 92: @@
 It is unlikely that normal humans would eat a plane, however it has been done by {{w|Michel Lotito}} who has digested an entire {{w|Cessna 150|Cessna}} aircraft. However he used two years to consume the plane, so although he may have eaten some parts during holidays, he did not do it because there was a seasonal feast.
-Superman is too strong and "made of steel" for him to let any human eat him. But as also mentioned above he has been [http://www.themarysue.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/power-girl-22.jpg devoured by a dinosaur] although that probably did not kill him, and does not seem to be linked to a holiday.
+Superman is too strong and "made of steel" for him to let any human eat him. But as also mentioned above he has been [https://archive.org/details/power-girl-2009-11/Power%20Girl%20%282009-11%29/Power%20Girl%20022%20%282011%29%20/page/n17/mode/1up devoured by a dinosaur] although that did not kill him, and wasn't linked to a holiday.
 |-
 ! Propelled by flapping || ✓ || ||

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:55, 27 August 2025
Line 8:		Line 8:

	==Explanation==		==Explanation==
−	~~{{incomplete \| Finish explanations in the table. (Vague. Finish what?)}}~~
	This comic is a logical comparison of observations to resolve the [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034247/quotes?item=qt0317455 classic Superman catchphrase] of comic book bystanders: "Look, up in the sky... It's a {{w\|Airplane\|bird}}!... It's a {{w\|Bird\|plane}}!... It's {{w\|Superman}}!", hence the title. Superman, a character originally created for comic books in the 1930s, is an alien with superpowers, including the power of unaided flight; hence the catchphrase exclaiming peoples' amazement.		This comic is a logical comparison of observations to resolve the [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034247/quotes?item=qt0317455 classic Superman catchphrase] of comic book bystanders: "Look, up in the sky... It's a {{w\|Airplane\|bird}}!... It's a {{w\|Bird\|plane}}!... It's {{w\|Superman}}!", hence the title. Superman, a character originally created for comic books in the 1930s, is an alien with superpowers, including the power of unaided flight; hence the catchphrase exclaiming peoples' amazement.

@@ Line 109: / Line 109: @@
 An airplane can lose its ability to fly, but no issues occurring in modern aircraft can be fixed by sunbathing, except in some {{w|Solar Impulse|experimental solar-powered aircraft}}.
-As for Superman, he is at risk of losing his superpowers, including flight, with prolonged exposure to {{w|Kryptonite}}, which makes him weak. Also the rays from the sun at his home planet {{w|Krypton (comics)|Krypton}} can {{w|Superman II#Plot|remove his super powers}} as it happened in ''{{w|Superman II}}''. Superman's ability to fly is a superpower caused by "electromagnetic radiation from the rays of a yellow sun", so he could regain his strength and superhuman abilities through sunbathing in the {{w|Sun|Sun's}} light here on Earth. Which was how he got his super powers in the first place.
+As for Superman, he is at risk of losing his superpowers, including flight, with prolonged exposure to {{w|Kryptonite}}, which makes him weak. Also the rays from the sun at his home planet {{w|Krypton (comics)|Krypton}} can {{w|Superman II#Plot|remove his super powers}} as it happened in ''{{w|Superman II}}''. Superman's powers, including flight, are caused by "electromagnetic radiation from the rays of a yellow sun" (a fictional classification of stars that includes Earth's {{w|Sun}}), so on the occasion he loses his powers he can usually regain them through "sunbathing" here on Earth.
 |-
 ! Can take a punch || || ✓ || ✓

@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 |colspan=4| Birds evolved from dinosaurs, appearing as early as the Late Jurassic period, roughly 150 million years ago. That birds evolved from dinosaur who also had wings with feathers before they evolved on to becoming birds has often been referenced by Randall in comics like [[1104: Feathers]], [[1211: Birds and Dinosaurs]] and the title texts of [[867: Herpetology]] and [[1527: Humans]].
-The {{w|Wright Flyer#Flight trials at Kitty Hawk|first successful flight}} of a powered heavier-than-air craft took place on December 17, 1903 and was performed by the {{w|Wright brothers}}. While there are claims for successful powered flight before 1900, the Wright Flyer trials are the first proven instance of heavier-than-air flight.
+The {{w|Wright Flyer#Flight trials at Kitty Hawk|first successful flight}} of a powered heavier-than-air craft took place on December 17, 1903 and was performed by the {{w|Wright brothers}}. While there are claims for successful powered flight before 1900, the Wright Flyer trials are the first proven instance of this kind of heavier-than-air flight.
 Superman first appeared in {{w|Action Comics 1|''Action Comics'' #1}}, published in June 1938.

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 |colspan=4| Some birds are capable of flying off while carrying a small human away, but this happens extremely rarely (although hoax stories are often reported).  An {{w|Ostrich}} can easily carry a human; and this happens regularly in arranged {{w|Common ostrich#Racing|races}}. The context of the strip implies that it's referring to birds in flight, so flightless birds like ostriches are ignored.
 Most planes are specifically designed to carry human passengers, although many are cargo planes with humans only acting as crew, and autonomous drones without humans also exist.
 Superman often carries other people with him, such as his {{w|Lois Lane|girlfriend}}, rescued victims or the various villains that people need to be rescued from.
@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 |colspan=4| Many types of birds fly in flocks, particularly during long-range {{w|Bird migration|migrations}}. Some birds often fly in the {{w|V formation}} which has also been {{w|V formation#Military flight missions|copied by planes}}. This formation has been used at least twice in xkcd in [[1440: Geese]] and recently in [[1729: Migrating Geese]] (notice the similarity in number of that bird comic compared to the one for this comic).
-Planes sometimes fly in {{w|Formation flying|group formation}}, particularly when engaged in military operations where mutual support is tactically useful (or when conducting practice maneuvers for such operations). Though the people who would mistake those planes for birds will mainly see this at {{w|air show}}s.
+Planes sometimes fly in {{w|Formation flying|group formation}}, particularly when engaged in military operations where mutual support is tactically useful (or when conducting practice maneuvers for such operations). There are also many instances where plane need to enter a holding pattern before landing, sometimes with some planes already flying said pattern. This would create a group of planes, each performing the same movements at the same places.
 Superman is a unique person, and thus does not fly in groups at all. While Superman occasionally operates alongside other flying superheroes, and in some stories is duplicated or split into multiple beings, Randall apparently considers these circumstances too unusual to meet the "often" qualifier.
@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 |colspan=4| Birds evolved from dinosaurs, appearing as early as the Late Jurassic period, roughly 150 million years ago. That birds evolved from dinosaur who also had wings with feathers before they evolved on to becoming birds has often been referenced by Randall in comics like [[1104: Feathers]], [[1211: Birds and Dinosaurs]] and the title texts of [[867: Herpetology]] and [[1527: Humans]].
-The {{w|Wright Flyer#Flight trials at Kitty Hawk|first successful flight}} of a powered heavier-than-air craft took place on December 17, 1903 and was performed by the {{w|Wright brothers}}. There are several other claims for the first such flight, but few are from before the 20th century, and those are generally considered to be unreliable.
+The {{w|Wright Flyer#Flight trials at Kitty Hawk|first successful flight}} of a powered heavier-than-air craft took place on December 17, 1903 and was performed by the {{w|Wright brothers}}. While there are claims for successful powered flight before 1900, the Wright Flyer trials are the first proven instance of heavier-than-air flight.
 Superman first appeared in {{w|Action Comics 1|''Action Comics'' #1}}, published in June 1938.
@@ Line 69: / Line 69: @@
 Similarly, airplane hobbyists and {{w|Aircraft spotting|plane spotters}} take note of the colors of a plane's paint job and insignia.
-Comics fans can similarly identify the artist and date of a depiction of Superman by the coloration and configuration of his costume and be obsessed with their favorite coloration being the canon.
+Comics fans can similarly identify the artist and date of a depiction of Superman by the coloration and configuration of his costume and be obsessed with their favorite coloration being the canon. Some may also search for miscolored areas to identify a rare print error comic, which are worth a lot of money in some cases.
 |-
 ! Preyed on by cats || ✓ || ||
@@ Line 75: / Line 75: @@
 |colspan=4| {{w|Cats}} kill several billion birds a year, often - but not always - eating them.
-There has never been a case of a cat successfully catching and eating a plane.{{Citation needed}}
+There has never been a case of a cat successfully catching and eating a plane,{{Citation needed}}although there may be cases where cats have attempted to chase planes. There was a viral video uploaded to YouTube in 2015, in which a couple are climbing after taking off in an ultralight aircraft before discovering a cat, which stowed away in the plane's wing structure.
 In the comics, Superman has never been eaten by a cat, although he has been [http://www.themarysue.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/power-girl-22.jpg devoured by a dinosaur]...
@@ Line 97: / Line 97: @@
 ! Propelled by flapping || ✓ || ||
 |-
-|colspan=4| Birds fly by flapping their wings.{{Citation needed}}
+|colspan=4| Birds generate lift by flapping their wings, although there are multiple raptor species which hold their wings out in order to glide at high altitudes.
-Planes have fixed wings, and fly by maintaining forward velocity and exploiting the aerodynamic effects of air flowing over the upper and lower wing surfaces, which are shaped and angled to produce lift. However some experimental designs for some of the earlier planes made such as {{w|Leonardo Da Vinci}}'s Flying Machine that was propelled by flapping.
+Planes have fixed wings, and fly by maintaining forward velocity and exploiting the aerodynamic effects of air flowing over the upper and lower wing surfaces, which are shaped and angled to produce lift. However, some experimental designs for some of the earlier planes made such as {{w|Leonardo Da Vinci}}'s Flying Machine that was propelled by flapping.
 Superman flies using superpowers which require neither wings nor flapping.
@@ Line 115: / Line 115: @@
 |colspan=4| Many birds are small and fragile creatures, whose {{w|Bird anatomy#Skeletal system|bone structures}} are meant to be light in order to fly, and thus are not very durable. If a man punched, say, a {{w|pigeon}}, he could probably break/dislocate most of its bones, either killing it immediately or leaving it in a state from which it will probably never ever recover on its own. However, there are definitely some big, {{w|flightless birds}} that could take a punch from a human such as ostriches and {{w|emus}}, but since both are large creatures that would probably react by {{w|Emu War|fighting back}}, it would not be wise to try. Also Randall is (again) plainly ignoring this type of birds as they cannot fly and this comic is about making mistakes regarding things flying through the air (typically far enough away from the observer to mistake a pigeon for a plane).
-Planes are usually massive, or at least big enough to carry a human, and their structure is composed of fairly solid metals. A human punching an airplane is unlikely to result in significant damage (to the plane, at least, the human's hand is a different story.)
+Planes are usually massive, or at least big enough to carry a human, and their structure is composed of fairly solid metals. However, ultralight aircraft are very light and have delicate structures, which may make it possible to damage the plane in some areas. However, a human punching an airplane is unlikely to result in significant damage (to the plane, at least, the human's hand is a different story.)
 One of Superman's (the {{w|Man of Steel (film)|Man of Steel}}) trademark abilities is his near indestructibility; a punch from any regular human would not hurt him, but again hurt the hand.

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-{{incomplete | Finish explanations in the table.}}
+{{incomplete | Finish explanations in the table. (Vague. Finish what?)}}
 This comic is a logical comparison of observations to resolve the [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034247/quotes?item=qt0317455 classic Superman catchphrase] of comic book bystanders: "Look, up in the sky... It's a {{w|Airplane|bird}}!... It's a {{w|Bird|plane}}!... It's {{w|Superman}}!", hence the title. Superman, a character originally created for comic books in the 1930s, is an alien with superpowers, including the power of unaided flight; hence the catchphrase exclaiming peoples' amazement.

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:19, 5 May 2025
Line 8:		Line 8:

	==Explanation==		==Explanation==
		+	{{incomplete \| Finish explanations in #table.}}
	This comic is a logical comparison of observations to resolve the [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034247/quotes?item=qt0317455 classic Superman catchphrase] of comic book bystanders: "Look, up in the sky... It's a {{w\|Airplane\|bird}}!... It's a {{w\|Bird\|plane}}!... It's {{w\|Superman}}!", hence the title. Superman, a character originally created for comic books in the 1930s, is an alien with superpowers, including the power of unaided flight; hence the catchphrase exclaiming peoples' amazement.		This comic is a logical comparison of observations to resolve the [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034247/quotes?item=qt0317455 classic Superman catchphrase] of comic book bystanders: "Look, up in the sky... It's a {{w\|Airplane\|bird}}!... It's a {{w\|Bird\|plane}}!... It's {{w\|Superman}}!", hence the title. Superman, a character originally created for comic books in the 1930s, is an alien with superpowers, including the power of unaided flight; hence the catchphrase exclaiming peoples' amazement.