I Believe I Can Fly: Difference between revisions

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* Although Superman was likely the ur-example of the flying hero, he could ''not'' fly in his earliest appearances. He ''could'' leap several city blocks in one jump, however. (This is where the phrase "leap tall buildings in a single bound" originally came from.) It was the ''[[Fleischer Superman]]'' cartoons that gave him the power of flight, after the first few cartoons in the series depicted him leaping and the production team decided it looked silly.

* Among the big names of the [[DCU]], you pretty much only have [[Batman]], [[Aquaman]], and [[The Flash]] ([[Superfriends|usually]]) incapable of flight. Which makes [[Hawkman]] and Hawkgirl pretty lame, considering it's their featured ability.

* All of the [[Legion of Super-Heroes (comics)|Legion of Super-Heroes]]; all members are issued a "flight ring" (assuming they can't already fly, and those might still carry one for emergencies).

* All of the [[Legion of Super-Heroes (comics)|Legion of Super-Heroes]]; all members are issued a "flight ring", assuming they can't already fly via their own powers, and those might still carry one for emergencies.

** This is eventually retconned into a plot point. As a kid Clark was one of very few people on Earth that could fly, since all of the Legionnaires could fly it made him feel like less of an outcast.* When Angel was introduced as a member of the [[X-Men]], it was alongside the very flightless Cyclops and Beast, while Iceman's ice slides didn't offer the same level of maneuverability and Jean Grey couldn't levitate herself very far. But as the roster has expanded with characters who have flight as a side effect of their powers - Storm, Magneto, Rogue (after absorbing the right abilities), Mystique, Cannonball, Apocalypse, and so on - being stuck with huge feathered wings as a mutation must be annoying.

** In fairness, Angel has gained (and lost) a lot of powers over the years, such as vision on par with a hawk's, being ''physically'' capable of flight i.e. being both lighter and stronger than normal humans, [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic|and recently universal donor blood with mild regenerative properties]]. And even when his power of flight was more exclusive, he always made it look like a lot of ''fun'', like every childhood daydream you've had but better.

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* In the ''[[W.I.T.C.H.]]'' comic book, only Hay Lin, the air guardian, could fly. However, all of them could in the cartoon. This was compensated for in the second season when Hay Lin was the only to gain invisibility (which all of guardians could do in the comics).

* In ''[[Elf Quest]]'' Rayek learns the power of levitation, which is also shared by all of the Glider elves {{spoiler|except, to her eternal chagrin, Winnowill}}.

* Subverted with [[Spider-Man]]. During the ''Acts of Vengeance'' storyline, when he became [[Captain Universe]], he was able to fly, and didn't like it at all. He almost got airsick when he did it, and wondered how folks like Iron Man managed it. Of course, had the powers lasted, he may very well have mastered them and gotten used to it.

** He seemed to adapt better during the ''Identity Crisis'' storyline. When he was a fugitive for assaulting Norman Osborn, he briefly abandoned his Spider-Man identity, and took on four others, including the Hornet, where he flew using a jetpack. He was much better at it, but neither it nor the other three identities lasted long. He felt they simply weren't him, and no-one could argue.

== [[Film]] ==