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dc - Why aren’t the Kryptonians powerless in their biosuits in Man of Steel?


In Man of Steel (2013), it is shown that Superman is as weak as a human on the Kryptonian spaceship after adapting to the ship's preset Kryptonian environment, even though he wasn't shielded from the sun. Therefore we can conclude that in a Kryptonian environment Superman loses his "special abilities". This concern is also voiced by Lois Lane when Superman was going to destroy the World Engine.



Now, when the Kryptonians came to Earth they wore some sort of a biosuit, which kept the inside of their environment similar to that of their ship, that is similar to that of Krypton.


Therefore even when they landed, all of them should have been as weak as humans.


But we see that the Kryptonians have an immense amount of strength, agility and lots of abilities even while wearing the biosuit.


Also Zod and Faura-Ul experience the powers only when their respirators are destroyed by Superman and exposed to the Sun.


Therefore, in the biosuit technically they should be powerless, though they aren't . My question is why?


They didn't get that energy from the Sun because they were wearing the biosuit and plus they were affected harshly when exposed to the Sun (which wouldn't have happened if they were deriving their energy from it).



Answer



Not plot holes but drawing incorrect conclusions


Your assumptions regarding both the Kryptonian ship and the Kryptonian battlesuits are not quite correct. This would have been alleviated if the writers had been just a bit more effective in delivering key information. It is also possible this information was edited out in post-production in order to save time for the gratuitous destruction of Metropolis.


Regarding the Kryptonian ship environment:





  • The environment on the ship was not simulating Krypton completely. There was no gravitational component because Lois Lane walked around just fine, not doubled over from the strain of increased gravity.




  • If the ship was going to provide a Krypton-like environment, it is probable the ship emulated atmospheric conditions particularly atmospheric makeup and pressures (which if Krypton was a heavy-g world) would be quite impressive and likely quite surprising for someone unused to such a dense and thick atmosphere. It would definitely leave Kal-El without his powers, helpless while he adjusted.




  • The shielding on the ship either electromagnetic outside the hull or using specialized materials in the make up of the hull, could allow the light from the sun to enter but filter the energy required for the existence of superhuman ability while onboard the ship. Given the level of Kryptonian technological sophistication (over 100,000 years of space travel) it shouldn't be difficult to isolate the solar energy making sure it is no more empowering than a flashlight.





  • Since those superhuman powers are not considered the norm in the Kryptonian environment, it makes sense they would filter any energies which would give an advantage to Kal-El. This is simply good judgement on their part, knowing he has been living in the environment for some time.




  • Without those energies, Zod and crew would outnumber Kal-El and would have the upper hand due to numbers, training and whatever advantages their armored suits offered in a Kryptonian environment.




  • Once there was a hole in the hull of the spacecraft, Kal-El's powers returned indicating it was the ship inhibiting his absorption of energy required to utilize his superhuman abilities.





Regarding the Kryptonian armor:




  • It is never truly discussed what advantages the suits offered except for sensory protection against the manifestation of super-senses. The suit must be able to interact with the sensory capacities of the Kryptonians regulating input of information. This would indeed offer protection against the enhancement which would inevitably happen if they stayed in the Terran environment for any length of time.




  • The suits did not stop the Kryptonians from acquiring superhuman abilities which is seen when Faora Ul and her oversized companion face off against Kal-El in Smallville. We are forced to assume the powers exercised are the same ones gained by Kal-El being on Earth because they do not exercise such powers while they are on Krypton and still wearing the same battlesuits. If their suits gave them superhuman abilities, they would have used them during the coup. They did not.




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