THE MEDICAL ADVANCE

It strikes me that a lot of the medical advances in recent years are based on Superman's powers. You've got the x-ray machine which is Superman's x-ray vision. You've got the CAT scan, which is Superman doing the multi-frequency spectrum analysis through his super-vision. Doctors are now going inside the body and zapping things with lasers - that's called heat vision in Superman's comic book stories. They're even putting that earthquake-proof, bullet-proof, shockproof glass in the hospitals these days - that's Superman's invulnerable skin, right there.

I'm wondering how many more powers Superman has left to give to the medical community. He can leap tall buildings in a single bound... no, wait, that's the air ambulance, we have that one covered. Faster than a speeding bullet is what the emergency vehicles try to be, clearing the roads with all the weow-weow stuff Superman is more powerful than a locomotive - not sure what the medical application of that is but, if they can nail it, that tickly cough isn't going to come back to haunt you anytime soon, buddy.

There's not really much else Superman can offer the medical community. Really, once you're through with the powers all that's left is having hospitals wear spectacles and slouch hats and adopting a secret identity. Once that starts happening, it's probably time to get your medical advances from another source.