What If Superman stayed at is orignal Power level/Abilities

Well obviously, i didnt know that.😛
Really good post on your part though!
As to the Phantom/Gordon analogy, i stand by it. Superman might still be known, but he wouldnt be near where he is now. I seriously doubt he'd have had a half dozen major motion pictures, or be anchoring the company with Batman.
This is really just conjecture though, and hard for me to do, as i cant actually imagine a world where Superman ISNT an icon...

The character would become boring, useless and quite likely die off from comicdom then. Superman's most significant attribute, the one thing which drives most of his sales up and makes him such an iconic figure are his powers. Apart from his power level, his character is a fairly boring and shallow one which no level-headed person in their right mind would want to read about, much less idolize as so many fans do so these days.

Then you must've read some fairly boring Superman comics, because his powers are the least interesting aspects of his character unlike most marvel top tiers like Hulk, Thor, Sentry, Silver Surfer etc.

Yeah, but there's a reason your sig is of him punching Thor out, and not, say, him spouting some deep philosophy.

I'd agree on Hulk and Sentry, but both Thor and Surfer have fairly deep characters that have been developed beyond their powersets.

Superman too has a somewhat developed character, but his power level takes up a fairly large chunk of the the highlight factors about the character. Imo, in that regard Superman veers closer to the Hulk/Sentry instead of Thor/Surfer among the quartet of Marvel top tiers you just mentioned.

Originally posted by DarkSaint85
Yeah, but there's a reason your sig is of him punching Thor out, and not, say, him spouting some deep philosophy.

Edit: Although, tbf to abhi that reason has more to do with snubbing Thor fans instead of showing off his favorite character's power level.

Originally posted by golem370
How would it have changed comic books in general and would he still have the same level of popularity as he does now?

He would have died off

Originally posted by DarkSaint85
Yeah, but there's a reason your sig is of him punching Thor out, and not, say, him spouting some deep philosophy.

Originally posted by Epicurus
I'd agree on Hulk and Sentry, but both Thor and Surfer have fairly deep characters that have been developed beyond their powersets.

Superman too has a somewhat developed character, but his power level takes up a fairly large chunk of the the highlight factors about the character. Imo, in that regard Superman veers closer to the Hulk/Sentry instead of Thor/Surfer among the quartet of Marvel top tiers you just mentioned.

Contrast these to Thor's best stories like Surtur saga or something and its always about something power related. Surfer has some good stories revolving his character like SS: Requiem but not to the level of Superman stories.

People in this thread seem to think if he stayed original he would be fighting current level villians which isn't completely true they would be around his level.

Top ten Thor
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/05/11/the-greatest-thor-stories-ever-told/
http://m.ign.com/articles/2011/05/05/the-greatest-thor-comic-books

Top ten superman
http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/superman-books-absolutely-everyone-should-read?s=mobile
http://www.denofgeek.com/books-comics/superman/11307/top-10-superman-stories

Arrogantly superman
http://www.scifinow.co.uk/top-tens/top-20-best-superman-comics-of-all-time/

Using Surfer is wrong, imo. The dude's had a lot less issues to actually showcase his range as a character, especially in modern times. This, though:

Originally posted by Epicurus
The character would become boring, useless and quite likely die off from comicdom then. Superman's most significant attribute, the one thing which drives most of his sales up and makes him such an iconic figure are his powers. Apart from his power level, his character is a fairly boring and shallow one which no level-headed person in their right mind would want to read about, much less idolize as so many fans do so these days.

All of Superman's best, most successful stories are about the humanity of the character.

You might think he's boring, and that's your right. Just expect people to disagree with it, and to have evidence to back it up.

Originally posted by abhilegend
Then you must've read some fairly boring Superman comics, because his powers are the least interesting aspects of his character unlike most marvel top tiers like Hulk, Thor, Sentry, Silver Surfer etc.

Originally posted by abhilegend
Then you must've read some fairly boring Superman comics, because his powers are the least interesting aspects of his character unlike most marvel top tiers like Hulk, Thor, Sentry, Silver Surfer etc.

Originally posted by Epicurus
I'd agree on Hulk and Sentry, but both Thor and Surfer have fairly deep characters that have been developed beyond their powersets.

Superman too has a somewhat developed character, but his power level takes up a fairly large chunk of the the highlight factors about the character. Imo, in that regard Superman veers closer to the Hulk/Sentry instead of Thor/Surfer among the quartet of Marvel top tiers you just mentioned.

I can name at least 10 characters from Marvel alone that shit on him in terms of depth.

The sheer ratio of number of appearances/poignant characterization is staggering, to be honest.

Originally posted by Philosophía
Thor is the worst "Top 20 characters" in comics, as far as actual relevance when it comes to personality.

I can name at least 10 characters from Marvel alone that shit on him in terms of depth.

Originally posted by DarkSaint85
Yeah, but there's a reason your sig is of him punching Thor out, and not, say, him spouting some deep philosophy.

Originally posted by DarkSaint85
Yeah, but there's a reason your sig is of him punching Thor out, and not, say, him spouting some deep philosophy.

Still, Superman's a good guy. Not the most exciting of personalities, but, still a good one. Why would i want a cocky arrogant Superman, rubbing his power in everyone's face?
Supes being low key is fine.

Originally posted by Epicurus
The character would become boring, useless and quite likely die off from comicdom then. Superman's most significant attribute, the one thing which drives most of his sales up and makes him such an iconic figure are his powers. Apart from his power level, his character is a fairly boring and shallow one which no level-headed person in their right mind would want to read about, much less idolize as so many fans do so these days.

Originally posted by abhilegend
Then you must've read some fairly boring Superman comics, because his powers are the least interesting aspects of his character unlike most marvel top tiers like Hulk, Thor, Sentry, Silver Surfer etc.