Originally posted by Stoic
So does this mean that collateral damage is a clear sign of the damage and power being displayed? Make your mind up.
"Make up my mind" implies that I gave contradictory statements, but I did not. I stated that a character's statement should be considered true if there is no surrounding contradictory evidence. While my stance is NOT that a lack of collateral damage equals a lack of power, my statement doesn't contradict that position.
It's interesting how you never address Carv when he argues against DC feats based on collateral damage discrepancies.
To answer your first question:
In some cases, yes, and in others, no. It depends on the totality of the circumstances.
In Sentry's case, he has never demonstrated the power of even one exploding sun. Claiming that Sentry exerted the power of a million exploding suns is like saying Spider-Man was exerting the power of a million exploding planets, no reasonable person would believe that based on Spider-Man's career and the vast discrepancy between the claim and the actual collateral damage.
Do I believe both were putting out more power than the collateral damage suggests? Absolutely. But not to the level of a million exploding suns, given the magnitude of the discrepancy and Sentry’s entire history.
In the Beyonder vs. Molecule Man fight, we have supporting evidence of both characters' power based on other feats. Additionally, in fiction, energy blasts can be concentrated and precisely controlled, so the lack of collateral damage is not indicative of the power output.