Superman (I think)

One of the interesting things with the flight ability is that one can say it comes with a bunch of secondary powers.  It usually isn’t mentioned or gets explained by having the flight come from a special source.  For this post, we’re going to talk about what would come with pure flight powers that don’t come from a device or other power.

Temperature Resistance

It gets really cold in the upper atmosphere, especially if the hero can get into the low Mesosphere.  I think.  Didn’t take Earth Science.  I know it gets really hot at a certain point as well.  Not to mention reentry can create heat.  Still, these characters don’t react to any temperature changes that can come from being high above the planet.  Even the high winds don’t have much effect on them.

Radiation Resistance

As you get higher in the atmosphere, you get exposed to more radiation.  There is less ozone protection up there.  I think that’s how you explain it.  Either way, a hero flying high above everything would be exposed to this energy more than someone on the ground.  So they would need some type of power to protect them from negative effects.  This can range from using the radiation as a power source or simply being immune.

Improved Breathing

The higher the altitude, the less oxygen a person has.  This is why people bring oxygen tanks when climbing Mt. Everest.  Now, a flying character might go even higher than this, but they show no signs of lacking oxygen.  This can be explained by a secondary power where their bodies are able to absorb and/or process oxygen more efficiently to compensate for the lower levels.

Eye Protection

With the speeds that these characters fly, one might imagine the wind going into their faces.  There may even be bugs and some small debris like one would notice hitting a windshield.  Now, how are these characters still able to see when they have these going into their eyes?  There’s the threat of the eyes drying out as well.  Birds have this solved with a three eyelid system where the third is a horizontal one for moisturizing and cleaning.  People would notice this, so there could be another power protecting their eyes from the effects of fast flight.

Enhanced Hearing

Again with the wind here.  Without protection, the flying hero will have the sound of whipping winds in their ears.  How can you hear anything else with that noise?  I mean, a window down in a moving car can make it hard to hear music, so this has to be much tougher.  This would require something that either enhances their hearing or gives them the ability to filter out ambient noises.

Navigation Power

This might not be a big one, but I think a flying person would have trouble finding their way around.  They would know cardinal directions, but going to a specific location from high above can be tough.  We are used to seeing landmarks from the front instead of the top, so it would take the hero time to figure out a landscape.  This doesn’t even explain identifying a person from above since you can’t see faces.  A power that allows for navigating and recognizing individuals from above would help here.  This would mean the hero won’t have to keep stopping to figure out where they are going.

I’m sure there are more.  Anybody think of others?