Take the 2-minute tour ×  I don't quite understand the breathing
issues Superman had on Zod's ship. Specifically in the context
of the fact that he doesn't strictly need to breath to stay
alive. This is shown when they were at the satellite, or
Superman staying submerged under water for an undetermined
amount of time.  So, why then did he have problems on Zod's
ship, when in these other cases he didn't need to breath at all?
share|improve this question  4 Answers 4  One explanation can be
stated as a matter of adaptivity.  We can assume that Superman
has been in space a few times before this fight. Even though he
just 'gained' his flight ability, he was still used to the lack
of atmosphere in space before the fights.  Flash ahead to Zod's
ship where the atmosphere is the exact replica of Krypton's,
something Kal'El is obviously not used to at all and is
apparently very hindering to the physiology of the Kryptonians.
Kal, not being used to this atmosphere as well as its sudden
hindering effect on him causes a