A superhuman is something exceeding normal human standards.

Superhuman can mean an "improved" human, for example, by genetic modification, or as what humans might evolve into, in the distant future. Occasionally, it could mean a "normal" human with unusual abilities, such as psychic abilities or exceptional proficiency at something.

Superhuman can also mean something that isn't human, but considered to be "superior" to humans in some ways. A robot that easily passed the Turing test, and could do some things humans can't, could be considered superhuman. A very intelligent or strong alien could be considered superhuman.

The concept of the superhuman is quite popular in science fiction, where superhumans are often mutants or genetically engineered.

The greatest publicity of the concept is, of course, comic book superheroes, especially Superman, though this is not as well-thought-out as is science fiction genre of superhumans.

The term is often used in discussions of comic book characters because the term Superman is trademarked.

Superhuman characters in various comics, role-playing games and other entertainment mediums have also been referred to as metahuman or posthuman.

See also

• superhero
• supervillain
• Superman