Los Angeles, November 5, 2008--Depicted as Superman, Barack Obama appears on a poster in Los Angeles.

After winning decisively in the November 4 election, the first African-American U.S. President-elect may need something approaching superpowers to overcome the challenges facing his country, including a financial crisis, terrorist threats, and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama's victory was hailed by supporters around the world, including relatives in Kenya, students at his former school in Indonesia, and residents of Obama, Japan. (More photos: World reacts to Obama's win.)