Since 1938, the world of DC Comics has been led by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s iconic superheroSuperman. But with any great superhero comes many great supervillains, especially for one as iconic as the Man of Steel.
Superman made his epic debutinAction Comics#1, and in the almost nine decades since his creation, he has been the de facto face of superhero comics. Like any great comic book hero, the Man of Tomorrow has an equally brilliant rogues gallery to keep him on his toes. Superman’s best enemies represent inversions of himself, whether rivalKryptonianswith sinister motives or cruel humans who depend on their intelligence. Considering that the Man of Steel is one of the most wholesome heroes, creating a contrast between him and his enemies is easy.From galactic tyrants to meddlesome imps, he has some of the best rogues in comics.
10Doomsday
Created by Dan Jurgens, Brett Breeding, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson and Roger Stern
Created by DC for the sole purpose of killing Superman,Doomsday made his world-shattering debutat the start of the “Death of Superman” event. Here, it was revealed that he had been createdthrough repeated execution and recreation, breeding the perfect organism that could withstand almost anything. After crashing on Earth, the monster tore his way across the US, culminating in an epic battle with Superman on the streets of Metropolis.
Doomsday doesn’t have much in the way of depth to him, instead representing an unreasoning powerhouse driven to hate Superman and kill him at any cost. The villain is the best challenge to the hero’s ethics, often requiring that he step over the line and take the monster’s life to prevent the carnage he causes.
9Mister Mxyzptlk
Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
Mr Mxyzptlk made his debut during the Golden Age, where he would show up to inconvenience the Man of Steel, both as Clark Kent and his superhero alter ego. An imp from the Fifth Dimension, Mxyzptlk can warp reality as he sees fit, and can only be banished - for a brief period of time - if Superman can get him to say his own name backwards. Due to this unique ability, the character stands as one of the greatest tests of Kal-El’s intelligence, forcing him to devise new ways to trick his foe.
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Mr Mxyzptlk is far from Superman’s most sinister foe, instead defined by his pranks and his inconveniencing of Clark Kent. Despite this, his reality-warping powersdo make for one of the potentially devastating bad guys, able to reshape the world around his rival.
Humanite’s goal is simple: conquer and dominate Earth.
The Ultra-Humanite made his debut all the way back inAction Comics#13, where he was initially depicted as a classic evil genius intent on ascending to the next stage of evolution. During the Bronze Age, the villain finally upgraded himself when he placed his brain in the body of a mighty albino gorilla. While some characters are motivated by wealth or the simple destruction of Superman, theHumanite’s goal is simple: conquer and dominate Earth.
While he has since transitioned into being more associated with the JSA, the Ultra-Humanite isstillan occasional threat to Superman, most recently inSuperman and the Authorityby Grant Morrison and Mikel Janín. The villain combines elements of everything from Lex Luthor’s ego to Doctor Doom’s ambition and Gorilla Grodd’s appearance, making him a genuinely impressive and formidable foe.
7Mongul
Created by Len Wein and Jim Starlin
Mongul made his first appearance in an issueDC Comics Presentsand has since been established as one of the biggest tyrants in the DC Universe. As ruler ofWarworld, the villain forces various creatures and warriors from around the cosmos to fight to the death in his twisted gladiator games. With the luxury of living under a red sun, the villain is well shielded from the full might of Superman, who often requires assistance in fighting his enemy on his own turf.
During writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s run onAction Comics, it was revealed that the original Mongul had been deposed by his son, Mongul II, who was even more brutal than his father. Having been forced to fend for himself in the wild, the sadistic successor sets his sights on galactic domination, targeting several planets for conquest. He could have been successful were it not for Superman’s discovery of anew source of powerand the assistance of the Authority in liberating the planet.
6Lobo
Created by Keith Giffen and Roger Slifer
Lobo made his debut as arun-of-the-mill space villainin the style of Guardians of the Galaxy foes, but was soon reinvented by Keith Giffen in his own series. There, it was explained that the Czarnian biker murdered his entire species, ensuring he’d be truly unique in the galaxy. Turning to a career as a bounty hunter, the Ultimate Bastiche has dedicated his life to women, money, and violence, the latter of which has put him at odds with the Man of Steel.
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Today,Lobo alternates between heroismand villainy, making him one of DC’s biggest wildcard characters. Although some people enjoy seeing him join the Justice League roster, the Main Man is at his best when hischaotic natureis allowed to reach its fullest potential. The character embodies the rebellious, punk-rock culture of the late ’80s and 1990s, with the villain standing out as a true original - and he’ll happily murder anyone who says otherwise.
5Metallo
Created by Robert Bernstein and Al Plastino
Metallo started life as John Corben, a criminal who, after being mortally wounded in a car crash, was tended to by a robotics genius named Vale, who transplanted his brain into a machine body. Certain that Superman was planning a Kryptonian invasion of Earth, Vale sought to use Metallo as a weapon against the superhero, but was soon murdered by his creation. With a heart of Kryptonite, the villain is able to face the Man of Steel in combat, rendering his foe weaker than his own metallic form.
Metallo stands out as Superman’s most tragic foe, especially in recent story arcs that have reminded readers that the villain is a man trapped in the shell of a machine. In many ways, the character shares the same tragic themes as Frankenstein’s Monster, now a man left defined by one man’shorrific distortion of science,who resents his own existence. That said, some stories don’t play into the tragic angle, instead casting Corben as a mercenary-type villain, happy to work with other villains for a profit.
Created by Jack Kirby
the villain hungers for the Anti-Life Equation
Darkseid is the ruler ofApokolips, a nightmarish planet near the edge of the universe. Powered by the Source, the villain hungers for the Anti-Life Equation, which would give him control over the free will of sentient beings across the cosmos. Fueled by his need for power and conquest, Darkseid is the epitome of the scheming and cunning megalomaniac.
Darkseid wasn’t initially created to be a Superman villain, rather the far-away tyrannical ruler of Apokolips who posed a threat to Earth. However, as the villain has become more involved in key DC events, he has positioned himself as a rival to the Man of Steel, whose abilities have always been essential in driving the New God out.
3General Zod
Created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp
General Zod was created to give Superman his perfect equal, much in the same way the Flash has Reverse-Flash and Batman now has Bane. Initially, he was depicted as the treasonous general of Krypton, who was imprisoned alongside his allies in the Phantom Zone. More recent stories have added depth to the character, exploring how he is ultimately driven by the restoration of his species - even if only sohe can establish Kryptonian supremacy over the universe.
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General Zod has been imbued with the complete opposite attributes of Superman, whether that’s his view of, essentially, race dominance, might-makes-right, or his disdain for those weaker than himself. Just as Clark Kent has come to embody the American ideal of freedom and justice, Zod embodies the many dictators the United States has fought against, making him a perfect mirror image to Kal-El.
2Brainiac
Created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino
First appearing inAction Comics#242,Brainiac is a sentient androidwho travels across the cosmos, seeking to collect cities from various planets, destroying them in his wake to monopolize their information. As the villain responsible for the Bottle City of Kandor, he has offered Superman a unique window into his past and culture -but has presented the same threat against Earth.
Brainiac is a being motivated by reason, programmed to absorb all the information available in the universe. Few villains have been responsible for as much death and destruction as he, and major DC stories likeConvergenceand “Justice / Doom War” show how his ambitions may spread to time as well as space. Thanks to his ability to replicate himself,Brainiac is one of Superman’s villains who is the hardest to truly kill, and his stories often represent him as almost a virus, perfectly encapsulating the threat of Artificial Intelligence.
1Lex Luthor
First appearing inAction Comics#23, Lex Luthor has beenthe mainstay Superman villainsince the Golden Age, although his earlier appearances were often more campy and one-dimensional. Since the 1980s, the villain has steadily become themost effective, ambitious, and accomplished foe in Metropolis, having successfully become both President of the United States and ruler of Apokolips.
Lex Luthor is the embodiment ofunchecked ego and ambition in the DC Universe, and has historically been motivated by the pettiest of reasons against Superman. For a character who was once driven to hateSupermanfor his own hair loss, the arch-nemesis has come a long way and is now someone who has assembled armies to challenge the existence of the Multiverse itself.
Superman
The icon who launched the entire world of superheroes, the last son of Krypton escaped his dying world to crash land on Earth and be raised as Clark Kent. The world knows him better as Superman, the Man of Steel, the leader of the Justice League, and the most well-known hero in the DC Comics Universe. Blessed with the powers of a demigod, Kal-El of Krypton fights enemies both small and cosmic in his endless pursuit of truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.
