Supermanis the complete archetype of everything a superhero could and should be. His origin, power set, and supporting cast haveset the standard for all heroes to come afterward—especially his rogues’ gallery of villains.
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While Lex Luthor, Brainiac, General Zod, Bizarro, and Doomsday are cited as the most famous of Superman’s foes, he has a far more exciting and varied rogues’ gallery than many casual fans seem to realize. Given that Superman comic books alternate between modern existential heroism to goofy, Silver Age epics, many of his villains, while less known by the general public, help maintain that tonal balance in serving his history in unique ways.
Cyborg Superman
Hank Henshaw was created in 1990 but came into his own as a villain during the Reign of the Supermen in 1993. AfterSuperman’s death at the hands of Doomsday, multiple super-humans taking on the appearance of the man of steel arrived, all claiming to be the real one.
This variant claimed to be a cybernetic clone of Superman with memories erased, with his D.N.A. and vague recollections managing to convince Lois Lane. But soon, he was revealed to be a former astronaut who blamed Superman for the solar flare that destroyed his spaceship and radiated his body to a skeletal form.
Mr. Mxyzptlyk
He is one of his less intimidating enemies but can be dangerous under the right circumstances. This little elf-like man is an imp from the 5th dimension who travels to Earth every 90 days. Upon arriving, he focuses all his energy on making Superman’s life a real pain in the rear, annoying him with bizarre pranks or completely bonkers reality-warping schemes that terrorize the city of Metropolis.
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He can only be defeated by sending him back to his home dimension by tricking or forcing him to say his name backward, where he’s stuck for another 90 days. While campy and something of a pest, he’s also one of the man of steel’s most endearing secondary characters.
On the surface, John Corben is nothing more than a petty thug, but underneath his human exterior lies a dangerous threat to any Kryptonian. He began his career as a journalist by day and a criminal by night who suffered a life-threatening accident.
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A scientist saved him by turning him into a cybernetic being with a Kryptonite heart. While said heart is his most well-known and most utilized asset, he has several unique abilities. For example, his lead body can withstand any force from most meta-humans, nuclear blasts can shoot from his hands, and he can activate a unique ability to remain immovable on any surface.
A purple freak of nature that deserved the title of Superman’s deadliest enemylong before Doomsday came along. While his identity has changed over the years, his origin usually involves him once being a janitor at S.T.A.R. labs exposed to alien radiation, sometimes found by the man of steel.
After exposure, he transforms into the meta-human equivalent of a sentient leach, absorbing the mental and physical energy from the bodies and elements around him in a constant state of hunger. Through this, he can access people’s memories and even the powers of other super-humans that he drains.
While remembered on theChallenge of the Super Friendsanimated series in his jester outfit, he’s more of a sharply dressed but still evil inventor who uses toys as part of his criminal schemes in the comics. He’s a villain who’s had man identities, but his most prominent is that of Winslow Percival Schott.
Depending on the tone of the story, the Toyman ranges from a goofy mad scientist to a psychologically disturbed yet somewhat tragic figure. Every time the man attempts to salvage his reputation, something tragic usually drives him further into darkness.
Manchester Black
He is a telekinetic British punk who has alternated between anti-hero and outright villain on his worst days. He first appeared as the leader of a team of anti-heroes called The Elite. This group had an anti-authoritative attitude and a dangerously more cynical worldview than most superheroes, more than willing to kill any criminal they caught.
After Manchester Black’s defeat by Superman and a brief stint in theSuicide Squad, he became determined to prove Clark Kent’s philosophy wrong. So far, he has only succeeded in proving himself wrong as Clark’s optimism wins the day.
On the surface, this creature looks like nothing more than aKing Kongknock-off. But while the similarity is uncanny, this giant chimpanzee has a far more detailed origin and is more misunderstood than dangerous.
Initially a simple chimp for a space program, he was bombarded by cosmic radiation during a test flight and became the giant menace that kidnapped Lois Lane and climbed the Daily Planet. While Titano could hold off the man of steel in his first appearance, being able to shoot Kryptonite lasers from his eyes, Superman ultimately threw him into a portal through space into the prehistoric past, finally making the giant ape happier than ever.
Introduced in the 90s animated series as Superman’s answer toHarley Quinn, Livewire began as a radio jockey named Leslie Willis who used her show to lambast the man of steel to boost her ratings constantly.
A severe storm damaged the stage during a live show in a park in Metropolis. Superman attempted to help clean up, but a bolt of lightning led to an electrical current passing through the last son of Krypton and into Willis. Upon discovering it changed her appearance and gave her electricity manipulation, she vowed revenge on Superman, believing he had deliberately caused her accident.
Silver Banshee
Siobhan McDougal was a girl who sought to lead her Gaelic tribe after her father’s death. But when a ritual to gain leadership went wrong, and she was dragged to a netherworld, she was returned on the promise that she would get an occult book that had been taken to Metropolis.
While more focused on completing her mission, she will not hesitate to kill anyone who stands in her way. Perhaps her most distinctive features are her ghoulish appearance and her signature death wail; if she knows a person’s full name, her cry can kill them and draw strength from their spirit.
Ultra-Humanite
Developed as the polar opposite of Superman, he is a supervillain with a brilliant mind but a frail body. Initially bearing some resemblance to the last son of Krypton’s arch-nemesis, one key feature that helps differentiate himself fromthe likes of Lex Luthoris his frequent need to transplant his mind into different bodies.
During the silver age, he transplanted his brain into his most popular body - that of an albino gorilla. Finally, in one noteworthy scheme during the modern era, he temporarily succeeded in taking over the entire world, forcing every super-powered being into becoming an extension of his consciousness.
