List of Superman enemies 1 List of Superman enemies This is a list of fictional characters from DC Comics who are or have been enemies of Superman. It is notable that several of Superman's enemies are or have been foes of the Justice League of America as well. Central rogues gallery In alphabetical order (with issue and date of first appearance): Villain First appearance Description Atlas 1st Issue Special #1 A former one-shot Jack Kirby character recently revamped as a morally ambiguous antihero, Atlas has a (April 1975) crystal which gives him strength to rival Superman. Atomic Skull Superman #303 Albert Michaels was given radiation treatments that gave him atomic eye-blasts and worked from an agent (September 1976) of SKULL to becoming the organization's leader. Adventures of Joseph Martin's superhuman powers manifested after exposure to the Dominators' gene-bomb, the film Superman #483 buff began to hallucinate that he was a 1930s movie hero called the Atomic Skull and that Superman was (October 1991) his nemesis. Bizarro Superboy #68 Bizarro was created when Superboy was exposed to a "duplicating ray", and was later destroyed in the (October 1958) same story. Action Comics #254 Lex Luthor exposed Kal-El, now Superman, to another duplicating ray, this time creating an adult Bizarro. (July 1959) This Bizarro later created a Bizarro Lois and left with her into Space. In accordance with the science fiction concepts of Superman stories of the era, Bizarro relocated to "the Bizarro World," a cubical planet called Htrae (Earth spelled backwards) which operated under "Bizarro logic" (it was a crime to do anything good or right) and which Bizarro populated with inverted versions of Superman’s supporting cast and other DC heroes. The Man of Steel #5 Bizarro was a flawed clone created by Lex Luthor's staff of scientists. (December 1986) Superman vol. 2, Post-Crisis another Bizarro was created when the Joker conned Mr. Mxyzptlk out of 99% of his powers #160 (September and created a Bizarro World. 2000) Bloodsport Superman vol. 2, #4 A gun-toting mercenary with Kryptonite bullets. (April 1987) Adventures of A white supremacist, Alex Trent uses similar technology to the first Bloodsport. Superman #506 (November 1993) Brainiac Action Comics #242 Most incarnations depict Brainiac (alias Vril Dox) as a bald, green-skinned alien android from the planet (July 1958) Colu, and one of the most dangerous villains in the DC universe, capable of possessing others, creating and manipulating computer systems, and exerting some control over time and space. Bruno Superman's Pal Mannheim is one of Metropolis most powerful gangsters, the leader of Intergang. Mannheim Jimmy Olsen #139 (July 1971) Composite World's Finest An out of work diver, Joseph Meach gained the combined powers of the Legion of Super-Heroes after Superman Comics #142 (June being struck by the energy discharge of their statues. He then desired to defeat Superman and Batman. 1964) However the effects eventually wear off. Later they are given back by an alien whose Father was imprisoned by the two heroes, but when he turned back he sacrificed himself to save Superman and Batman from the Magna-Gun the alien had shot at them. Conduit Superman: The Man A good friend of Clark Kent's while growing up, he was exposed to Kryptonite radiation as a baby and so of Steel #0 (October became a living Kryptonite battery. Obsessed with coming in second to Clark and killing both Clark and 1994) Superman, he has learned they are one and the same. He is currently deceased. List of Superman enemies 2 Darkseid Superman's Pal Uxas, Son of Heggra, alien dictator of the planet Apokolips. As with gods in other mythologies, Darkseid Jimmy Olsen #134 is incredibly powerful, but cannot escape his ultimate destiny. It has been foretold that Darkseid will meet (November 1970) his final defeat at the hands of his son, Orion, in a cataclysmic battle in the fiery Armaghetto of Apokolips. According to writer Mark Evanier, Jack Kirby modeled Darkseid on actor Jack Palance. Doomsday Superman: The Man The creature who killed Superman in a titanic battle that also resulted in Doomsday's death, although of Steel #17 Doomsday comes back to life every time he dies, albeit more powerful. Created by an ancient genetic (November 1992) experiment on Krypton. Eradicator Action Comics A powerful artificial intelligence from Krypton, the Eradicator program initially sought to transform and Annual #2 (1989) terraform Earth into a New Krypton. Since then, it has merged with human scientist David Conner, serving as a replacement Superman after the Man of Steel's apparent death and later as an ally to Superman himself. Faora Hu-Ul Action Comics #471 A Kryptonian martial artist and man-hater who was sent to the Phantom Zone for murdering several men, (May 1977) she is able to beat Superman using her knowledge of Klurkor, a Kryptonian martial art enabling the user to immobilize an opponent via pressure points (this character was used as the basis of General Zod's lover, Zaora). General Zod Adventure Comics General Dru-Zod is one of Superman's more prominent enemies. Once the Military Director of the #283 (April 1961) Kryptonian Space Center, Zod had personally known Jor-El when he was an aspiring scientist. Zod attempted to take over Krypton using a machine that produced Bizarro-like duplicates during a period of turmoil caused by the termination of the space program; he was sentenced to the Phantom Zone for 40 years for his crimes. Zod was first released by Kal-El (during his Superboy career) when his term of imprisonment was up. However, he attempted to conquer Earth with powers gained under the yellow sun. Zod was sent back into the Phantom Zone, occasionally escaping to target Superman. Adventures of A General Zod based on the previous version created by the Time Trapper in a pocket dimension. Superman #444 (September 1988) Superman vol. 2, Head of the Kryptonian military in an alternate reality created by Brainiac 13. #166 (January 2001) Action Comics #779 A Russian child that during an experiment developed powers similar to Superman, but where Zod gains (July 2001) power from red sunlight and becomes weak in yellow. He made contact with an otherworldly Zod that inspired him to face Superman. Superman vol. 2, Created from the artificial Metropia constructed by Superman that claimed to be from Krypton. #204 (June 2004) Action Comics #845 Following Jor-El's belief that Krypton was doomed and attempted to usurp the ruling council, Zod and his (January 2007) compatriots Non and Ursa were captured and sentenced to the Phantom Zone with Jor-El their jailer. Having escaped the Phantom Zone with his allies, Zod's new objective is to reclaim his son, Lor-Zod, who is currently in Superman and Lois Lane's custody (under the alias of "Chris Kent)." Gog The Kingdom #1 In a possible future timeline, a boy called William was the sole survivor of the destruction of Kansas in a (February 1999) nuclear blast. Saved by Superman, he came to view the Man of Steel as a savior and became a minister of a church devoted to him. When Superman tried to correct this misguided view, William came to see him as instead a demon whose failure led to Kansas' destruction. Empowered by the cosmic beings known as the Quintessence, Gog has traveled across the dimensions of Hypertime, slaying versions of Superman wherever he finds them. Hank Henshaw Adventures of An astronaut who died as a result of a doomed mission onboard space shuttle Excalibur. Because Superman #466 Superman failed to save him, Hank Henshaw blames him for the loss of his original body, as well as the (May 1990) death of his wife. Reduced to a formless entity that inhabits mechanical bodies, the Cyborg desires to cause Superman equal pain. He masqueraded as a resurrected Superman after the hero's apparent death, claiming to be the result of Superman's remains being reconstructed into cybernetic form. The ruse was a tremendous success, even earning the Cyborg an endorsement from the U.S. President as the "true" Superman. Hank Henshaw betrayed those whose lives he was entrusted with when he obliterated Coast City with the help of Mongul; this event led to Green Lantern Hal Jordan's mental breakdown and later transformation into Parallax. Later he became a member of the Sinestro Corps, still continuing to mockingly bear Superman's insignia. List of Superman enemies 3 Imperiex Superman #153 An all-powerful force of nature whose purpose is destroying galaxies, planning to create a new universe. (February 2000) Eventually, Superman, Steel, and Darkseid stopped Imperiex by using Doomsday as an ally, along with a powerful weapon called the Entropy Aegis. Intergang Superman's Pal A nationwide organized crime syndicate armed with weapons supplied in part by Darkseid, led by Bruno Jimmy Olsen #133 Mannheim. (October 1970) Jax-Ur (Pre-Crisis) Jax-Ur was an amoral and criminally deviant scientist on the planet Krypton. He was imprisoned in the Adventure Comics Phantom Zone for destroying Wegthor, one of the Krypton's inhabited (Population: 500) moons while #289 (October experimenting with a nuclear warhead-equipped rocket. Jax-Ur's intention was to launch and test-fire it 1961) against a passing space rock. If this test proved successful, Jax-Ur would then commence the build-up of a massive personal nuclear arsenal with which he would overthrow the Kryptonian government, and place the entire planet under his dominion. (In the World of Krypton miniseries, he is shown test-launching a nuclear missile, intended to destroy a space rock, but a collision with a spaceship piloted by Jor-El sent it off-course.) Because of this, space travel was forbidden.