The Man of Steel
As the world’s most powerful superhero, Superman has his work cut out for him when it comes to facing off against villains. Space-faring gods that can tear reality apart, evil geniuses with limitless resources, and forces of nature that have singled him out as public enemy #1 are just a few examples. With that in mind, here are Superman’s top 20 villains ranked from strongest to weakest. Do you agree with this lineup?
1. Darkseid
Darkseid is one of Superman's most powerful enemies. A godlike being from the planet Apokolips, he has almost limitless strength, speed, and durability. Darkseid is also a master tactician and wields the Omega Beams, blasts of energy that can track and disintegrate almost anything.
2. Brainiac
Brainiac is a genius-level alien supercomputer with godlike knowledge and technology. A super genius with vast technological resources, powerful energy blasts, super strength, and the power to shrink and preserve cities in stasis, Brainiac is a global-level threat. Brainiac is one of Superman's most dangerous enemies due to his superior intelligence, technology, and his complete lack of mercy.
3. Doomsday
One of the strongest opponents Superman has ever had to face is undoubtedly Doomsday. This seemingly indestructible monster's strength, durability, and powers of regeneration are simply off the charts. He has proved able to resist or adapt to any type of attack. Add to this Doomsday's raw power and his utter aggression toward everything around him, and you get one of the most physically unbeatable villains Superman has ever faced.
4. Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is Superman's archenemy, a criminal mastermind and supervillain of genius intellect, and one of Superman's oldest and most persistent foes. Luthor is distinguished as Superman's only villain who, despite his lack of superhuman powers, has nearly matched the Man of Steel in intellect and mastery of strategy, and who has continued to fight Superman in both physical and more cerebral ways.
5. Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime is an alternate-universe counterpart of Superman who possesses even more power than the original. With his great strength, speed, invulnerability, and energy projection abilities, he is an immensely powerful superhero. His volatile anger, paranoia, and twisted sense of justice, however, make him highly unstable and unpredictable, which also makes him very dangerous.
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6. Mr. Mxyzptlk
Mr. Mxyzptlk is a fifth-dimensional imp who can alter reality in the three-dimensional world with his limitless powers. Mxyzptlk can change and create matter, energy, time, space, and all aspects of the universe as he knows it, making him virtually omnipotent in the three-dimensional world. He can do things on a whim, and his only limit is his own imagination and whimsy, making him a particularly powerful foe against Superman, who can only struggle to match him trick for trick.
7. General Zod
General Zod is a Kryptonian military general who has similar powers to Superman's. He has super strength, speed, flight, and heat vision. Zod is a trained soldier, and with his tactical brilliance he is a terrifying force to be reckoned with.
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8. Parasite
Parasite is an evil supervillain with the power to absorb the energy, power, and memories of others, including Superman. Parasite can steal from whomever he touches and gains powers as a result. He grows stronger with every new individual whose power he encounters.
9. Mongul
Mongul is a savage and enormously powerful intergalactic warlord who has often been an adversary of Superman and the entire Justice League. He has superhuman strength, toughness, and fighting ability, and usually has at his disposal an army of troops and several powerful weapons. Mongul's strength and intelligence, combined with his ruthless savagery, make him one of Superman's most dangerous enemies.
10. Cyborg Superman
Cyborg Superman is a half-human, half-machine villain who has obtained Superman-level superhuman strength, speed, and stamina through cybernetic enhancements. He can fly, use various technological powers, and project energy blasts from his hands. With these powers, he is a formidable foe against the Man of Steel.
11. Vandal Savage
Vandal Savage is a devious villain who has attained immortality over the course of thousands of years. He has used this time to become an expert in a variety of fighting styles, tactics, and forms of manipulation. While he does not possess the vast powers of Superman or his other heroic foes, his guile, knowledge, and cold-hearted nature make him a dangerous foe who is capable of besting most heroes.
12. Bizarro
Bizarro is a deformed, imperfect clone of Superman who has many of the Man of Steel's powers such as super strength, flight, and heat vision, though he does not always use or experience the effects of these abilities in the expected way. His raw physical strength and durability alone make him a potent threat in hand-to-hand combat. Add to this his unpredictable state of mind and ability to match Superman's capabilities in his own peculiar fashion.
13. Ultraman
Ultraman is more or less just as powerful as Superman, having super strength, speed, flight, heat vision, etc. However, where Superman is generally reserved in his use of force and restrained by his sense of morality, Ultraman is willing to use his might without remorse.
14. Metallo
Metallo is a power-mad Superman villain with a heart of kryptonite and one of the few beings who can truly harm the Man of Steel. Endowed with the strength, resilience, and energy projection of a cyborg, Metallo is a monstrous powerhouse. Armed with human ingenuity and a ruthless streak, Metallo has proven to be a nearly invincible nemesis for Superman.
15. Toyman
Toyman is a wily and resourceful Superman villain known for using high-tech gadgets and deadly toys to execute his nefarious plans. While he may not possess superhuman abilities, his intelligence and ingenuity make him a formidable and unpredictable foe. Toyman's talent for weaponizing seemingly harmless items keeps even Superman on edge.
16. Kalibak
Kalibak is the son of Darkseid who is a brutish hulk of a man with great physical strength and combat abilities. The only factors that keep him from being a credible Superman-level threat himself are his limited intelligence, ability to scheme, and lack of diversity compared to the best of the best villains. This leaves him as an average threat overall, in the middle range of villainy.
17. Manchester Black
Manchester Black is a telepathic villain who can mentally control objects and people, making him quite formidable in a fight. But he is limited to mental manipulation and physical attacks, and does not have any cosmic powers that would put him on the level of the most overpowered Superman villains. Intelligent, ruthless, and an expert at using psychic powers, Black is a dangerous mid-tier villain.
18. Livewire
Livewire is a female supervillain with the ability to produce and manipulate electricity. Livewire is one of the most difficult foes Superman has ever encountered, able to reroute electrical currents, travel at high speeds through power lines, and even blast electrical energy. She is fast and can be incredibly destructive, giving her great power over modern technology.
19. Lobo
Lobo is a super-strong, near-immortal intergalactic bounty hunter who can hunt down and destroy galaxy-spanning menaces. But while his strength makes him a threat, his chaotic, mercenary nature also lets him be an ally as often as an enemy; this keeps him down to mid-tier Superman villain status.
20. Silver Banshee
Silver Banshee possesses one superpowered ability, which can be quite a nuisance. Her level of danger, however, is held back by the fact that she has no strength, speed, or near-invulnerability on par with Superman's higher-tiered villains, and thus is limited. She has a mixture of supernatural abilities and personal intelligence.
