History Characters / SupermanVillains

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Lex Luthor]]
[[quoteright:295:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/luthor_warsuit_7704.jpg]]
-->''" You've made a mistake, Superman. A big mistake. A potentially fatal mistake. I run this town, Superman. Metropolis belongs to me. The people are mine, to nurture, or destroy, as I see fit. And they've forgotten that. They've looked at you, with your costume, and your flashy super-human powers... and they've forgotten who their master is. Who is number one! And I intend to remind them, Superman. I'm going to show them you're nothing, Superman. A card-board cut-out. One day, very soon now, you're going to die, Superman. You're going to be destroyed and you'll know who's doing it. Everyone in Metropolis will know. But no one will ever be able to prove it. I'll not be arrested, Superman. Not ever again. Remember, Superman. You're a dead man. It's just a question of how soon!"''

''The'' SuperVillain and Superman's ArchEnemy. Alexander "Lex" Luthor is easily the smartest human being in the world (a "10th-level intelligence", according to Brainiac), and uses his incredible brainpower to match the Man of Steel's physical might. In TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks he was a MadScientist who spent most of his time behind bars (to the point that his "costume" was a gray prison suit), later adopting a suit of PoweredArmor to fight Supes mano a mano. In UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks, he was re-envisioned as a CorruptCorporateExecutive who sold the patents for his fantastic inventions to become not only incredibly rich, but the most powerful man in Metropolis, prior to the arrival of a certain hero.

He has since gone back and forth in terms of characterisation, at times the CEO of [=LexCorp=], at times a MadScientist, at times a classic DiabolicalMastermind, and sometimes a combination of all three. He has faked his own death, and impersonated his supposed son, revealed himself as one of Superboy's genetic donors, and met [[ComicBook/TheSandman Death]]. He has been the leader of the Secret Society of Supervillains and the Injustice Gang, the mastermind of numerous plots against the heroes of Earth, a participant in General Lane's genocide of New Krypton, and briefly, President of the United States of America. He's even starred in his own spinoffs, serving as the VillainProtagonist in ''ComicBook/LexLuthorManOfSteel'', and of the "[[ComicBook/TheBlackRing Black Ring]]" story arc in ''ComicBook/ActionComics''. In any incarnation, Luthor is driven by his burning hatred of Superman, which is frequently put down to envy over the fact that, no matter how rich Luthor becomes, no matter how much political power he attains, and no matter how hard he schemes, he will never, ever ''[[DrivenByEnvy be]]'' Superman.

Luthor has appeared frequently in other media, featuring in video games, the original Superman films, ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', ''Film/SupermanReturns'', and the television series ''Series/{{Smallville}}''. He has also appeared in the animated films ''SupermanDoomsday'', and ''SupermanBatmanPublicEnemies''. He is easily the most recognisable, and best known member of Superman's RoguesGallery, and was rated IGN's "4th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time." Comic book critic Peter Sanderson has described Luthor as one of the few genuine megavillains, whose adventures cross genres, putting him a league alongside Professor Moriarty, Count Dracula, Hannibal Lecter, DoctorDoom, and Darth Vader.

Has his [[ComicBook/LexLuthor own page]] where tropes relating to him should go.
----
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Alexander Luthor, Jr.]]
[[quoteright:223:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alexander_luthor_jr__9401.png]]
-->''"I'm [[ComicBook/LexLuthor you]]. Only smarter."''

The son of the greatest hero of Earth-3, Alexander Luthor, and his wife Lois Lane, Alex was the only survivor of Earth-3 in the ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths. He was genetically altered after passing through the barrier to Earth-1, which caused him to age to adulthood in a matter of weeks and develop mysterious space-warping powers. He was helped to adulthood by the mysterious Monitor, under whose tutelage he helped defeat the Anti-Monitor and save TheMultiverse. With his world destroyed, he and other heroes without a world--Superman and Lois Lane of Earth-2 and Superboy of Earth-Prime--retired to a pocket dimension to live out their lives in peace.

Or so they thought. Driven mad by the isolation, Alex--who had never really learned morality, having aged so quickly--manipulated Superboy-Prime into helping them escape. He grew to resent the surviving Earth, which he viewed as flawed and imperfect, and in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' set into motion a scheme to TakeOverTheWorld. He was foiled by the world's heroes, Lex Luthor, and the unpredictable nature of Superboy-Prime, and was finally killed by Lex and the Joker.
----
* TheAtoner: TangentComics Green Lantern brought him BackFromTheDead for just enough time to once again stop a MultiversalConqueror and save the world.
* BigBad: Of ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''.
* BlingOfWar: His golden costume/armour.
* TheChessmaster
* DimensionLord: His goal is to gain control of the Multiverse, and create his own perfect vision of how things should be.
* EvilerThanThou: With Lex Luthor. While Alexander wins out in the short run, Lex gets his revenge in the end.
* FaceHeelTurn: Was driven quietly insane by years of isolation.
* FallenHero: Alex was a great hero, and helped to save the Multiverse. Than he ends up trying to take it over during ''Infinite Crisis''.
* {{Foil}}: His origin--being rocketed to another world as an infant, and then growing up to save reality, is evocative of Superman's own. Given his origins as the son of the backwards Earth-3's Luthor, this makes sense.
* FreudianExcuse: His entire world died, he was aged to early adulthood in a matter of days, he's trapped in a pocket dimension with only three other people for company (two of them a married older couple, one a whiny teenager), and he's watching the surviving universe spin out of control. Is it any wonder he lost it?
* GreenEyedMonster: Towards fellow ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' survivors Superboy-Prime and Kal-L. He resented Prime for having the past that he could not, and Kal-L for having the future he could not.
* InsufferableGenius: Paar for the course for the Luthors. Alex is fully convinced that he is the smartest guy around, as he flaunts to Lex in the page quote.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: The Joker and Luthor's murder of him easily falls into this territory. When Alex came back as a Black Lantern his attempt at killing Superboy-Prime, after pointing out to him that he's nothing more than an in-joke also qualified.
* KidHero: Originally.
* KilledOffForReal: Murdered in a backalley by Luthor and The Joker after his plans fail. He stayed dead for the rest of the Post-Crisis continuity, his time as a Black Lantern aside.
* ManipulativeBastard: His manipulation of Prime and Kal-L turns him from TheWoobie to full-blown JerkassWoobie.
* MesACrowd: His RealityWarper powers could create duplicates of himself that could exist independently of his main body.
* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Justified by his control over the fabric of reality itself.
* RealityWarper: His passage through the Anti-Monitor's antimatter storm as an infant gave him power over matter and anti-matter.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Black Lantern Alex gives one of these to Superboy-Prime.
* RedHeadedHero-->EvilRedhead
* TheResenter: Of the survivors of the Crisis.
* ShapeShifter: Able to take on the appearance of other beings, most notably Lex Luthor.
* SmugSnake: Alex isn't nearly as smart as he believes he is, takes it very poorly when his plan unravels, and ultimately fails to achieve any of his goals, before being unceremoniously killed by our Luthor and the Joker.
* SuperIntelligence: Could comprehend the nature of the multiverse on a fundamental level.
* TemptingFate: Revealing himself to Luthor and mocking his intelligence? That's gonna bite you in the rear Alex.
* TragicMistake: Two: first he didn't invite The Joker to his team-up. Then he revealed himself to Luthor and taunted him. Getting on the bad side of DC's most notorious psychopath and its signature MagnificentBastard is not a recipe for longevity.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Does it to Luthor, Superman, Kal-L, Superboy, and The Joker. All prove to be major mistakes.
* UngratefulBastard: Nearly got shot by Batman for almost murdering Nightwing. Wonder Woman, who recently killed Maxwell Lord, stops him from pulling the trigger, but Alex walks away telling Wonder Woman it doesn't change anything.
* UnwittingPawn: The ''Death of the New Gods'' mini-series revealed that he was subtly manipulated by the Source to recreate the Multiverse.
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: He is willing to obliterate the current universe to create a better one.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Alexei Luthor (Earth-2 Luthor)]]
[[quoteright:142:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alexei_luthor_2159.jpg]]
-->''"With the scientific marvels at my fingertips, I'm about to make myself master of the world!"''

Lex Luthor's counterpart in the AlternateUniverse of Earth-2. He vexed the Earth-2 Superman for decades as a MadScientist and war profiteer. Unlike Lex, Alexei was from eastern Europe and had a full head of red hair, but was otherwise very similar. In the ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, he was killed by Brainiac for questioning his plans while Lex smugly looked on.
----
* ArchEnemy: Of Earth-2's Superman, Kal-L.
* ArmsDealer: In his first appearance, where he was a war profiteer and weapons merchant.
* AssholeVictim[=/=]KickTheSonOfABitch: His execution at the hands of Brainiac was very much this, given that he was one of the few villains in the collective who actually rivaled Brainiac in nastiness.
* AxCrazy: Was a genocidal maniac focused on ''murdering'' Superman, instead of humiliating and de-powering him.
* BadassNormal: Like our Luthor, Alexei has no superpowers. Also like our Luthor, he's able to be a constant pain in the backside of his world's Superman despite this.
* DespotismJustifiesTheMeans
* DiabolicalMastermind: A classic example, and one of the earliest in comics.
* [[EvilCounterpart Eviler Counterpart]]: During the SilverAge, when our Luthor just wanted to humiliate Superman, Alexei was still actively seeking a way to kill Kal-L. One of their team-ups ended badly because our Luthor took issue with Alexei's brand of evil.
* EvilForeigner: From somewhere in Eastern Europe.
* EvilGenius
* EvilRedhead: Had a full head of red hair.
* EvilerThanThou: With our Luthor. This caused a falling out between the two of them, when our Luthor objected to Alexei's plan to destroy both Earth's 1 and 2.
* InsufferableGenius: Bragged about his brilliance all the time.
* ItsPersonal: With Kal-L, whom he spent years trying to murder.
* KillAllHumans: Tried to blow up both Earths 1 & 2 in one SilverAge story, an act that would have resulted in the deaths of all humans in those two universes.
* MadScientist
* PerpetualFrowner: Usually portrayed with a scowl.
* PowerCrystal: Briefly possessed the Power Stone, which allowed him to drain Kal-L's powers and alter his size.
* {{Retcon}}: Like Kal-L, Alexei's entire existence was a {{Retcon}}. Up until the late 1960s, the comics assumed that there was only one Superman, and all the stories from 1938 to the present were about him. The Superman comics from before around 1950 were then retconned to take place on Earth-2, so there were two Superman and two Luthors.
* {{Retgone}}: Vanished from the timeline after ''Crisis on Infinite Earths''.
* SmugSnake: As was paar for the course for Silver and Bronze Age Luthor.
* SuperIntelligence: Much like Earth-1's Lex Luthor, Alexei is the smartest man on Earth-2.
* TakeOverTheWorld: His main goal, as well as killing Superman.
* VillainTeamUp: With ComicBook/LexLuthor and Ultraman on occasion.
* WarForFunAndProfit: Started out as a war profiteer who set two small European nations against one another so that he could profit from the fallout and arm both sides.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anomaly]]
[[quoteright:214:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4cb399e822ec75160dd3b62bd39d04b0.jpg]]
The clone of a ruthless gangster named Floyd Barstow, he turned to crime, claiming that he inherited Barstow's nature. He has the power to change his physical structure to match whatever he touches.
----
* CloningBlues
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He's only interested in getting money, and objects to his teammates when they are willing to kill.
* InTheBlood: Becomes a villain due to being the clone of a criminal. On the other hand, while his template was a murderer, he just wants money and tries to fight his genetic influence, like when he subconsciously helped Guardian once.
* ShapeShifter
* ShoutOut: To {{Marvel}}'s Absorbing Man.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Atomic Skull I & II]]
!Atomic Skull I
[[quoteright:272:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7f1b5bcd8034034c86bc72f4e230ae5d.jpg]]
->'''AKA:''' Albert Michaels

A scientist with S.T.A.R. Labs with a rare seizure-inducing nervous disorder, Albert Michaels turned to a criminal syndicate who implanted him with a radioactive device that turned his nervous shorts into atomic blasts. Donning a costume and skull mask, Michaels became a super-villain and took over the syndicate, flying a skull-shaped hovercraft.

* [[PureEnergy Energy Blasts]]
* EvilGenius
* ILoveNuclearPower
* {{Retcon}}: Post-Crisis, his powers were the result of seeking immortality and mutated himself. It is not known if his Pre-Crisis/Silver Age encounters with Superman still happened in the Post-Crisis universe as his first Post-Crisis appearance was in ''Captain Atom'', yet his history with S.T.A.R. Labs and SKULL remained as established in ''The DC Comics Encyclopedia''.

!Atomic Skull II
[[quoteright:236:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a6910ca02f048e28c4fa5fc5584545f0.jpg]]
->'''AKA:''' Joseph Martin

Joseph Martin was an ordinary college student until he was caught in the blast radius of an alien "gene-bomb" that awakened his latent metagene, granting him super-strength and the ability to fire energy blasts, but also causing brain damage, turning his body's soft tissues invisible, and wreathing him head in green flame. Due to his brain injury, Martin believed he was the old 12-episode movie hero "the Atomic Skull" and that Superman was his archenemy, "Doctor Electron".

* BoomHeadshot: He can survive being shot in the head, but it tends to blow his head apart.
* [[PureEnergy Energy Blasts]]
* ILoveNuclearPower
* MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter: The serial Atomic Skull's girlfriend Zelda Wentworth is the daughter of his nemesis Doctor Electron.
* MythologyGag: The Atomic Skull from the old serial wears a costume resembling the Silver Age Atomic Skull.
* OneSteveLimit: Averted. He shares the same name as the old serial Atomic Skull's alter ego.
* SuperStrength
* TouchedByVorlons
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Barrage]]
[[quoteright:256:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7c501ffb8f24116e51c601c81740af04.jpg]]
->'''AKA:''' Paul Rooney

A criminal who was taken down by Maggie Sawyer in the past, losing his right arm in the process. Obsessed with revenge, he put on an armored suit and attached a thought-controlled energy cannon to his stump.
----
* ArmCannon
* {{BFG}}: It's upgraded enough to knock Supes over.
* CompensatingForSomething: {{Lampshaded}} when he gloats over his massive weapon.
-->'''Maxima''': Why do so many Earth males measure their masculinity by the size of their weapons?
* TheFightingNarcissist: He's so good-looking that he refuses to armor his face, which leads to his downfall.
* PoweredArmor
* StalkerWithACrush: At times with Maggie.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bizarro & Bizarro World]]

!Bizarro
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/superman_bizarro_9327.jpg]]
-->''"Me am Bizarro."''

Bizarro has had many origins over the decades, but one thing remains consistent: he is an imperfect copy of Superman created by science gone awry. Bizarro has powers similar to Superman but lacks his sense of justice and has difficulty telling right from wrong, often reveling in destruction for its own sake. Still, his deformed features combined with his childlike lack of guile sometimes makes him a sympathetic figure--sort of a modern-day FrankensteinsMonster.

See SelfDemonstrating/{{Bizarro}} for his own take on the situation.
----
* {{Antihero}}: On Bizarro World, where he's the only superhero they have.
* {{Badass Cape}}
* [[BadIsGoodAndGoodIsBad Bad Am Good And Good Am Bad]]
* BewareTheSillyOnes: Although Bizarro is sometimes reduced to comic relief, in more serious stories, he's exactly as terrifying as you would imagine as an angry toddler with the powers of Superman would be.
* TheBrute: Fills this role in the Superman Revenge Squad. During ''Last Son'' he even battles Zod's brute, Non, one on one.
* ChestInsignia: A backwards Superman shield. He sometimes wears a sign proclaiming "Bizarro #1" overtop of it.
* CloneDegeneration
* DependingOnTheArtist: Is his skin rocky, just white, or zombie-like? Are his costume's colors the same as Superman's, or darker shades? And whether he's wearing the "Bizarro #1" pendant.
* DependingOnTheWriter: Is his, and, by extension, all Bizarros' contrarian nature a conscious rejection of logical society (as in the Silver Age), a reflection of how their warped brains perceive reality (as in the Modern Age), or just sheer stupidity? Similarly, does he use sometimes-confusing "opposite" verbs and nouns in his speech, or not?
* DumbMuscle: Possibly the single stupidest character in the Superman comics, leaving him open to manipulation by Luthor, and any other villain with a reasonable IQ.
* EvilKnockoff: Though who is responsible for creating him varies--Luthor and the Joker are the two responsible in current continuity--his status as a direct, villainous ripoff of Superman remains the same.
* FriendlyEnemy: Is sometimes one to Superman.
* HulkSpeak: Technically, "Bizarro speak".
* {{Idiosyncrazy}}: His obsession with opposites - though this in only present in some versions.
* KryptoniteFactor: Blue Kryptonite, which, depending on who is writing, either kills Bizarro or makes him smarter.
* LegacyCharacter: There have actually been multiple Bizarros. In Pre-Flashpoint continuity, there have been three Bizarros.
* LightningBruiser
* MonsterProgenitor: No matter where he comes from, the first appearance of Bizarro is usually followed by legions of others, created by him.
* ObliviouslyEvil: Bizarro is often portrayed as completely ignorant of the bad things he is doing; frequently he does not understand, for instance, that punching somebody at full strength might kill them.
* OddballDoppelganger: His original conception, though he's since been used as a "straight villain" more often.
* PetTheDog: He genuinely cares about those he considers friends. Many writers and adaptations even portray him as not even hating Superman or Lois that much, and in fact seeing them as friends.
* PsychopathicManchild:
* RedBaron: The Idiot of Steel
* SuperheroesWearTights[=/=]UnderwearOfPower: Both are present in his knockoff Superman costume.
* SuperpowerLottery: Like Superman, he's a big winner, possessing most of the Man of Steel's powers, though with some differences.
** BreathWeapon: Unlike Superman, who has freezing breath, Bizarro breathes fire.
** EyeBeams: Can shoot freezing rays from his eyes.
** FlyingBrick
** NighInvulnerable: Can take the same kind of beatings that Superman can and come out unscathed.
** SuperSenses: Though at one point his microscopic vision was inverted and instead caused things to grow.
** SuperSpeed
** SuperStrength
* TykeBomb: Lex Luthor's intention for Bizarro in almost every version. Subverted in that [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption it never actually works]].
* VillainousFriendship: With Batzarro.

!Bizarro World
Bizarro was lonely until the day he discovered that the rays of a blue sun give him one extra superpower, the ability to duplicate himself. He used this to populate a cubic planet with other monsters who are just as logically warped as he is.
----
* BizarroUniverse: [[TropeNamer Obviously.]]
* EnemyCivilWar: Not all of Bizarro's duplicates get along with him.
* LovableCoward: Yellow Lantern, the Bizarro version of the courageous Green Lantern. Strays into DirtyCoward territory during the rare moments when he's not played for laughs.
* OnlySaneMan: Zibarro. Seeing as he's the Bizarro of the world of Bizarro, this is to be expected.
* OppositeSexClone: The female half of the planet's population.
* PerpetualSmiler: The Bizarro version of the normally grumpy Batman, who even has a smiley face symbol on his chest in place of a bat symbol.
* SaveTheVillain: Superman often saves Bizarro World from destruction, even though it would make his life much easier to just let it be destroyed.
* SdrawkcabName: Averted with most of the Bizarro characters themselves, but played straight with the name of their planet, which is sometimes called "Htrae". Since no one can actually pronounce that, most adaptations simply refer to it as The Bizarro World.
** The Bizarro version of Mr. Mxyzptlk is named Mr. Kltpzyxm, which has been used in the past to exploit the original's WeaksauceWeakness.
* SelfDuplication: All other Bizarros are duplicates of the original.
* WorldShapes: A cube.

!Bizarro I
The original Post-Crisis Bizarro created by Lex Luthor. Was a bit different than the other versions.

* TragicVillain: Was met with disgust and repulsion all of his short life.
* TheSpeechless: He didn't utter a word, for some reason.
* ExpendableClone: Was considered to be nothing more than one by his creator.
* TragicHero: He did his absolute best to help people, only to be met with disgust.
* GoneHorriblyWrong: Many years and a ton of cash went in to this.
* MadeInChina: Or Hong Kong, to be exact.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bloodsport I, II & III]]
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bloodsport_robert_dubois_7856.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Robert [=DuBois=].\\
[[labelnote:(For Alex Trent, click here.)]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bloodsport_alex_trent_8854.png[[/labelnote]]]]

->'''AKA:''' Robert [=DuBois=], Alex Trent, Unknown

A gun-toting killer who can pull all kinds of weapons out of his pocket thanks to advanced technology. There have been three of these guys so far. The first one, Robert [=DuBois=] was an African-American man who dodged the draft during Vietnam. When his brother went in his place and was crippled, [=DuBois=] developed symptoms of PTSD and was in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years, before going on a rampage that was halted by Superman. Following his imprisonment, the Bloodsport identity was adopted by Alex Trent, a member of the Aryan Brotherhood. When Trent was defeated and jailed, he and [=DuBois=] got into a boxing match, which Trent won by teleporting in his weapons. He killed [=DuBois=] and was later burned to death by his Aryan Brotherhood "friends" for needing weapons to defeat a black man. The identity of Bloodsport and the technology associated with it have since been adopted by a third, unnamed, criminal mercenary.
----
* {{BFG}}: All the Bloodsport's have featured these in their arsenals.
* CheatersNeverProsper: Trent was killed by his own allies for cheating in his fight with [=DuBois=], thus showing weakness to an "inferior race".
* DarkAgeOfSuperNames: Bloodsport is very dark age.
* DepletedPhlebotinumShells: Both Bloodsport's have used Kryptonite bullets as a part of their arsenal.
* TheGunslinger
* HyperspaceArsenal: Pulls any weapon he needs to out of thin air.
* KilledOffForReal: Both [=DuBois=] and Trent.
* LegacyCharacter: [=DuBois=] wore the outfit first, then Trent, and following both of their deaths, an unknown mercenary adopted the costume.
* TheMentallyIll: [=DuBois=] suffered from PTSD like symptoms, talked constantly of a non-existent past, and had a history of institutionalisation.
* PhonyVeteran: [=DuBois=] claimed to be a veteran in order to assauge his sense of guilt.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: The second Bloodsport, Alex Trent, was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, and held all the beliefs you would expect somebody like that to hold.
* ScaryBlackMan: Robert [=DuBois=] was a physically intimidating African-American man, who could pull weapons out of a literal HyperspaceArsenal and posed a challenge to Superman. Yeah, he qualifies.
* ShellShockedVeteran: Robert [=DuBois=] adopted the persona of one, after discovering that his brother had become a quadruple amputee, developing an obsession with the Vietnam War and evidencing symptoms of PTSD. He would later claim that he and his brother both served, and that the people of Metropolis were wasting the freedoms that they had been hurt protecting.
* ShootingSuperman: He actually can, as his guns tend to be very powerful and/or use Kryptonite ammo.
* SurvivorsGuilt: [=DuBois=] suffered from a horrible case of this after his brother was crippled in his place in Vietnam.
* ThoseWackyNazis: Trent was a fairly hardcore Neo-Nazi
* UnwittingPawn: [=DuBois=] was a pawn of Luthor's, who equipped him with most of his gear.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Brainiac]]
->'''AKA:''' Vril Dox I
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brainiac_vs_superman_5595.jpg]][[caption-width-right:250:Brainiac circa ''New Krypton'']]
-->''"I will be everything there ever has been, Kryptonian."''

One of Superman's longest-running, and most enduring adversaries, Brainiac has taken a number of incarnations over the decades. Initially a Coluan super scientist named Vril Dox, he was later turned into a series of robots, a human mentalist named Milton Fine (who was possessed by Vril Dox's conciousness), and a holographic energy being from the future. Eventually, these were all revealed to be probes sent by the real Coluan Brainiac in search of the last Kryptonian. In most guises, Brainiac is a collector and cataloger who takes samples of things, sometimes destroying what remains. Some of his samples include shrunken cities he keeps in bottles, most notably, the shrunken city of Kandor from Superman's home world. During the 1960s he often acted in concert with fellow EvilGenius, Lex Luthor; Post-Crisis, the two of them have usually been positioned as rivals, both with one another, and for the title of Superman's {{archenemy}}.

Brainiac's powers and abilities have changed as often as his origins and personality. During the 1960s he possessed no genuine superpowers, but utilised advanced technology, such as his iconic force-shield belt to fluster the Man of Steel. In UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}, when he was first reimagined as a robot, he became a WalkingArmoury, equipped with a wide variety of alien weaponry, while following the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' and his possession of Milton Fine he became a powerful psychic. Subsequent media portrayed him as a technopathic intelligence, capable of possessing almost any technology, a mechanical giant called Brainiac 13 who overrode Metropolis' entire power grid, and finally as a Coluan cyborg, with the ability to match Superman blow-for-blow. His bodies have been even more numerous; in addition to Milton Fine and countless robots, he has possessed Lex Luthor, Lena Luthor, Doomsday, and even, thanks to time travel, himself. One thing that has remained consistent about Brainiac is his status as both one of the smartest beings in the galaxy (a "12th Level Intelligence"), and one of the worst members of Superman's RoguesGallery, with a death toll numbering in the billions.

One of the few Superman adversaries not named Luthor to have actual name recognition in the general public, Brainiac and his various future selves and alternate universe counterparts have played major roles in numerous Superman stories over the years, including ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'', ''JLA: Earth-2'', ''Panic in the Skies'', ''OurWorldsAtWar'', the self-titled ''Brainiac'' arc, and ''ComicBook/NewKrypton'', to name just a few. He has appeared frequently in other media, including television shows ''WesternAnimation.SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', and the animated film ''SupermanUnbound'', as well as video games and novels. He's also the source of the term "brainiac", a ''portmanteau'' of "brain" and "maniac". In 2009, IGN rated Brainiac the 17th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.

[[ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} Now has his own page]] onto which tropes about him should go.
----
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Conduit]]
->'''AKA:''' Kenny Braverman
[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Conduit_3190.jpg]]

Introduced in ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfClarkKent'', he was one of Clark Kent's friends in high school, but he grew increasingly jealous over Clark always overshadowing him in sports. He was also berated by his father for always coming in second place. He grew up to be a mercenary, and developed the ability to channel energy, including kryptonite radiation. He discovered Clark's secret and kidnapped him, accusing him of using his powers to cheat back when they were kids. Clark protested that he did not have his powers back then, but Kenny refused to listen and challenged him to a fight in an arena full of kryptonite. Clark pushed past the pain and defeated him with his superior fighting skill. Furious, Kenny tried to absorb the electricity powering the arena, but overloaded and died. Despite the hell Kenny had put him through, Clark mourned the loss of his old friend.
----
* AbusiveDad: Kenny's dad emotionally abused him for coming in second to Clark.
* AlwaysSecondBest: To Clark.
* DaddyIssues: Massive ones. Anybody who builds an army of robots resembling their father has got a screw loose.
* DrivenByEnvy: Of Clark Kent, and subsequently, Superman.
* EnergyAbsorption
* FeedItWithFire
* {{Foil}}: To Clark, even gaining his powers from exposure to the radiation from Clark's ship passing overhead.
* ForgottenFriendNewFoe: He's the one who started the trend towards these in comics. If you like [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Hush]] and [[ComicBook/MartianManhunter Malefic]], thank Conduit.
** EvilFormerFriend
** RivalTurnedEvil: He considered Clark Kent his rival in high school; now as an adult, he hopes to kill Clark's public identity of Superman.
* FreudianExcuse: His father's emotional abuse of him made him the unstable person he is today.
* GreenRocks: Was irradiated by Kryptonite when Clark's shuttle flew over his pregnant mother.
* HiredGuns: Was once a mercenary.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard
* IllBoy: In high school, where his frequent bouts of poor health prevented him from excelling to quite the same degree as Clark.
* JerkJock: In highschool and afterwards.
* KilledOffForReal: Kenny got himself killed during his last confrontation with Clark and stayed that way.
* ManOfKryptonite
* PoweredArmour: His armour protects him from attacks and allows him to fly.
* PsychoElectro
* TheResenter
* WellDoneSonGuy: Clark speculated that Kenny might not have turned out so bad if it wasn't for his father. Given that Conduit builds an army of robots resembling the man, he may well have a point there.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Cyborg-Superman/Cyborg II]]
->'''AKA:''' Hank Henshaw
[[quoteright:213:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cyborg-superman_super_5712.jpg]]

-->'''Hal Jordan:''' "He needed someone to hate for what happened to him. He chose Superman."

Hank Henshaw and three other astronauts were accidentally exposed to cosmic radiation and given superpowers. Hank was the only one stable enough to survive, as an energy being capable of inhabiting machinery. He initially lacked control over his energy form, accidentally wreaking havoc on all machines around his host; he decided to leave Earth by hijacking a small portion of Superman's Kryptoniam birthing matrix/starship. Combining the Kryptonian technology with traces of Superman's DNA from the rocket, he made a Cyborg-Superman body. Over time in space, he went mad and blamed Superman for "exiling" him, developing the delusion that Superman had trapped Henshaw in his own birthing matrix and sent it into space believing the machinery too complex for Henshaw to manipulate. He returned to Earth and posed as Superman during his death long enough to prepare for an invasion. His destruction of Coast City was the last straw that drove [[Comicbook/GreenLantern Hal Jordan]] mad, making him effectively a nemesis for both heroes. He has since become Grandmaster of the Manhunters, and served in the Sinestro Corps, making life miserable for Superman and Green Lantern alike.

For the ComicBook/{{New 52}} version of Cyborg Superman, see [[Characters/{{Supergirl}} Supergirl's character page]].
----
* AlliterativeName: In proud comic book tradition.
* ArcVillain: Was TheBigBad of ''Reign of the Supermen'', and a major player in several other story arcs.
* ArmCannon: Frequently transforms his hands into beam weapons.
* ArtificialLimbs: In his original appearance as Cyborg-Superman, one of Henshaw's legs and one of his arms, was mechanical. In later appearances three or even all four of his limbs may be artificial.
* AscendedExtra: Henshaw's gone from being a one-off villain with limited powers and scope to the BigBad of ''Reign of the Supermen'', and a major player in the DCU, holding titles including Grandmaster of the Manhunters, Alpha-Prime of the Alpha Lanterns, and Herald of the Anti-Monitor.
* AxCrazy: Completely insane.
* BackFromTheDead: Claimed to be Superman, back from the dead; has since died and come back many, ''[[DeathIsCheap many]]'' times.
* BadassCape: As part of his faux-Superman outfit. He continues to wear one even after joining the Sinestro Corps and changing the rest of his costume.
* BodySurf: Henshaw's ability to project his conciousness into any mechanical device or clone body is one of the reasons for his apparent inability to die. He can even take over the bodies of other sentient machines and cyborgs, as he did to the Alpha Lanterns.
* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: Has featured the "S" symbol on his chest and the back of his cape.
* CaptainErsatz: In his first appearance, he and his crew were stand-ins for the ComicBook/FantasticFour, with Henshaw as Mister Fantastic. He brings up the "ironic" similarities in an IntercompanyCrossover.
--> '''Hank:''' While residing in your computers I learned we share much in common. You four were bombarded by unique cosmic rays during a brave mission into space. My wife, I, and two of our friends experienced a similar fate while on the space shuttle ''Excalibur''. The radiation that invaded our craft was both unexpected and unexplained. You four were blessed with tremendous powers and abilities. As were we, at first. Ultimately, though, my team lost their lives to the effects of the radiation. I survived as a nomadic intelligence, always forging new bodies of circuits and alloys. You swore to use your new for the good of mankind. Me, I resented my fate and the loss of my human body. I didn't fight for humanity. I declared war on it and its greatest champion".
* ChestInsignia: Originally had a version of Superman's "S" shield. He later replaced it with the Sinestro Corps symbol, but returned to displaying an "S" in "Reign of Doomsday".
* {{Cult}}: Facilitated the creation of a cult that venerated him as the reborn Superman. This cult later clashed with one that venerated the Eradicator.
* {{Cyborg}}: Has constructed a series of bodies for himself, all of which combine Superman's DNA with alien metals, giving him the appearance of being a half-mechanical Superman.
* DeadPersonImpersonation: What he thought he was doing to Superman following the events of ''TheDeathOfSuperman''.
* DeathSeeker: Allied himself with Sinestro and the [[OmnicidalManiac Anti-Monitor]] in the hopes he will die in battle, and the latter promised to kill him if he survived (for which Henshaw thanked him). Toyed with nonetheless, however, in that Henshaw is determined to die on ''his'' terms and not anybody else's. Hence his refusal to let Doomsday best him during ''Reign of Doomsday''.
* DemonicPossession: Of Alpha Lantern Boodika.
* DragonWithAnAgenda[=/=]TheStarscream: Once served a tribunal that hoped to bring Superman to trial, in this role. The tribunal wanted to try Superman for the crimes of Krypton; Henshaw was just looking to seize the tribunal's planet for his own uses.
* TheDreaded: So much so that Sinestro himself recruited him into the Sinestro Corps.
* DrivenByEnvy: Not to the same degree as Luthor, but Henshaw is obsessed with proving himself to be better than Superman, who he believes receives the respect that should rightfully be his.
* ElectronicEyes: Always has one mechanical eye and one real one. It's version of his EyeBeams is considerably more enhanced than that of his Kryptonian eye, to the point where it's frequently the only one he bothers to fire.
* EnemyMine: Forced into one with first the JLA and then Superman during ''Reign of Doomsday''.
* EnergyBeing: Henshaw's real form is that of a PureEnergy conciousness that can project itself into new bodies.
* EvilTwin: Partially. His human parts are cloned from Superman's, though his mechanical ones help to screw up the image.
* EvilVsEvil: During his battle with Cyborg-Doomsday in ''Reign of Doomsday''.
* FlyingBrick: Can and does mimic all of Superman's powers, including {{Flight}}, NighInvulnerability, SuperStrength, SuperSpeed, SuperSenses and EyeBeams. That's in addition to his technopathic and psychic abilities.
* FreudianExcuse: Henshaw and his crewmen were exposed to energy that mutated their bodies and warped their minds. Two of his friends committed suicide, and while his wife was apparently cured, she proceeded to kill herself after Henshaw appeared to her in robotic form. And then, if that wasn't bad enough, he was forced from Earth after a conflict with Superman, leaving him isolated and free to indulge in his paranoia. It doesn't justify his grudge against Superman, but it certainly explains his madness.
* FromASingleCell: Henshaw's conciousness will always survive and transfer so long as a single piece of him survives his "death".
* FromNobodyToNightmare: A variant. While Hank Henshaw, astronaut, certainly wasn't a nobody before gaining his powers, Hank Henshaw, supervillain, was a minor antagonist with no real ability to fight against Superman. Then he beamed himself into a Kryptonian birthing matrix, and gained the power to create bodies based on Kryptonian technology, and Superman's genetics, turning himself into one of the greatest menaces in the DC Universe.
* GeniusBruiser: Henshaw was already a scientist and astronaut when he was exposed to the radiation that granted him his powers. He became a technological genius whose abilities allowed him to face the likes of Superman in combat, and return from the dead.
* GlassCannon: Henshaw's mechanical parts are far more easily damaged than his organic ones. That said, they also hit far harder.
* GoOutWithASmile: Any time he believes somebody has managed to kill him.
* GreenLanternRing: Yellow Lantern Ring, actually. Having joined the Sinestro Corps War, and become Grandmaster of the Manhunters, the Cyborg-Superman gained a fistful of Yellow Power Rings taken from deceased Sinestro Corpsmen.
* HandBlast[=/=]PowerPalms: When he isn't just converting his hand into a full-on ArmCannon.
* HealingFactor: One of the most extreme ones in comic books. Thanks to the combination of his enhanced Kryptonian physique, his mechanical self-repair function, his incorporated cloning technology, and his true nature as an EnergyBeing, Cyborg-Superman will recover from any injury, no matter how extreme.
* IrrationalHatred: Henshaw's hatred of Superman is based on nothing but delusion. He blames the Man of Steel for causing his accident, for driving his friends to suicide, and for exiling Henshaw from Earth. None of these things were Superman's fault, but Henshaw is long past caring, and his hatred of Superman has reached frankly rabid levels.
* ItsPersonal: In a variation Henshaw's loathing of Superman is one of the few things he has left, while Superman sees Henshaw as just another enemy. Similarly, Hal Jordan hates the Cyborg-Superman with a passion, while Henshaw is far more interested in pursuing his grudge against the Man of Steel, seeing Green Lantern as just another hero out to stop him.
* JokerImmunity: No matter how many times Henshaw is killed, he always comes back, much to [[DeathSeeker his own chagrin]].
* KryptoniteFactor: Donwplayed. Kryptonite will shut down Henshaw's organic parts, but has no effect on the Kryptonian (and later Apokoliptian) alloys that compose most of his body.
* LightningBruiser: As a Kryptonian/machine hybrid this is to be expected.
* TheMentallyIll: Henshaw suffers from delusions, depression, suicidal impulses, a completely irrational hatred of Superman, and is prone to mental breakdowns and fits of rage.
* NukeEm: Tried to nuke Metropolis as part of his plan to rebuild it as a new Engine City.
* PsychicPowers: Of an ill-defined and evolving variety.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: His Manhunter/Sinestro Corps uniform. He later modified this outfit to create his final "evil Superman" uniform, with a red shirt, black pants, red trunks, and a black cape.
* RedBaron: Styled himself "The Man of Tomorrow" when posing as Superman reborn.
* TheResenter: Towards anybody who has a "normal" life. He's particularly spiteful towards Superman, who has everything Henshaw has lost.
* RevengeBeforeReason: Wants revenge on Superman for things that never happened in the first place.
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: Became more associated with Comicbook/GreenLantern following his attack on Coast City. He never let go of his hatred of Superman, though, and his last Pre-''New 52'' appearance, however, was in the [[BatFamilyCrossover Superman Family Crossover]], ''Reign of Doomsday''.
* SealedEvilInACan: Finished the Post-Crisis universe trapped in his central node, under care of STAR Labs.
* ShapeShifterWeapon: His mechanical parts can shift into almost any weapon Henshaw imagines.
* SkullForAHead: Three quarters of his face is taken up by a grinning metal skull.
* SuperpowerLottery: Even more so then Superman. Given that he has a cybernetic version of Superman's body, he possesses all of his powers as well as his original technopathic powers and the ability to [[BodySurf transplant his consciousness into mechanical devices]], and create new bodies. More recently, he was given multiple [[GreenLanternRing Yellow power rings]] as a member of the Sinestro Corps.
* {{Technopath}}: Can control most technology and transplant his conciousness into mechanical devices. This has allowed him to create new weapons at will, gain control of the Manhunters, and at one point, operate one billion robots at a time.
* TookALevelInBadass: Went from a minor villain with technopathic powers to a serious menace whose body incorporated Kryptonian genetics and machinery. He upgrades his act again when he added Apokoliptian and Oan technology to his cyborg body, and ''again'' when he gained several Sinestro Corps power rings.
* TwoFaced: Half-machine, half-Superman to be precise.
* UnwantedRevival: The Manhunters do this to him in the aftermath of the Sinestro Corps War, much to his anger and disappointment.
* VillainTeamUp: Has worked with Mongul I and the Sinestro Corps.
* VillainousBreakdown: About once per arc.
* VoluntaryShapeShifting: A mild variant. While his bodies inevitably look like a cross between Superman and the Terminator, how much of him is mechanical vs how much of him is flesh, as well as the composition and form of the alloys involved, is subject to change.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: He really does not, and a lot of his motivation is trying to goad people into destroying him, following his realization that revenge was hollow and would gain him little.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Is sometimes characterised as such, particularly during the Sinestro Corps War, where all he wants to do is die.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Darkseid]]
->'''AKA:''' Uxas

Despotic ruler of Apokolips. This evil god of tyranny often comes in conflict with Superman and other superheroes. [[{{ComicBook/Darkseid}} You can find out more about him in his own article.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Doomsday & Doomslayer]]
->'''AKA:''' The Ultimate
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/doomsday_charges_1040.jpg]]

A monster who showed up on Earth one day and started trashing everything for no reason. After tangling with a number of outclassed heroes, he found his match in Superman, with the two battling to the death (giving Superman [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman his only canonical death]]). Doomsday is incredibly fast, strong, and invulnerable. He is cunning but not intelligent. More importantly, he has the ability to regenerate from any injury, even death, and adapts new defenses in the process so he can't be killed the same way twice. Eventually, it was revealed that Doomsday was engineered on Krypton and meant to be the ultimate life form. In spite of this, Doomsday has suffered VillainDecay. Even though he should be getting more powerful with each fight, Superman has been more and more successful in each rematch.

During the events of ''Reign of Doomsday'', an attempt was made to undo this villain decay, by unleashing four clones of Doomsday, each of which effortlessly defeated one of Steel, The Eradicator, the Cyborg-Superman & Supergirl, and Superboy. The mastermind of this plot was Lex Luthor, but his plan was hijacked by the Doomslayer, a sentient Doomsday clone who aimed to destroy himself, the other Doomsdays, and anybody else who had knowledge of them, all in the name of saving the universe from Doomsday.

In the ''New 52'', Doomsday returned as a WalkingWasteland, whose mere presence causes everything around him to die. Attacking Krypton decades ago, he was exiled to the Phantom Zone, but inadvertently freed in the present day. Superman makes numerous efforts to halt, and finally kill, the rampaging monster, but all of them fail, with one even seeing Superman possessed by Doomsday.
----
* AchillesHeel: Granting him sentience weakens him, as it allows him to feel fear and doubt.
** Averted with the Doomslayer, which was sentient, but insane.
* AdaptiveAbility: He becomes immune to anything used against him. He occasionally develops offensive abilities, like the ability to extend his spikes and reel in who they impale.
* ApologeticAttacker: The Doomslayer.
* AppropriatedAppellation: He was named by Comicbook/BoosterGold, who remarked, "It was like '''Doomsday''' was here!" after getting attacked by him.
* AxCrazy: Doomsday was tortured into total insanity by his creator. The Doomslayer clone is in the same boat, but retains his sentience.
* BackFromTheDead: Constantly.
* {{Badass}}: Took out the whole then-current Justice League literally with one arm tied behind its back, and then fought Superman himself to a draw in a fight to the death? Check.
* BigBad: The Doomslayer clone was the BigBad and FinalBoss of "Reign of Doomsday".
* BreathWeapon: Eventually gained fire-breath.
* TheBrute: Usually.
* CloningBlues: Doomslayer, who hates being a clone of a monster, and fighting against Doomsday's rage.
* {{Cyborg}}: The clone that was sent after Cyborg-Superman during ''Reign of Doomsday'' was able to mimic his technopathic powers, and create mechanical limbs and weapons for itself.
* DiabolusExNihilo: Showed up out of ''freaking nowhere'' and absolutely wrecked the Justice League, Supergirl, Cadmus, Metropolis, and Superman.
* DumbMuscle: UpToEleven in that he ''[[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman killed Superman]]'', but he is a quite animalistic being with no other thought than to destroy any living thing it encounters because they threaten his existence.
** Thanks to his AdaptiveAbility however, he "Evolved" sentience due to being outwitted over and over. He then promptly decided his old way of life was stupid and underwent a HeelFaceTurn.
* EnemyToAllLivingThings: He attacks until a planet is completely extinct, then moves to another one. Rinse and repeat. He typically starts with the greatest threats he can perceive, motivated by survival.
* FlyingBrick: During ''Reign of Doomsday''.
* FreudianExcuse: From the moment he was born, he was left on the DeathWorld known as prehistoric Krypton and killed an ungodly number of times. ''He remembers every single horrifying moment''.
* FromASingleCell: He can regenerate from any trace of him left.
* GenericDoomsdayVillain: TropeNamer. His sole reason for being was ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman. And to defeat Superman, Doomsday had to be overtly strong and feral to the point he has basically no personality, being comparable to an angry stampeding animal.
** The contrast between Doomsday and the rest of Superman's foes is touched upon in the story, with Superman fearing he might have to delve into HeWhoFightsMonsters territory.
* GeniusBruiser: The Doomslayer clone, which masterminded a plot aimed at destroying Earth, and could operate technology designed by Luthor.
* GodzillaThreshold: Doomsday is so far the only member of Superman's rogues gallery for whom lethal force is basically the only viable option 99% of the time, as he's an unthinking, unreasoning beast who will not stop for anything else, and seeks to destroy all life wheresoever he can find it.
* HealingFactor: While he normally dies before reviving fully healed, he can heal from injuries mid-battle.
* HeroKiller: He is known as The One Who Killed Superman.
* HollywoodEvolution: Bertron's method of creating Doomsday was to keep launching clones of the same baby into the hostile environment over and over again until the baby "evolved" into the ultimate survivor.
* InASingleBound: He can't fly, but he can leap into the sky and across cities.
* ItOnlyWorksOnce: He's even developed an immunity to the ''Omega Beam''.
* TheJuggernaut: You'd need someone like Superman or stronger to even think of slowing him down.
* KillAllHumans: Doomslayer wants to kill the entire population of Earth in order to make sure that all knowledge of how to create Doomsday clones is lost.
* LamarckWasRight: Was created deliberately through a brutal process of Lamarckian evolution, taking a baby and killing it over and over until it 'learned' to evolve.
* LightningBruiser: Can overpower and outrun people like Superman and Darkseid.
* MindOverMatter: The clone sent after Superboy in ''Reign of Doomsday'' possessed a copy of his tactile telekinesis.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Doomsday, Doomslayer.
* TheNeedless: Doomsday does not require air, water, nor food to function.
* NighInvulnerable: Hurt him with something once and it won't work again.
* OmnicidalManiac: Doomsday will not rest until everything around him is destroyed.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Was born in prehistoric times. Kyptonian prehistory at that, putting him closer to TimeAbyss.
* SealedEvilInACan: He was living Sealed Evil, but ultimately broke out of his own can. He keeps getting re-sealed in stronger cans (we hope!).
* SecondaryColorNemesis: Doomsday wears green pants. Doomslayer ''is'' orange and green.
* SpikesOfVillainy: That can extend and stab Superman.
* StrippedToTheBone: Happened to him once when he got blasted by Imperiex.
* SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum: The Doomslayer aims to kill not only himself, but all other versions of Doomsday, and anybody who might be able to recreate Doomsday, leading him to try and kill the entire planet Earth.
* SuperSoldier
* {{Technopath}}: One of the clones from ''Reign of Doomsday'' possessed these powers, and used them to defeat Cyborg-Superman.
* TookALevelInBadass: The Doomsday clones and the Doomslayer in "Reign of Doomsday", which brought Doomsday back up to his previously badass levels; in fact it took The Eradicator taking control of the original Doomsday to turn the odds in the favor of the heroes.
* UltimateLifeForm: Was designed to be the strongest possible being ever created.
* UnskilledButStrong: As a mindless brute, he fights with no finesse, but he doesn't really need it since he's stronger, faster, and tougher than Superman.
* UnstoppableRage: He is nothing but pure rage at everything around him.
* WalkingWasteland: In the ''New 52''.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: The Doomslayer, who wants to end the threat that Doomsday poses to the universe, by killing himself, the other Doomsdays, and everyone who knows about them.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: At his very core, he's an extremely frightened and traumatized toddler who has come to view every single bit of life as a threat thanks to how he came to be what he is now. The Doomslayer is a more traditional example, aiming to kill himself, the other Doomsdays, and Earth because he hurts too much to think straight about it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:General Sam Lane]]
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/samlane_1837.jpg]]

Lois Lane's father, and a high-ranking U.S. General. Originally portrayed as a gruff, but well-meaning father, who sacrificed his life to save the world during the Imperiex War, he was retconned into a fanatical, anti-alien bigot during the events of the ''ComicBook/NewKrypton'' arc. His extreme hatred and racism led him to head Project 7734, a conspiracy aiming for the destruction of Superman, all other Kryptonians, all other "alien threats", and any of their sympathizers. Eventually, he committed suicide, turning himself into a martyr for the Anti-Kryptonian cause.
----
* AbsoluteXenophobe: Lane wants all alien life eradicated, and just chooses to start with New Krypton. He makes it clear that given the chance Superman, Supergirl, and every alien he can get his hands on will be terminated.
* AbusiveDad: Cold and remote when they were children, he used Lucy's desire for his affections to turn her into [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Superwoman]] when she was an adult.
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: His actions in ''New Krypton'' retcon him into a one of the Hulk's enemy, General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, with even fewer redeeming qualities.
* ArchnemesisDad: To his daughter, Lois, and his son-in-law, Superman. By the time he's done, he's destroyed what remains of Superman's race, including his uncle, his aunt, his cousin's best friend, and many of his former subordinates and allies.
* AteHisGun: How he kills himself.
* BadBoss: Demands everything from his subordinates and gives nothing back. When one of his units starts displaying actual human qualities he has Reactron kill them all, and he regularly tries to threaten Luthor with death if he doesn't cooperate.
* BerserkButton: Mentioning his tortured relationship with Lois.
* TheBigBad: One of the top contenders in ''New Krypton''
** BigBadDuumvirate: Lane is far more dependent upon Luthor than he cares to admit. While in theory Luthor is TheDragon and Lane TheBigBad, in practise, Lane could not win without Luthor, and has to cede quite a bit of authority to him, causing their relationship to trend towards this trope. That his plan works is due not to his own brilliance (though good luck telling him that), but because Luthor does all the heavy lifting.
** BigBadEnsemble: Shares the role with Brainiac and Zod in ''New Krypton''. While he ultimately outmanouveres them both, and blows New Krypton sky-high, the resultant open war with Zod is not one that he can win.
** BigBadWannabe: Take away [[DragonInChief Luthor]] and Lane is left with no ability to enact his plans. Worse still, when it comes to open warfare he and his Human Defence Corps (Metallo aside) have no real ability to stand up to Zod's forces, putting Superman in the position of having to bail them out.
* DrivenToSuicide: Kills himself in an attempt at martyrdom, seconds before Kara and Connor would have arrested him.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He's desperate for Lois to understand what he did and to okay his actions.
* EvilOldFolks: Somewhere in his sixties.
* FakingTheDead: After the Imperiex War and before ''New Krypton''
* FantasticRacism: He sees all Kryptonians and those similar to them, like Mon-El, as threats to national security. He does not see any difference between bad guys like General Zod or good guys like Flamebird, and tries to argue that Kryptonians are inherently violent.
* FinalSolution: Uses Reactron and red solar radiation in order to effect a full-scale genocide of the people of Kandor, even going so far as to order that any prisoners his forces take be executed.
* GeneralRipper: Massively so in ''New Krypton'', where he becomes a less moral [[TheIncredibleHulk General Ross]]. He's convinced that the Kryptonians are a threat, long before they establish themselves as such, and sets out to force everybody else to see things his way.
* GloryHound: A big part of Lane's agenda is simply about turning himself into a hero.
* GovernmentConspiracy: He's part of Project 7734, a conspiracy within the US Army to start a war with New Krypton without presidential authorisation.
* HeroicSacrifice: How he was believed to have met his end during the Imperiex War. Later retconned into him faking his death.
* InsaneAdmiral: By the time of ''New Krypton'' Lane has lost touch with objective reality. He's blinded to the fact that his own actions are a huge part of New Krypton's hostility towards Earth, refuses to acknowledge all the times that Superman et al have saved the world, considers Luthor, Metallo, and Reactron to be the finest allies he could ask for, and is absolutely convinced that he is a selfless martyr, sacrificing himself for humanity.
* JerkAss
* KillSat: Owns a few.
* KilledOffForReal: In the Post-Crisis, Pre-New 52 continuity, General Lane stayed dead.
* KnightTemplar: On the subject of aliens and Kryptonians in particular. He's willing to kill not only them, but all of their sympathisers.
* KnightTemplarParent: He doesn't know Clark's secret, but he gave him a hard time when he and Lois announced their engagement. So far as he knew, Lois wasted the best years of her life pining after Superman before settling for some mild-mannered reporter.
* LeaveNoSurvivors: Orders that every Kryptonian his men capture be executed.
* MeaningfulName: Not Lane himself, but his project. Flip 7734 upside down and it appears to spell "HELL".
* MoralMyopia: Guys like [[PsychoForHire Reactron]] and [[ColonelKilgore Metallo]], who regularly kill civillians, and in Reactron's case, murdered an ex-girlfriend for leaving him? Good soldiers. Kryptonians responding to the violence he instigates? Rabid dogs who have to be put down in the name of national security. This is most obvious when Kara is threatening to kill him in retaliation for the genocide of her race, and Lane tries to use her anger as "proof" that all Kryptonians are inherently evil. Apparently she was just supposed to sit there and take it while he annihilated her race.
* MugglePower: Project 7734 is meant to equip regular human soldiers with the equipment and allies that they will need to battle Krytponians.
* {{Narcissist}}: In a similar vein to Luthor and Zod. Lane sees his children and his army as extensions of himself, wants to be viewed as the saviour of the human race, and when his plans fail, commits suicide in an effort at achieving martyrdom.
* NotSoDifferent: From General Dru-Zod II of Krypton. Lois calls him out on this, pointing out that from the Kryptonian perspective he's the "one alien" that he thinks will bring ruin to Earth. This prompts his VillainousBreakdown and eventual suicide.
* OldSoldier: His original portrayal, pre-retcon.
* ParentalFavoritism: Clearly favors Lois over Lucy.
* ParentalNeglect: Completely ignored both Lois and Lucy when they were growing up, leaving them both with their fair share of neuroses.
* PatrioticFervour: Convinces himself that New Krypton is a threat to the USA, then sets out to prove he is right, killing thousands in the name of defending American security.
* PoliceState: Does his best to do this to Metropolis and then the USA as a whole during the events of ''New Krypton''.
* {{Retcon}}: His villainous portrayal in ''New Krypton'', and indeed, his being alive at all.
* RogueAgent: Lane isn't working directly for the American government, launching his operation without oversight or permission.
* ShipperOnDeck: Supports the idea that Lois should marry his right hand man, John Corben aka Metallo. This is only because he sees John as the son he always wanted, rather than out of any concern for Lois.
* SmugSnake: Very much so. Lane is convinced of not only his invincibility, but of the fact that the world is behind him. Finding out that they aren't comes as a massive shock to him.
* UngratefulBastard: Given that he ignores the fact that Superman and friends save the world on a daily basis.
* VillainousBreakdown: Suffers one after Lois points out to him that he's NotSoDifferent from Zod, then another one when Supergirl and her allies break into his secret base. He rants about how the Kryptonians are dangerous animals who have to be exterminated, and then kills himself.
* WeHaveReserves: A belief that he applies to his own daughter, Lucy.
* WellDoneSonGuy: He wanted Lois to be a boy. Part of the reason Lois is an ActionGirl these days.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:General Zod II]]
->'''AKA:''' Zed Avruiskin
->''"I am your destroyer. I am the one that will [[KneelBeforeZod bring you to your knees]]."''
[[quoteright:296:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/russian_zod_3038.png]]

The iron-fisted ruler of the Balkan republic of Pokolistan, Zed Avruiskin was the son of two Soviet astronauts. While on a mission in space, Zed's mother was exposed to kryptonite radiation which ultimately killed her, but not before she gave birth to her son. Due to the radiation, Zed was born with a bizarre condition: yellow sunlight weakened him, but red sunlight gave him the same powers as a Kryptonian, which made him an ideal tool for the Soviet government. One day, while meditating, he made mental contact with a Kryptonian criminal trapped in the PhantomZone--an alternate universe version of General Dru-Zod II (see below).

After the USSR fell, Zed--now calling himself General Zod--obtained a suit of armor that filtered red rays from Earth's sun, allowing him use of his powers even outside. He seized control of the tiny republic of Pokolistan and used his position to wage a personal war against Superman, believing that the meteor shower that killed his mother was the one that brought Kal-El to Earth. Zod died in battle against Superman, his powers failing him at a critical moment.

See the Phantom Zone Criminals, below, for more on the original Zod.
----
* BadassCape: On his armour.
* ColdBloodedTorture: Captured and tortured Bizarro when he could not get his hands on the real Superman.
* CoolHelmet[=/=]CoolMask: Wears a Darth Vader style gas mask and helmet combo.
* DarthVaderClone: Looks like Vader wearing red.
* DemonicPossession: Might be possessed by the alternate universe Zod.
* DirtyCommies: As a Soviet counterpart to Superman, he's a product of their work, even if the Cold War is long since over.
* EvilCounterpart: With his inverted powers, he makes for a pretty obvious one. He later became an...
* EvilTwin: Transformed himself into one through plastic surgery.
* IrrationalHatred: Has no reason whatsoever to hate Superman, though being influenced by the alternate universe Zod, whom Superman executed, might have something to do with it.
* KickTheDog: His torture of Bizarro.
* KilledOffForReal: Avruiskin did not recover from his death during his last fight with Superman.
* KneelBeforeZod: He may not have been the original Zod, but he shared his desire to force Superman to kneel before him, as evidenced by the page quote. He also says the catch phrase during his battle with Superman.
* LegacyCharacter: In a bizarre twist, as Superman had yet to meet the original General Zod (at least in post-''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' continuity...) when he took on Avruiskin.
* LightningBruiser
* TheManBehindTheMan: To La Ecantadora. He may also have been the (initial) real identity of the villain Ignition.
* PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny: Pokolistan under his rule.
* {{Ruritania}}: Runs one in the form of Pokolistan (whose name should honestly make it Central Asian).
* ShadowArchetype: Even more so than the real General Zod. Whereas Kal-El is an alien who gains powers under a yellow sun, Avruiskin was a human who gained powers under a red sun. He even had his face ''surgically altered'' to look just like Superman.
* SuperpowerLottery
** EyeBeams
** FlyingBrick
** SuperBreath
** SuperSpeed
** SuperStrength
* SuperSoldier: For the Soviets.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:H'el]]
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2726104-h_el_large_9103.jpg]]

H'el is a mysterious Kryptonian that debuted in the ''ComicBook/{{New 52}}'' story arc, ''ComicBook/HelOnEarth''. With Krypton dying, he was sent into outer space to find a way to save his planet. Decades after Krypton's destruction, he arrives on Earth knowing how to resurrect Krypton, but at the expense of Earth.

In ''ComicBook/KryptonReturns'', H'el ends up in Krypton's past due to the events of ''H'el on Earth''. When he learns about his origins, he goes mad and enslaves Krypton. With the help of the Oracle, Superman, Supergirl, and Superboy travel back in time to stop him.
----
* AffablyEvil:
** H'el is rather nice to fellow Kryptonian Supergirl, who also wants to go back to her old life on Krypton. He later [[spoiler: convinces her join him in his quest to resurrect Krypton]], but manipulates her to estrange her from Superman.
** H'el was also friendly to Superman, initially. When they first meet, H'el hugs Superman and says he's like a brother. Superman was already suspicious, but then H'el offers to kill Superboy in front of him to prove his loyalty to Krypton (Kryptonians other than Superman are viciously racist against clones). Superman [[MegatonPunch responded poorly to this]].
** When he learns about his true origins, he loses the affable part and becomes stone cold evil.
* [[spoiler:AndIMustScream]]: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Krypton Returns'', Superman traps a badly wounded H'El in an infinite time loop within Krypton's core that will preserve him within a few endlessly-repeating seconds of time for all eternity.]]
* [[spoiler:[[ArtificialHuman Artificial Kryptonian]]: H'El is revealed to be this in Superman #23.3. He was created from a collection of genetic material gathered all over Krypton's history by Jor-El in an unmanned spaceship to find a planet where the people of Krypton could be safely evacuated to by the time Krypton exploded.]]
* ButWhatAboutTheAstronauts: H'el's origin is explained this way.
* DependingOnTheArtist: H'el was originally portrayed in promotional art (as well as Superman #13 and Superboy #14) as having a backwards "S" symbol carved on his chest. From Supergirl #14 and onwards, H'el is no longer portrayed with the backwards "S", though this was later revealed to have been due to H'el masking the backwards "S" with his powers, with Kara calling him out on it. Given that H'el was originally a new design for long-time Superman doppleganger Bizarro, the backwards "S" did have a clear purpose, but on H'el it's currently unclear as to how he got it and why he tried to hide it.
* {{Expy}}: H'el's pale skin and backwards "S" scar was because he was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen originally]] meant to be the New 52 incarnation of Bizzaro. However, he was so different that he was made into a new character.
* FantasticRacism:
** H'el hates Superboy, a human/Kryptonian clone, with every fiber of his body. This is because Krypton used to use clones as servants until they revolted and nearly wrecked their planet.
** H'el also thinks Earth and every human on it is inferior to Krypton and Kryptonians. He doesn't care what price Earth has to pay in his goal to ressurect Krypton.
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: H'El doesn't take the revelation of his true origin well, to say the least.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: H'el has a scar over his left eye and another across the bridge of his nose. How he got them is unknown.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: H'el certainly thinks so. He takes Supergirl to an urban war zone to try to make her think the same.
* IWasQuiteALooker: H'el wasn't always a scarred, [[EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette pale skinned]], [[BlackEyesOfEvil black-eyed]] man. Flashbacks and his hologram in Supergirl #15 show how he used to look back on Krypton, when he was quite handsome. [[spoiler: Except this is revealed to be a false memory and he always had his current appearance]].
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: H'el's plan is to travel back in time to before Krypton [[EarthShatteringKaboom exploded]], and prevent its destruction. However, the energy needed for the time travel would destroy our entire solar system. Not that H'el cares about our solar system.
* SuperpowerLottery: Not only is H'el [[LightningBruiser stronger and faster]] than Superman, he also has many other abilities that are not associated with Kryptonians.
** EyeBeams: His heat vision.
** FlyingBrick
** MindOverMatter: He can use telekinesis in the traditional "lift with your mind" type and create psychic whirlwinds and barriers.
** SuperSpeed
** SuperStrength
** TranslatorMicrobes: He gave Supergirl the ability to speak and understand English.
** VillainTeleportation: He can teleport himself and others with little effort. When Superboy [[spoiler: harms Supergirl]] in Superman #16, H'el becomes so mad that he teleports [[spoiler: ''the entire Fortress of Solitude'']] miles away.
* TrappedInThePast: In Superman #17, H'el falls into a temporal portal after being stabbed by Supergirl. He ends up back on Krypton twelve years before it's destruction, where he is found by a young Jor-El. [[SequelHook This sets up]] the sequel story, ''ComicBook/KryptonReturns''.
* TrueCompanions: On Krypton, H'el was like family to Superman's birth parents, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van. The day before he was sent into space, they gave him the family crest; making him an honorary member of the House of El. [[spoiler: His one-shot issue revealed this was a false memory and he never met any member of the House of El before]].
* WalkingShirtlessScene: Just look at his picture.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: All H'el wants is to resurrect his home planet, Krypton. Unfortunately, Earth has to be destroyed for him to bring back Krypton.
* [[spoiler:YouAreWhatYouHate: First type. He is completely unaware he is an ArtificialHuman until ''ComicBook/KryptonReturns'', and hates clones like Kon-El, another ArtificialHuman himself.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ignition]]
[[quoteright:259:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/f0e97b8285964240d961e7eec4cd6554.png]]
->'''AKA:''' Clyde

First appearing during the Emperor Joker storyline, Ignition is a hulking giant clad in black armour, who serves as The Joker's muscle. The Joker does not remember creating him (though Mxyptlk refers to him as "Clyde"), and Ignition himself seems to have knowledge of the pre-Emperor Joker universe. A powerhouse who was capable of matching the Man of Steel in physical combat, Ignition was implied to be the Russian Zod, only to later turn up as a member of Zod's army after The Joker's defeat. His real identity remains unknown.
----
* CoolHelmet[=/=]CoolMask
* TheDragon: To Emperor Joker.
** CoDragons: To the Russian Zod, alongside Faora.
* {{Flight}}
* InASingleBound
* LightningBruiser: Huge and strong, but also fast and agile.
* NighInvulnerable: It takes the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, or Captain Marvel to hurt Ignition.
* PoweredArmour: Maybe. Whether Ignition's armour provides his powers or is just for disguise purposes is never revealed.
* SuperSpeed
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Intergang]]

A vast criminal syndicate created by Darkseid to carry out his plans on Earth, Intergang supplies criminals with Apokoliptan weaponry and seeks to undermine humanity. They are a dominant force in the Metropolis underworld, and their various incarnations have regularly clashed with Superman.
----
* DependingOnTheWriter: Whether they are all about serving Darkseid, or if they also hope to make a profit as professional criminals. Granted, some of this is also dependent on who is running the group.
* EliteMooks: During the Morgan Edge, Vincent Edge, and early Bruno Mannheim years, Intergang employed a small army of highly-trained, well-equipped, and and disciplined soldiers, including elite Shock-Troopers, [[FacelessMooks faceless]] [[DeadlyGas Gassers]], and gravity-defying Wall-Crawlers. Collectively, they could occasionally slow Superman down for a couple of minutes, more than your average variety street thug could ever hope to.
* JokerImmunity: A variant. Incarnations of Intergang collapse, various leaders are killed or imprisoned, but the organization itself will always recover and bedevil Superman again.
* TheQuisling: Selling Earth out to Darkseid, one soul at a time!
* ReligionOfEvil: Not originally, but under Bruno Mannheim's leadership, Intergang began to subscribe to one, worshiping criminality.
* TheSyndicate: The most powerful one in Metropolis.

!!Morgan Edge
[[quoteright:401:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1024c72d43f93af5d9c394ebccb2eff7.jpg]]
A slick Metropolis businessman, president of Galaxy Broadcasting. Pre-Crisis, Edge was ruthless but not really evil; he hired Clark Kent as a newscaster and was generally a good boss. ComicBook/PostCrisis, Edge was Intergang's initial leader, and was a willing servant of Darkseid.
----
* BenevolentBoss: Pre-Crisis.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive
* TheMole
* StrawmanPolitical: In "New Krypton", he's an {{Expy}} of GlennBeck. He's hired by General Lane to spread populist anti-Kryptonian propaganda on his news show.

!!Vincent Edge

Morgan Edge's equally evil father, Vincent Edge took over his son's role as head of Intergang after Morgan was forced to step down due to stress.
----
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: In his role as the head of Galaxy Broadcasting.
* EvilOldFolks: In his seventies, and still a gangster.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: For his son, Morgan Edge.

!!Bruno "Ugly" Mannheim
[[quoteright:192:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ea667569225bcd4a7c6fe196c62bde4f.jpg]]

A truly wicked mob boss, "Ugly" Mannheim is Intergang's fourth leader and Darkseid's chosen apostle on Earth. Mannheim was touched by Darkseid himself and is as close to pure evil as a human can be.
----
* BadBoss: To say the least!
* BigBadDuumvirate: For a while he played this role alongside Vincent Edge, heading up the criminal side of Intergang, while Vincent oversaw the legitimate part of Morgan Edge's businesses.
* CardCarryingVillain: It goes with the [[ReligionOfEvil faith]].
* GenerationXerox: His father, Boss Moxie, was also a mobster, and member of Intergang, back in the 1940s.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Had a face marred by the evil variety when he first appeared; hence the nickname.
* IAmAHumanitarian: He cooks and eats underlings who fail him.
* TheLeader: Probably the most iconic and recognizable of Intergang's leaders.
* ReligionOfEvil: He worships the Crime Bible, and his beliefs are ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. He even sees [[BiblicalBadGuy Cain]] as his icon.

!!"Boss" Moxie Mannheim

Intergang's original leader in the 1920-40s, he was cloned by Cadmus Labs, and with help from clones of several of his key subordinates, murdered Vincent Edge and took over Intergang while his son, Bruno, was in exile on Apokolips.
----
* TheDon: A classic forties gangster in the Al Capone mold, right down to the pinstripe suit.
* NeckSnap: Died when Superboy-Prime broke his neck during ''Infinite Crisis''.

!!Ginny "Torcher" [=McCree=]

Boss Moxie's moll, Ginny [=McCree=] was cloned back to life by Cadmus Labs and granted pyrokintetic abilities.
----
* DarkActionGirl: Whose control over flame made her highly dangerous.
* PlayingWithFire: It's right there in her nickname, even.
* UnholyMatrimony: With Boss Moxie.

!!Mike "Machine" Gunn

Boss Moxie's right-hand man and enforcer, Mike Gunn was one of the original Intergang members who were cloned by Cadmus. Outfitted with cybernetic arms that could convert into automatic weapons, he resumed his old role as the new Boss Moxie's buttonman.
----
* ArmCannon: Arm machine gun, anyway.
* BottomlessMagazines: An actual ability. His guns are equipped with self-replicating ammo.
* {{Cyborg}}: One of the many half-man/half-machine villains whom Superman has clashed with.
* TheDragon: To Boss Moxie.

!!Noose

A bald killer with a penchant for strangulation, Noose was kept on Boss Moxie's payroll to eliminate competition. He was one of the original Intergang members to be cloned at Cadmus Labs, and was given elongated, super-strong fingers to better help him do his job.
----
* BaldOfEvil
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The odds of a guy named "Noose" being a good person are somewhat limited.
* ProfessionalKiller: A "professional strangler" if you want to get technical.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kancer]]
[[quoteright:280:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0e52809e41939862d37a6bb7ccf3efaa.jpg]]

A monster engineered by the Russian Zod from tumours in Superman's body, Kancer is an imperfect Kryptonian clone, forced into the shape of a vaguely humanoid worm-monster, and encrusted with crystaline growths that resemble Green Kryptonite. Believing that it had been rejected by its "father" (Superman), Kancer looked up to the Russian Zod, and attacked Superman on his behalf, with its Kryptonian genetics and nectrotic touch enabling it to seriously injure the Man of Steel.
----
* AntagonisticOffspring: Views itself as Superman's son, having been born within his body. It also blames Superman for trying to excise it.
* TheBrute: Fills this role in the Russian Zod's army.
* CainAndAbel: With Superboy, who it believes is not worthy to wear Superman's "S"-shield.
* CloneDegeneration: Does not look even remotely human.
* HappilyAdopted: In a sick sort of way, as it views the Russian Zod as its new father, and clearly cares about him a lot.
* LightningBruiser
* SerialKiller: Went on a serial spree in Metropolis in order to attract Superman's attention.
* SuperpowerLottery: Has all of Superman's abilities, plus a few more.
** EyeBeams
** {{Flight}}
** FlyingBrick
** NighInvulnerable: Immune not only to physical harm, but to poisons and diseases.
** PoisonousPerson: Kancer has a nectrotic, corrosive touch that can dissolve almost anything, and can even injure Superman.
** SuperSenses
** SuperSpeed
** SuperStrength
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kryptonite Man]]
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kryptonite_man_8326.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Clay Ramsay]]
->'''AKA:''' Unknown, K. Russell Abernaty (Post-Crisis), Clay Ramsay (New 52)

When Metallo's Kryptonite heart just isn't enough, the bad guys call in the Kryptonite Man. There have been several variations on this radioactive menace, all of whom have had the ability to project Kryptonite radiation, making them walking Achilles’ heels as far as Superman is concerned. Pre-Crisis, a teenaged alien criminal who flew through a cloud of Green K arrived on Earth calling himself the Kryptonite Kid, and with the power to transmute any matter into Green K. He returned as an adult in ''Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow'', and was killed in battle with Krypto. Post-Crisis, MadScientist K. Russell Abernathy briefly became a new Kryptonite Man, with the power to see all forms of radiation, but was quickly jailed by Supergirl. Finally, in the ''New 52'', DomesticAbuser Clay Ramsay joined one of Luthor’s supersoldier programs after being beaten by Superman, and was transformed into yet another incarnation of the villain.
----
* DomesticAbuser: Clay Ramsay, who was beating his wife when Superman threw him in a river.
* EvilRedhead: The Kryptonite Kid.
* EyeBeams: Abernathy had these.
* {{Flight}}: Ramsay can use his energies to fly.
* ILoveNuclearPower: Abernathy and Ramsay, who both had power over other forms of radiation as well.
* MadScientist: Abernathy, who was willing to cross any lines to harness the power of Kryptonite.
* ManOfKryptonite: TropeNamer. All versions of the Kryptonite man have been poison to Superman, in one way or another.
* MutualKill: The Kryptonite Kid and Krypto in ''Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow''
* NamesTheSame: The various Kryptonite Men have had little in the way of actual connections to one another, yet all picked the same codename.
* NeverMyFault: Ramsay, who refuses to accept that is wife left him because of his abuse, and instead blames Superman for breaking up his marriage.
* SecondaryColorNemesis: Sometimes wears green, sometimes ''is'' green, always wears colors that contrast with Superman.
* TeensAreMonsters: The Kryptonite Kid once again.
* SuperSoldier: Ramsay is the result of Luthor's supersoldier program.
* SuperStrength: Ramsay possesses a degree of this.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Livewire]]
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3b53e309b500901b789b2e45fbe211b3.jpg]]
->'''AKA:''' Leslie Willis

An arrogant radio host whose boss fired her for criticising Superman. She gained powers over electricity and decided to take her anger out on the hero, who she blamed for the loss of her job.
----
* AbsoluteCleavage
* AttentionWhore: Somewhat subverted in the comics. She didn't end up that way until the station she was a ShockJock at was converted into a [[FateWorseThanDeath country station]] and her manager fired her for bashing Superman (who had saved his wife once before). The accident that turned her into Livewire was what [[TurnedUpToEleven really pushed her over the edge]].
* CanonImmigrant: She came from ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries.''
* DumbassDJ
* EnergyAbsorption: She feeds on electricity and can absorb the energy of anything electric, inculding thunder, into her body to discharge it back in lightning bolts.
* HeelFaceTurn: After the events of '''Superman: Back In Action''', where she helped save earth from "The Auctioneer", she agreed to get help, and was taken to S.T.A.R. Labs for treatment. It finally stuck after a minor relapse ('''Superman''' ''#7711, July, 2011''), when she was placed in Superman's old containment suit (Superman Blue), which helped to clear her head by regulating her body's energy, bringing her back to her senses. Seeing she was truly sorry for what she had done, Supeman vouched for her testamony and she was re-admitted to the S.T.A.R. Labs reform program under Dr. Sterling Roquette (former member of Project Cadmus). Superman, impressed by her progress, later inducted Leslie into the second incarnation of the Supemen of America.
* {{Meganekko}}: Before becoming Livewire.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Her comic-book origins are a ShoutOut to HowardStern, who also lost his job as a DJ in a similar fashion to Leslie.
* PsychoElectro
* ShockAndAwe
* ShockJock: Her pre-power career.
* VaporWear
* VerbalTic: In the [[WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries cartoon]], she tends to tack the word, "babies", onto the end of almost every other sentence when talking to other people.
* VillainousCrush: Albiet a minor one. During a story arc in ComicBook/ActionComics ('''Superman: Back In Action'''), she had to team up with a group of metahumans to take down a god-like extraterrestrial named "The Auctioneer," one of them being Nightwing. During this partnership, we find out that she finds him [[VillainessesWantHeroes ''very'']] attractive.
* WeaksauceWeakness: Getting her wet shorts her out. Counts as FridgeBrilliance when you remember that her abilities are electrically based.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Because of her ability to become, discharge, and absorb pure energy, her body's own energy levels were in a state of constant flux, affecting her brain-chemistry as well. The more energy she absorbed, the harder it was for her to think straight. This, in combination with environmental stressors was what led to her unstable personality. Thankfully, Superman was able to rectify this by placing her in his old containment suit, returning her to normal.
* WomanInBlack
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lobo]]
This intergalactic bounty hunter crosses paths with Superman every once in a while. Following no code but his own, he is sometimes an enemy, and sometimes a reluctant ally. [[SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}} You can find out more about him in his own article]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lyla]]
[[quoteright:249:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1f805309091a348da936b1958455b2d8.png]]
She grew up on Kandor, discriminated against because she was an Empireth, an alien with PsychicPowers. The only thing that sustained her was the stories told of Superman. Unfortunately, the stories were perverted to portray Superman as a God, and she developed a dream to become one as well.

She mesmerized Superman into believing he was their husband, and erased his memories of Earth and Lois. They lived together for a while, raising a son as ordinary citizens in Kandor. All the while, his spirit was slowly being broken, because although he loved her, life in Kandor is just too depressing. When she was ready, she copied his powers and escaped the bottle city, intending to rule Metropolis as its new God. She was shocked to discover that Superman was simply Metropolis' protector, not its ruler, and angrily tried to destroy him and the city. In the end, she realized that she truly had feelings for him, and seemingly sacrificed herself to save him from another threat. She hasn't been seen since her storyline, ''Superman: Godfall'', but she may come back, one day.
----
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer
* AGodAmI: Develops these delusions after stealing Superman's powers.
* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: The implications of what she did to Superman after making him think that she was his wife are never fully explored.
* EvilerThanThou: With rabid Kryptonian cop, Preus.
* FlyingBrick: After gaining Superman's powers.
* HeelRealisation: Comes to the realisation that Superman did not deliberately decieve her, and that she and Preus are the actual villains of the piece.
* HeroWorshipper
** BrokenPedestal
* HeroicSacrifice: Sacrifices her life to save Superman and put a halt to Preus' rampage.
* MegaManning: She can permanently copy people's powers, but only if their spirits have been broken enough.
* MasterOfIllusion: She can make them solid. Her son with Superman was an illusion as well.
* MindRape: Does it to Superman.
* MsFanservice: She spent most of her storyline in a towel or in her underwear.
* NeverFoundTheBody
* PsychicPowers
* SadlyMythtaken: In-universe no less.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Purple, actually.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Manchester Black]]
[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/manchester_black_5962.bmp]]

A snobby Brit with advanced telekinesis and telepathy. He led The Elite, a CaptainErsatz of ComicBook/TheAuthority. The team went on a crusade, savagely beating and murdering criminals instead of arresting them. They mocked Superman, calling him naive and obsolete for holding on to his morals and refusing to kill. Knowing that their bad example couldn't go on, Superman challenged them to a fight and humiliated them, exposing them as hypocrites in front of the whole world when Black called him out on ''seemingly'' murdering his teammates.

Desiring revenge, Black discovered Superman was Clark Kent. He engineered a mass attack on anyone in the entire world who had ''ever'' shown Clark Kent one iota of kindness. Superman beat back all the assassins, but Black caught Lois Lane and seemingly murdered her. Despite his rage, The Man Of Steel decided not to kill him, shocking him and allowing him to realize that Superman is a true hero. He dispelled the illusion, revealing that Lois was still alive. He erased the knowledge of Clark's secret from everyone's minds, then killed himself.
----
* AbusiveParents: One of the reasons why he was so cynical was that he was implied to have been both physically, and sexually abused by his parents.
* AntiHero: Type IV/V --> AntiVillain: Type III.
* BrainsEvilBrawnGood: Played with. Manchester's telepathy and telekinesis are obviously mind-based, but Superman's powers are largely physical and rely on muscle. But in action, Manchester is an uneducated thug who uses his powers for brute force. Superman is much more intelligent and beats Manchester through strategy.
* CainAndAbel: Black's ghost takes on this role towards his reformed sister, Vera.
* CaptainErsatz: He and his team are a deconstructive parody of ComicBook/TheAuthority.
* TheCynic: His main point of contention with Superman, who played TheIdealist. Black thinks he's a hero who's not afraid to do bad, even deplorable things if it'll help the world in the long run. But as long as Superman's around, being utterly perfect and saving the world every day, Black is just another bad guy.
* DemonicPossession: A part of Manchester Black survived his suicide, and proceeded to bodyjack his sister, Vera, trying to force her to destroy London.
* DrivenToSuicide: Following his HeelRealization.
* EvilBrit
* HeelRealisation
* {{Hypocrite}}: Freaks out when he believes Superman has crossed the line and killed his teammates.
* {{Jerkass}}
* MasterOfIllusion
* MightMakesRight: His belief that he's doing the right thing is based entirely on the fact that he's the strongest super-human around.
* MindOverMatter
* OneHitKill: He can use his telekinesis to pinch a target's blood vessels together, causing them to have a stroke. Or snap someone's neck.
* OralFixation: Often chews an unlit match.
* PsychicPowers
* SelfMadeOrphan: Used his telepathy to dish out a heart attack to his abusive father. It's implied this is one of the first things he did when he found out about his powers.
* SmugSnake
* SmugSuper: Has no problem reminding everyone how powerful he is and that he has no qualms whatsoever about using lethal force. Has even fewer problems running the planet, for no other reason than nobody being strong enough to stop him.
* ThouShaltNotKill: Is a "hero" who proudly ditches the concept, making himself into a target for Superman.
* UnreliableNarrator: When telling his origin to Superman, chooses to omit various... unsavory portions.
* WearingAFlagOnYourHead: Has a Union Jack tattooed on his chest.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Purple, actually. This is presumably dyed.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Master Jailer]]
[[quoteright:186:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/f15b380bbbf4b6cdae358d53099870b5.gif]]
->'''AKA:''' Carl Draper

Carl Draper is a prison architect and locksmith who has gone off the deep end and is now obsessed with trapping people. He has a strange ability to summon and control chains, cages, and other restraining paraphernalia. Post-Crisis, he doesn't have powers, but can create complex DeathTrap devices.
----
* DarkAgeOfSuperNames: His Post-Crisis name was Deathtrap. In fact, it makes perfect sense as he creates death traps, yet sounds pretty dark when compared with "Master Jailer".
* DishingOutDirt: In one battle, he revealed that his powers work on sand, as well.
* HeelFaceTurn: He gave up crime and became chief of security for ''Checkmate''.
* TheJailer: His creations can even give Superman trouble.
* VariableLengthChain
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Maxima]]
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/764859-maxima_standing_large_7415.jpg]]

The queen of Planet Almerac. Impressed by his power, she asked Superman to become her king, and to father her children, but when he refused, she got ''pissed''. At times, she's hit on other powerful men like Captain Atom (he rejected her in favor of Plastique) and Amazing Man (he stated that he wasn't interested in having kids yet). She got some CharacterDevelopment, switched between being a good guy and bad guy several times, then met her end in the storyline ''Our Worlds At War''.
----
* ActionGirl/LadyOfWar: A warrior ''and'' a queen
* AllAmazonsWantHercules: Her raison d'etre is getting Superman to marry her
* BestHerToBedHer: Attracted to Superman because he can beat her in a fight.
* BloodKnight: Really enjoys fighting.
* ClingyJealousGirl: When Superman rejects her because he's married to Lois, she is ''pissed''.
* DefrostingIceQueen: Before, she would completely ignore anybody not at Superman's level of power.
* DiplomaticImpunity: Comes with being a queen.
* FieryRedhead: A redheaded royal with ''superpowers''.
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Becomes more heroic to win Superman's heart but when he rejects her because he's married to Lois, she returns to evil.
* HeroicSacrifice: Intercepted a planet-destroying blast.
* FlyingBrick: Her strength, speed, and durability are roughly equal to Superman's.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Grows more heroic over time.
* LackOfEmpathy: At first.
* LoveAtFirstPunch: To Superman
* MindOverMatter: Telekinesis is one of her powers.
* OnlyYouCanRepopulateMyRace: She is this to Clark. The fact that, unlike any human woman, she can give him children is the only thing that comes close to tempting him.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: "My moment of glory came in the struggle against the monstrous Doomsday. Now ''that'' was a battle!"
* PsychicPowers: Telekinesis and telepathy.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Queen of Almerac and had a period as a superhero before pulling a HeroicSacrifice by blocking a planet destroying blast.
* SecondaryColorNemesis: Has worn both green and purple.
* StalkerWithACrush: Although she is a lot more sane than most examples.
* StalkerWithATestTube: A Kryptonian/Almeracian hybrid could theoretically grow up to be the ultimate warrior.
* {{Stripperific}}: Some of her outfits.
* WomanScorned: As Superman, Captain Atom, and Amazing Man found out the hard way, turning down a woman who can trade blows with ''Doomsday'' is a really bad idea.
* {{Tsundere}}: To Supes and other men she sets her eyes on.
* {{Yandere}}: Ditto.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Metallo]]
->'''AKA:''' John Corben
->'''Luthor:''''' "You're all heart, John."''
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Metallo-Comics_1947.jpg]]

TheSixMillionDollarMan, if he was a petty criminal and his robotic body was powered by Kryptonite. Left horribly injured by a tragic accident, John Corben was rebuilt as a robot, with a chunk of Green Kryptonite powering his heart. Regardless of continuity, he inevitably starts off trying to return to his old life, but circumstance force him into villainy and he never goes back, his use of Green K making him a natural adversary for Superman as he attempts to resume his criminal career. Courtesy of a series of upgrades from Luthor, Brainiac, and Neron he is able to easily trade blows with Superman, yet his low-IQ means that he is rarely more than a single-issue villain, or TheDragon to the actual ArcVillain. He was revamped as a former soldier during the ''New Krypton'' storyline, where he, [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Superwoman]], and [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Reactron]] serve as the muscle for General Lane's anti-Kryptonian conspiracy.
-----
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: ''Secret Origin'' and ''New Krypton'' made him into one for Hulk adversary Glenn Talbot--a romantic rival for the hero's girlfriend, who also acts as muscle for said hero's GeneralRipper father-in-law, and whom said father-in-law views as the son (and son-in-law) he'd rather have.
* BuriedAlive: Does this to Superman and Batman in one crossover.
* ChestBlaster: His most consistent weapon is his ability to project rays from his Kryptonite heart.
* ColonelBadass: In ''New Krypton'' where Lane has him enlisted as Colonel Corben.
* ColonelKilgore: Definitely displays this attitude in New Krypton, where he's far too eager to get into action, and has been promoted by Lane to hold the rank of colonel.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: He wears green and has a Green K heart. Reactron wears gold and has a Gold K heart.
* CoolHelmet[=/=]CoolMask: In ''New Krypton'' he wears a skull mask over his human face in order to evoke his old mechanical appearance.
* CranialProcessingUnit: It varies, but Metallo is frequently portrayed as being able to survive so long as his metal skull remains intact.
* DealWithTheDevil: Has made deals with Neron, Brainiac 13, Lex Luthor, and General Lane in exchange for upgrades.
* DependingOnTheWriter: What sort of life Corben had before becoming Metallo, and if he wants to go back to it. Also how smart and how strong he is, and how much of him is mechanical.
* TheDragon: Has played this role to ComicBook/LexLuthor, Brainiac, and numerous others over the years. In larger teams he's usually...
** TheBrute: Metallo is strong and tough, but not especially bright. In large teams he inevitably ends up as this, and has played the part for Luthor and General Lane amongst others.
* DumbMuscle: When written by anybody other than GeoffJohns, who makes him a far more calculating ex-soldier. Under most other writers, Corben remains an uneducated rube who is fairly easily manipulated by other villains.
* EvilVsEvil[=/=]EvilerThanThou: In ''Last Son'' and ''New Krypton'' where he faces down General Zod's forces.
* EvilMentor: Reactron was already far more evil than Metallo, but it's Metallo who gives him lessons on how to be an effective supervillain during ''New Krypton''.
* EyeBeams: Frequently projects Kryptonite rays from them.
* FantasticRacism: Displays some of this attitude towards Kryptonians during ''New Krypton'', though it's nowhere near as extreme as Lane or Reactron's.
* FeelNoPain: Metallo's cyborg bodies are rarely equipped with pain sensors. While there are certainly advantages to be had in this, the sensory deprivation has at times driven him even crazier.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: John Corben was a petty criminal who became a supervillain overnight thanks to some fancy surgery and a conversion into a cyborg. ''Secret Origin'' tries to avert this by making him one of the US Army's most highly decorated soldiers before he received his injuries.
* HealingFactor: His robotic bodies sometimes include a self-repair function that causes him to stitch himself back together.
* HollywoodCyborg: A living brain powered by a Kryptonite heart, encased in a steel body, and in turn encased in vat-grown flesh? It doesn't get much more Hollywood than that.
* IJustWantToBeNormal: Goes through bouts of this, but always comes back to being a supervillain.
* ImplacableMan: Is sometimes played this way, with his nigh-indestructible body, and ability to weaken Superman making him virtually impossible to stop. He'll just keep on advancing, no matter what Superman (or anybody else) throws at him.
* JustFollowingOrders: In ''New Krypton'', where in contrast to Reactron, who gloats about how much he loves to kill, Corben and Superwoman both use this as their excuse for their actions.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Metallo's sadistic executions of several of Zod's soldiers likely qualify as such. He himself has frequently been on the receiving end of this, with everyone from Luthor to Ultraman having, at some point, torn out his heart for the Kryptonite.
* ManOfKryptonite: Metallo's Green K heart does bad things to Kryptonians, and he's often able to project its energies in the form of EyeBeams and other weapons. During the ''Last Son'' arc, ComicBook/LexLuthor upgraded him to carry Red K, Blue K, and Gold K as well, though he's lost these extras by the time of ''New Krypton''. Of all the Kryptonite-powered villains Superman has faced, he is easily the most popular and most enduring, in a large part thanks to the fact that he can back up his FlawExploitation with actual physical power.
* MightyGlacier: Compared to anybody else on Earth he's a LightningBruiser. Compared to most Superman adversaries, his ImplacableMan status makes him more of this.
* MugglePower: As part of General Lane's forces.
* NighInvulnerable: Metallo's bodies are almost impossible to destroy in the first place, and sometimes include a self-repair function.
* OnlySaneMan: Of the forces arrayed against New Krypton, Corben seems to be the only one who is even remotely sane. He lacks Lane's obsessions and paranoia, Luthor's narcissism, Superwoman's need to prove herself, and Reactron and Codename: Assassin's AxCrazy, and just wants to do the job. He actually has to rein Reactron in during their attack on New Krypton.
* PowerPalms: Sometimes houses lasers or Kryptonite dischargers in them.
* TheQuisling: Sells out Earth to Brainiac 13 when the futuristic robot conquers Metropolis.
* {{Retcon}}: During ''Secret Origin'' and ''New Krypton'', Metallo's origins were altered to make him a former soldier reinstated by General Lane, and granted the rank of Colonel.
* RidiculouslyHumanRobot: During ''Last Son'' and ''New Krypton'' where, his heart aside, he looks completely human. In a ShoutOut to the [[{{Terminator}} T-101]], he's revealed to have vat grown clone flesh over his mechanical exoskeleton.
* SecondaryColorNemesis: Wore green in both ''Secret Origin'' and ''New Krypton''.
* ShapeShifterWeapon: After his upgrades from Brainiac 13 and Neron. He seems to have lost these abilities by ''New Krypton'' though.
* SkeleBot9000: Post-Crisis, as a direct ShoutOut to the T-900
* SkullForAHead: His mechanical head always resembles a skull. In ''New Krypton'' he wears a skull mask over his face in a ShoutOut to this.
* SociopathicSoldier: In his most recent Post-Crisis incarnation, he was revealed to have once been one of these. Promoted to ColonelKilgore by General Lane during ''New Krypton''.
* SuperSpeed: It's rarely elaborated on, but he can keep up with Superman. That said, he's usually just enough slower to do the classic ImplacableMan routine of slowly gaining on your enemies until you catch up.
* SuperStrength: Metallo's strong enough to seriously injure Superman, which even with the Kryptonite takes some doing.
* {{Technopath}}: Post-Neron upgrades, which allowed him to fuse any piece of technology or metal into his shell.
* TookALevelInBadass: Repeatedly. Interestingly, while his ''New Krypton''/''Secret Origin'' incarnation is significantly weaker than its immediate predecessors, it is also a lot smarter, allowing it to be the most dangerous version of Metallo yet.
* ThoseTwoBadGuys: With fellow cyborg Reactron in the opening arc of ''New Krypton''.
* UngratefulBastard: In his original Post-Crisis origin, he killed the scientist who saved his life by putting his brain in his metal body.
* VillainTeamUp: Has worked with Luthor, Brainiac, General Lane, and several incarnations of the Superman Revenge Squad.
* WalkingArmoury: Metallo's robotic shell contains a veritable arsenal of high-tech weaponry.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: Even when he looks human, Metallo disdains shirts, exposing his chest (and Kryptonite heart) for the world to see.
* WasOnceAMan: Was once either a petty criminal or American soldier named John Corben.
* WeCanRebuildHim: Who rebuilt him and why varies, but this is always the source of Metallo's augmentation.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mister Mxyzptlk]]
[[quoteright:230:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mxyzptlk_8110.png]]
A magical imp from the land of Zrff in the Fifth Dimension. Mxyzptlk often gets bored on his home dimension and comes to our universe looking for excitement, usually fixating on Superman. With his powers, he could easily defeat Superman in any number of novel and imaginative ways, but that would be too easy. So he sets rules for their encounters that he rigidly adheres to, the most well known being that if Superman can get him to say, spell, write, or otherwise communicate his own name backwards, he leaves and can't return for 90 days. Also has the ability to break the 4th wall (and the 5th).
----
* AlienGeometries: His ludicrous powers are based on the fact that he comes from the fifth dimension!
* TheBigBad: In [[spoiler:''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'']].
* BreakTheHaughty: When SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu screwed him over]] and [[CanonDiscontinuity when Superboy-Prime caught him and beat him up]].
* {{Catchphrase}}: "Aw nuts!" in various continuities.
* EldritchAbomination: See AFormYouAreComfortableWith.
* FinalBoss: In the famous ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'' story.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Yeah, the imp? That is ''not'' [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_super/0/7015/1217365-supermanwhttmot_43_whatever_happened_to_the_man_of_tomorrow.jpg what he looks like.]]
-->'''Mr. Mxyzptlk:''' Did you ''honestly'' believe a fifth-dimensional sorcerer would resemble a funny little man in a derby hat?
* FourthWallObserver: He even secretly mocks the other characters for not realizing that they are fictional.
* GreatGazoo
* {{Jerkass}}: Especially when compared to The Impossible Man during the ''{{Superman}}/ComicBook/SilverSurfer'' crossover. Impy is outraged that not only did Mxy not care about innocent lives being endangered, but he '''''lied''''' to him.
* RealityWarper: Often explained as ClarkesThirdLaw
* SecondaryColorNemesis: Wears purple and sometimes orange.
* SufficientlyAdvancedAliens: This is how his abilities were described in his original [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] appearance.
* StealthMentor: DependingOnTheWriter, he's simply trying to teach Superman to lighten up and not take things so seriously.
* TheTrickster
* UglyGuyHotWife: His wife, Gsptlsnz, looks like a friggin' supermodel, while he is a short and ugly imp.
* TheUnpronounceable: Oh, that array of consonants makes discussion\spelling ''hard''. It usually goes from "Mix-pih-tulk" to Mix-yez-pitl-ick". Backwards, it's easier to say ("Kel-tip-zex-im.")
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mongul I]]
-->''"Happy Birthday, Kryptonian. I give you oblivion."''
[[quoteright:198:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mongul_7488.jpg]]

A GalacticConqueror who is more than a physical match for The Man of Steel, Mongul I was a major foe of Superman's during UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}, serving as the main antagonist of ''ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything'', widely regarded as one of the greatest Superman stories ever written. Post-Crisis, he allied with Cyborg-Superman to destroy Coast City, and was eventually slain by the demon lord Neron. The ''New 52'' has recently returned him to life as the villain of a ''Superman/Batman'' crossover; where he will go from here remains to be seen. In all three continuities he is characterised as a brutal despot who enjoys watching others fight and die for his amusement, feels that the universe owes him its fealty, and runs every planet he rules into the ground with his limitless ambition and cruelty. See the [[Characters/GreenLantern Green Lantern Character Sheet]] for his son, Mongul II.
----
* AmbitionIsEvil: Mongul I is defined by his pride and his drive for dominance.
* {{Badass}}: Pre-Crisis Mongul I curb stomped Wonder Woman and not only went mano-a-mano with an enraged Superman, a being who could lift planets and blow out suns, but was ''winning'' when Jason Todd hit him with the Black Mercy. Even Post-Crisis he has moments of his old badassery, most notably when he tells Neron exactly where he can stick his offer.
* BaldOfEvil
* TheBigBad: Of ''For The Man Who Has Everything'', and several other [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]] arcs.
* CainAndAbel: Killed his younger brother in order to make sure his parents' attention always stayed on him.
* ClassicVillain: Personifies pride, is a brutal alien conqueror to Superman's benevolent guardian, and is made instantly recognisable by his purple costume, sheer size, and yellow skin.
* CoolChair: The throne of skulls in the picture.
* CurbStompBattle: Pre-Crisis Mongul inflicts one on Wonder Woman. Post-Crisis Mongul was on the receiving end of one from Cyborg-Superman.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Pre-Crisis, any battle between he and Superman was played this way, as Mongul was actually the stronger of the two. The one time that Superman managed to overpower Mongul, he passed out moments afterwards.
* DemotedToDragon: Post-Crisis Mongul was relegated to Cyborg-Superman's Dragon during ''The Death and Return of Superman''.
* DespotismJustifiesTheMeans: Mongul I cares only about gaining and keeping power, and is prepared to use any means, however reprehensible to achieve that end. Might cross into DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans, given how his rule usually turns out for those he conquers.
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: He was killed by the demon Neron for rejecting his offer and insulting him.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: He was killed off in the space of about two panels, solely to [[TheWorfEffect show what a badass Neron was]].
* EnfanteTerrible: When Mongul I was a child he murdered his infant brother in order to better monopolise his parents' affections.
* EvilIsBigger: Mongul I is always enormous, Pre-and-Post-Crisis.
* EvilOverlord: Of any planet he overruns. These have included his own homeworld and Throneworld pre-Crisis, and Warworld and an unnamed planet post-Crisis.
* TheExile: Exiled from his homeworld Pre-Crisis, and with good reason.
* GalacticConqueror: Galactic domination has always been his end game.
* GeniusBruiser: While Post-Crisis Mongul is arrogant and not particularly brilliant, the Pre-Crisis version was usually portrayed as an intelligent, if vain conqueror, who was more than capable of outthinking his adversaries. See ''For The Man Who Has Everything'' for a good case study.
* GladiatorGames: A huge fan of this.
* HeManWomanHater: He makes a lot of comments to this effect during his battle with WonderWoman.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Pre-Crisis Mongul meets his end at the hands of his own Black Mercy plant, remaining trapped in a coma forever.
* HumiliationConga: His last few post-crisis appearances. As noted above, his control of Warworld was usurped, and he was turned into Cyborg-Superman's abused lackey. Then he was defeated by Hal Jordan (despite his [[WeaksauceWeakness yellow skin]] giving him the edge), and not long after, by the rookie GreenLantern, Kyle Rayner (To be fair, Kyle didn't have the yellow weakness). Soon after that, he was curb-stomped by a newly-upgraded [[TheFlash Wally West]]. Finally, he was effortlessly beaten to death by the demon Neron.
* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: Tried on Prince Gavyn of Throneworld's sister Pre-Crisis.
* ItsPersonal: How Superman takes the incident with the Black Mercy.
* {{Jerkass}}: Honestly the nicest thing that can be said about him.
* TheJuggernaut: Pre-Crisis Mongul is all but unstoppable and only running into Superman will slow him down, as evidenced by the beating he gave to Wonder Woman in ''For the Man Who Has Everything''. Post-Crisis Mongul, while tough, was not nearly as impervious.
* KarmaHoudini[=/=]KarmicDeath: Batman thinks that Pre-Crisis Mongul I got off too easy, being trapped in his own ideal fantasy. On the other hand, there are few more karmic ends for a being who used the Black Mercy on somebody else than being trapped by it. Averted Post-Crisis, where he is killed by Neron in a non-ironic or karmic fashion.
* KickTheDog: His fight with Wonder Woman becomes this, as he tries to beat her to death as slowly as he can. It's been suggested that all the sexist commentary he makes throughout the fight is just another way of hurting her.
* KillAllHumans: Pre-Crisis Mongul tried to use the Sun-Eater to end all life on Earth.
* KilledOffForReal: Post-Crisis, Pre-Flashpoint Mongul never returned after being killed by Neron in ''Underworld Unleashed''.
* LargeAndInCharge
* LeanAndMean: Given his height and strength, Mongul is surprisingly rangy, particularly Pre-Crisis.
* LotusEaterMachine: His "Black Mercy" plant, which traps the victim inside of their own mental prison, based on their heart's desires.
* LightningBruiser: Not only huge and strong, but shockingly fast as well, capable of landing numerous blows on Superman and Wonder Woman.
* NearVillainVictory: Came closer to killing Superman than any other SilverAge or [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]] foe ever did, and was seconds away from delivering a killing blow when the Black Mercy interrupted him.
* NighInvulnerable: Perhaps the only [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]] villain who could survive blows from an enraged, Pre-Crisis Superman, let alone nearly defeat him in combat. Even after his power was scaled down Post-Crisis, it still took a hit from Neron to kill him.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Delivers one to WonderWoman in ''For the Man Who Has Everything''. Post-Crisis Mongul received one from Neron, which eventually killed him.
* OneManArmy: Pre-Crisis, wherein he conquers entire worlds using only his own power.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Espouses a lot of sexist rhetoric. Whether he believes it, or is just saying it to screw with Diana is never clarified.
** In "''For The Man Who Has Everything''", though, it's implied he's trying to avert it.
-->'''Mongul:''' I'm unfamiliar with this planet's customs. Which of [[Franchise/{{Batman}} you]] [[Franchise/WonderWoman two]] is it polite to kill first?
* {{Pride}}: As IGN notes, Mongul's "brute strength is only rivaled by his brooding ego".
* PunctuatedPounding: Does it to Superman after the latter wounds him with his heat vision in ''For the Man Who Has Everything''.
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: While [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]] Mongul was a definitive Superman villain, both Both Monguls I & II have become more associated with Comicbook/GreenLantern Post-Crisis. As of the ''New 52'' he's clashed with the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight in the pages of ''Superman/Batman'', and his ''Villains Month'' title indicates he will also be facing the GL Corps. Whose rogues gallery he'll settle in this time is up in the air.
* {{Sadist}}: Mongul was a psychological and physical sadist who enjoyed the suffering of his opponents.
* SecondaryColorNemesis: His trademark purple costume contrasts strongly with Superman's reds and blues.
* SmugSnake: Mongul is smart, but very full of himself, and his tendency towards toying with his victims causes him problems.
* SmugSuper
* TheStarscream: Post-Crisis Mongul I was this to the Cyborg-Superman, kept in line only by the latter's threats, and planning to turn on him at the first opportunity.
* SuperReflexes[=/=]SuperSpeed: Fast enough to land hits on Wonder Woman and Superman.
* SuperStrength: Strong enough to nearly beat both Superman and Wonder Woman to death barehanded Pre-Crisis, and inflict some serious damage on Superman and Green Lantern Post-Crisis, putting him in the upper tier of DC's characters in terms of strength.
* TookALevelInBadass: Pre-Crisis Mongul takes one in ''For the Man Who Has Everything'', in which he graduates from a poor man's substitute for Darkseid and into a terrifying villain who can NoSell attacks from Wonder Woman and Superman alike, and whose use of the Black Mercy gives him a vile twist.
* UnexplainedRecovery: Pre-''Flashpoint'', a flashback in ''GreenLanternCorps'' (vol. 2) #24 suggested that ''ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything'' was restored in Post-''Infinite Crisis'' continuity. If so, that would leave the question of ''how'' Mongul escaped from his Black Mercy-induced fantasy, let alone escape from the black hole Superman dropped him in.
* WouldHitAGirl[=/=]WouldHurtAChild: Once asked Batman if it would be more polite to kill the woman (Wonder Woman) or the boy (Jason Todd) first. He also killed his younger brother when he was an infant.
* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Run off of his own home planet and faced with revolution on Throneworld and Warworld, Mongul has never been a popular guy. This is best emphasised in a Post-Crisis story where he conquers a world and the inhabitants promptly commit suicide.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Neutron]]
->'''AKA:''' Nathaniel Tyron
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Neutron_9362.jpg]]

Nathaniel was a petty thug who was transformed by an accident into a living mass of nuclear energy, needing a containment suit to have a physical form. After murdering the ones responsible, he now does whatever he feels like, putting him in conflict with The Man Of Steel.
----
* AchillesHeel: Completely wrecking Neutron's powersuit will stop him far faster than attacking Neutron himself. Of course, you've got to be prepared for the [[NukeEm nuclear explosion]] that will result from that.
* AxCrazy: Neutron ''really'' enjoys killing people.
* BloodKnight: Always spoiling for a fight.
* EnergyBeing: To the point where if you strip away his containment suit he loses his physical.
* ForTheEvulz: He even gives a speech about how he doesn't know the people he is attacking. He's doing it because it is ''fun''.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Neutron was little more than a B&E man before he was exposed to radiation.
* HandBlast: Usually emits radiation from his hands, though he can fire it from any part of his body, including his face.
* ILoveNuclearPower: Feeds off it too.
* ImplacableMan: "Cold won't do it. Neither will heat. I don't even need to ''breathe''!"
* NighInvulnerability: Neutron's completely immune to heat, cold, and suffocation, and since his body is nothing more than a living chain of fission reactions, physical force is all but useless against him.
* NuclearNasty: Nuclear powered and a relentless psycho.
* PowerIncontinence: Unfortunately, he doesn't care at all. He'll just laugh if he accidentally barbecues bystanders.
* PsychoForHire: Neutron's not above hiring out his services to other villains like Luthor, but he's in it for the kicks, not the cash.
* PureEnergy: Neutron no longer has a physical form. He's pure radioactivity.
* SocialDarwinist: Believes that anyone who can't hack being irradiated should just hurry up and die.
* SuperStrength: Even without emitting radiation, Neutron still hits with the force of a nuclear blast.
* WalkingWasteland: He thinks it's funny, too.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Parasite]]
[[quoteright:375:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/571df10f1498f93f3e5fca9d2ad0642a.jpg]]
->'''AKA:''' Raymond Maxwell Jensen (Pre-Crisis), Rudy Jones (Post Crisis), Joshua Michael Allen (New 52)

A janitor who got doused in radiation or chemicals or whatever. Rudy Jones hungers for life energy which he needs to survive and which kills anyone he touches. Fixates on Superman because the Big Guy is like an All-U-Can-Eat buffet. Rudy gains the vitality, abilities, and memories of those he touches, although the effect is usually temporary. Eventually, he absorbed a second personality that acted as a voice of guidance, making Rudy more dangerous.

In one of his more devious schemes, he used absorbed shapeshifting powers to impersonate Lois, leeching her memories to maintain the facade throwing Superman into emotional turmoil as he was slowly being drained.
----
* BaldOfEvil: Lost all of his hair upon gaining his powers.
* BodyHorror: Sometimes depicted as this, such as in ''WesternAnimation/AllStarSuperman''.
* DumbMuscle: Usually portrayed as fairly dim.
* EnemyMine: He and the rest of the Superman Revenge Squad allied themselves with Superman during the events of ''Last Son''. Parasite proved very effective against General Zod's army as they, unlike Superman, did not understand the dangers inherent in closing with him.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Janitor to deadly, sadistic supervillain.
* HorrorHunger
* ImAHumanitarian: Often treated the same way.
* MegaManning
* PowerIncontinence: Prevents him from hugging his own wife and children.
* PowerParasite: It comes with a time limit, so he has to continuously drain a person's power to have it. In keeping with the "doesn't necessarily make them winners" aspect of this trope, he's not that dangerous (being defeatable by simply staying away from him does that) unless paired with other villains to back him up.
* PowersAsPrograms: Draining Superman's powers leaves him open to being taken down by kryptonite.
* SecondaryColorNemesis: His skin turned purple after exposure to the chemicals.
* TouchOfDeath: If he holds on to people too long.
* VampiricDraining
* VillainTeamUp: As a part of the Superman Revenge Squad, among others.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Phantom Zone Criminals]]
Krypton had no system of capital punishment, so instead of execution, the most heinous criminals were imprisoned in the PhantomZone, a dimension without time or physical substance. Over the years, numerous super-powered Kryptonian criminals have escaped the Zone to bedevil Superman. In addition to the ne'er-do-wells below, there are numerous less prominent Phantom Zone criminals, including Kru-El (Superman's distant cousin), Quex-Ul, Az-Rel, Nadira, Car-Vex, and Jer-Em.

!!General Zod I
[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dru-zod_15.bmp]]
->'''AKA:''' Dru-Zod II
-> "You will kneel before me, Jor-El. Both you and one day... your heirs!"

The archenemy of Jor-El, and a sworn enemy of his family, Zod was a Kryptonian general imprisoned after trying to stage a coup against the Council of Elders on his home world. Trapped in the PhantomZone prior to Krypton's destruction, Zod is eventually freed and proceeds to take out his anger with Jor-El on Superman. Made famous by Terence Stamp in ''Superman II'', Zod was absent from the comics for years, due to the ban on Kryptonian characters; during this time various alternate universe doppelgangers and Earthborn substitutes danced in his shoes. In ''ComicBook/LastSon'', DC decided to reintroduce the original Zod, bringing in a version of the character heavily modelled on Stamp's portrayal.

In his current incarnation, Zod is a more complex character, regarded as a hero by many on Krypton. His coup was staged because he believed Non and Jor-El's findings about Krypton's imminent demise and wished to get the planet ready by means of rebuilding their space fleet. Defeated when Jor-El refused to support a violent revolution, Zod holds the House of El responsible for the destruction of the Kryptonian race, and seeks to punish Kal-El for his father's sins and build a new Krypton. During the ''ComicBook/NewKrypton'' arc he served as head of Kandor's military, and manouvered for war with Earth, aiming to achieve his goals.
----
* AbusiveDad: Treats his son, Lor-Zod/Chris Kent, as little more than a means to an end.
* AlternateUniverse: Prior to ''Last Son'', Superman encountered numerous versions of Zod in different dimensions and alternate Kryptonian pasts alike.
* {{Archenemy}}: Of Jor-El. Superman inherits this grudge, which eventually becomes very personal for both of them. After Luthor and Brainiac, he's in third place on Superman's private hit parade.
* ArchnemesisDad: Fullfills this role after Lor-Zod/Chris's HeelFaceTurn.
* AscendedExtra: He was never a particularly prominent character in his original appearances; only an unremarkable name among the many Phantom Zoners. After the popularity of ''Superman II'', he was upjumped to being the leader of the Phantom Zoners and one of Superman's primary enemies.
* {{Badass}}: He trained from birth to be a warrior, and combining his military training with his solar power, is perfectly able to have Superman on the ropes.
* BadassBeard
* BadassLongcoat: Sometimes features a military style greatcoat as part of his uniform.
* BaldOfEvil: In the Pre-Crisis era where, not unlike Brainiac, he closely resembled ComicBook/LexLuthor. This has been changed since, with many versions closely resembling Terence Stamp's iconic portrayal.
* BeardOfEvil
* BigBad: Of ''Last Son'', and ''New Krypton''. Following his revival he's generally in competition with Luthor and Brainiac for the title of Superman's biggest bad.
** BigBadEnsemble: In ''New Krypton'' he, Brainiac, and General Lane compete for the title of biggest bad. Zod is ultimately the last one left standing.
* BornInTheWrongCentury: Ancient Krypton was savage and warlike, and he would have fit right in.
* BroughtDownToBadass: When temporarily depowered.
* DarkMessiah: Seen as a saviour by many on New Krypton, and views himself in those same terms.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Like Luthor, he doesn't get why Superman hasn't taken over the planet yet.
* EvilCounterpart: Not to Superman, but to his father, Jor-El.
* EvilChancellor: To Alura and the Council, undermining their efforts, and leading them towards increasingly destructive courses of action.
* EvilOldFolks: The alternate universe doppelganger from ''For Tomorrow'' was an old man under his [[TinTyrant heavy black armour]].
* EvilerThanThou: With Luthor, Brainiac and General Lane.
* FantasticRacism: Towards all aliens. It's particularly notable with humans, whom he views as some sort of sub-Kryptonians, worthy of enslavement at best and genocide at worst.
* FinalBoss: The last villain standing in both ''Last Son'' and ''New Krypton'', and the last one Superman has to face down.
* FinalSolution: His Pocket Universe counterpart decided humanity was too much trouble to rule over and ended up killing everybody on its Earth. In the ''War of the Supermen'' arc that concludes ''New Krypton'', our Zod comes to the same conclusion, and tries to wipe humanity out in revenge for Reactron's destruction of New Krypton.
* {{Foil}}: If Superman is the ultimate immigrant, standing for the peaceful synthesis of human and Kryptonian culture, Zod is the ultimate representation of the Old Country, and why people wanted to leave it in the first place. Everything that's wrong with Kryptonian culture is embodied by Zod, and when he arrives on Earth it isn't to immigrate, but to try and remake it in the image of Krypton.
* FourStarBadass
* FrontlineGeneral: Always. Zod leads the charge from the front of his army, and is usually one of the last ones out of combat.
* TheGeneralissimo: Sets himself up as one following the destruction of Kandor's civilian government. In the backstory, he tried to do this on Krypton as well.
* GeneralRipper: In ''New Krypton'' where he blames the humans for everything.
* GloriousLeader: His men speak of him in these terms, and he eventually sets himself up as one for New Krypton, amassing a personality cult, and seizing power in the aftermath of Allura's death.
* GogglesDoNothing: In his first Post-Crisis appearance.
* GoodTwin: On Earth-15, a good version of Zod served as his world's Superman, much to Superboy-Prime's rage.
* HappilyMarried: To Ursa.
* KillAllHumans: An AlternateUniverse Zod did this in one story. At the conclusion of the ''New Krypton'' storyline, our Zod tries it as well, triggering the 100 Minute War.
* KneelBeforeZod: The TropeNamer. For Zod forcing his adversaries to kneel is a psychological compulsion. He needs them to submit.
* LargeHam
* LightningBruiser
* MilitaryCoup: How he tried to take power on Krypton in both the main universe and various alternate ones. He was contemplating one against Allura when Reactron blew up New Krypton, allowing him to take power through slightly more legitimate means.
* MoralMyopia: Can recognise wrongs done to him, and wrongs done by humans to Kryptonians, but never the inverse.
* MyGreatestFailure: Failing to stop Brainiac from stealing Kandor.
* {{Narcissist}}: Not unlike Luthor, Zod views himself in messianic terms, is convinced that he can achieve anything simply on the basis of who he is, and thinks that he, and only he, has all the answers. He genuinely does want what's best for Krypton, but has convinced himself that Krypton can only be its best wih him in charge.
* NobleDemon: The ''New Krypton'' version.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: As of ''Last Son'' and ''New Krypton'' he bears a striking resemblance to Creator/TerenceStamp.
* NotSoDifferent: From human xenophobes General Sam Lane and Lex Luthor.
* PredecessorVillain: An alternate universe version of him served as the inspiration to General Zod II (see above). He himself has a predecessor in his ancestor, Admiral Dru-Zod I, whose ship was unearthed and weaponized by Luthor. According to Superman, Admiral Zod was one of the darkest figures in Krypton's age of space exploration, which means our General Zod may well be a case of GenerationXerox.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy
* RetCanon: Recent versions are modeled after the ''Film/SupermanII'' film interpretation of the character.
* RousingSpeech: Gives one to his army at the start of the 100 Minute War.
* SealedEvilInACan
* SendInTheClones: In Pre-Crisis continuity, he tried to take over Krypton with an army of Bizarro clones of himself.
* ShadowArchetype: To Jor-El and Kal-El both.
* SinsOfOurFathers: Superman's father, Jor-El, was one of the guys who arrested him and banished him to the Phantom Zone, so he takes his anger out on Kal-El. In Zod's mind, the House of El is to blame for the extinction of Kryptonian life.
* SuperiorSpecies: Sees Kryptonians as inherently superior to humans (and every other alien race out there, for that matter).
* SuperpowerLottery
** EyeBeams
** FlyingBrick
** NighInvulnerable
** SuperBreath
** SuperSpeed
** SuperStrength
* TinTyrant: A version of Zod from ''For Tomorrow'' was an old man in [[SpikesOfVillainy spiked]] [[BlackKnight black armour]].
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Underestimates Superman, Supergirl, Superboy, the Legion of Super-Heroes, the Justice League, and the population of Earth by the end of ''New Krypton''.
* UnholyMatrimony: With Ursa.
* WeHaveReserves: Willingly fires through his own people in order to hit Brainiac's ship.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: His revolt on Krypton was motivated by a desire to save the planet.
** TheExtremistWasRight: The Council were morons and their actions did see the deaths of almost everyone on Krypton.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: He and Jor-El.
* WorthyOpponent: He was genuinely impressed by Superman's superior fighting skill compared to his men in the ''New Krypton'' storyline.

!!Ursa
[[quoteright:188:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aa63116090109fb17419eaec54c0e878.jpg]]
Originally created for ''Superman II'', Ursa entred the DCU in the pages of ''Last Son'', alongside the modern General Dru-Zod. Second-in-command and wife to the traitorous general, Colonel Ursa was a loyal soldier in Krypton's elite Black Zero unit, but her failure to stop Brainiac from stealing the city of Kandor and massacring innocent Kryptonians broke her mind, making her dangerously unpredictable. Ursa aided her beloved in his attempt to overthrow the Science Council, but like Zod and their co-conspirator Non, they were stopped by Jor-El and sentenced to eternity in the Phantom Zone. There, Ursa bore a son, Lor-Zod, who would later become the hero Nightwing.
----
* AbusiveMom: Uses her son as a tool, giving no affection, and expecting total obedience in return.
* BadassLongcoat: In her first appearance.
* CanonImmigrant: She first appeared in the 1977 Superman movie, and was not added to the comics until ''Last Son'' where she took the place normally held by Faora.
* ColonelBadass
* CoolShades: Her glasses protect her eyes from exposure to sunlight, to which she is hypersensitive.
* DarkActionGirl
* DesignatedGirlFight: Takes on Supergirl while Superman is facing down General Zod.
* DisproportionateRetribution: In response to an attack on New Krypton by a rogue general from one country, Ursa tries to slaughter the leaders of almost every country on Earth.
* TheDragon: To General Zod
* {{Expy}}: Loose one of Faora Hu-Ul, described below. In fact, Faora was erased from continuity due to the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' and Ursa essentially replaced her when the PhantomZone criminals were brought back (though Faora still appeared in a pocket universe).
* EvilMatriarch: Towards Lor-Zod following his HeelFaceTurn.
* FantasticRacism: Towards humans, whom she views as animals.
%%* FragileSpeedster: By Kryptonian standards. Compared to anybody else she's a LightningBruiser, and her determination and psychosis tend to make up for her comparative weakness.
* HeroWorshipper: Of General Zod.
* HappilyMarried: To Zod.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Whether intentional or otherwise, Ursa does mean "[[BearsAreBadNews bear]]".
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Strongly resembles Sarah Douglas, who played her in ''Film/SupermanII''
* OnlyOneName: No family name or patrynomic (as is usual for female Kryptonians) has been provided for Ursa.
* SealedEvilInACan
* SlasherSmile: Sports a really deranged one
* SuperiorSpecies: Her view on her race.
* SuperpowerLottery
** EyeBeams
** FlyingBrick
** NighInvulnerable
** SuperBreath
** SuperSpeed
** SuperStrength
* UndyingLoyalty: To Zod. It's part love, part hero worship.
* UnholyMatrimony: With Zod.
* WeaksauceWeakness: In addition to weaknesses against kryptonite, red sunlight, and magic, Ursa's eyes are incredibly sensitive to light, forcing her to wear protective goggles at all times.
* WeaponOfChoice: A dagger with traces of kryptonite on the edges, ideal for fighting other Kryptonians.

!!Non
[[quoteright:282:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fd66b633dca81a94e9f02e87a083d95d.jpg]]
General Zod's loyal left-hand man, Non is a hulking Kryptonian with all of Superman's powers but none of the intelligence and morality. In fact, the only thing that separates Non from Bizarro is Non's unwavering loyalty. Non was once a brilliant scientist, but when he tried to speak out against the Science Council on behalf of Jor-El, the Council's agents lobotomized him, leaving him a dumb brute. Adopted as a soldier by General Zod, Non shared his master's fate in the PhantomZone.
----
* TheBrute: Big, dumb, and thuggish. During the ''Last Son'' arc he fights Luthor's Brute, Bizarro, one on one.
* CanonImmigrant: From the 1977 movie.
* DumbMuscle: Though he used to be a GeniusBruiser.
* TheMentor: Was this to Jor-El, pre-lobotomy.
* MightyGlacier: By Kryptonian standards. By the standards of the DCU as a whole, he's a LightningBruiser.
* OnlyOneName
* PetTheDog: He cared for Lor-Zod whenever his parents weren't looking.
* SealedEvilInACan
* TheSpeechless
* SuperpowerLottery
** EyeBeams
** FlyingBrick
** NighInvulnerable
** SuperBreath
** SuperSpeed
** SuperStrength: Even for a Kryptonian, Non is horribly strong.
* TragicMonster: Poor guy was ''lobotomized'' into being evil.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: He and Jor-El.

!!Faora Hu-Ul
[[quoteright:222:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d7a6e5f3abf65d1247b7a3df5862c560.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:222:[[labelnote:Click here to see her post-Flashpoint]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5e821013759b6d05125aaed9c37efed1.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]
An evil Kryptonian martial artist, and raving misandrist. She was imprisoned in the Phantom Zone for murdering every man she encountered, and during her early encounters with Superman was able to throughly outfight him.
----
* ArrogantKungFuGuy
* AxCrazy
* DarkActionGirl
* {{Expy}}: The character of Ursa from TheMovie was loosely based on Faora.
* IfItsYouItsOkay: General Zod is perhaps the only man she respects.
* TheJailer: On Krypton, she was arrested for kidnapping 23 men and putting them in a ''concentration camp'' she had built in her home.
* MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours
* DoesNotLikeMen: Understatement.
* PressurePoint: Thanks to her Kryptonian powers, her nerve pinches work on Superman. Ouch!
* RetGone: Erased from existence post-ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, and essentially replaced by Ursa, a CanonImmigrant loosely based on her (though a version of Faora appeared in the Pocket Universe. She's also appeared in adaptations like ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' and ''Film/ManOfSteel'').
* SealedEvilInACan
* SerialKiller
* SuperpowerLottery
** EyeBeams
** FlyingBrick
** NighInvulnerable
** SuperBreath
** SuperSpeed
** SuperStrength

!!Jax-Ur
[[quoteright:262:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/347eb8323aa43726574f9db555a721f7.png]]
A doctor and scientist who thought nothing of dissecting living people and whose experiments inadvertently destroyed Krypton's moon colony--which attracted the attention of Brainiac and led to the loss of Kandor. While in the Phantom Zone, Jax-Ur became the host of the Kryptonian deity Vohc-the-Breaker, god of creation and destruction. He was recruited by General Zod to be one of his sleeper agents, but had plans of his own--the destruction of Earth.
----
* ArchEnemy: To Nightwing and Flamebird, themselves avatars of Kryptonian gods.
* EnemyMine: The pre-crisis Jax-Ur worked with Superman to defeat Black Zero, the true culprit behind Krypton's destruction.
* TheFundamentalist
* GeniusBruiser: What happens when your MadDoctor is a Kryptonian.
* TheGogglesDoNothing
* MadDoctor / MadScientist
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Modelled on Josef Mengele.
* SealedEvilInACan
* SuperpowerLottery
** EyeBeams
** FlyingBrick
** NighInvulnerable
** SuperBreath
** SuperSpeed
** SuperStrength

!!Quex-Ul
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/86334b7de737316f965248ddd5f36f10.png]]
->'''AKA:''' Charlie Kweskill (Pre-Crisis), Edward Robertson (Post-Infinte Crisis)

A Kryptonian convicted of killing rondors, an endangered species, to use their healing horns for the purpose of profit.
----
* TheBrute: In later versions, he's usually the 'strongman' of a trio of Phantom Zone criminals (see Expy).
* {{Expy}}: His later incarnations resemble Non, especially the Pocket Universe version.
* HeroicSacrifice: Pre-Crisis. He threw himself into his own Gold Kryptonite trap he set up for Superman. Losing both his powers and memory.
* KilledOffForReal: Post-Infinite Crisis.
* SealedEvilInACan
* SuperpowerLottery
** EyeBeams
** FlyingBrick
** NighInvulnerable
** SuperBreath
** SuperSpeed
** SuperStrength
* UnwittingPawn: Pre-Crisis. Superman learns he actually acted under the mental control of another Kryptonian, Rog-Ar, the true rondor killer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Paragon]]
A Justice League villain with a superiority complex though he's squared off against Superman solo. His power is that he's has heightened versions of the abilities of anyone around him (though he quickly loses these powers when the people he is emulating exit his range.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Prankster]]
[[quoteright:182:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b32b40a960b11b46ca570ed89e2e4e44.jpg]]
->'''AKA:''' Oswald Loomis

A former children's variety show host who got canned in favor of newer types of children's programming--which drove him over the deep end. Now he makes weapons disguised as or styled after traditional pranks, such as cream pies, joy buzzers, whoopie cushions, runaway refrigerators, etc. Has been able to remain as least a nuisance to Superman over the years through clever tactics and misdirection. Superman can't immediately figure out what he needs to punch, but by the time he's found it, he's usually pretty irritated.
----
* ForTheEvulz
* GadgeteerGenius
* HarmlessVillain: Prankster is more of a nuisance than a threat, which makes him ideal for more dangerous villains to hire as a distraction. (He does have his occasional NotSoHarmlessVillain moment, though.)
* ItAmusedMe
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Most notably in ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow''. He also has a very low tolerance for clients who turn on him.
* PieInTheFace: It can be regular pie or have some kind of nasty surprise in it.
* PragmaticVillainy: He strictly sticks to low-level diversions, mainly to allow bank heists or the like, so nobody will try very hard to take him down. He ''can'' make his artifacts outright lethal, but he feels it's not really worth it. He also refuses to ''sell'' his stuff, only rent it - he's a comedian, not an armorer.
* SecondaryColorNemesis: Wears a green suit and an orange tie.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Preus]]
[[quoteright:281:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/preus_99.jpg]]
-->''"How you shame the legacy of the Superman, Kal-El."''

A fanatical member of the Kandorian Citizen Patrol Corps (CPC) and a fervent worshipper of "The Superman", Preus encountered the Man of Steel when he was trapped in Kandor as "Kal-El." Convinced that Kal-El is a race traitor who preverts the image of The Superman, Preus attempted to kill him, before escaping into the real world where he battled both Superman and Lyla. He later became the leader of a cult of white supremacists, facing off against Superman and the Martian Manhunter.
----
* AbsoluteXenophobe: Though he can't decide whether all the aliens should die, or serve the MasterRace that is the Kryptonians.
* AGodAmI: Comes to see himself as the reincarnation of The Superman after making his way to Metropolis and gaining his powers. This may just be a way of rationalising his manifestation of "alien" abilities to himself.
* AxCrazy
* BadassCape: In Kandor. It burns off during his battle with Superman in Metropolis.
* BlackAndWhiteInsanity: Preus only sees good and evil.
* BlackEyesOfEvil: His eyes become black after he breaks free into Metropolis.
* BlondGuysAreEvil
* ChestInsignia: A copy of the Superman symbol. He later burns a line through it to demonstrate that he has thrown away his belief in The Superman.
** BroughtToYouByTheLetterS
* CowboyCop: A very dark take during his days with the CPC.
** DirtyCop: In the sense of being a fascist bastard who considers all non-Kryptonian life expendable, and doesn't give a damn about bystanders.
** RabidCop: A psychopath with a badge.
* {{Cult}}: Leads a gang of white supremacists after the events of ''Godfall''.
* EvilCounterpart: Not only does he have Superman's powers, but he follows a very warped version of the Man of Steel's code.
* EvilerThanThou: With Lyla.
* EyeBeams: Though his are black instead of red.
* FantasticRacism: Seeks to kill all of the "impure," which includes most of Kandor's alien population. He's none too fond of humanity either, following his escape.
* FinalBoss: Lyla may be TheBigBad of ''Godfall'', but Preus is the last bastard standing, and assumes the role of main antagonist as the arc reaches its climax.
* FlyingBrick: After escaping to Metropolis.
* TheFundamentalist: A fundamentalist worshipper of Kandor's cult of Superman.
* TheHeavy: In ''Godfall'' where Lyla's TheBigBad, but Preus moves the plot.
* HeroWorshipper: Of the highly-fictionalised godfigure "The Superman."
** BrokenPedestal: After he finally realises that Kal-El is Superman. At this point Preus snaps and tries to kill Kal-El for failing to live up to his own idealised image of who Superman was.
* HighlyConspicuousUniform
* HolierThanThou: Convinced that he is The Superman's most fervent disciple.
* InspectorJavert: He initially pursues Kal-El because he believes the latter has killed his own son (who was actually a construct created by Lyla).
* KarmicTransformation: He doesn't take the emergence of his powers very well, as he is now an alien freak, the very thing that he loathes so much.
* KnightTemplar: To scarily demented levels. He's a xenophobic RabidCop who thinks that all lawbreakers should be killed and is willing to accept veritable tonnes of collateral damage.
* LightIsNotGood
* LightningBruiser
* TheMentallyIll: One could make a very good case for Preus being in need of institutionalisation, given his rabid religious views, BlackAndWhiteInsanity, and general detatchment from reality.
* PoliceBrutality: Kills suspects, accepts blocks of civilian casualties, racist to the core...Preus is bad policing personified.
* PoweredArmour: Wears a suit of power armour as a member of Kandor's police force. It compensates for the exposure sickness, allows him to fire energy blasts, enables flight (not that he needs it outside of Kandor) and can turn psychic attacks back on their users.
** BlingOfWar: The suit is gold-enamelled.
** ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Well, in Kandor anyway, where his PoweredArmour is the only reason he has any powers. In the real world he doesn't need the suit...but [[ClingyCostume has to wear it anyway]].
** ClingyCostume: His armour is now burned into his body.
** {{Flight}}: The suit's rocket boots enable flight.
** PowerPalms: Discharges his energy blasts from them.
** PsychicBlockDefense: His armour is designed to keep both his body and his mind safe. When Lyla tries to MindRape him, he amplifies her attack, turns it back on her, and shreds her mind along with half a city block.
** RocketBoots: How he flies in Kandor
* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Preus' racist rhetoric should have a very familiar feel to any students of WWII history.
* SanitySlippage: He was a self-righteous, arrogant bastard with a tenuous grip on reality from the beginning. After emerging from Kandor into the real world and becoming one of the aliens he so hates his last few shreds of sanity vanish, and he's reduced to a screaming, ranting madman.
* SocialDarwinist
* StateSec: What the CPC is.
* SuperiorSpecies: Many Kryptonian villains have this view, but Preus takes it to psychotic levels. Zod would likely be embarassed by Preus' deification of their race.
* SuperSenses
* SuperSpeed
* SuperStrength
* YouAreWhatYouHate: Doesn't realise at all that Kal-El is as Kryptonian as he is, and that Kryptonians themselves are just "aliens" on Earth.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Queen of Fables]]
->'''AKA:''' Tsarita
[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/200px-queen_of_fables_6875.png]]

Tsaritsa was the actual evil queen from "Literature/SnowWhite". Awakening in modern times, this cruel tyrant hopes to reawaken her empire.

* AxCrazy
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen
* {{Immortality}}
* MageInManhattan: She can conjure up any storybook creature or prop to do her bidding. She can also trap people inside fairy tale worlds.
* RealityWarper: Has the ability to wildly alter reality into "storybook" worlds.
* RefugeeFromTVLand
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: She occasionally harasses WonderWoman, trying to get revenge on "Snow White".
* SealedEvilInACan: She was once defeated by being trapped in a US Tax Records book.
* StalkerWithACrush: She thinks Superman is PrinceCharming and hopes to marry him. She even once abducted him and trapped him in a Kryptonian forest (gleaned from tales of Krypton).
* ThoroughlyMistakenIdentity: She thinks Wonder Woman is Snow White and Superman is Prince Charming. Nothing can convince her that she is mistaken, not their powers, not the fact that the story of Snow White happened hundreds of years ago, nothing.
* VainSorceress
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Riot]]
[[quoteright:212:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e99c0ecc7fef6d586c16757646470d80.jpg]]
->'''AKA:''' Fredrick von Frankenstein

A bizarre man with the power to duplicate himself whenever he's struck. He lives only to sow chaos and confusion. He may be a distant relative of the infamous [[{{Frankenstein}} Doctor Victor von Frankenstein]].

* CatchPhrase: "You're losing it!"
* ImplacableMan: No matter how hard you hit him, it won't hurt him at all. It will just cause him to duplicate. He doesn't even sleep.
* MesACrowd
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Like SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker, he's a lot smarter than he looks.
* WallCrawl
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ruin]]
[[quoteright:204:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/446d213a0660496585f9e1d37c32eacf.jpg]]
->'''AKA:''' Emil Hamilton

Professor Emil Hamilton was once once of Superman's greatest friends. He often used his scientific genius to assist The Man Of Steel in the never ending battle against evil. Unfortunately, his mind eventually snapped. Donning a suit that exploited Superman's weaknesses, allowed him to teleport, and concealed his identity, he began a campaign to destroy him, targeting his friends and loved ones first. Superman was horrified to find his friend under the mask. When Emil tried to justify his actions by claiming that Superman was sucking the Sun dry of its energy, causing mankind's extinction in 4.5 billion years, Superman realized that he was crazy beyond help, and put him away.
----
* AxCrazy
* EvilGenius
* FaceHeelTurn
* FaceHeelRevolvingDoor: His Ruin phase isn't the first or even the second time he's gone villain. He was introduced as a research scientist who'd just snapped when Lex claimed ownership of his force field technology. It was only after his parole that he became Superman's ally. And this isn't counting his DCAU incarnation.
* MadScientist: He's always been mentally unstable. Superman was rehabilitating Emil when he allowed the scientist to be his science adviser. At his best, he was an AbsentmindedProfessor
* PowerAtAPrice: His teleportation technology is bad for his health, limiting the number of times he can do it per day.
* PoweredArmor: That fired red sunlight and kryptonite radiation, allowed teleportation through the Phantom Zone, and other nasty surprises.
* TheProfessor: Before his FaceHeelTurn.
* SelfDestructMechanism: His suit had one.
* TransportersAndTeleporters
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Silver Banshee]]
[[quoteright:240:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/9e9773455186ee681c95948981af8e22.jpg]]
->'''AKA:''' Siobhan [=McDougal=]

Siobhan [=McDougal=] made a deal with an evil spirit to gain the power to take over her woman-hating Gaelic tribe. Forced to find a certain occult book as payment, she remorselessly kills anyone in her path, forcing Superman to stop her.
----
* DealWithTheDevil
* GorgeousGorgon: Even when her face looks like a skull, she still looks really hot.
* IGaveMyWord: She does keep any promise she makes, like when she promises not to kill somebody.
* IKnowYourTrueName: If she knows your true name, then if you hear her scream, you will die. Fortunately, Superman's true name is Kal-El, and he's not telling her that anytime soon.
* MakeMeWannaShout
* OurBansheesAreLouder
* SuperStrength: Described as having the strength of 10 men.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Superboy-Prime]]
[[quoteright:330:[[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/superboy-prime-punch-330px_BigT_9911.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:330:Superboy-Prime [[MemeticMutation punching time]].]]
->'''AKA:''' Clark Kent / Kal-El of Earth-Prime
-->"They'll '''never''' get rid of me. I '''always''' survive."

A younger version of Superman from the AlternateUniverse of Earth-Prime, where (other than him) the only super-powered beings existed in comic books. Prime's world was destroyed in the ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths and he took refuge in an extradimensional space with the Earth-2 Superman, Earth-2 Lois Lane, and Earth-3 Alexander Luthor Jr. Originally a noble and optimistic young hero, years of isolation and Alexander's manipulations turned Prime into a hateful monster who despised the "inferior" heroes of New Earth for being allowed to live while his world died.

After a murderous rampage in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', Prime participated in the SinestroCorpsWar before being sent back, powerless, to the reconstituted Earth-Prime by the ComicBook/{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}} following ''Legion of Three Worlds'' (in which his future self was revealed to have become the Time-Trapper).
----
* ArcVillain: ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', ''SinestroCorpsWar'', and ''Legion of Three Worlds'', all end up focusing on Prime in one way or another, despite the fact that in every single one of them he is supposedly subordinate to the real BigBad.
* AxCrazy: Prime is now completely demented, and dangerously so.
* BeardOfEvil: As the Time-Trapper
* BloodKnight: Actually enjoys taking on various heavy hitters like Black Adam or Ion, because he knows he is the heaviest of them all and wants to show it.
* BrokenPedestal: He became disillusioned with the DC heroes after witnessing UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks.
* ButtMonkey: The heroes hate him, he's eventually forgotten and is one of the most hated characters of DC Comics. Black Lantern [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis Alex Luthor Jr]] even lampshades this.
* CanonDiscontinuity: Everything about him in ''ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis'' that ''wasn't'' related to the ''SinestroCorpsWar''.
* ChestInsignia: He's sported the "S"-shield on his uniform, his power armour, and cut into his chest with heat vision. Conner Kent burned a bar sinister through that last one with his heat vision in order to make a point.
** BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: Thinks that he and only he is worthy of wearing the "S", in fact.
* ComicBooksAreReal: He read Superman comics before getting to meet him. He's even named Clark because of Superman. His city dwelling young adult parents, the Kents, thought it was appropriate since they found him in a basket (unlike Superman, he was teleported to Earth without a rocket ship.)
* TheCorruptible: He was just a naive, hopeful teenager before Alex Luthor Jr got a hold of him in their stay outside of the universe.
* DirtyCoward: Tends to panic and run when things turn against him. He's ''so'' strong that these moments happen far too rarely.
* DitzyGenius: Prime built a set of armor that converts Red Sunlight into Yellow and then feeds it to his cells virtually from scratch, based off the design of the Anti-Monitor, whom he only scanned with Super-Vision.
* TheDragon: He's been The Dragon to both Alexander Luthor Jr., and The Time-Trapper; in the case of the Time-Trapper he was completely unaware of it until the end of the arc.
** DragonWithAnAgenda: During the Sinestro Corps War, when he worked for Sinestro while plotting against him and his corps.
** DragonInChief: He's never the BigBad, but he's so much more powerful than Alexander Luthor Jr, Sinestro, or even the Time-Trapper, that inevitably ends up as the main threat in their respective storylines.
* TheDreaded: Following the events of ''Infinite Crisis'', Prime is a feared enough figure that Sinestro had him recruited into the Sinestro Corps for his ability to inspire fear. 1,000 years into the future, he's remembered only as a dark being and an inspiration for the Legion of Super-Villains. And Green Lantern rings ''themselves'' seem to be afraid of him.
* DumbMuscle: Though he sees himself as a [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]], he's actually very, very bad at understanding other people or anticipating what they'll do. He's a threat because of his sheer, raw power. Not his brain.
* EmoTeen: UpToEleven. All Prime does is complain about how life has treated him badly. While it honestly has, his self-pity eventually reaches the point where he blots out his self-awareness, and that's when he becomes truly dangerous.
* EvilCounterpart: Played as one to our Superboy, Kon-El, on occasion, courtesy of their contrasting attitudes.
* EvilIsPetty: Prime has the powers of a god and the manners and personality of a whining child throwing a tantrum.
* EvilTwin: To Superman, being an alternate universe version of him from his younger days.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: When not in an AxCrazy state, prime has some morality left as shown during Countdown when he used an evil verion of Zatanna for his plans. He stated [[PayEvilUntoEvil "She was using her powers to torment children so I tormented her".]]
* FaceHeelTurn
* FallenHero: Once upon a time this kid was a genuinely heroic character, believe it or not.
* FantasticRacism: Towards clones.
* FateWorseThanDeath: Got imprisoned into the Source Wall.
* FinalBoss: In both ''Infinite Crisis'' and the ''Sinestro Corps War'', where he outlasts the actual BigBad and becomes the final, physical threat the heroes must take down.
* {{Flanderization}}: Since ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis he became progressively more and more {{Wangst}}y.
* FourthWallObserver: His home world is ''our'' world!
* FreudianExcuse: His/our world was destroyed (it's/we're better now), he's been stuck in a pocket dimension for years with a ManipulativeBastard and no-one remembers him. Clearly, this combined with his [[ManChild teenage mentality]] is the root of his insanity. But at the latest when he got back to his world and hurt his girlfriend, it becomes clear that it doesn't hold water.
* GeniusBruiser: While certainly not a social genius, and lacking in common sense. Prime ''did'' build a complete replica of the [[EldritchAbomination Anti]]-[[MultiversalConqueror Monitor]]'s armor while imprisoned by the Flashes.
* GreenLanternRing: Gained a Yellow Power Ring as a member of the Sinestro Corps. Never used it though.
* HairTriggerTemper: Prime will explode at the drop of a pin, descending into UnstoppableRage more often than not.
* HeelRealization: During blackest night when Prime was overcome by emotions when he put on a black lantern ring, he channeled every color of the emotional spectrum. Each color forced him to realize his faults and own up to his failings. Orange showed him that he was envious of the lives everyone else got to live while he was trapped between dimensions. Yellow showed him that he feared the heroes he once admired. Indigo showed him that he felt sorry for the people he hurt, especially his girlfriend Laurie. Violet showed him that he still loved his family and Laurie. The biggest one was rage. When controlled by the red Superboy prime admitted that he hated himself for everything he had done and scream the truth that he had suppressed for so long when confronting the Black Lantern Lex Luthor Jr. of earth 3. Prime yelled,"YOU wanted to be better than everyone. I NEVER wanted to be better than anyone. I only wanted to matter. I only wanted to fit in and make a difference. I wanted to be HEARD! But you NEVER listened to me!".
* HeroKiller: Prime has proven time and again, that [[KnightOfCerebus anytime he shows up, people you care about are going to hurt or die.]] He's killed over fifty Green Lanterns, Kal-L, Connor Kent, and numerous members of three Legions of Super Heroes, and yet the death toll just keeps on growing.
* HijackedByGanon: Does it in ''Sinestro Corps War'', taking over from Sinestro and the Antimonitor.
* IgnoredExpert: Unusually, his father ''wasn't''. The government of Krypton believed him and gave him their full support...only to somehow still completely bungle the evacuation.
* IllKillYou: Infamously. "I'll kill you to death!"
* IronicHell: His fate at the end of ''Legion of Three Worlds''.
* ItsAllAboutMe: As far as Prime is concerned the entire multiverse can die if he can't have ''his'' world.
* JokerImmunity: He's got it and he knows it.
* KryptoniteFactor: Defied. With his home universe dead, there was no Kryptonite left that could hurt him--at least until his encounter with the Threeboot!Legion, who were revealed to be from a new version of Earth-Prime. The closest thing to an exploitable weakness that he has is darkness, as his powers apparently burn out very quickly if he doesn't have ready access to a yellow sun. Good luck actually enshrouding him long enough to sufficiently deplete him, however.
* LightningBruiser
* ManChild: Superman-Prime. It's just Superboy-Prime but with an adult's body.
* MoodSwinger: Prime's moods change from second to second.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Happened a few times, last time in Blackest Night. Subverted in the end though, as he doesn't really regret it because of the misery he has caused to others, but because he thinks [[NeverMyFault that it was the fault of his victums]] and that they have ruined his reputation.
** Played straight when he confronted the black lanterns during Blackest Night while possesed by the a black ring. see HeelRealization above.
* MultiversalConqueror: In ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''.
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: When the Kents found a baby, they thought it'd be fun to name him "Clark" after the comic book hero with similar origins.
* {{Narcissist}}: Prime is all about Prime. He's unable to look past his own pain to identify with the struggles of others, views his lost world and family more as possessions than anything else, thinks the entire multiverse should conform to his view of how things ought to be, and worst of all, will snap if anything damages his ego, or his delusional notions of heroism.
* NeverMyFault: Prime blames his victims for making him attack them, because he doesn't want to have to deal with what he's become.
* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: In ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' he was revealed to be magic-proof. It was never really explained why.
* NoSocialSkills: Prime has no ability to deal with other people, and spends most of his time just screaming at them, expecting them to do what he says.
* OmnicidalManiac: Out to end the multiverse as a whole.
* PhysicalGod: Has all the power of Pre-Crisis Superman. He can take on the entire DC'verse by himself.
* PoweredArmour: Wore power armour in both ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' and the ''SinestroCorpsWar''. Both outfits were modeled on the armour sported by the Antimonitor, and were designed to feed solar energy into Prime's body.
* ThePowerOfHate: Hates the other heroes, the multiverse itself, and himself, and seems to draw power from that.
* PsychopathicManchild: A rather tragic example. A lot of the horrible things Prime has done is because, for all of his raw power and abilities, Prime is still only a teenage boy unable to cope with the loss of his homeworld and loved ones.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: UpToEleven in ''Legion of Three Worlds'' where his eyes are constantly blood-red, even when he isn't about to use his EyeBeams.
* TheResenter: Towards the survivors of the ''Crisis'' and anybody else he thinks has got it better than him.
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: He joined the Sinestro Corps and menaced Comicbook/GreenLantern, and later the Legion of Superheroes. In a way, he's graduated from any single character's RoguesGallery and become [[OmnicidalNeutral the DC Universe's enemy.]]
* SealedEvilInACan: In order, his cans have been [[TheFlash the Speed Force]], [[Franchise/GreenLantern an Oan Sciencell near a Red Sun Eater]], and [[NewGods the Source Wall]]. We don't know if he could have escaped from the third one, however, as [[ComicBook/{{New 52}} the universe rebooted]] soon after, seemingly [[RetGone erasing him from existence]].
** SealedGoodInACan: Of a sort when he was trapped outside of the universe in the aftermath of ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, at least until he was corrupted by Alex Luthor Jr. of Earth 3.
* SmugSnake
* SmugSuper
* TheStarscream: To Sinestro and the Antimonitor, whom he always intended to betray.
* StoryBreakerPower: Has the power of a Pre-Crisis Superman, making him magnitudes of power stronger than almost any other being in the DCU. So naturally, he rarely shows up.
* StrangerInAFamiliarLand: When he gets sent back to Earth-Prime, only to discover that everybody knows what he's done and that he's the most loathed being on his world.
* StrawFan: To the point that in ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'', Black Lantern Alex Luthor Jr. outright called him "[[{{Anvilicious}} an in-joke]]".
* SuperpowerLottery: A colossal winner. He's got all the powers and abilities of the Pre-Crisis Superman, making him one of the most powerful beings in the DCU, capable of fighting the combined might of almost every hero on Earth at once. No matter how stupid or whiny Prime gets, his sheer level of power makes him a constant threat to everyone alive.
** EyeBeams
** FlyingBrick
** NighInvulnerable
** SuperBreath
** SuperSenses
** SuperSpeed
** SuperStrength
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: He's from Earth-Prime. ''Our world.'' [[ParanoiaFuel That's right, he's on this planet right now.]] This works against him however in ''ComicBook/BlackestNight''.
* TautologicalTemplar: Prime is quite simply, a psychopath struggling to justify himself. Up until he decides to be "the greatest villain ever", he believes that since he is Superman, he can't be insane or villainous, because Superman wouldn't be those things. This is especially prominent when he murders Zod of [[{{Utopia}} Earth-15]], the Superman of that world, for not being a villain like most other Zods, along with [[WouldHurtAChild his]] [[WouldHitAGirl family]], responding to a cry of him being [[YoureInsane a maniac]].
-->'''Superboy-Prime:''' I'm not a ''maniac''! ''I'm'' Superman, and ''you're'' supposed to be the maniac. Why aren't you ''listening'' to me?
* TeensAreMonsters: Prime is every adult's nightmares about teenagers combined in one whiny, petulant package.
* TimeMaster: As the Time Trapper.
* TookALevelInBadass: His future self becomes the Time Trapper. His current self didn't like this, [[RetGone so he took him out.]]
* TooDumbToLive: Not Prime himself but for everyone who's seen the things he can do and still stupidly decide to mock and taunt him. These people usually end up dead.
* TragicVillain: Despite the monster he would become, Superboy-prime started out as an innocent kid who just wanted to help people. If the Crisis on Infinite Earths hadn't happened, he probably would have been a great hero. It's hit on very hard when he's imprisoned in the speed force by the flashes and he screams "Don't you understand?! I'm a hero! When I grow up I'm going to be SUPERMAN!!". Very tragic when a version of the greatest hero of all time falls with his destiny lost forever.
* UnwittingPawn: Of Alex Luthor Jr., and subsequently, of the Time Trapper. Who is his own future self.
* VillainDecay: In his last Post-Crisis appearance Prime was taken down by a group of ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'' despite the support of [[LegionOfDoom their other enemies]] and ''three'' clones of [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} Kon-El]]. Compare this to ''Infinite Crisis'' where he single-handedly beat up not only the much larger group of the Titans, but the[[JusticeSocietyOfAmerica JSA]] and the Comicbook/DoomPatrol as well, or ''Legions of Three Worlds'' when he took [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin three versions of the Legion of Superheroes]], or the ''Sinestro Corps War'' when he killed the Antimonitor and was tackled by almost every hero on Earth.
* VillainTeamUp: Has teamed with Alexander Luthor Jr., the Sinestro Corps, the Legion of Supervillains, and numerous other major players in the supervillain world.
* VillainousBreakdown: All of the time. In the classic villain style, he remains smug up until the point where he no longer has the upperhand. And he's scared to death of [[TheFlash Bart Allen.]]
* VillainousFriendship: Actually does seem to have been friends with Alexander Luthor Jr. of Earth 3.
* VillainProtagonist: He's had a few times when he's been in the limelight.
* WrittenByTheWinners: When he arrives in the future, he is outraged to see that history depicts him as an even bigger loser than he really is. The records claim that he was easily beaten in all his major battles, and that ''Neutron'' had a bigger impact on Superman than he ever did.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: He develops a fear of [[TheFlash Bart Allen]] after he after he traps him in the Speed Force for a while. Bart is the only character that he'll run from. He's also afraid of the dark, since he hates being cut off from sunlight and losing his powers.
* WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou: Consistently blames his victims for his crimes, usually accusing them of making him do it.
* WhosLaughingNow: When he goes to DC HQ to kill Dan DiDio before the Black Lanterns kill him, you can see how truly terrified Dan is that the character he treated so badly is real and coming after him. It may be the reason why at the end of the comic the writers decide to stop treating Prime so poorly.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: He started out this way, when the gravity of what he traded his home for finally hit him. Eventually losing the "Woobie" and retaining the "Destroyer of Worlds" around the time of the SinestroCorpsWar, when he just seems to kill because it's fun. By the time of Blackest Night, he got the "Woobie" back, only to throw it away to attack the Titans with the Legion of Doom.
* WorldsStrongestMan: He was the most powerful being on Earth-Prime. Post-Crisis he is one of the most powerful beings, if not ''the'' most powerful being in the universe as he retains his Pre-Crisis powerlevel.
* WouldHitAGirl: Has struck many female superheroes, has been implied to have killed his girlfriend, Lori, when she rejected him, and threatens to kill Wonder Girl just to spite Superboy.
* WrongGenreSavvy: Up until ''Final Crisis'', he was convinced that he was the hero and everyone else were corrupt and stupid villains.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Terra-Man (Pre-Crisis & Post-Crisis)]]
!Terra-Man I (Pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|on Infinite Earths}})
A literal [[SpaceWestern space cowboy.]] The son of an outlaw in the Old West, alien criminals killed his father and [[AlienAbduction abducted him.]] Growing up in interstellar space, he eventually became a master SpacePirate in his own right—even acquiring a spacefaring alien steed resembling a Pegasus—and decided the time had finally come to return home to Earth. Upon arrival, he found he'd spent so much of his life traveling at relativistic speeds that a whole century had gone by. Moreover, the Earthling populace seemed overly impressed with some consarned ''alien'' named Superman. Taking great offense at this, the outlaw named himself [[PlanetTerra Terra]]-Man and set about making life as miserable for the alien as possible. Superman has lampshaded the fact that Earth is too much of a low-tech backwater to be a worthwhile target for a space pirate; Terra's only real motivation in coming back here is to pick fights with Superman. He talks in very broad cowboy jargon and is usually played at least somewhat for laughs, but his array of alien weaponry makes him one of Supey's more powerful enemies.
-----
* AlienAbduction
* FantasticRacism
* FishOutOfTemporalWater
* {{Outlaw}}
* {{Pegasus}}: Named Nova. Nova can fly in space and create [[OurWormholesAreDifferent space warps.]]
* RayGun
* SpacePirate
* SpaceWestern
* WeirdWest
* TheWildWest

!Terra-Man II (ComicBook/PostCrisis)
->'''AKA:''' Tobias Manning

Tobias Manning was a guy obsessed with protecting the environment, and with cowboys. He went on a crusade to eliminate any perceived threats to Mother Nature, which unfortunately includes all aliens like Superman. He was eventually murdered by Black Adam.
----
* {{Cowboy}}
* FantasticRacism: Against aliens.
* GreenThumb: His plants could restrain Superman and drain his energy.
* TheGunSlinger
* KnightTemplar
* WellIntentionedExtremist: He did genuinely care for Mother Nature.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Titano the Super-Ape]]
[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4d07404a362020ac8cedf4f1417192ae.JPG]]
A fifty-foot-tall ape with incredible strength, savage intelligence, and the ability to shoot rays of kryptonite radiation from his eyes. Originally a normal chimpanzee, Titano was used as a lab animal by amoral scientists; a FreakLabAccident turned him into a gigantic monster. What sort of ape he is, and the exact details of how he gained his powers has varied between incarnations.
----
* AmplifiedAnimalAptitude: Titano is smarter than your average chimp or gorilla, though by how much is hard to quantify.
* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: Pre-and-Post-Crisis. In the ''New 52'', he's only slightly larger than an average gorilla.
* CaptainErsatz: Created so that Superman could face off against Film/KingKong without violating copyright.
* CooldownHug: Has received them from both Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen.
* DependingOnTheWriter: What sort of ape he is. Pre-Crisis he was a gorilla. Post-Crisis he was a chimpanzee. Post-''New 52'' an albino gorilla. One wonders when they will make him a gibbon or orangutang.
* EvilAlbino: In the ''New 52''.
* EyeBeams: Fires Kryptonite rays from his eyes.
* KillerGorilla: Though as mentioned above, whether he is a chimpanzee or a gorilla has changed between incarnations.
* ManOfKryptonite: One of the oddest examples, being a giant ape with the ability to fire Kryptonite from his eyes.
* SuperStrength: Even for a fifty-foot tall ape, Titano is freakishly strong.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Toyman]]
[[quoteright:249:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/557346a723162feb9c3c867945fc5f06.PNG]]
->'''AKA:''' Winslow Schott

Winslow Schott is a toymaker gone mad. He makes toys now as innocent facades that house dangerous weapons and gadgets. One incarnation of the Toyman was himself a doll, vaguely of the Howdy-Doody variety. In UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks, the idea of a dangerous toyman wasn't taken seriously by readers, so Toyman was recast as a dangerous child-obsessed creep with strong PsychopathicManChild tendencies. In TheModernAgeOfComicBooks, though, this DarkerAndEdgier incarnation doesn't fly, so it was revealed that the psycho-pedophile Toyman was really a defective android created by the ''real'' Schott, a former toymaker-turned-vigilante who will do anything to ''protect'' children--including murder.
----
* ActuallyADoombot: Done in order to dispose of the paedophile version of the character.
* ChildHater: During his paedophile years, when he would do anything to hurt children.
* GadgeteerGenius
* KnightTemplar: Following the disposal of the paedophile Toyman robot, he was recast as a hardcore vigilante who would kill to protect children.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Repeatedly
* RobotMaster
* VigilanteMan: In the modern age.
* VillainTeamUp: With The Prankster and Robin villain [[EnfanteTerrible The General]] among others.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ulysses]]
[[quoteright:310:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2a06fcdac4b5280c1fd6047a2420f7a9.jpg]]
->'''AKA:''' Neil Quinn

Neil Quinn was the son of Peter and Bridget Quinn, two scientists involved in a government project tasked with investigating the properties of the mysterious fourth dimension. The fourth dimension's energies caused their laboratory to almost collapse, so Peter and Bridget threw their son into the fourth dimension to keep him safe. Adopted by the inhabitants of the Great World, Neil developed superpowers and was tasked with travelling across the five dimensions to find people who could be sacrificed to sustain the Great World.
----
* ActionBomb: He can amass all the energy in his body in one massive explosion. After the destruction of the Great World, he attempts to destroy Metropolis with it. [[spoiler:Superman stops him with an ActionBomb of his own.]]
* ArcVillain: Of ''The Men of Tomorrow'' story arc.
* AntiVillain: He has sacrificed millions of innocent people to keep the Great World running and was planning to the same to humans. According to Ulysses, the Great World needed to be powered by living people each decade.
* {{Badass}}: He [[CurbStompBattle curbstomps]] Superman in their first confrontation.
* BodyHorror: [[spoiler:Upon being hit by Superman's super flare, Ulysses' body is horribly disfigured and his hair is burned off.]]
* BlondGuysAreEvil: Anti-villains, anyway.
* EngineeredHeroics: His team-up with Superman to defeat one of Klerik's {{Mooks}}? A trick to earn the world's trust.
* EnergyAbsorption: His mutated physiology allows him to absorb any kinds of energy, such as Superman's EyeBeams. [[spoiler:Superman's [[ActionBomb super flare]] proves to be [[GoingToGiveItMoreEnergy too much for him]], however.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes For all his hatred of humanity, Ulysses genuinely loves his biological parents.
* {{Flight}}: He takes to the skies whenever he fights Superman.
* SuperStrength: Ulysses is strong enough to exchange blows with Superman.
* SuperSpeed: His speed allows him to take Superman by surprise.
* VillainousBreakdown: He completely loses it when the Great World is destroyed, attacks Superman and threatens to destroy Metropolis, believing Superman tricked him into destroying his adopted home.
* TranshumanTreachery: After being adopted by the people of the Great World, he was more than willing to sacrifice millions of humans to protect his adopted home.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ultra-Humanite]]
[[quoteright:210:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7e9155b8314da896653b9c75dcefb1b7.jpg]]
->'''AKA:''' Gerard Shugel

Superman's first ArchNemesis, before Luthor, was another bald scientist called the Ultra-Humanite. Arguably the first comic book villain with super-powers (in his case, super-intelligence), he eventually gained a gimmick where he surgically transferred his brain into other people's bodies, most notably actress Dolores Winters. Starting with UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks, the Ultra-Humanite has exclusively been a villain for the JusticeSocietyOfAmerica, and almost never locks horns with the Man of Steel alone.
----
* ArchNemesis: For about two years in the late '30s. Then Luthor came along.
* BaldOfEvil: Before his BodySurf, at least.
* BigCreepyCrawlies: He briefly inhabited the body of a giant ant.
* BodySurf / PuppeteerParasite: Accomplished by implanting his brain into new bodies.
* BrainInAJar: When he's between hosts.
* CaptainErsatz: The unnamed villain in the classic Fleischer Superman short "The Mad Scientist" was based on Ultra.
** {{Expy}}: The original bald-headed Superman character in Siegel and Shuster's "The Reign of the Superman" bears a resemblance to the Ultra-Humanite, and probably was his inspiration. ([[OlderThanTheyThink And yet people still compare him to Lex Luthor...]])
* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: On one occasion, he put his brain into a TyrannosaurusRex.
* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: His most recognizable incarnation is when he transferred his brain into the body of [[EvilAlbino an albino gorilla]].
* EvilCounterpart: Superman is a hale and hearty alien with vast physical abilities; the Ultra-Humanite is a crippled human with vast mental abilities.
** The name is a clue as well- like Superman, Ultra-Humanite is a rough(er) translation of TheUbermensch. Lex inherited this aspect of their emnity, a battle between supermen.
* EvilCripple / GeniusCripple
* EvilGenius
* GenderBender: His theft of Dolores Winters's body.
* HandyFeet: Some incarnations of him have this characteristic.
* MadDoctor / MadScientist
* OutOfFocus: From 1940 until 1980.
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: Since Post-Crisis Superman isn't so old to have faced Ultra-Humanite in TheForties, Ultra has being re-labeled as a JusticeSocietyOfAmerica enemy.
* TakeOverTheWorld: He actually succeeded once.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ultraman (Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis & New 52)]]
[[quoteright:561:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3403c5343d11b73fd159745fdcd57862.png]]
[[caption-width-right:561:New 52 Ultraman [[labelnote:Click here to see Post-Crisis Ultraman]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/post-crisis_ultraman_7829.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]
[[caption-width-right:561:[[labelnote:Click here to see Pre-Crisis Ultraman]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pre-crisis_ultraman_4528.bmp[[/labelnote]]]]

-->'''AKA:''' Kal-Ul (Pre-Crisis), Lieutenant Clark Kent (Post-Crisis), Clark Kent/Kal-Il (New 52)

One of Superman's first and best known {{evil counterpart}}s, Ultraman is a criminal from an alternate universe who gains his powers by being exposed to Kryptonite. There have been three versions so far:

The Pre-Crisis incarnation hailed from the partially-reversed world of Earth-3. He was Kal-Ul, an evil Kryptonian from Krypton-3, and one of the five founding members of the Crime Syndicate of America. Everytime he was exposed to Green Kryptonite he gained a new superpower, and was the member of the Crime Syndicate who revealed the existence of Earths 1 & 2 to the others. He fought Superman both as a member of the Crime Syndicate, and in alliance with Lex Luthor of Earth-1 and Alexei Luthor of Earth-2, earning the undying enmity of his Earth's Alexander Luthor Senior in the process. He died during the Crisis, when the antimatter wave destroyed Earth-3, but made a few appearances Post-Crisis despite this, as TheDragon in a Supergirl story set in Kandor and as a member of the Crime Society of America on the new Earth-Three that was revealed during the events of ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo''.

The Post-Crisis variant hailed from an Anti-Matter Universe. He was a human astronaut named Clark Kent who suffered an accident in space and was rebuilt by aliens who didn't understand human anatomy. Now criminally insane and powered by exposure to Anti-Kryptonite, the Terror of Steel keeps dominion over Earth along with his version of the Crime Syndicate killing dissenters and taking what he wants, believing that lesser human beings have no right to tell him what to do. He is unhappily married to his teammate Superwoman, whom he alternately lusts after and hates. Arrogant, violent, and more than a little dim, he is almost nothing like the Superman, or the Clark, we know and love.

The ComicBook/{{New 52}} created a third variant. Once again of Kryptonian origins, Kal-Il makes his home on a new Earth-3 that is stated to be the origin of evil itself. Having murdered his foster parents and adopted the identity of Clark Kent, this Ultraman is one of the leading members of the newest Crime Syndicate, with {{Evil Counterpart}}s of all of the JLA members, including the relatively new additions [[ComicBook/{{Firestorm}} Deathstorm]] and [[ComicBook/{{Cyborg}} Grid]]. Gaining power from Green Kryptonite by utilizing it as a FantasticDrug, and WeakenedByTheLight of the Yellow Sun, he remains one of the leading antagonists of ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil''.
----
* AffablyEvil: Pre-Crisis Ultraman was a genuinely cheerful BoisterousBruiser who got along well with his teammates, and would compliment his adversaries as they fought.
* {{Archenemy}}: Of Alexander Luthor Sr in both of the pre-New52 continuities.
* BadassCape
* BigBad: Of any story involving the Crime Syndicate.
* BloodKnight: He and the rest of the Syndicate alike, Pre-Crisis.
* BrainsEvilBrawnGood: Inverted. He's the evil Brawn to Alexander Luthor Senior's Brains, Pre-and-Post-Crisis.
* BreakTheHaughty: ''Forever Evil'' serves as a very lengthy one for the ''New 52'' version.
* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: Massive "U" on his chest Pre-Crisis; Post-Crisis and New 52 it's a shield like Superman's with a U-shape in the centre.
* BoisterousBruiser: Pre-Crisis he's characterised as a bluff, cheerful man, who loves a good challenge and enjoys facing a WorthyOpponent.
* CardCarryingVillain: Pre-Crisis Ultraman, who cheerfully identified as evil, and was baffled as to why anybody would ever want to do anything good. The Post-Crisis and New 52 versions can edge towards the trope.
* ChestInsignia: Pre-Crisis Ultraman has the "U", Post-Crisis Ultraman an inversion of Superman's "S" shield. The ComicBook/New52 goes back to the U.
* CruelMercy: At the end of ''Forever Evil'', Luthor chooses not to kill Ultraman, preferring to leave him depowered and all but crippled, forced to live out the rest of his life as the weakest man on Earth. Ultraman proceeds to spend the rest of the comic crying in a prison cell.
* DemotedToDragon: A variant of the Pre-Crisis version of Ultraman appears as ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}} villain Saturn Queen's Dragon in a Supergirl story arc, Post-Crisis.
* DomesticAbuser: Post-Crisis Ultraman to Superwoman. The New 52 version refrains from doing the same solely because he wants her to in perfect condition when he impregnates her.
* DumbMuscle: In both the Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis continuities, Ultraman is an impulsive egomaniac, and while not particularly stupid, comes off this way in comparison to our Superman. He usually lets Owlman do his thinking for him. This may be justified if he has not yet gained Superman's SuperIntelligence. New 52 Ultraman, while still no one's idea of a genius, is a considerably more effective leader.
* DyingMomentOfAwesome: Pre-Crisis, when he sacrifices himself to try and save his world.
* DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Post-Crisis Ultraman wants a brutal dictatorship that he can lord it over, and will use any means to do this. New 52 Ultraman is just as bad, and adds to it a survival of the fittest philosophy.
* EnemyMine: With Superman and the JLA against the antimatter Brainiac, Post-Crisis. Pre-Crisis, he and Alexander Luthor teamed to try and stop the Antimonitor.
* EnfanteTerrible: New 52 Ultraman, who burned off one of Johnny Kent's hands and forced he and Martha to serve as his surrogate parents, then subsequently murdered them.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Pre-Crisis Ultraman genuinely cared for the other members of the Crime Syndicate, and died trying to save his world from the Antimonitor. Post-Crisis and New 52 Ultraman, not so much.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: None of the Ultramen have ever understood what drives their heroic counterparts. Since they come from a world wherein evil usually wins out, this isn't exactly surprising.
* EvilCounterpart: But not an EvilTwin, at least Pre-and-Post-Crisis. Kal-Ul was never a direct analogue to our Kal-El (if anything, his name might indicate a connection to Kryptonian villain Quex-Ul), and the Antimatter Clark Kent is both entirely human and bears only a passing resemblance to ours. As an evil being with all Superman's powers who gains energy from Kryptonite, he definitely makes for a solid contrast with Superman, though.
* EvilTwin: The New 52's Kal-Il may use a slightly different spelling of his name, but he's a dead-ringer for our Superman, and his backstory has far more parallels to Superman's than any previous version of the character.
* EvilerThanThou: Pre-Crisis Ultraman versus the Antimonitor, and Post-Crisis Ultraman's clash with the Antimatter Brainiac, in a classic LawfulEvil versus ChaoticEvil duel.
* EvilIsPetty: Post-Crisis Ultraman is a just a dick to everyone on general principle.
* EvilVsEvil: New 52 Ultraman finds himself opposed by Lex Luthor and a band of likeminded villains who hate taking their orders from the Crime Syndicate.
* FamousLastWords: Pre-Crisis Ultraman's declaration that he will fight onto the end as he flies into the antimatter wave.
* FormFittingWardrobe[=/=]SuperheroesWearTights: Inverted, due to his immorality. Not so much Pre-Crisis, but Post-Crisis Ultraman appears to be wearing a skintight suit of pajamas, while New 52 Ultraman has a costume that's an almost exact match for Superman's.
* FreudianExcuse: In the New 52 Jor-Il and Lara were a loveless couple from a race of narcissistic Social Darwinists, who sent their child to Earth in a ship that constantly bombarded him with messages about how he had to be superior to all those around him, or give up and die.
* HeroicSacrifice: Pre-Crisis Ultraman and the rest of the Crime Synidcate sacrificed themselves fighting against the Anti-Monitor in order to save Earth-3.
* {{Jerkass}}: Extraordinaire Post-Crisis. The New 52 toned this down a bit, but he's still a colossal jackass when compared to his AffablyEvil Pre-Crisis counterpart.
* {{Joisey}}: ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueCrisisOnTwoEarths'' gave Ultra-Man this accent, to emphasize him as a mob boss, or in his words, "da don of dons."
* KryptoniteFactor: Inverted. Exposure to Green Kryptonite gives Ultraman more superpowers rather than weakening him. This allowed Pre-Crisis Ultraman to take on both Earth-1 and Earth-2 Superman, by attacking them with Green K. In the New52, he even expands his powers by [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything crushing, burning, and snorting]] Green K.
* LackOfEmpathy: Post-Crisis and New 52. Averted by the Pre-Crisis Ultraman, who saw the rest of the Syndicate as his friends.
* LanternJawOfJustice: Post-Crisis Ultraman has this look, which coupled with his being a PerpetualFrowner gives him a uniquely sour face.
* TheLeader: Of the Crime Syndicate in all incarnations.
* LightningBruiser: Considering all versions are evil Supermen.
* NamesTheSame: He shares his name with one of Japan's most iconic {{Toku}} [[Franchise/UltraSeries series.]]
* PayEvilUntoEvil: Post-Crisis Ultraman's lobotimisation of the Antimatter Brainiac was well-deserved but still harsh to watch.
* PerpetualFrowner: Post-Crisis Ultraman never ever seems to smile.
* PowerDegeneration: Post-Crisis and New 52 if he goes without refuelling on Kryptonite for too long.
* {{Retgone}}: Pre-Crisis Ultraman, along with the rest of the Crime Syndicate. As of the New 52, Post-Crisis Ultraman is gone as well.
* SelfMadeOrphan: New 52 Ultraman made himself an orphan again when he murdered the Kents.
* ShadowArchetype: Demonstrates what happens when absolute power is given to a small-minded, petty jerk, and demonstrates why Earth-1/the Matter universe is so lucky to get the Superman that it did.
* ShouldersOfDoom: Pre-Crisis Ultraman sported some seriously awful shoulderpads.
* SmugSnake: So very much.
* SmugSuper: All versions, though the Pre-Crisis version is a more classic example.
* SocialDarwinist: His New 52 counterpart is disgusted by a world where the strong protect the weak, and views a society based around anything other than dog-eat-dog principles as destined to be destroyed. He even goes so far as to use Superwoman--whom he ''hates''--as the mother of his child, because he wants the child's genetics to be as strong as possible.
* SuperpowerLottery: Matches Superman in this regard.
** BlowYouAway: Regularly uses his superbreath to this effect.
** EyeBeams: Pre-Crisis he first gained them during his battle with The Flash, when the latter tried to use Green K against him. They quickly become one of his favorite weapons.
** FlyingBrick: Modeled on the UrExample.
** FlyingFirepower: Courtesy of his EyeBeams and hurricane force breath.
** InASingleBound
** NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Justified, as exposure to Kryptonite/Antikryptonite grants him more power.
** NighInvulnerable: Survives a nuclear blast that would have killed entire cities during his battle with Starman, Pre-Crisis. It takes being bombarded with antimatter to knock him out, and that doesn't hurt him, it just robs him of his senses. It isn't until his battle against the Antimonitor when we finally discover what it takes to kill him--a wave of antimatter so concentrated that it can burn down whole universes. The Post-Crisis and New 52 versions are less durable, but remain still on paar with the modern Superman.
** SuperBreath: Can be hurricane-force winds or arctic cold.
** SuperSpeed: An absurdly fast flier, and a fast runner, too, matching Superman.
** SuperStrength
** SuperSenses: He actually possesses some Superman doesn't have, as Pre-Crisis he could see through the veil between Earths 1, 2, and 3.
** XRayVision
* TakeOverTheWorld: Post-Crisis and New 52 he pulled this off.
* TranshumanTreachery: Post-Crisis Ultraman who immediately betrayed (and conquered) his nation the moment he gained his powers.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Post-Crisis Ultraman does it to both Superman and the Martian Manhunter, and gets his ass kicked because of it.
* UnderwearOfPower: Not Pre-Crisis, but Post-Crisis Ultraman is in feetie pajamas.
* UnholyMatrimony: With Superwoman Post-Crisis, though she apparently doesn't have much say in the matter. She immediately begins cheating on him with Owlman. New 52 Ultraman takes it even farther, using her as the mother of his child, while freely admitting that he'd like to tear her limb from limb.
* UnskilledButStrong: Due to killing all his adversaries, Post-Crisis Ultraman has minimal fighting experience compared to Superman, particularly against opponents on his level.
* VillainTeamUp: Pre-Crisis Ultraman allied with ComicBook/LexLuthor and Alexei Luthor in one memorable story, nearly killing the Supermans of Earths-1 & 2 in the process.
* VillainousFriendship: What made the Pre-Crisis Crime Syndicate as dangerous as they were was their genuine liking of one another and willingness to work together. Averted Post-Crisis and in the New 52, where their union is more based around being able to better conquer the world, and have no qualms whatsoever with stabbing one another in the back.
* WeakenedByTheLight: In the ComicBook/{{New 52}}, he is weakened by yellow sunlight.
* WeaksauceWeakness: In the New 52 version, he needs to repeatedly snort/eat Kryptonite like a junkie to keep his powers, which are drained by sunlight. When the moon is moved out form in front of the sun, and he's exposed to direct light, he's left all but crippled.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: New 52 Ultraman does appear to believe that he's making our Earth stronger by conquering it and enforcing his views, and that in doing so, he's going to help it survive when it is attacked by other aliens.
* WorthyOpponent: Pre-Crisis Ultraman comes to see the Barry Allen Flash and Ted Knight Starman as such when they successfully stand up to him despite their lower levels of power.
[[/folder]]
----

The Pre-Crisis incarnation hailed from the partially-reversed world of Earth-3. He was Kal-Ul, an evil Kryptonian from Krypton-3, and one of the five founding members of the Crime Syndicate of America. Everytime he was exposed to Green Kryptonite he gained a new superpower, and was the member of the Crime Syndicate who revealed the existence of Earths 1 & 2 to the others. He fought Superman both as a member of the Crime Syndicate, and in alliance with Lex Luthor of Earth-1 and Alexei Luthor of Earth-2, earning the undying enmity of his Earth's Alexander Luthor Senior in the process. He died during the Crisis, when the antimatter wave destroyed Earth-3, but made a few appearances Post-Crisis despite this, as TheDragon in a Supergirl story set in Kandor and as a member of the Crime Society of America on the new Earth-Three that was revealed during the events of ''FiftyTwo''.

* RetGone: Erased from existence post-ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, and essentially replaced by Ursa, a CanonImmigrant loosely based on her (though a version of Faora appeared in the Pocket Universe. She's also appeared in adaptations like ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' and ''ManOfSteel'').

Despotic ruler of Apokolips. This evil god of tyranny often comes in conflict with Superman and other superheroes. [[{{Darkseid}} You can find out more about him in his own article.]]

The son of the greatest hero of Earth-3, Alexander Luthor, and his wife Lois Lane, Alex was the only survivor of Earth-3 in the CrisisOnInfiniteEarths. He was genetically altered after passing through the barrier to Earth-1, which caused him to age to adulthood in a matter of weeks and develop mysterious space-warping powers. He was helped to adulthood by the mysterious Monitor, under whose tutelage he helped defeat the Anti-Monitor and save TheMultiverse. With his world destroyed, he and other heroes without a world--Superman and Lois Lane of Earth-2 and Superboy of Earth-Prime--retired to a pocket dimension to live out their lives in peace.

Lex Luthor's counterpart in the AlternateUniverse of Earth-2. He vexed the Earth-2 Superman for decades as a MadScientist and war profiteer. Unlike Lex, Alexei was from eastern Europe and had a full head of red hair, but was otherwise very similar. In the CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, he was killed by Brainiac for questioning his plans while Lex smugly looked on.

Brainiac's powers and abilities have changed as often as his origins and personality. During the 1960s he possessed no genuine superpowers, but utilised advanced technology, such as his iconic force-shield belt to fluster the Man of Steel. In UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}, when he was first reimagined as a robot, he became a WalkingArmoury, equipped with a wide variety of alien weaponry, while following the ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' and his possession of Milton Fine he became a powerful psychic. Subsequent media portrayed him as a technopathic intelligence, capable of possessing almost any technology, a mechanical giant called Brainiac 13 who overrode Metropolis' entire power grid, and finally as a Coluan cyborg, with the ability to match Superman blow-for-blow. His bodies have been even more numerous; in addition to Milton Fine and countless robots, he has possessed Lex Luthor, Lena Luthor, Doomsday, and even, thanks to time travel, himself. One thing that has remained consistent about Brainiac is his status as both one of the smartest beings in the galaxy (a "12th Level Intelligence"), and one of the worst members of Superman's RoguesGallery, with a death toll numbering in the billions.

* LegacyCharacter: In a bizarre twist, as Superman had yet to meet the original General Zod (at least in post-''InfiniteCrisis'' continuity...) when he took on Avruiskin.

A slick Metropolis businessman, president of Galaxy Broadcasting. Pre-Crisis, Edge was ruthless but not really evil; he hired Clark Kent as a newscaster and was generally a good boss. PostCrisis, Edge was Intergang's initial leader, and was a willing servant of Darkseid.

* {{Expy}}: Loose one of Faora Hu-Ul, described below. In fact, Faora was erased from continuity due to the ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' and Ursa essentially replaced her when the PhantomZone criminals were brought back (though Faora still appeared in a pocket universe).

* RetGone: Erased from existence post-CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, and essentially replaced by Ursa, a CanonImmigrant loosely based on her (though a version of Faora appeared in the Pocket Universe. She's also appeared in adaptations like ''{{Smallville}}'' and ''ManOfSteel'').

[[quoteright:330:[[InfiniteCrisis http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/superboy-prime-punch-330px_BigT_9911.jpg]]]]

A younger version of Superman from the AlternateUniverse of Earth-Prime, where (other than him) the only super-powered beings existed in comic books. Prime's world was destroyed in the CrisisOnInfiniteEarths and he took refuge in an extradimensional space with the Earth-2 Superman, Earth-2 Lois Lane, and Earth-3 Alexander Luthor Jr. Originally a noble and optimistic young hero, years of isolation and Alexander's manipulations turned Prime into a hateful monster who despised the "inferior" heroes of New Earth for being allowed to live while his world died.

After a murderous rampage in ''InfiniteCrisis'', Prime participated in the SinestroCorpsWar before being sent back, powerless, to the reconstituted Earth-Prime by the ComicBook/{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}} following ''Legion of Three Worlds'' (in which his future self was revealed to have become the Time-Trapper).

* ArcVillain: ''InfiniteCrisis'', ''SinestroCorpsWar'', and ''Legion of Three Worlds'', all end up focusing on Prime in one way or another, despite the fact that in every single one of them he is supposedly subordinate to the real BigBad.

* ButtMonkey: The heroes hate him, he's eventually forgotten and is one of the most hated characters of DC Comics. Black Lantern [[InfiniteCrisis Alex Luthor Jr]] even lampshades this.

* {{Flanderization}}: Since InfiniteCrisis he became progressively more and more {{Wangst}}y.

* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: In ''InfiniteCrisis'' he was revealed to be magic-proof. It was never really explained why.

* PoweredArmour: Wore power armour in both ''InfiniteCrisis'' and the ''SinestroCorpsWar''. Both outfits were modeled on the armour sported by the Antimonitor, and were designed to feed solar energy into Prime's body.

** SealedGoodInACan: Of a sort when he was trapped outside of the universe in the aftermath of CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, at least until he was corrupted by Alex Luthor Jr. of Earth 3.

!Terra-Man II (PostCrisis)

!Terra-Man I (PreCrisis)

* PsychopathicManchild: A rather tragic example. For all of his raw power and abilities, as well as the terrible things he has done, Prime is still a teenage boy coping with the destruction of his world the only way he thinks he can.

* PsychopathicManchild

* CanonDiscontinuity: Everything about him in ''CountdownToFinalCrisis'' that ''wasn't'' related to the ''SinestroCorpsWar''.

[[{{Brainiac}} Now has his own page]] onto which tropes about him should go.

* StrawFan: To the point that in ''BlackestNight'', Black Lantern Alex Luthor Jr. outright called him "[[{{Anvilicious}} an in-joke]]".

* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: He's from Earth-Prime. ''Our world.'' [[ParanoiaFuel That's right, he's on this planet right now.]] This works against him however in ''BlackestNight''.

* ArcVillain: ''InfiniteCrisis'', ''SinestroCorpsWar'', and ''Legion of Three Worlds'', all end up focusing on Prime in one way or another, despite the fact that in every single one of them he is supposedly subordinate to the real BigBad.
* {{Badass}}: Undoubtedly. See PhysicalGod below

* TragicVillian: Despite the monster he would become, Superboy-prime started out as an innocent kid who just wanted to help people. If the Crisis on Infinite Earths hadn't happened, he probably would have been a great hero. It's hit on very hard when he's imprisoned in the speed force by the flashes and he screams "Don't you understand?! I'm a hero! When I grow up I'm going to be SUPERMAN!!". Very tragic when a version of the greatest hero of all time falls with his destiny lost forever.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: He develops a fear of [[TheFlash Bart Allen]] after he after he traps him in the Speed Force for a while. Bart is the ''only'' character that he'll run from. He's also afraid of the dark, since he hates being cut off from sunlight and losing his powers.

* {{Badass}}: Undoubtedly. See PhysicleGod below

* BadAss: Undoubtedly. See PhysicleGod below

* HeroKiller: Prime has proven time and again, that anytime he shows up, people you care about are going to hurt or die. He's killed over fifty Green Lanterns, Kal-L, Connor Kent, and numerous members of three Legions of Super Heroes, and yet the death toll just keeps on growing.