History ShadowArchetype / Superman

* ''WesternAnimation/MyAdventuresWithSuperman'': The General is the logical corruption of all of Superman's good qualities. Superman is dedicated to doing the right thing, and so is the General -- but where Clark is filled with self-doubt, the General is firmly stationed within his biases and refuses to compromise his worldview. They swap roles in "[[Recap/MyAdventuresWithSupermanS1E08ZeroDayPartTwo Zero Day, Part 2]]"; while Superman becomes more confident in his abilities and role as a protector of Metropolis, the General begins to doubt everything he's believed for the past 22 years.

* ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'': After two decades of fighting crime, Franchise/{{Batman}} has become cynical and apathetic towards the world. His crimefighting methods are less about protecting the innocent and more about punishing the guilty, to the point even ordinary citizens fear him. Superman, who also struggles with insecurities in this film, begins to see Batman as the kind of person he could become if he ever lost his faith.

* Regime Superman in ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' represents what Superman can become [[StartOfDarkness if a tragic event]] [[BewareTheSuperman drove him to snap]] and lose his moral compass for good. After understanding what drove his Regime counterpart to villainy, multiverse Superman fears that [[NotSoDifferentRemark he would've done the same things]]. Regime Superman also channels General Zod's authoritarian tendencies. [[spoiler:In his arcade ending, multiverse Superman ingests a kryptonite piece that can be remotely detonated in the event he goes rogue]].

* ''WesternAnimation/MyAdventuresWithSuperman'': The General is the logical corruption of all of Superman's good qualities. Superman is dedicated to doing the right thing, and so is the General -- but where Clark is filled with self-doubt, the General is firmly stationed within his biases and refuses to compromise his worldview. They swap roles in "[[Recap/MyAdventuresWithSupermanS1E08ZeroDayPartTwo Zero Day, Part 2]]"; while Superman becomes more confident in his abilities and role as a protector of Metropolis, the General begins to doubt everything he's believed for the past 22 years.

Superman's archenemies are [[ShadowArchetype dark reflections of himself]]. While many of them do have gifted abilities and talents that set them apart and above regular people, they use said gifts for selfish gain. Whereas Superman is the Man of Tomorrow who inspires millions and grew up with a loving family who taught him to stand up for justice, his adversaries are People of the Past who instill fear, as while they have dark backstories, they embraced villainy and [[EvilCannotComprehendGood literally can't see beyond their short-term desires]].

* Born on a parallel dimension devoid of any metas and destroyed during the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', ''[[Characters/SupermanSuperboyPrime Superboy Prime]]'' was trapped outside time for decades. Unlike mainstream Superman, his faith in Earth-1's heroes was destroyed by decades of their mistakes, and he emerged from a pocket dimension to try to replace Superman. Prime firmly believes that being Superman is his calling despite the fact that he has become a psychotic and murderous villain.

* In ''Film/SupermanReturns'', Richard White is essentially a reflection of the man that Franchise/{{Superman}} could have become if he had fully embraced his human side as "Clark Kent" instead of traveling across the galaxy in search of his home planet. Like Superman, he's a brave, kind-hearted, square-jawed heroic figure who loves Lois Lane and can fly ([[AcePilot in a plane]]); unlike Superman, he's a fully committed family man who actually ''marries'' Lois, and [[spoiler: becomes a father to the son that Superman unwittingly abandoned]].

* Regime Superman in ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' represents what mainstream Superman can become [[StartOfDarkness if a tragic event]] [[BewareTheSuperman drove him to snap]] and lose his moral compass for good. After understanding what drove his Regime counterpart to villainy, multiverse Superman fears that [[NotSoDifferentRemark he would've done the same things]]. Regime Superman also channels General Zod's authoritarian tendencies. [[spoiler:In his arcade ending, multiverse Superman ingests a kryptonite piece that can be remotely detonated in the event he goes rogue]].

Franchise/{{Superman}}'s archenemies are [[ShadowArchetype dark reflections of himself]]. While many of them do have gifted abilities and talents that set them apart and above regular people, they use said gifts for selfish gain. Whereas Superman is the Man of Tomorrow who inspires millions and grew up with a loving family who taught him to stand up for justice, his adversaries are People of the Past who instill fear, as while they have dark backstories, they embraced villainy and [[EvilCannotComprehendGood literally can't see beyond their short-term desires]].

!![[Comicbook/{{Superman}} Comic Books]]

** He's also one to Supergirl in ''VideoGame/Injustice2'', as while he still hasn't recovered from the DespairEventHorizon, she wishes to actually give people hope (and make them trust the House of El again) and not be a WellIntentionedExtremist dictator unlike her estranged cousin. [[TokenGoodTeammate Not that one could rightly call her a heel in the first place,]] [[spoiler:but she ultimately turns against the Regime and joins up with Batman in the endgame. Even then, she feels she failed her cousin, who she was supposed to protect from people like the Joker, ''and'' her family by being unable to stop the House of El's reputation from being tarnished.]]

Franchise/{{Superman}}'s archenemies are dark reflections of himself. While many of them do have gifted abilities and talents that set them apart and above regular people, they use said gifts for selfish gain. Whereas Superman is the Man of Tomorrow who inspires millions and grew up with a loving family who taught him to stand up for justice, his adversaries are People of the Past who instill fear, as while they have dark backstories, they embraced villainy and [[EvilCannotComprehendGood literally can't see beyond their short-term desires]].

* Born on a parallel dimension devoid of any metas and destroyed during the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', Superboy-Prime was trapped outside time for decades. Unlike mainstream Superman, his faith in Earth-1's heroes was destroyed by decades of their mistakes, and he emerged from a pocket dimension to try to replace Superman. Prime firmly believes that being Superman is his calling despite the fact that he has become a psychotic and murderous villain.

* ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} has several dark counterparts like Satan Girl and [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Dark Supergirl]] ([[EnemyWithout who are literally her dark side given shape and sentience]]), Overgirl ([[EvilCounterpart her Nazi counterpart from a parallel universe]]), ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}} ([[EvilTwin her backwards, imperfect clone]]), and in ''ComicBook/WhoIsSuperwoman'', Lucy Lane, who is pretty much her complete opposite: She's an adult woman whose powers are artificial and who is willing to do anything -- no matter how abhorrent -- to earn her surviving parent's approval.

* Franchise/{{Superman}}'s archenemies are dark reflections of himself. While many of them do have gifted abilities and talents that set them apart and above regular people, they use said gifts for selfish gain. Whereas Superman is the Man of Tomorrow who inspires millions and grew up with a loving family who taught him to stand up for justice, his adversaries are People of the Past who instill fear, as while they have dark backstories, they embraced villainy and [[EvilCannotComprehendGood literally can't see beyond their short-term desires]].

!!Comic Books

* Franchise/{{Superman}}'s archenemies are dark reflections of himself. While many of them do have gifted abilities and talents that set them apart and above regular people, they use said gifts for selfish gain. Whereas Superman is the Man of Tomorrow who hopes to inspire millions and grew up with a loving family who taught him to stand up for justice, his adversaries are People of the Past who instill fear, as while they have dark backstories, they embraced villainy and [[EvilCannotComprehendGood literally can't see beyond their short-term desires]].

* Franchise/{{Superman}}'s archenemies are dark reflections of himself. While many of them do have gifted abilities and talents that set them apart and above regular people, they use said gifts for selfish gain. Whereas Superman is the Man of Tomorrow who hopes to inspire millions, his adversaries are People of the Past who instill fear, as while many of them have dark backstories, they embraced villainy and [[EvilCannotComprehendGood literally can't see beyond their short-term desires]].

* Metallo is a literal "Man of Steel" whose powers came at the cost of his humanity in contrast to Clark's powers which enhance his humanity. He's also an example of what a Superman weaponized by the military might look like.

* While not created as a Superman villain, Lobo has been used as Superman's shadow as well: both are comparably powerful, both are the survivors of a dead race (Lobo killed his race while Superman's was dead before he was old enough to know them) but Lobo does whatever he wants and leaves a path of destruction behind him.

* Bizarro is Superman lacking his sense of justice and cannot tell right from wrong, often reveling in destruction for its own sake. He is also an imperfect copy of Superman created by science gone awry.

* The Erradicator is everything Superman is not: Abrassive, pitiless, willing to depose even the most minor theats with letahl force. He's all of The Man of Steel's power and willingnes but without any trace of something akin to a conscience.

* The Erradicator is everything Superman is not: Abrassive, no-nosense, willing to depose even the most minor theats with letahl force. He's all of The Man of Steel's power and willingnes but without any trace of something akin to a conscience.

* [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] sees Superman as his ''own'' Shadow Archetype: Lex sees himself as someone who's worked and struggled for everything he has who represents the best humanity has to offer, viewing Superman as someone who never had to earn his powers but sets himself above humanity and lords it over us. Furthermore, Superman uses power for the good of mankind, while Lex would use his wealth just to show off. Superman grew up with a loving family, while Lex's were abusive and were killed (possibly by him).
** Furthermore both Lex and Superman believe in humanity's ability for self-improvement and ability to achieve greatness. However Superman believes humanity should put those traits to use for the betterment of all, while Lex holds that humanity should seek to secure its own interests and power above all.
* [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]] is what Superman would be if he decided to use his powers to be a God ruling over everyone. Superman is what Darkseid might have been like if his formative years had not been guided by malevolent figures. Darkseid was capable of love once.

* Doomsday is all the power harnessed for destruction instead of protection.
* ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}, being the malevolent planet-destroying alien to Superman's benevolent planet-saving alien.

* ComicBook/LexLuthor sees Superman as his ''own'' Shadow Archetype: Lex sees himself as someone who's worked and struggled for everything he has who represents the best humanity has to offer, viewing Superman as someone who never had to earn his powers but sets himself above humanity and lords it over us. Furthermore, Superman uses power for the good of mankind, while Lex would use his wealth just to show off. Superman grew up with a loving family, while Lex's were abusive and were killed (possibly by him).

* ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} is what Superman would be if he decided to use his powers to be a God ruling over everyone. Superman is what Darkseid might have been like if his formative years had not been guided by malevolent figures. Darkseid was capable of love once.
* ComicBook/MartianManhunter could be seen as a heroic example of this. Both Clark and J'onn are powerful, benevolent aliens who are the last of their kinds. The difference being that Superman was raised on Earth and considers himself an Earthling for the most part, while J'onn is Martian through and through. Superman is a friendly, handsome white guy; J'onn is a bald, crimson-eyed, stoic green man (though his human guise is that of a BaldOfAuthority). Superman's powers (super strength, flight, super senses) are the stuff of Greek legends; Manhunter's powers (telepathy, Shapeshifting, invisibility) are the stuff people feared about aliens during the 50's.

* Batman could be seen as one - both are orphans who seek justice, but Clark is an idealistic everyman who won the SuperheroLottery and wants to be [[TheParagon an inspiration]], and Bruce is a jaded billionaire BadassNormal who wants to be [[TerrorHero a symbol of fear]]. Such contrasts is what make them VitriolicBestBuds.

* Metallo is a "Man of Steel" whose powers came at the cost of his humanity, in contrast to Clark's powers which enhance his humanity. He's also an example of what a Superman weaponized by the U.S. military might look like.

* ComicBook/LexLuthor sees Superman as his ''own'' Shadow Archetype: Lex sees himself as someone who's worked and struggled for everything he has who represents the best humanity has to offer, and he sees Superman as someone who never had to earn his powers who sets himself above humanity and lords it over us. Furthermore Superman uses power for the good of mankind, while Lex would use his fortune and influence just to show how powerful he is. Superman grew up with a loving family, while Lex's were abusive and were killed (possibly by him).

* Regime Superman in ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' represents what mainstream Superman can become if [[StartOfDarkness a tragic event]] [[BewareTheSuperman caused him to snap]], let his emotions consume him, and lose his moral compass for good. At the end, the main universe Superman even comments that if he were to experience similar conditions after understanding what drove his Regime counterpart to villainy, [[NotSoDifferentRemark he would've done the same things.]] Regime Superman also channels General Zod's authoritarian tendencies.

* ComicBook/MartianManhunter could be seen as a heroic example of this. Both Clark and J'onn are powerful, benevolent aliens who are the last of their kinds. The difference being that Superman was raised on Earth and considers himself an Earthling for the most part, while J'onn is Martian through and through. Superman is a friendly, handsome white guy; J'onn is a bald, crimson-eyed, stoic green man (though his human guise is that of a BaldBlackLeaderGuy). Superman's powers (super strength, flight, super senses) are the stuff of Greek legends; Manhunter's powers (telepathy, Shapeshifting, invisibility) are the stuff people feared about aliens during the 50's.

* Franchise/{{Superman}}'s archenemies are dark reflections of himself. While many of them do have superpower or have gifted talents, they use said gifts for selfish gain. Whereas Superman is the Man of Tomorrow, they are very much People of the Past, as while many of them have dark backstories, they embraced villainy.

* [[VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs Regime Superman]] is an alternate Superman who [[FaceHeelTurn snapped]] because of a tragic event, lost any semblance of morality, and established a dictatorial regime. Regime Superman even irrationally blames others for the tragedies he suffered and channels Zod's authoritarian tendencies.

* Regime Superman in ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' represents what mainstream Superman can become if [[StartOfDarkness a tragic event]] [[BewareTheSuperman caused him to snap]], let his emotions consume him, and lose his moral compass for good. At the end, the main universe Superman even comments that if he were to experience similar conditions after understanding what drove his Regime counterpart to villainy, [[NotSoDifferentRemark he would've done the same things.]]