Character page for the Superman film series, comprising Superman: The Movie (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983), Supergirl (1984), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), Superman Returns (2006) and Superman '78 (2021). This universe is also featured in Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019) (as "Earth-96").
open/close all folders
Main Characters
Superman
In General
Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman
The Last Son of Krypton and Earth's greatest hero.- Adaptational Jerkass: A mild example for both versions. While this Superman is still heroic, he's also got a selfish streak. In Superman II, he was willing to permanently give up his powers just to consummate his relationship with Lois, despite the world being dependent on him. In Returns, it's revealed that Superman conceived a child with Lois, but was absent from the boy's life for five whole years because he was searching for Krypton and even after discovering the truth, does not show signs of coming out to his son. Subverted in Returns when Superman risks his life to lift an entire island made of Kryptonite and hurl it into space.
- Alternate Self: While the Reeve and Routh version of Superman are essentially the same person in Broad Strokes, Crisis on Infinite Earths and The Flash would feature both versions of Superman despite also including the same version of the Flash from the DC Extended Universe. The common theory is the Superman seen in The Flash is from a world where the events of Superman III & Superman IV happened instead of Superman Returns.
- Baritone of Strength: Both Reeve and Routh give Superman a deep voice that goes well with his many heroic feats and contrasts with the high, awkward voice sported in his Clark Kent persona.
- Broad Strokes: While played by different actors and their adventures taking place in different decades, they are essentially the same person with Crisis on Infinite Earths confirming that the Routh Superman still experienced the adventures of the Reeve Superman. This means at least the first two films in the Reeve continuity are still canon to Superman Returns and by extension the Arrowverse.
- Determinator: One of his defining traits. He will not stop fighting for heroism and even on the face of adversity, Superman would find a way to rise and covercome his challenges.
- Happily Adopted: Much like most other continuities, Kal-El is found by a decent, normal couple who decide to take him in as their own child and raise him with as much love as any good parent would. And of course, Clark loves them back.
- Human Aliens: Clark is part of an near-extinct alien race known as Kryptonians, who look remarkably human-like in their physical appearance and gestures, though their inner physiology is very different.
- Ideal Hero: He's Superman, of course he's this trope.
- Informed Ability: Clark skills as a reporter. We don't ever see Clark doing his job, the way we did in the George Reeves series. However, we know Perry only hires good reporters who can get stories and make them great. Besides Clark has two irresistible qualities — fast (and accurate) typing and a snappy, punchy prose style. We do hear Perry compliment Clark — right after reminding Lois "there's only one 'p' in 'rapist' — when he says, "Nice job on that shooting scandal, Kent."
- Leitmotif: He's got the defining Superman theme, courtesy of John Williams and and energetic brass orchestra. Every reinterpretation of Superman has homaged it in some way, either through a similar orchestral composition or straight-up reprising it.
- Load-Bearing Hero: Superman bench-presses the entire San Andreas Fault Zone. And uses his body as temporary train tracks. He also resists the Anti-Monitor's gravitational pressure field while all other heroes save the Monitor himself are downed.
- Messianic Archetype: Setting the standard for future Supermen, his father refers to him as his "only son" sent to guide humanity. By the time of Crisis on Infinite Earths, he has added black to his Kryptonian crest not to mourn those he's lost, but to remind himself that the hope he provides and believes in can cut through any darkness, just as his red "S" cuts through the black background on his chest. By the end of Crisis, the yellow has returned to the crest.
- Nice Guy: He literally helped get a little girl's cat out of a tree during his first night on the job and never looked back.
- Primary-Color Champion: But of course! Clark's bright shades of red, blue and yellow in his costume as as colorful as he is a champion of heroism.
- Secret Identity Vocal Shift: Clark Kent has a distinctively weaker and higher pitched voice and a very different, more wishy-washy speech pattern than Superman does. This is most noticeable in a scene where he is considering confessing to Lois that he is Superman, but chickens out at the last second and resumes his weaker persona.
- Superpower Lottery: His Kryptonian physiology and it's adaptations to yellow sun rays grant Superman a wide assortment of powers and physical enhancements, such as Super-Strength, Flight, Super-Speed, Heat Vision, and several more.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: The late Christopher Reeve was 6'4, while Brandon Routh is 6'3. A lot of characters have given him a Female Gaze.
Christopher Reeve's Superman
For tropes related to his appearance in the DC Extended Universe, see this page
Christopher Reeve's Superman
"I'm here to fight for truth, justice and the American way."
Species: Kryptonian
Known Aliases: Superman, The Last Son of Krypton, The Man of Steel, The Big Blue Boy Scout.
Played by: Christopher Reeve (1978-1987) | Jeff East (young Clark, 1978) | Aaron Smolinski (toddler Clark, 1978)
Voiced in French by: Pierre Arditi (1978-1983) | Jean-Pierre Michaël (1978, second dub) | Hervé Bellon (1987)
Appearances: Superman: The Movie | Superman II | Superman '78 | Superman III | Superman IV: The Quest for Peace | The Flash
Moving to Metropolis after training at the Fortress of Solitude, Superman began his superhero career and went on to battle such threats as Lex Luthor, General Zod and Nuclear Man.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: A minor case but unlike most versions he was shown to lack friends growing up and his mother passed away by the time of Superman III, though he doesn't really let this show. Subverted in Superman '78 when he discovers that Jor-El and Lara survived Krypton's destruction by being put in the bottled city of Kandor by Brainiac, and they survive the end of the comic.
- Adaptational Badass: Surprisingly, given that he is based on his Silver Age version. In the comics at the time, Superman could fly fast enough to break the time barrier but he couldn't change the past. Further, Time Travel to any point when he was alive, past or future, saw him become an invisible phantom unable to interact with anyone. Here he can reverse time allowing him to prevent Lois' death while his past self saves the innocents in danger because of Lex, who then presuambly goes back in time again to save Lois.
- Adaptation Personality Change: A minor one but the Silver Age Superman saw himself as Kal-El while both Superman and Clark Kent were ways of helping people, but even then he seemed to prefer being Superman. Superman III however implies that like modern interpretations the Clark Kent identity is who he identifies as since that represented his good self while Superman was his evil self.
- Age Lift: Clark doesn't become Superman until he's thirty, while the Silver Age Superman began his career as Superboy.
- Alternate Self: His appearance in The Flash gives him three counterparts from the DCEU, The Adventures of Superman and the planned Superman Lives film starring Nicolas Cage.
- Awesome Anachronistic Apparel: Clark Kent's suit and hat are very fifties, yet he manages to look dashing in them.
- Back for the Dead: Makes a brief appearance in The Flash alongside Helen Slater's Supergirl, only for his universe to collide with the Superman Lives one. Downplayed, however, in that the universes separate soon after.
- Beneath the Mask: After Lois discovers his true identity in Superman II, he starts to show more of who he really is and reveals that both his dorky Clark Kent identity and confident Superman identity were both masks. While not nearly as clumsy and as shy as Clark, he does show a more awkward side to himself while explaining his origin to Lois and doesn't speak as firmly as he did as Superman.
- Big "NO!": Inverted with Lois's first death; Superman shakes his head and mutters out a few pained and quiet "no"s before his Skyward Scream.
- Canon Discontinuity: How Superman '78 ends the story with Luthor suggests that Superman IV might not be canon, though there is plenty of time for him to be arrested again.
- Chivalrous Pervert: Uses his x-ray vision to check out Lois' underwear. Granted, it was her idea.
- Clark Kenting: Christopher Reeve made Superman's switch between identities incredibly convincing and less dependent on
MST3K Mantra than in the comics. It's especially apparent during the scene where he nearly reveals himself to Lois in her apartment, and shows the audience what Superman would look like in Clark Kent's suit. - Denser and Wackier: In comparison to Routh's version, as Reeve's Superman goes on to fight an evil computer and two evil clones of himself.
- Endearingly Dorky: Reeve plays the Clark Kent persona this way.
- Enemy Without: In Superman III the artificial kryptonite causes him to be divided into his good half (Clark Kent) and his evil half (Superman).
- Friendless Background: While Lana had an interest in him in high school she was with Brad at the time and there is no mention of him being friends with Pete Ross, suggesting that he didn't have any friends until he moved to Metropolis.
- The Ghost: Doesn't make an appearance in Supergirl despite his cousin being the title character.
- Heroic BSoD: After Superman realizes Lois' car is buried under debris.
- Master Actor: Clark Kent. On top of making audiences believe a man could fly, Christopher Reeve proved that a really good actor can make you believe that Clark Kenting could actually work. The key scene being when he's about to confess his double life to Lois, only to back out at the last second, switching his voice, posture and mannerisms without missing a beat.
- Not So Above It All: Some of which stems from an oft-overlooked aspect of his Silver Age self: being The Prankster.
- He seems perfectly aware of how corny he can be, cracking wise about the dependability of air travel after having just saved Lois from a helicopter accident and wearing the widest shit-eating grin you'll see from a live-action Superman.
- He's also shown to take amusement from using his powers to playfully mess with criminals and jerks, at one point smugly grinning when scaring the crap out of a burglar and making him almost fall to his death (he rescued him and promptly handed him over to the nearest police officer).
- Real Men Wear Pink: Or at least like pink, very much.
- Skyward Scream: When Lois dies. The first time.
- Spectacular Spinning: Superman spins like a top while drilling into Lex Luthor's underground lair and flies around the Earth to make it spin backwards and turn back time. That and the revolving door costume change bit.
Brandon Routh's Superman
Brandon Routh's Superman
"You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior, but every day I hear people crying for one."
"Hope is the light that lifts us out of darkness."
Species: Kryptonian
Known Aliases: Superman, The Last Son of Krypton, The Man of Steel, The Big Blue Boy Scout.
Played by: Brandon Routh (2006, 2019-2020)
Voiced in French by: Adrien Antoine (2006, 2019-2020)
Appearances: Superman Returns | Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019) (Batwoman and The Flash)
Returning to Earth after spending five years investigating the possibility that Krypton might still exist, he returns just in time to battle his archenemy Lex Luthor once again. Thirteen years later he is recruited to help save the multiverse from a Crisis.
- The Ace: His appearance in Crisis on Infinite Earths identifies him as the Paragon of Truth for the entire Multiverse across all DC live action properties, even though Supermen from Earth-38 and Earth-167 are present during the Crisis. He also plays a major role in evacuating billions of citizens from all Earths across the Multiverse, and is the only hero besides the Monitor to stand up to Harbinger, and resist her gravitational pressure when she is being controlled by the Anti-Monitor.
- Action Dad: He fathered a child with Lois, as revealed in Superman Returns. Crisis reveals that he does eventually have some sort of relationship with Jason.
- Adaptational Angst Downgrade: This version leaves out Magog killing the Joker and being acquitted for it, causing Superman to retire to the Fortress of Solitude for years before coming out of retirement. He is still an active and hopeful Superhero.
- Adaptational Badass: Upon his return in Crisis on Infinite Earths, he has lost almost everyone he loves as a result of Joker's gas attack, but refuses to give up either his superhero or day job, can overpower Earth-Prime's Superman, and resist the gravitational pressure of the Anti-Monitor.
- Adaptational Hairstyle Change: A minor example as Superman doesn't really have a fixed hair style, but since Routh's is based on Reeve's version it's noticeable that his hair is styled in the opposite direction to Reeve's with the curl being on the left side of his face instead of his right.
- Adaptational Wimp: Routh's Superman is much weaker than Reeve as he lacks the many powers that his predecessor showed. Although this wimpiness gets dropped by the time he makes a return in Crisis on Infinite Earths, where he is shown a lot stronger.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Routh played Clark as being less dorky than Reeve, and as Superman he shows more vulnerability such as when explaining how he can hear everything to Lois.
- Alternate Self: He's an older and more powerful version of the Earth-Prime and Earth-167 Supermen who appear in Crisis.
- Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome: The greatest Superman in The Multiverse, at his fullest potential, which allows him to best Earth-Prime's Superman in combat. This is due to this Superman having suffered so much more while still remaining his idealistic self and for this reason is granted the status of the Paragon of Truth.
- Back from the Dead: He and his world are restored at the end of Crisis.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Lex Luthor is able to turn him against Earth-Prime Superman by using the Book of Destiny to "turn all his love into hate", causing him to resent his counterpart for not suffering as he's suffered. Once Earth-Prime Lois frees him from the spell he takes it in stride, mentioning something like this has happened before.
- Broad Strokes: Routh plays the same character as Reeve, but that means Reeve's last two films didn't happen as Returns picks up some years after Superman II. Then years later, Crisis alludes to events in Superman III anyway.
- The Bus Came Back: Nobody expected to see this version of Superman again after the disappointing audience showing of Superman Returns. But when the Arrowverse decided to adapt Crisis on Infinite Earths for a Crossover Event, and with Routh
already in the cast of Legends of Tomorrow, it seemed only natural to have him don the cape again at last. - Canon Discontinuity: Superman Returns was intended to replace Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in the canon, though in Crisis he mentioned fighting another version of himself as well as his son Jason. And there is no way of knowing what his life story looks like post-Crisis.
- Composite Character: His appearance in Crisis of the Infinite Earths combines the version from the movies and the Superman from Kingdom Come. Also while based on the Silver Age Earth-One Superman the fact he is older than the Earth-Prime version means he is an adaption of Kal-L, the Golden Age Superman from Earth-Two. Interestingly, an earlier concept for the sequel The Kingdom was to reveal that the Kingdom Come universe was a Post-Crisis version of Earth-Two.
- Da Editor: He's the Daily Planet's Editor-In-Chief by 2019.
- Dark and Troubled Past: All Supermen have this with the destruction of Krypton in their infancy, but this one has gone through it twice with The Joker's attack on Metropolis in his adulthood. The Monitor says this trait is what makes him the Paragon.
- Darker and Edgier: More grounded than dark, but compared to Reeve's Superman this version was questioned about his relevance to the 21st century and made the mistake of leaving Earth for five years which led to Luthor escaping justice for his crimes and to Clark unintentionally abandoning his son. Needless to say, he proves this statement wrong.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: He dies in the arms of Earth-Prime's Kara as anti-matter leaks out of his body due to him and the Lex Luthor of Earth-Prime switching places.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: In the new multiverse, Lois and Clark's other close friends never died, as seen by his crest having yellow background instead of black. The last we see of him is him flying in the Earth's atmosphere, finally content once and for all.
- Hunk: The Earth-Prime Kara, of all people, has commented on his impressive physique.
- Identical Stranger: Ray Palmer from Earth-Prime looks just like him, which is noted by many of the other characters.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Earth-Prime Lois is able to use the Book of Destiny to break Luthor's spell on him by channeling her own image of her own Clark's kindness and compassion she knows he must share.
- In Spite of a Nail: Despite living different lives to each other, both himself and his fellow Arrowverse counterparts are parents. The same is also true with Ray Palmer who despite having the least similarities with him out of all his alternate counterparts, they still bear a lot of similarities:
- They are both Primary-Color Champions with an added black to their suits.
- They are in charge of a company (Ray leads Palmer Technologies while Clark leads the Daily Planet).
- Both have powersets that allow them to fly, scan objects, and enhances their physical stats that are all empowered by a star (Ray's Atom suit is powered by a dwarf star while Clark's powers come from the sun.)
- Both are dorky Nice Guys.
- Both lost their romantic partners to an Ax-Crazy supervillain (Ray lost Anna to Deathstroke's siege while Clark lost Lois to the Joker's gas attack.)
- Large and in Charge: Stands over 6 feet tall and is Da Editor of Daily Planet by 2019.
- Living MacGuffin: He is the only one of the Paragons to be introduced in Crisis On Infinite Earths as opposed to an already established character in the Arrowverse (Ryan Choi was The Ghost).
- My Greatest Failure: Being unable to save Lois and his friends is this for him, though he uses it to motivate him to be a better hero instead of letting the grief overwhelm him.
- Old Superhero: Quite possibly one of the most seasoned superheroes in the Multiverse, as he was confirmed to have at least been active until 2001 before he left Earth for five years. It’s what helps make him the greatest Superman of all of the multiverse.
- The Paragon: He's literally given the title of the Paragon of Truth, and he is the Ideal Hero of the Multiverse, representing the potential Earth-Prime's Superman has yet to grow into. The Monitor tells us he has lost more and suffered more than any other Superman while still retaining the spark of who he is — which translates to him being more powerful than our Superman and quickly getting the better of him during their brief duel. This is more or less the relationship Earth-2 Kal-L had with Earth-1 Kal-El in the original comics Crisis.
- Rank Up: In Crisis, he becomes the Daily Planet's Editor-in-Chief.
- Relationship Upgrade: His mentioning Lois as his wife in Crisis indicates he did get back with her and married her after Returns.
- Sacrificial Lion: As the oldest and most experienced of the Seven Paragons we expect him to be the beacon of hope and de facto leader in their Last Stand against the Anti-Monitor. Instead, the prophecy in the Book of Destiny is hijacked by Luthor's tampering, and he's unceremoniously killed and replaced by his greatest enemy in the Multiverse.
- Seen It All: He isn't at all fazed by meeting an alternate Clark or Lois or learning about the Crisis, saying it's actually the least insane thing he's heard. He similarly takes his own Brainwashed and Crazy Face–Heel Turn in stride, noting that it's nothing new for him.
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: His costume is the Kingdom Come design, with his chest symbol a more stylized version (looking more like the Kryptonian character for "hope" and less like an Earth letter S) against a black background. He tells Lois he changed it after his wife and his friends died, to remind himself that hope always rises again from grief.
- Shrine to the Fallen: This Clark keeps one in his office, with plaques memorializing all of his fallen friends from the Daily Planet, to remind him why he keeps fighting for truth and justice. Notably serves as a Foil to Batman-99's grotesque trophy room.
- Silver Fox: He still is attractive in his old appearance. Earth-Prime Kara gushes about his physique before her cousin tells he is his doppelganger.
- Super-Speed Reading: A Deleted Scene in Superman Returns has Clarke using his X-Ray Vision to quickly read through five years worth of Daily Planet articles to see what happened in his absence.
- Vague Age: Routh was 24 when cast as Superman and when the film was released in 2006 he was 27, but despite this his Superman was portrayed as having left Earth for five years so in order for his backtory to make sense he should have become a hero and fathered a child with Lois in his early to mid-twenties. However Reeve's Superman was supposed to be 30 years old when he becomes Superman, and since this version is a continuation of Reeve's iteration after Superman II he should be in his mid to late thirties in Returns and close to fifty in Crisis despite Routh being forty in his second appearance.
Other Characters
Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Species: Human
Played by: Margot Kidder (1978-1987) | Kate Bosworth (2006)
Voiced in French by: Perrette Pradier (1978-1983) | Frédérique Tirmont (1987) | Agathe Schumacher (2006)
Appearances: Superman: The Movie | Superman II | Superman '78 | Superman III | Superman IV: The Quest for Peace | Superman Returns
An Intrepid Reporter for The Daily Planet.
- Alliterative Name: Lois Lane.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Generally, though her two actresses have different approach towards her. Margot Kidder's portrayal is more blunt while Kate Bosworth's is more detached.
- Alternate Self: Has counterparts on Earth-Prime, Earth-75 and Earth-167.
- Back from the Dead: At the end of Crisis, Clark having yellow instead of black in his crest implies this Lois never died in the new reality.
- Bus Crash: Killed by the Joker when he gassed the Daily Planet sometime between 2006 and 2019.
- Character Death: Killed in a car wreck in Superman: The Movie, which was undone by Supes reversing time. Also killed by the Joker when he gassed the Daily Planet sometime before 2019. This one took.
- Dead Alternate Counterpart: At least three Loises are alive by the time her death in 2019 is mentioned.
- Demoted to Extra: In III and, to a lesser extent, IV. The former film only has her appearing in two brief scenes, neither of which have any real relevance to the plot, while the latter has Lacy Warfield more as its female lead, though does give Lois a few plot-critical scenes.
- Faint in Shock: For a supposedly fearless Intrepid Reporter, Lois faints quite often when presented with situations that she simply is unable to process. But, then again, all of them involve Superman, which is as extraordinary as things can get.
- In the first film, a helicopter crash almost causes Lois Lane to fall to her death. Superman makes his first public appearance by catching and saving both her and the falling helicopter. After he deposits her on the top of a building and flies away, she watches Superman fly away before immediately collapsing atop the helipad in a dead faint.
- In the Director's Cut of II, Lois becomes so sure that Clark is Superman that she jumps out of the window of her office in the Daily Planet building right in front of Clark, believing that he'll expose himself as Superman as he tries to save her. He breaks her fall in a way that doesn't break his disguise, allowing her to land safely on top of a tomato vendor's stand on the street below, and appears back upstairs as Clark at the window by the time Lois looks up again. The (incorrect) realization that Clark isn't Superman after all, along with the embarrassment of what she's done, as well as the knowledge of how easily she could have killed herself doing so, instantly sends Lois passing out cold into the pile of tomatoes she landed on top of.
- And in Superman Returns, an aircraft malfunction almost kills the entirety of its passengers, amongst whom is Lois, who at this point has already given up the hope of Superman returning from his many-years-long absence and no longer believes that the world needs him. Superman makes his first public reappearance by saving the aircraft and landing it safely in a packed sports arena. He then personally speaks solely to Lois, echoing their conversation on the helipad in the original film. Completely overwhelmed, Lois follows him out the aircraft's exit and once again watches speechlessly as he flies away into the sky before she drops and slides limply down the plane's inflated evacuation slide, dead unconscious.
- "Friends" Rent Control: There was no way Lois could afford a fancy penthouse apartment on a reporter's salary.
- Love Interest: Do we have to say whose?
- My Car Hates Me: Lois, get gas before you drive into the middle of nowhere. Seriously, she hits the earthquake, burning (broken) train track, oncoming train, and the nuclear warhead from that trope's description all in one turn of the key. On the other hand, it's not for want of trying. She stops at a gas station, but it's deserted, and a few seconds later it blows up right next to her.
- Posthumous Character: She's long dead during Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019).
- Relationship Upgrade: Clark's mentioning Lois as his wife in Crisis indicates she did get back with him and married him after Returns.
- Rouge Angles of Satin: Despite being an accomplished reporter, Lois is terrible at spelling. This trait was made part of her comics characterization (if not always applied consistently).
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: She has no qualms walking in front of Clark wearing only a towel.
- Vague Age: In real life Margot Kidder was older than Christopher Reeve by four years, but a deleted scene later included in DVD release shows Lois as a child seeing a teenage Clark Kent running past the train she was on, which would mean that at most Lois is a decade younger than him. However this clearly goes against the dynamic the two have and would make her the same age as Jimmy.
- What the Hell, Hero?: How does she confirm that Clark is Superman? By shooting him (with blank bullets, but still).Superman: You realize, of course, if you'd been wrong, Clark Kent would have been killed.
Lois: With a blank?
Supergirl
Kara Zor-El / Linda Lee / Supergirl
Species: Kryptonian
Played by: Helen Slater
Voiced in French by: Emmanuelle Bondeville
Appearances: Supergirl | The Flash
The Last Daughter of Krypton.
- Alternate Self: Has one in an alternate timeline ofEarth-1.
- Attempted Rape: Upon her arrival to Earth, two truckers she encounters have this on their mind. They eventually got what's coming to them.
- Back for the Dead: Makes a brief appearance in The Flash alongside Christopher Reeves's Superman, only for her universe to collide with the Superman Lives one. Downplayed, however, in that the universes separate soon after.
- But Now I Must Go: After retrieving the Omegahedron from Selena, she returns home to Argo City and is never seen again until The Flash.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Despite being Superman's cousin, she is never seen again. Though it's unclear if she actually exists due to her movie being Canon Discontinuity. The Flash finally confirms that her film and Reeves's are in the same continuity by having the two of them appear side by side.
- Distaff Counterpart: She has the exact same power set and costume as Superman.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's blonde and is a sweet and kindhearted character.
- Hero of Another Story: She stars in her own film separate from Superman's film outings.
- The Ingenue: She's sweet and innocent, yet it doesn't stop her for being a magnet for trouble.
- Long-Lost Relative: A member of the House of El much like Superman, though they never get to meet.
- Statuesque Stunner: She stands 5'8 and is a beautiful woman.
- There Is Another: She's a surviving member of the House of El much like Superman.
Antagonists
Lex Luthor and his associates
Lex Luthor
Alexander "Lex" Luthor
Species: Human
Played by: Gene Hackman (1978-1987) | Kevin Spacey (2006)
Voiced in French by: Francis Lax (1978-1980) | Claude Joseph (1987) | Gabriel Le Doze (2006)
Appearances: Superman: The Movie | Superman II | Superman '78 | Superman IV: The Quest for Peace | Superman Returns
A businessman who is also "the greatest criminal mastermind the world has ever seen." Or so he claims.
- Abusive Parents: Implied with his dad, who apparently told Lex to "get out" when he was only six, although this may have been Lex's idea of a joke.
- Adaptational Dumbass: While Silver Age Lex could have many ridiculous plans he was aided by the fact he was a super genius able to build all kinds of weapons, but this version of Lex tends to have plans that realistically wouldn't bring him the fame and wealth he desires since he never thinks them through to their logical conclusion.
- Adaptational Name Change: Sort of, as the Superman '78 comic reveals his full name is Alexander Joseph Luthor which is the name given to him in the comics and adaptions made after Crisis on Infinite Earths. However this version of Lex was based on the pre-Crisis Silver Age portrayal of Lex who was named Alexis Luthor.
- Advance Notice Crime: The stock subversion is done in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Lex Luthor sends out a high-frequency message that only Superman can hear warning that he's about to blow twenty stories off the top of a nearby skyscraper, but it turns out to be a trick to lure Superman in so Lex can sic his new creation Nuclear Man on him.
- Alliterative Name: Lex Luthor.
- Badass Boast: "Lex Luthor! The greatest criminal mind of our time!"
- Bald of Evil: Played for laughs by Gene Hackman, who wears a series of unconvincing wigs until whipping off the last one to reveal his baldness during his final rant after Superman dumps him in prison. In Returns he ditches the wigs altogether.
- Bat Deduction:
- Lex Luthor not only correctly deduces that pieces of Krypton came to Earth, but that they would be harmful to Superman, with no explanation given.
- In Superman Returns, he suspects (correctly) that Jason is Superman's son when he noticed the boy seemed to be afraid of the Kryptonite Lex was holding.
- Beware the Silly Ones: In spite of his campy moments, Lex is capable of some seriously heinous acts. He attempts to destroy half of California solely for profit, he was willing to let Zod have Earth as long as he got Australia for himself, he nearly drowned the entire North American continent by creating his own island, and on top of all that he just seems to genuinely enjoy hurting and killing people, especially if he can benefit financially from doing so. In short, Lex is an extremely sinister and psychopathic monster who happens to be goofball with grandiose delusions.
- Big Bad: In the first and fourth films, as well as Returns.
- Big Bad Wannabe: In the second film. He's easily overshadowed by Zod and his cronies for obvious reasons.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Nary a scene goes by where Lex isn't bragging about how devious his schemes are. In The Quest for Peace he even refers to himself as "the greatest criminal mind of the 20th century". It's not explained why he sees crime as a worthy claim to fame outside of getting rich in unethical ways.
- The Chessmaster: In Superman II he ups his game considerably.
- Egopolis: Lex does this a lot. But he is not happy when his henchmen Otis scribbles "Otisburg" on a map (perhaps he doesn't want it to be visible on the map, not even Tessmacher's own city's name was shown).
- Equal-Opportunity Evil: It might not be prominent at first, but in the official novelization of IV, he appeals to war profiteers from three countries against Superman's disarmament on the basis that "as long as the world hangs on the brink of war, the good life is available to every criminal — regardless of race, religion, or national origin!"
- Even Evil Has Standards: His comments on the Daily Planet being a "respectable paper" before Warfield's acquisition turned in to a tabloid in The Quest for Peace implies that Luthor has some respect for honest journalism.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: When Ms. Teschmacher asked if he thinks that Superman is the real deal, Luthor replies that if he is, he's not from Earth. Granted, Superman is a Human Alien, but it does show that Luthor doesn't believe anyone on Earth could be as selfless as Superman.
- Evil Is Hammy: His loud fashions sense and bombastic personality are a given. While he toned it down in Returns, the way he screams "WROOONNNG!!!" shows that Lex didn't completely get over it.
- Evil Is Petty:
- Lex's schemes in both the first film and Returns, in the end, are just Real Estate Scams. Very similar real estate scams. Scams that will kill millions of people, and have a bigger chance of backfiring than they have of working, and Lex doesn't cares at all.
- Implied with his sending the second missile to Hackensack, New Jersey, which just happens to be the home of the mother of his right-hand woman who keeps insulting his character throughout the movie. Hackensack is such an utterly random target otherwise that it is easy to imagine he chose it because the mother lived there.
- The one time he tries to pull an Enemy Mine with Superman is very short-lived because he can't bring himself to not betray Superman.
- After he scams all of the money out of an elderly rich woman in Returns, he makes a show of demonstrating he did to the rest of her family by giving her young grand-daughter his toupee and saying "this is yours. Everything else is mine."
- Facepalm: After Lex describes what Kryptonite can do and how to find it, Eve and Otis go off on a tangent about what to wear to Addis Abbaba. Lex's expression says it all.
- The Ghost: He never appears on-screen during Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019) but is mentioned.
- Insufferable Genius: He's arrogant, narcissistic, egocentric, and has the personality of a real Jerkass, but there's no real denying the fact that he is highly intelligent.
- Lack of Empathy: Why does Lex want to drown America, his own home country? So he can corner the real estate market. To Hell with anyone who gets caught in the crossfire. This quality actually comes back to bite him; once he's far enough along in his plan it doesn't seem to occur to him there'd be consequences to the other nuke going the wrong way.
- Laughably Evil: He's depicted as a ruthless bastard with a witty sense of humor. While he's definitely a threat to be reckoned with, there's no denying Lex is still hilarious.
- Mean Boss: He's a total dick to Otis and Teschmacher. He is relatively polite to Nuclear Man, but that's probably only because Nuclear Man could kill him by flicking him gently.
- Running Gag: Other than in IV but including in Returns, all his designs are ultimately around owning oceanfront property. Lex lampshades this in Superman II.
- Shiny New Australia: The Trope Maker note . Lex sells out Superman- and thus the whole world- to General Zod and his minions, and all asks in return is a small fee in the form of "Australia".
- Stupid Evil:
- He betrays Superman to Zod at the climax of Superman 2, even after it's been made clear that Zod won't honor any deals he makes with Lex, because he just can't bring himself to not betray Superman. Good thing that Supes factored that into his own scheme.
- He's too impatient to live in the The Quest for Peace. When attempting to send a nuclear missile with the DNA of Nuclear Man into space, he launches the missile before it's completely risen, resulting in it almost hitting the bunker he's in. He survives, but it's really a sign of Villain Decay.
- His plans in Returns and the first movie will both cause massive destruction that will result in the deaths of millions or even billions, yet will almost certainly not bring him the money or power he expects since there would be nothing stopping the governments of the world simply seizing the new territory he created. He's already a notorious criminal even before Superman shows up, so the mere fact that he was the sole benefactor of major disasters would instantly make him suspicious, and he never has more than a handful of incompetent henchmen to help him.
- Surrounded by Idiots: Otis easily fits this trope, and while Miss Tessmacher isn't dumb, exactly, she certainly doesn't bring any great skill set to assist Lex with his villainy, and is easily distracted by typically "feminine" concerns such as jewelry or fashion. Lenny isn't any brain trust either. Of course, Lex sees everyone this way, even the evil Kryptonians he is ostensibly helping.
- Truer to the Text: Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor fits the Cold Ham take on the character commonly seen in the comics, not to mention embracing his baldness.
- Uncertain Doom: No mention is made if he's still alive in 2019.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Wishes his father could have seen LexCorp.
Eve Teschmacher
Miss Eve Teschmacher
Species: Human
Played by: Valerie Perrine
Voiced in French by: Annie Sinigalia
Appearances: Superman: The Movie | Superman II
Lex Luthor's moll.
- Being Evil Sucks: After she frees Superman, she outright asks "Why can't I get it on with the good guys?"
- Buxom Beauty Standard: She has a pretty sizable bust, which is often emphasized by her revealing clothes. This also seems to be the entire reason why Luthor is attracted to her in the first place, as his real estate plan includes naming a town after her bosom: "Teschmacher Peaks".
- Canon Immigrant: Created for the series, she appeared in JLA: Earth-2 as Luthor's secretary and was transplanted to the Supergirl (2015) TV series.
- Even Evil Has Standards: She's not a big fan of how Lex disposes of a police detective in the subway.
- Even Mooks Have Loved Ones: Miss Teschmacher didn't like her boss's callous disregard for her mother's life.
- Easily Forgiven: In the official cut, Lex doesn't seem to bear her any ill will after she betrays him to Superman in the first movie. Of course, the fact that she helped him escape from prison may have something to do with it. However, a Deleted Scene depicted Lex attempting to feed her to wild animals as punishment for saving Superman, only to have Superman save her at the last minute.
- High-Heel–Face Turn: Miss Teschmacher thanks to Lex. The last straw involved siccing a missile on Hackensack, NJ, Teschmacher's mother's hometown. That led her to save Superman's life in exchange for his stopping the missile which was headed for Hackensack.
- Minion with an F in Evil: She appears to be the nicest and least evil of the villains from the original quadrillogy. In the first movie, she frees Superman, which allows him to stop the nuclear missiles.
- Ms. Fanservice: When we first see Miss Teschmacher, her outfit has a nice Cleavage Window. It also helps that she gets a swimsuit scene by Lex's pool and has nice curves in her Form-Fitting Wardrobe.
- Secretly Selfish: When she rescues Superman from drowning with Kryptonite chained around his neck, she makes Superman promise to save her mother in Hackensack from the eastbound missile before Superman gets to the westbound missile headed for the San Andreas Fault. When the westbound missile strikes the fault, Superman is able to perform many heroic rescues, but he is too late to rescue Lois Lane, who was buried to death inside her car. This prompts him to turn back time to the point when she was still alive and send the westbound missile into outer space.
- Stop Copying Me: In the Richard Donner version of Superman II, she'd repeat nearly everything Luthor said. Even when he tells her stop, she says: "I won't repeat what you say."
- What Happened to the Mouse?: She's never seen or heard from again in Superman II after Lex's first visit to the Fortress of Solitude. In a deleted scene, she does reappear at the end of Superman II to help break Lex out of prison again.
Otis
Otis
Species: Human
Played by: Ned Beatty
Voiced in French by: Albert Augier
Appearances: Superman: The Movie | Superman II
Lex Luthor's henchman.
- Big Eater: He's introduced eating a hot dog.
- Bumbling Sidekick: To the point you have to wonder why Lex even kept him around for as long as he did.
- Canon Immigrant: Created for the film, Otis showed up in Young Justice as the head of Lex's security detail, as Lex's P.A. in the Smallville continuation comics (where his surname is "Berg"), in a cameo as a LexCorp security guard in the mainstream DCU's Forever Evil comic, and in Supergirl. An expy of Otis named Orville Gump also appeared in Super Friends.
- And on another level, "Otisberg" is one of the districts of Gotham City in Batman: Arkham Knight, and in DC Universe Online.
- Demoted to Extra: Has only a couple of scenes in the second movie after being Lex's main assistant in the first, as a result of Lex leaving him behind in prison. Although considering how unhelpful Otis was overall, it's a wonder Lex didn't get rid of him sooner.
- The Ditz: Lex can't understand how Otis's brain has enough smarts to move the rest of his body.
- Dumb Is Good: He's a moron, but he's never shown to be overtly evil.
- Egopolis: He tries to get one by stenciling the name with marker in Lex's map of post-California Collapse towns (full of Lex Luthor-related names). Lex does not likes it at all.Lex Luthor: "Otisberg? Otisberg?!"
- Fat Idiot: He's fat and pretty stupid.
- The Load: Otis's excess weight prompts Lex Luthor to leave him behind when making his getaway:Miss Teschmacher: Lex, how could you do that to Otis?
Lex Luthor: What else is ballast for? - Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Otis's botched reprogramming sent the second missile to hit Hackensack, which is what causes Teschmacher to turn on Lex and save Superman's life.
- Before this, his bumbling led to repeated near-discoveries of Lex's lair.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Otis isn't exactly what anyone would call evil, he just so happens to be working for a maniac.
Lenny Luthor
Lenny Luthor
Species: Human
Played by: Jon Cryer
Voiced in French by: Jean-François Vlérick
Appearances: Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Lex Luthor's punkish and idiotic, but nonetheless conniving nephew, who breaks him out of prison and helps with his schemes to create Nuclear Man.
- Alliterative Name: Lenny Luthor.
- Butt-Monkey: Lex openly disparages him as "the Dutch Elm [disease] of my family tree", the arms dealers show clear contempt for him during the meetings where he's present, and Nuclear Man demonstrates his powers on Lenny more than once.
- Expy: He's a Gender Flipped Nasthalthia "Nasty" Luthor with an Adaptational Name and Personality Changes. (Luthor's niece is best known today through All-Star Superman but was in fact introduced in the 1970s.)
- Gadgeteer Genius: Presumably he's intended to be this, given that in his first scene he manages to operate a car by remote control and understands enough about science to help Lex with his experiments, but it's never made very clear.
- Psychopathic Manchild: A low-grade example, considering that the worst thing he actually does is nearly kill a couple of prison guards by sending them through a nasty but survivable fall over a cliff, but it's clear that he takes after his uncle in this regard.
- Totally Radical: His dialogue is almost entirely made up of 1980s slang, which naturally is used with little regard for whether or not it's appropriate in-context.
Nuclear Man
Nuclear Man
Species: Artificial Kryptonian
Played by: Mark Pillow | Gene Hackman (voice) | Clive Mantle (Nuclear Man I; deleted scenes)
Voiced in French by: Claude Joseph
Appearances: Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
An Evil Counterpart of Superman, created using Superman's genetic material and the power of the sun.
- Absurdly Sharp Claws: His fingernails are long, sharp, and apparently capable of inflicting radiation poisoning on people, which they do to graphic effect with Superman himself.
- Canon Immigrant: Was an original creation for the movie, but eventually showed up in the comics in 2018.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Considering he was created by Lex, you'd kind of expect this, but when Superman refuses to tell him where Lacy is he openly announces that he will "hurt people" until Superman gives up her location.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: He gets destroyed when Superman throws him into the core of Metropolis's nuclear power plant, making him one of the few villains in this movie series who unambiguously dies.
- Expy: He's something of one to Bizarro. This is especially apparent in the original cut, where "Nuclear Man One" is a very childlike buffoon who Does Not Know His Own Strength.
- For the Lulz: When Lex orders him to destroy Superman, Nuclear Man wants to have some fun thrashing him around first.
- Super Prototype: Inverted with the first version of Nuclear Man from the film's deleted scenes, who turns out extremely stupid and is easily defeated and destroyed by Superman when they fight.
- Vocal Dissonance: He has the same voice as Lex, which you wouldn't expect from either someone with Mark Pillow's looks, or someone cloned from Superman.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Being outside of direct sunlight causes him to completely lose power, and we don't just mean he's Brought Down to Normal — he becomes completely inert, which Superman exploits to defeat him once and for all.
Kitty Kowalski
Kitty Kowalski
Species: Human
Played by: Parker Posey
Voiced in French by: Dominique Westberg
Appearances: Superman Returns
Lex Luthor's new moll.
- Alliterative Name: Kitty Kowalski.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: It takes the sudden explosive growth of a crystal mass the size of a tree to get a reaction from her.
- Ambiguously Jewish
- Canon Foreigner: Exclusively created for Superman Returns.
- Deadpan Snarker: She openly disrespects Lex with no fear of consequence.
- Even Evil Has Standards: She's not a big fan of how Lex disposes people and is distraught when he and the other Mooks are ganging up on a weakened Superman. And she clearly loves her dog.
- Heel–Face Turn: Subverted. She "accidentally" drops the crystals from the helicopter as it’s taking off.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Replaces Miss Tessmacher as Lex's new secretary in Superman Returns. They even have a virtually identical character arc.
Ross Webster and his associates
Ross and Vera Webster
Ross and Vera Webster
Species: Human
Played By: Robert Vaughn and Annie Ross
Voiced in French by: Gabriel Cattand and Nita Klein
Appearances: Superman III
Ross and Vera Webster are a brother-sister team and owners of Webscoe Industries, who plan to corner the world market and see Superman as the only obstacle to that goal. They use Gus Gorman to create a supercomputer capable of killing Superman.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Ross is portrayed as the main villain for most of the movie, but after the supercomputer becomes self-aware, he's quickly put into his place and it becomes the real threat of the film.
- It's All About Me: Ross goes to great lengths to get a controlling influence on the world's supply of coffee and oil just because he wants them.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: In the Novelization, as Gus is attacked by a transformed Vera, he seemingly has a Heel Realization when it's mentioned he's filled with regrets. Then, a Black Comedy line clarifies that, in his panic, all he currently regrets is not killing Vera during their childhood so that she wouldn't be menacing him now.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Webster's attempts to eliminate Superman ultimately drew the Man of Steel's attention to him, whereas if Webster had maintained a more discreet approach Superman may not have been aware that anyone was actually doing anything until much later.
- Siblings in Crime: A brother and sister who try to use illegal means to further their business interests.
- Small Name, Big Ego: While Webster is a very rich man, this trope applies because he assumed that Superman "interfering" with his initial plans for Colombia by preventing the snowstorm Webster created meant that Superman would start to interfere with Webster's long-term plans.
Gus Gorman
Gus Gorman
Species: Human
Played By: Richard Pryor
Voiced in French by: Med Hondo
Appearances: Superman III
A genius programmer who's hired by the Websters to create the ultimate computer capable of killing Superman, Gus isn't wholly evil, however, and has reservations about actually doing it.
- Anti-Villain: He's not vindictive or power-hungry, just a not very bright guy who's found himself in wildly over his head.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's a computer genius. He's a complete idiot with anything else.
- The Cracker: After some basic computer training, he can hack into just about anything.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: Gus and his computer skills are what allow the Websters to do their plotting in the first place while carrying out some very vital grunt work.
- Punch-Clock Villain: He's only assisting the Websters for employment. When he sees just how much trouble they're willing to cause, he eventually turns against him.
Lorelei Ambrosia
Lorelei Ambrosia
Species: Human
Played By: Pamela Stephenson
Voiced in French by: Monique Thierry
Appearances: Superman III
Ross's moll who is much smarter than she lets on, she helps finalize the Websters' schemes behind the scenes and seduces Superman once he's turned evil by synthetic Kryptonite.
- Dumb Blonde: Subverted. She acts the part, but is a genius in reality. (Could be considered a retro-active casting gag - Pamela Stephenson-Connolly herself is no slouch, becoming a clinical psychologist and adjuct professor when she retired from acting.)
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: Lorelei is the one who points out that the Websters can use kryptonite on Superman to the Websters, and also seduces his evil half into doing their bidding.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: While she acts like an airhead, she's actually very crafty and displays an ability to understand complex philosophical concepts.
- The Vamp: She seduces the Evil Superman into doing the Websters' bidding.
- Work Out Fanservice: She has a scene loitering around Ross's gym (and then exercising with a cable pulley) in a tight, no leg gym outfit.
Selena and her associates
Selena
Selena
Species: Empowered Human
Played by: Faye Dunaway
Voiced in French by: Perrette Pradier
Appearances: Supergirl
A witch who recovered Argo City's Omegahedron after it landed on Earth.- Big Bad: Of Supergirl.
- Black Magic: She's an evil witch, what do you expect?
- Canon Immigrant: Created for the film, she soon finds her way into the comic book canon during Supergirl (Rebirth) and has also appeared in the Supergirl (2015) TV series as its third season Big Bad.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To Lex Luthor; while he was a genius with Otis as an idiot henchman and Miss Tessmacher with wavering loyalties, Selena is short-sighted and ignorant of the Omegahedron's origins and Bianca acts as the Only Sane Man who's critical of her actions, while Nigel taught her magic and is loyal far longer than necessary out of love.
- Evil Is Hammy: Faye Dunaway keeps Chewing the Scenery in any given chance.
- Evil Is Petty: She torments a girl Nigel is interested in just to hurt him, and to gain followers. She's furious when Linda accidentally makes Ethan fall in love with her and vows to make her as miserable as Supergirl.
- Evil Redhead: She has curly red hair and is definitely evil.
- Evil Sorcerer: She is a female example; her ambition is to become a Sorcerous Overlord.
- Fatal Flaw: Her impatience and short-sightedness is commented on by several characters, and is the main reason she lacked the power to take over the world until finding the Omegahedron.
- It's All About Me: As Supergirl points out near the end of the film, Selena has no friends and considers everyone else beneath her and only sees fit to fulfill her selfish desires.
Bianca
Bianca
Species: Human
Played by: Brenda Vaccaro
Voiced in French by: Micheline Dax
Appearances: Supergirl
Selena's assistant.- Anti-Villain: She doesn't really do anything evil, but association with Selena does her no favors.
- Expy: Of Otis from the first Superman movie.
- The Mentor: In an early draft of the film she was this to Selena until the latter betrayed her.
- Only Sane Man: She's frequently critical of Selena's grandiose schemes and advises her to reconsider attacking Linda.
Nigel
Nigel
Species: Empowered Human
Played by: Peter Cook
Voiced in French by: Robert Party
Appearances: Supergirl
A warlock who mentored Selena, and her ex-lover.- Even Evil Has Standards: Selena tormenting a mundane party-goer over impulsive jealousy makes him snap at her.Stop it, Selena. That's not fair! Pick on me!
- Karma Houdini: He aids in Ethan's capture but escapes scot-free at the end.
- The Mentor: He was a villainous mentor for Selena.
Others
The Joker
The Joker
Species: Human
Known Aliases: The Joker
A lunatic reject from the Gotham City of Earth-96, who killed most of the Daily Planet staff out of spite, including Superman's loved ones.
- Alternate Self: Has counterparts on Earth-Prime and Earth-89.
- Attention Whore: Not giving him the attention he seeks will have deadly consequences.
- Ax-Crazy: A mad man willing to murder anyone who doesn't give him his desired attention.
- Evil Is Petty: Fatally gassed the Daily Planet because they weren't covering him enough in their news.
- The Ghost: He never appears on-screen during Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019) but is mentioned.
- Hero Killer: Massacred most of Clark's friends at the Daily Planet, with Lois, Jimmy and Perry being confirmed casualties. Hell of a Happy Ending Override.
- Mythology Gag: His massacre of the Daily Planet, with Lois being explicitly mentioned as one of the casualties, is a Shout-Out to Kingdom Come and Injustice.
- Offscreen Villainy: He isn't shown physically and his actions are only mentioned.
- Outside-Context Problem: He was never fought on-screen and is even a Rogues' Gallery Transplant, but his actions dealt a huge blow to Clark that is seen during Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019).
- Present Absence: His Offscreen Villainy still haunts Clark even during Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019).
- Rogues' Gallery Transplant: He is traditionally Batman's Arch-Enemy, but becomes a personal enemy to Superman by killing his wife and friends for extremely petty reasons.
- Uncertain Doom: No mention is made if he's still alive in 2019.
Brainiac
Vril Dox / Brainiac
Species: Coluan
Appearances: Superman '78
An alien who comes to Earth to "save" humanity from Superman.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Wilfredo Torres used Yul Brynner as the visual basis for this version of Brainiac.
Earth
Smallville
Jonathan and Martha Kent
Jonathan and Martha Kent
Species: Humans
Played by: Glenn Ford (Jonathan, 1978) | Phylis Thaxter (Martha, 1978) | Eva Marie Saint (Martha, 2006)
Voiced in French by: Roland Ménard (Jonathan, 1978) | Monique Mélinand (Martha, 1978) | Régine Blaess (Martha, 2006)
Appearances: Superman: The Movie | Superman Returns
Clark's adoptive human parents.
- Muggle Foster Parents: They are Clark's Parental Substitute after his biological parents died during krypton's explosion. Their comic book counterparts are the page image, too.
- Parent with New Paramour: A deleted scene from Superman Returns reveals that Martha is in a relationship with Ben Hubbard.
- Parental Substitute: Took the baby Clark in after he landed on Earth.
- Retcon: Martha is said to have died by the time of Superman III, but she's alive and well in Superman Returns.
Lana Lang
Lana Lang
Species: Human
Played by: Diane Sherry (1978), Annette O'Toole (1983)
Voiced in French by: Martine Messager (1983)
Appearances: Superman: The Movie | Superman III
A high school friend of Clark.
- Alliterative Name: Lana Lang.
- Ascended Extra: She only makes a brief appearance in the first movie, while she's the female lead in the third.
- The Cutie: An overall Nice Girl who's easy on the eyes.
- In Spite of a Nail: Like her counterpart from Superman & Lois, she's a mother unlike her two other counterparts.
- Loves My Alter Ego: Inverted, as she becomes romantically interested in Clark Kent as opposed to Superman.
- Nice Girl: She's very kind and sweet.
- Romantic False Lead: She and Clark get a lot of Ship Tease, but Clark and Lois are the film series' Official Couple.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Implied. While it's not directly revealed that this version of Lana knows Clark is Superman, some of the interactions between them seem to indicate that she is somehow aware. For one thing, how can you gaze at a high school photo of a teenage boy (without glasses) you went to school with, and not notice the resemblance to a certain boy scout in blue tights who should be around the same age now, and appears to have "abilities" similar to ones that boy had? There's also the fact that she called Clark to ask if he could get Superman to come to Ricky's birthday, when she must have known Superman would hear her if she just called out for him.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: While she used to be an example of All Girls Want Bad Boys when she dated Brad in high school, she outgrew this a long time ago and even back then she was still interested in Clark. As adults her interest is more obvious and she no longer finds Brad's attitude attractive anymore.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Despite joining the Daily Planet at the end of Superman III, she doesn't return in the sequel and her absence isn't explained.
Ricky White
Richard "Ricky" White
Species: Human
Played by: Paul Kaethler
Appearances: Superman III
The son of Lana Lang and her ex-husband Donald White.
- Canon Foreigner: While Lana does have a son name Clark Ross in the comics, he wouldn't be introduced until over a decade after Ricky.
- Significant Name Overlap: He and his father have the last name White, but have no known relation to Perry White. Also he has the same name as Richard White who appears in Superman Returns.
Brad Wilson
Brad Wilson
Species: Human
Played by: Brad Flock (1978), Gavan O'Herlihy (1983)
Appearances: Superman: The Movie | Superman III
Clark's high school bully and Lana Lang's ex-boyfriend.
- Adaptational Name Change: His last name was Bashford in the comics.
- Jaded Washout: Once he was the most popular guy in school and was dating Lana, the girl he would never get over, while also bullying the meek Clark Kent. After high school however he and Lana broke up, Clark became a successful reporter for the Daily Planet in Metropolis and Brad became an alcoholic with an unfulfilling career as a security guard which he didn't take seriously. When they reunite for their high school reunion Lana wants nothing to do with Brad and is far more interested in Clark.
- Jerk Jock: What he was in high school and what he ultimately still is twenty years later.
Metropolis
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen
Species: Human
Played by: Marc McClure (1978-1987) | Sam Huntington (2006)
Voiced in French by: Éric Legrand (1978-1983) | Vincent Violette (1987) | Stéphane Pouplard (2006)
Appearances: Superman: The Movie | Superman II | Superman '78 | Superman III | Supergirl | Superman IV: The Quest for Peace | Superman Returns
A young photographer at the Daily Planet and a friend of both Clark and Lois.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: He's a redhead in the comic canon, but both his actors are brunettes.
- Alternate Self: Has one on Earth-Prime.
- Back from the Dead: At the end of Crisis, Clark wearing yellow instead of black in his crest suggests he didn't die in the new multiverse.
- Bus Crash: Killed by the Joker when he gassed the Daily Planet sometime between 2006-2019.
- Camera Fiend: He's "Superman's best friend" and a photographer for the Daily Planet.
- Dead Alternate Counterpart: At least two Jimmys are last seen alive by the time his death in 2019 is mentioned.
- Posthumous Character: He's long dead during Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019).
- Seen It All: He's the only character to appear in all Superman films as well as Supergirl.
- Vague Age: Like Clark and Lois his age is hard to guess in Superman Returns as Huntington was about three years younger than Brandon Routh but about nine months older than Kate Bosworth. Marc McClure meanwhile was five years younger than Christopher Reeve who in turn was four years younger than Margot Kidder, and when the first film came out he was 21 which would match the role and relationship Jimmy has at the Planet and with the other characters. Clark being confirmed to be thirty years old in the first film making the age gap between the two at least nine years, and since like Routh, Huntington plays a continuation of McClure's Olsen we can assume that Jimmy is between 26-29 in Returns.
Perry White
Perry White
Species: Human
Played by: Jackie Cooper (1978-1987) | Frank Langella (2006)
Voiced in French by: Jacques Thébaut (1978-1980) | Michel Gudin (1983) | Pierre Baton (1987) | Georges Claisse (2006)
Appearances: Superman: The Movie | Superman II | Superman '78 | Superman III | Superman IV: The Quest for Peace | Superman Returns
The Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Planet and boss to both Clark and Lois.
- Alternate Self: Has one on Earth-Prime.
- Back from the Dead: At the end of Crisis, Clark's crest being yellow instead of black suggests he never died in the new Multiverse.
- Bus Crash: Killed by the Joker when he gassed the Daily Planet.
- Da Editor: He is the Daily Planet's Editor-in-Chief.
- Dead Alternate Counterpart: At least two Perry Whites are last seen alive by the time his death in 2019 is mentioned.
- Posthumous Character: He's long dead during Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019).
David Warfield
David Warfield
Species: Human
Played by: Sam Wanamaker
Voiced in French by: Gabriel Cattand
Appearances: Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
A press tycoon who purchases the Daily Planet and remakes it into a sleazy tabloid newspaper.
- Expy: He's based on Morgan Edge. Like Edge in the comics, Warfield bought ownership of the Daily Planet.
- Harmless Villain: Despite the various Planet staffers claiming that his headlines are irresponsible and could cause disaster, nothing of the sort ever happens, and Perry White ends up undercutting him and buying a controlling interest in the business, rendering him powerless.
- Immoral Journalist: He's a Rupert Murdoch-esque tycoon who buys a majority share of the Daily Planet and immediately turns it into a tabloid newspaper. The two trashy articles that influence the plot the most are the declaration that Superman told a kid who wrote him a request to help create world peace to drop dead when Supes answers that he's reluctant to meddle so much with mankind's affairs, and the declaration that Superman is dead when he is injured during his first fight against Nuclear Man and doesn't shows up for a few days (the other newspapers that appear in the same montage don't go that far in terms of speculation, just saying that they are worried he hasn't been seen).
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He's clearly inspired by Rupert Murdoch, who was well into buying up several newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic and doing away with their more serious journalism in favor of a more populist approach.
Lacy Warfield
Lacy Warfield
Species: Human
Played by: Mariel Hemingway
Voiced in French by: Dorothée Jemma
Appearances: Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
David Warfield's daughter, who takes over from Perry White as the editor of the Daily Planet.
- Calling the Old Man Out: When Mr. Warfield tries to use Superman's cape as a promotional gimmick, Lacy finds herself to have had enough with him.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Though deep down she resents her father, she grew the spine to stand up to him only after he tried to use Superman's cape as part of a gimmick. Also, she tries to woo Clark to prove Lois wrong, only to see he really is a Nice Guy and comes to really like him when she sees this.
- Expy: She is similar to Cat Grant. Both are romantically interested in Clark, though Lacy does it to prove to Lois that "all men are attracted to [her]" because she's "very, very rich".
- Leg Focus: She flirts with Clark by sitting on her desk and showing her legs.
- Nice Girl: Her father is an enormous jerkass and gave her the job of publisher through nepotism, but she is a genuinely nice person who resents her father's treatment of the Daily Planet employees.
- Romantic False Lead: Much like Lana before her, there's a clear romantic interest between her and Clark, but it ultimately goes nowhere.
- Spoiled Sweet: She's quite loaded and wields a lot of power, but is a very kind and personable lady.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After Nuclear Man is defeated, Lacy just disappears from the storyline, and it's not made clear whether she decided to stay on at the Planet and work with Perry White, or left. The deleted scenes show that she left the Planet and bought out the Kents' old farm.
Richard White
Richard White
Species: Human
Played by: James Marsden
Voiced in French by: Axel Kiener
Appearances: Superman Returns
Perry White's nephew and Lois' then-husband.
- Ace Pilot: He seems comfortable in flying planes even in (literally) rocky situations.
- Canon Foreigner: He doesn't exist in the comics.
- Love Martyr: He never resented Lois even though she's emotionally cheating on him due to her obvious lingering feelings for Superman.
- Nephewism: Dialogues suggest that Perry essentially raised him, or at least they are very close to each other.
- Nice Guy: Despite being essentially cheated on (emotionally speaking), he never seems to hold any grudge towards Lois and Superman.
- Parental Substitute: He is Jason's legal father due to marrying Lois.
- Uncertain Doom: No mention is made if he's still alive in 2019. However given that Clark refers to Lois as his wife, it means that she and Richard either divorced or Richard passed away during the thirteen years between Returns and Crisis.
Jason White
Jason White
Species: Human-Kryptonian Hybrid
Played by: Tristan Lake Leabu
Appearances: Superman Returns
Clark and Lois' child.
- Alternate Self: Had one Earth-38 named Jonathan Kent.
- Canon Foreigner: While Superman and Lois did have a son named Jon, he would not be introduced until nine years after Returns came out.
- Half-Human Hybrid: He is the son of the Last Son of Krypton and a human woman.
- Heroic Bastard: His biological parents aren't married, though that eventually changes by the time of Crisis on Infinite Earths.
- In Name Only: He is not a biological White, his mother just married Richard when Superman went AWOL.
- Locked Out of the Loop: He isn't aware that Superman is his biological father during the events of the actual movie. But a line in Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019) all but states that he did eventually learn the truth.
- Ret-Canon: He is one of the inspirations for Jonathan Samuel Kent. Although there had been different versions of Clark and Lois' son (each with a different name) in imaginary stories and Elseworlds comics before.
- Unrelated in the Adaptation: The three novelizations and Comic-Book Adaptation leave out any mention of him being Superman's son. The piano falls on Brutus due to Luthor's boat hitting a wave.
Midvale
Ethan
Ethan
Species: Human
Played by: Hart Bochner
Voiced in French by: Dominique Collignon-Maurin
Appearances: Supergirl
A handsome groundskeeper at Midvale college and the object of Selena's affections; a love spell gone awry forces him into falling in love with Linda instead, though he eventually grows to like her on his own.- Bridal Carry: Spoofed when Ethan tries to do this to Linda, but can't even lift the petite girl, because Kryptonians are denser than humans.
- Distressed Dude: Selena frequently puts Ethan in danger, forcing Supergirl to save him.
- Love at First Sight: Selena's potion makes Ethan fall in love on sight with the first woman he sees.
Lucy Lane
Lucy Lane
Species: Human
Played by: Maureen Teefy
Voiced in French by: Françoise Dasque
Appearances: Supergirl
Lois Lane's younger sister and a college student who befriends Linda. Selena kidnaps her as insurance against Supergirl.- Alliterative Name: Much like her sister, her name is Lucy Lane.
- Continuity Snarl: In the first Superman film, Lois mentions that her sister has "three kids, two cats, and one mortgage". However, when Lucy eventually appears in the Supergirl film, she's still a college student. To be fair, it's possible that Lois and Lucy have another sister.
- Negated Moment of Awesome: Lucy climbs onto the possessed construction vehicle and attempts to stop it, but is knocked out when it swerves.
Other
Sam and Ella Lane
Sam and Ella Lane
Species: Human
Played by: Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill
Appearances: Superman: The Movie
The parents of Lois and Lucy Lane.- Absurdly Elderly Mother: In real life Alyn was born in 1910 while Neill was born in 1920, making them 68 and 58 respectively when the film was made. However the scene they are shown in is set in 1966 where they have a prepubescent daughter, and in Supergirl released in 1984 they have a teenage daughter who would have to be born at least after that.
- Deleted Role: They appear in a deleted scene along with a young Lois on a train and don't believe her when she sees a teenage Clark Kent running past. This was restored for home media release however.
- Remake Cameo: Alyn and Neill were the first actors to portray Superman and Lois Lane in live action, in the 1948 movie serial and its 1950 sequel Atom Man vs. Superman. Niell reprised her role in The Adventures of Superman television series.
- You Look Familiar: Noel Neill would later be cast as Gertrude Vanderworth in Superman Returns.
Mr. Luthor
Mr Luthor
Species: Human
Appearances: Superman: The Movie (mentioned)
The unseen father of the greatest criminal mind the world has ever seen.
- Abusive Parents: Implied by Lex, who said that his father told Lex to "get out" when he was only six, although this may have been Lex's idea of a joke.
- The Ghost: Mentioned once by Lex but never seen.
- No Name Given: As he only gets a brief mention.
- Uncertain Doom: Lex says it's a pity he didn't get to see how far Lex has come, but it's left ambiguous whether he's still alive or not.
Krypton
House of El
Jor-El
Jor-El
Species: Kryptonian
Played by: Marlon Brando
Voiced in French by: Jacques Toja (1978) | Féodor Atkine (2006)
Appearances: Superman: The Movie | Superman II | Superman '78 | Superman Returns
The biological father of Kal-El and Krypton's chief scientist.
- Ascended Extra: This adaptation gave Jor-El unprecedented importance in Superman's origin story beyond just blasting him off to Earth. Superman's superhero career becomes a messianic mission bestowed by Jor-El as God-figure. Jor-El sends Kal-El forth to use his powers as The Paragon for humans, "the light to show them the way to greatness". His Virtual Ghost charges Clark to become Superman and trains him for 12 years. In the comics and most other following adaptations (until Man of Steel that is), Jor-El had nothing at all to do with Clark becoming Superman. Jor-El sent his son to Earth simply to save his life with no ulterior motives for humanity. Earth was chosen simply because it was habitable and Kal-El would fit right alongside humans. The awesome powers were a bonus, and Clark becoming Superman was all due to him being a morally upright, responsible man as raised by the Kents.
- Big Good: Superman's heroic deeds were largely from Jor-El's influence.
- Death by Origin Story: He dies after sending Clark to Earth. Except not really as revealed by Superman '78. During the last few seconds prior to Kypton's destruction the city of Kandor was saved by Brainiac which included himself and Lara, and they are still alive decades later to be reunited with their son. And not only that but they remain alive by the end of the comic.
- Exact Words: "Neither I nor my wife will leave Krypton." Jor-El instead sends his son Kal-El to Earth, thus technically keeping his promise to the Council.
- Face Death with Dignity: Both him and Lara. Subverted as they do try to avoid the falling debris and protruding crystal structures, but they don't panic like the other Kryptonians, having already accepted their inevitable fate.
- Huge Holographic Head: Jor-El speaks to and finishes training Kal-El in the Fortress of Solitude using this trope.
- Ignored Expert: His comics version is the trope page picture and used to be the trope's namesake.
Lara
Lara
Species: Kryptonian
Played by: Susannah York
Voiced in French by: Jeanine Freson
Appearances: Superman: The Movie | Superman II | Superman '78 | Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
The biological mother to Kal-El.- Death by Origin Story: She dies after sending Clark to Earth. Except not really as revealed by Superman '78. During the last few seconds prior to Kypton's destruction the city of Kandor was saved by Brainiac which included herself and Jor-El, and they are still alive decades later to be reunited with their son. And not only that but they remain alive by the end of the comic.
- Satellite Character: Doesn't have the same importance in making Clark Superman like Jor-El does.
Kryptonian Science Council
Vond-Ah
Vond-Ah
Species: Kryptonian
Played by:
'''Voiced in French by:
Appearances: Superman: The Movie
A female member who is considered to be one of the planet’s best scientists.
- Canon Foreigner: Specifically created for the movie.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Vond-Ah is, in some ways, responsible for Krypton’s extinction, but the karma gods are not mocked. She and the other members of the council pay the ultimate price for not taking Jor-El’s warnings seriously.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: Her Apocalyptic Gag Order is the reason why no one does anything about the evacuation of Krypton's denizens.
- Too Dumb to Live: She is insistent that Krypton is merely shifting its orbit. This costs her her life.
General Zod and his associates
General Zod
General Dru-Zod
Species: Kryptonian
Played by: Terence Stamp
Voiced in French by: Sady Rebbot (1978) | René Arrieu (1980)
Appearances: Superman: The Movie | Superman II
Krypton's military leader and a heinous war criminal.
- And I Must Scream: Zod and company in the Phantom Zone, described in-universe as "an eternal living death".
- The Bad Guy Wins / Tyrant Takes the Helm: Subverted. Zod succeeds in turning Earth into his own personal fiefdom, but his victory is phyrric and short lived. He grows bored and becomes reinvigorated when Superman stands in his way.
- Beard of Evil: He sports a beard and is the Big Bad of the second Superman film.
- Big Bad: Of Superman II.
- The Comically Serious: He mistakenly calls Earth "Planet Houston" a few times before someone corrects him.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: While Lex Luthor was an Earthling who relied on his intelligence to be a threat, Zod is an alien who uses brute force to get his way. Of course, being a Kryptonian in a yellow-sun environment, he has the titanic power to use for that purpose. Lex provided moments of levity in spite of his villainy, while Zod is incredibly serious.
- Icy Blue Eyes: Zod’s eyes are a very cold blue.
- Kneel Before Zod: For he is the Trope Namer! He loves imposing his "superiority" on others.
- Knight of Cerebus: He's more serious and less campy than Luthor, not to mention far more dangerous, easily conquering the planet.
- Large Ham: He seems to love being theatrical.
- Myopic Conqueror: After easily conquering the Earth with his vast power, General Zod bemoans how boring it is.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: While Ursa and Non's uniforms are completely black, the trim on Zod's outfit is a dark, metallic red.
- Victory Is Boring: All three Kryptonian villains suffer from this but Zod is the worst. The ease at which he defeats the US military quickly starts to bore him."I win! ...I always win. Is there no one on this planet to even challenge me?"
- Vocal Evolution: For the first film, Zod is more soft-spoken, with a higher-pitched voice. In the second, his voice sounds like it dropped an octave or so. His time in the Phantom Zone may have had something to do with it.
Ursa
Ursa
"Release the General, or we'll tear her apart!"
Species: Kryptonian
Played by: Sarah Douglas
Voiced in French by: Sylvie Feit
Appearances: Superman: The Movie | Superman II
Zod's henchwoman.
- Adaptation Name Change: She's basically Faora in all but name.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: In the first movie, after she and the other villains are trapped in the Phantom Zone, she can be heard shouting "Forgive me!"
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She's generally unemotional.
- Death Glare: Her default look — made all the more dramatic by Sarah Douglas’ huge, cat-like eyes.
- Does Not Like Men: Described as having an unreasoning hatred of all mankind.
- Dragon Their Feet: Ursa is killed off mere seconds after Zod.
- Excessive Evil Eyeshadow: Sports a pale silver-toned foundation, a deep red lip and dark, smoky eyeshadow to emphasise her huge, piercing eyes.
- Expy: Was one for the comic character Faora. In a roundabout way, Man of Steel used Faora while incorporating elements of Ursa to her character.
- The Sociopath: She has no concern or care for other people besides Zod. She even gloats that the boy Non killed will never become a man.
- Statuesque Stunner: Ursa is tall (5'9") and beautiful.
- Victor Steals Insignia: Ursa displays a penchant for collecting and wearing symbols and badges from the law enforcement and military officers she kills.
- Would Hurt a Child: One of the first things described about Ursa is that her hatred of men endangered Krypton's children. A deleted scene shows her declaring that a boy who got killed while trying to get help will never become a man.
Non
Non
Species: Kryptonian
Played by: Jack O Halloran
Appearances: Superman: The Movie | Superman II
Zod's henchman.
- Beard of Evil: He sports a longer and more unkempt one than his boss.
- The Brute: All muscle and hardly any brains.
- Dumb Muscle: Big and strong, with a brain the size of a peanut.
- Expy: He's the Kryptonian equivalent to Otis, except that Otis doesn't have the strength to serve as Luthor's muscle.
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: During Non’s first scene at the trial, Jor-El doesn't refer to him by name, merely as a "mindless aberration, whose only means of expression are wanton violence and destruction".
- The Voiceless: Doesn't speak, only grunts.
Argo City
Alura and Zor-El
Alura and Zor-El
Species: Kryptonian
Played by: Mia Farrow (Alura), Simon Ward (Zor-El)
Voiced in French by: Anne Jolivet (Alura), René Roussel (Zor-El)
Appearances: Supergirl
Kara's parents, who live on Argo City.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Alura is usually depicted as a blonde in the comics and most adaptations. In this version, she has brown hair instead.
- Satellite Family Member: There isn't much to say about them except than they're Kara's parents.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Zor-El angrily calls out Zaltar for losing the Omegahedron and endangering Argo City.
Zaltar
Zaltar
Species: Kryptonian
Played by: Peter O'Toole
Voiced in French by: Gabriel Cattand
Appearances: Supergirl
A Kryptonian resident of Argo City who mentors Kara Zor-El. He exiled himself to the Phantom Zone for stealing the Omegahedron, which Argo City needs to live.
- Anti-Hero: Zaltar took the Omegahedron in the first place, and accepts his banishment to the Phantom Zone as punishment while noting that Argo City's suffering will be quick and painless.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: Zaltar goes mad during his time in the Phantom Zone, as to him it felt like forever had passed.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He redeems himself by sacrificing himself to let Kara escape the Phantom Zone.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: If Zaltar hadn't "borrowed" the Omegahedron, there'd be no Supergirl movie.
