Shadow Archetype / Superman

Superman

Superman's archenemies are dark reflections of himself. While many of them 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 literally can't see beyond their short-term desires.

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Comic Books

Comic Books

• 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.
• 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.
• General Zod is Superman with a sense of personal entitlement instead of charity. Zod also serves as an example of what Superman could become if he gives in to self-righteousness. He also serves as an example of what it would look like if a Kryptonian became a ruthless dictator.
• Mr. Mxyzptlk is an "alien" who is "careful" with his immense power but still uses it frivolously instead of responsibly.
• 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.
• Doomsday is power harnessed for destruction instead of protection.
• Brainiac, being the cold, malevolent planet-destroying alien that is emotionally detached from humanity to Superman's caring, benevolent planet-saving alien that is emotionally attached to humanity.
• 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.
• Martian Manhunter 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 (with his human guise usually that of a black man). 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.
• Bizarro is an an imperfect copy of Superman created by science gone awry. The end result is a Psychopathic Manchild trapped in an alien's body.
• Mongul I, another alien despot who enjoys watching others fight and die for his sadistic amusement, feels that the universe owes him its fealty, and runs every planet he rules into the ground with his limitless ambition and cruelty.
• As with Metallo, Cyborg Superman's powers came at the cost of losing his sanity, causing him to irrationally blame Superman for his misfortunes.
• The Erradicator is everything Superman is not: Abrasive, pitiless, willing to depose even the most minor threats with lethal force. He's all of The Man of Steel's power and willingness but without any trace of something akin to a conscience.
• Ultraman of Earth-3 is what happens when absolute power is given to a small-minded, petty jerk, and demonstrates why Earth-1/the Matter universe is so lucky to get the Superman that it did.
• Born on a parallel dimension devoid of any metas and destroyed during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, 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 is just a psychotic and murderous villain.
• Batman could be seen as one - both are orphans who seek justice, but Clark is an idealistic everyman who won the Superpower Lottery and wants to be an inspiration, and Bruce is a jaded billionaire Badass Normal who wants to be a symbol of fear. Such contrasts is what make them Vitriolic Best Buds.
• Manchester Black is a cynical Superman who goes on a Knight Templar crusade killing criminals instead of arresting them. Black even mocks Superman for being a stupid idiot who clings on to traditional heroics.
• Red Hood and the Outlaws: Starfire to Superman. She's the flip side of Clark's coin, both being nearly all powerful aliens that are powered by the yellow sun. Both came from being traumatically removed from home into unfamiliar surroundings, with two very different upbringings. Starfire's perceptions of humanity, along with her tendency to attempt to kill whatever she doesn't like directly contrast Clark's. Star wishes to remain very private, only presenting herself willingly to the public eye when it's unavoidable. She doesn't wish to come off as friendly or there for others' protection, she just wants to do what she wishes. In issue 14, they meet... and it nearly breaks out into all out brawl involving the "team" and Sups, mostly due to her and Jason's character traits. It takes Jason's date, Isabel, from keeping things from getting out of hand while getting them all to sit down and talk.
• Supergirl has several dark counterparts like Satan Girl and Dark Supergirl (who are literally her dark side given shape and sentience), Overgirl (her Nazi counterpart from a parallel universe), Bizarrogirl (her backwards, imperfect clone), and in Who is Superwoman?, 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.

Films

Films

• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: After two decades of fighting crime, 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.
• Superman: Doomsday features Superman's clone, who still holds Supes' desire to help people and protect his city, but goes into extreme measures to do so, from threatening civilians to killing Toyman. Superman even calls him "My reflection in a cracked mirror."
• In Superman Returns, Richard White is essentially a reflection of the man that 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 (in a plane); unlike Superman, he's a fully committed family man who actually marries Lois, and becomes a father to the son that Superman unwittingly abandoned.

Live-Action TV

Live-Action TV

• In Smallville Lex Luthor was always being warned about the darkness that he carried within himself. Enter Lx-3, a failed clone of Lex in the Season 10 premiere, "Lazarus". Lx-3 was essentially Lex without the facade, with all the rage and anger simmering at the very surface. An Ax-Crazy psycho to Lex's Manipulative Bastard, Lx-3 showcases exactly what is lurking beneath the surface of our favourite Corrupt Corporate Executive, while demonstrating how vital that restraint really is if Lex is to be a successful supervillain.

Video Games

Video Games

• Injustice: Regime Superman in Injustice: Gods Among Us represents what Superman can become if a tragic event drove him to snap and lose his moral compass for good. After understanding what drove his Regime counterpart to villainy, multiverse Superman fears that he would've done the same things. Regime Superman also channels General Zod's authoritarian tendencies. In his arcade ending, multiverse Superman ingests a kryptonite piece that can be remotely detonated in the event he goes rogue.
  • He's also one to Supergirl in Injustice 2, as while he still hasn't recovered from the Despair Event Horizon, she wishes to actually give people hope (and make them trust the House of El again) and not be a Well-Intentioned Extremist dictator unlike her estranged cousin. Not that one could rightly call her a heel in the first place, 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.

Western Animation

Western Animation

• My Adventures with Superman: 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 "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.