10 Kryptonian Villains Who Are Just as Powerful as Superman

For years, Superman was known as the Last Son of Krypton who was spared from his world’s destruction. However, Superman would soon learn that he’s far from the last Kryptonian in the universe. Many of these Kryptonian survivors, like Supergirl and Krypto, would become some of DC Comics’ greatest heroes. Unfortunately for Superman and the rest of the universe, not every Kryptonian is as friendly as he is. Some of the most fearsome villains in the cosmos are Kryptonian survivors who use their god-like powers to battle Superman and the remnants of the House of El. These supervillains represent the worst parts of Krypton’s legacy.

Many of Krypton’s worst villains were imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, a Limbo-like dimension outside time and space where inmates can interact with the physical realm only as invisible, intangible ghosts. Ironically, this prison ensured that they survived Krypton’s destruction. Whether it be through the Phantom Zone or by other means, these villains from Krypton are some of Superman’s most powerful foes.

10) Jax-Ur

Krypton was a planet whose people valued science and logic above all else, so naturally they would have a few mad scientists among their ranks. Considered one of the worst criminals in Krypton’s history, Jax-Ur was a scientist who was put into the Phantom Zone because one of his experiments destroyed Krypton’s moon of Wrethgor and its 500 inhabitants. After Krypton’s destruction, Jax-Ur made numerous escape attempts from the Phantom Zone, all of which led to fights with Superman. Despite having all the near-unlimited powers of a Kryptonian, what makes Jax-Ur truly terrifying is his intelligence and knack for using people in his inhumane experiments. Jax-Ur is a textbook psychopath and has absolutely no regard for the lives of others. He would also go undercover as a human scientist to attack the Superman Family when they least suspected it. Jax-Ur shows the depths of cruelty that Kryptonians are capable of in the pursuit of scientific advancement.

9) Ursa

Even before Krypton blew up, the planet was already in chaos with the villainous General Zod staging a coup against the Kryptonian Science Council. Among Zod’s followers, few were as loyal as Lieutenant Ursa. A member of the Kryptonian Military Guild, Ursa was one of Krypton’s fiercest and most sadistic warriors. When Zod’s coup failed, he, along with Ursa and the other traitors, were banished to the Phantom Zone. After their escape, Ursa, like other Kryptonian villains, relished the newfound power that they gain from their exposure to a yellow sun. With this power, Ursa followed Zod as he sought to conquer the universe. For her devotion, Zod made Ursa his queen, and together they sired a son named Lor-Zod. With Zod by her side, Ursa helped establish a new Kryptonian Empire until she died in battle. Yet, when Zod resurrected her, Ursa immediately killed him for showing emotional weakness. With Zod gone, Ursa now fully intends to usher the Kryptonian Empire into a new age.

8) Xa-Du

The Phantom Zone is full of Krypton’s worst criminals, and Xa-Du is its king. Superman’s father, Jor-El, discovered the Phantom Zone and decided to use it to imprison Krypton’s criminals, starting with Xa-Du. A horrific mad scientist, Xa-Du’s experiments with suspended animation caused his subjects to experience agonizing deaths. Yet even after being imprisoned and trapped as a ghost-like entity, it wasn’t enough to stop Xa-Du’s desire for vengeance against the House of El. As the Phantom Zone’s first inmate, Xa-Du spent decades learning the intricacies of the accursed dimension to escape. By harnessing the bodies of other Phantom Zone prisoners, Xa-Du crafted an Ecto-suit that lets him interact with the physical plane. This suit not only allows Xa-Du to gain the Kryptonian powers necessary to fight on par with Superman, but it’s also outfitted with poisonous claws that can severely weaken the Man of Steel. Xa-Du is a terrifying spectral villain whose sadism, intellect, and power make him more than worthy of the title of the Phantom King.

7) Faora Hu-Ul

Ursa may be General Zod’s wife, but Faora Hu-Ul is his greatest warrior. A sadistic serial killer and soldier who despised Krypton’s peaceful age, Faora gladly joined Zod’s failed coup against the Kryptonian government. Like Zod and the rest of his followers, Faora was banished to the Phantom Zone until they were ultimately able to escape. Renowned for her mastery of the Kryptonian martial art Horo-Kanu, Faora can effortlessly and gracefully kill scores of enemies. And unlike other Kryptonians who regressed to relying on brute strength once empowered by yellow sunlight, Faora used the immense power boost to make her fighting style even more efficient as she exploits pressure points and kills opponents in the blink of an eye. Faora lives to dominate and kill those she considers beneath her, making her Zod’s most fearsome soldier. Even DC’s strongest heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman have found themselves outmatched by Faora’s speed, strength, and brutal precision.

6) Eradicator

When Krypton exploded, the AI known as the Eradicator was entrusted with preserving its history, culture, people, and legacy. While that sounds good on paper, the Eradicator often seeks to preserve Krypton at the expense of all other races in the universe. This killer android has made multiple attempts to exterminate humanity and terraform Earth into a new Krypton. Eradicator is especially dangerous because, in addition to having a synthetic body that replicates all the powers of a regular Kryptonian, it also has unique abilities such as mechanokinesis, shapeshifting, energy manipulation, hologram projection, telepathy, and the power to absorb people’s souls. Despite these terrifying abilities, the Eradicator is a complex AI that sometimes helps Superman. The most notable example is when Superman died fighting Doomsday; Eradicator was one of four beings to take up the Man of Steel’s mantle and even helped defeat Cyborg Superman. Still, the Eradicator is a powerful, menacing foe who would destroy all life if it believed it could resurrect Krypton.

5) Ultraman

The main DC Universe, Earth-0, isn’t the only universe with a Krypton. In the morality-inverted world of Earth-3, the planet’s powerful, sadistic ruler and leader of the Crime Syndicate is an evil version of Superman known as Ultraman. When this universe’s version of Krypton was going to explode, Ultraman’s parents killed everyone trying to escape the planet to ensure that only the strongest would survive. Upon arriving on Earth as a toddler, Ultraman used his power to hold the Kents hostage before eventually killing them. Unlike Kryptonians of the main universe, Ultraman is empowered by Kryptonite and weakened by sunlight. To get around this, Ultraman pushed the moon so that the Earth is stuck under a perpetual eclipse. With his god-like Kryptonian physiology and rampant sadism, Ultraman is Earth-3’s strongest villain, which he rules with an iron fist. His cruelty has led him to invade other worlds and kill numerous versions of Superman across the multiverse. Ultraman originated the evil Superman trope.

4) H’El

H’El is essentially the closest thing Superman has to a brother because he’s a clone created by Jor-El. Like the Eradicator, H’El was created to preserve Krypton’s history and knowledge. Upon arriving on Earth in a rocket ship, H’El declared himself as Krypton’s savior and sought to save his homeworld at the expense of Earth. Possessing a genius-level intellect, H’El developed a time machine that would allow him to go back in time and prevent Krypton’s annihilation. Unfortunately, the machine needed to drain the sun dry to work. In addition to his incredible mind, H’El’s artificial body grants him abilities far beyond that of an average Kryptonian. He wields telepathy, telekinesis, size alteration, and time-warping abilities. Even worse, H’El is immune to Kryptonian weaknesses like Kryptonite and red sunlight. With this expansive power set, H’El has fought on equal footing with Superman, Supergirl, and the Justice League simultaneously. As Krypton’s version of Frankenstein’s Monster, H’El is the darkest part of Jor-El’s legacy.

3) Superboy-Prime

The Clark Kent of Earth Prime initially believed he was an average teen who only shared a name with the Man of Tomorrow from the comic books he loved. However, during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Clark discovered that not only were his heroes real, but that he wasn’t even human. The Crisis caused Clark’s latent Kryptonian genes to manifest, granting him all the powers of his favorite hero. Taking on the name Superboy-Prime, Clark was initially a hero who helped save the multiverse. However, after the destruction of his home universe and seeing how the main DC Universe grew darker, Superboy-Prime went mad. Possessing the infinite powers of a Kryptonian before the Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot, Superboy-Prime is among the strongest beings in existence who can casually rewrite reality with a fourth wall-shattering punch. With this power, Superboy-Prime committed a multiversal genocide that saw numerous universes annihilated and countless lives lost. Although Superboy-Prime has since reformed, he was still among the most unstable and dangerous villains the multiverse had ever seen.

2) Doomsday

Doomsday is famous for being the monster who killed Superman, and he managed this near-impossible feat thanks to his twisted upbringing on Krypton. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, when Krypton was a harsh prehistoric landscape full of inhospitable environments, an alien scientist named Bertron decided that it was the perfect spot for his experiments. Seeking to create the ultimate lifeform, Bertron placed an artificially grown infant into this nightmarish environment, where it immediately died. Berton then collected the baby’s remains and cloned a new one. After dying and being resurrected countless times, the creature began to evolve to survive prehistoric Krypton’s landscape. By the end of the experiment, the creature, now known as Doomsday, became a hulking beast that could survive anything and resurrect himself upon death. Unfortunately, the constant cycle of life and death caused Berton to accidentally program Doomsday to hate all life and become an unstoppable killing machine. Even thousands of years later, Doomsday remains an unkillable monster who has given Superman some of his hardest fights.

1) General Zod

Out of all of Superman’s villains from Krypton, none are more infamous and ruthless than General Dru-Zod. Despite once being lauded as Krypton’s greatest soldier and the head of the planet’s military, his lust for power led him to attempt a coup against the Kryptonian Science Council. When Zod’s insurgency failed, he and his followers were banished to the Phantom Zone by his former friend, Jor-El. Upon escaping the Phantom Zone and discovering that their world was gone, Zod has made it his life’s mission to remake the Kryptonian Empire in his own militaristic image. The betrayal he felt from Jor-El imprisoning him caused Zod to harbor a deep hatred for Superman and the rest of the House of El. Zod also believes Superman’s love for humanity makes him weak, and he despises him for it. With his Kryptonian powers enhanced by his decades of military training, Zod frequently proves himself to be one of the most fearsome tyrants in the universe. General Zod personifies the worst part of Krypton’s history and stands as one of Superman’s greatest enemies.

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