7 DC Villains Only Superman Can Defeat

Superman has been DC Comics‘ greatest champion for decades now. The Man of Steel started out as a man of the people, dealing with wifebeaters, corrupt officials, and their underlings, but that changed as the years went on and he got more powerful. Eventually, he needed enemies who could stand with the most powerful being on the planet and creators over the decade obliged, giving him a gallery of the most potent villains in comics. His enemies are tailor-made for him; while other heroes can often beat them at something, they can rarely ever actually defeat them. They have powers and abilities that put them in levels where only someone as formidable as Superman would have a hope at truly beating them.

Back in the day, it was rare for heroes to have to deal with the villains of other heroes. If they did, usually it was in a team-up, where they are able to see things from another perspective and play a key role in the win. In the modern era, there’s more cross-pollination of villains but there are still some enemies who only the Last Son of Krypton can deal with. These seven DC villains are too much for anyone but Superman, their threat putting them at a higher level than other heroes.

7) Solaris

All-Star Superman is a flawless comic, with its ending being one of the coolest ever put to paper. It brought in the most underrated member of the Man of Steel’s rogues gallery, Solaris the Tyrant Sun. A solar computer from the future, it was built to help humanity but eventually turned against its creators, with Superman leading the charge against it. Over the years, it made itself powerful enough where only Kryptonians of Superman’s lineage could deal with it. In the present day, the Man of Steel is still the only one who can really beat it. He’s powerful enough to change the spectrum of the light of the sun; there’s really no one else who I can think of that would be able to handle it other than Superman. While it’s definitely more powerful than he is, especially if a future version who fought the super-Kryptonians shows up, he’s still smart enough to outmaneuver it and get the win, something no one else could do.

6) Lord Vyndktvx

Grant Morrison’s time on Action Comics is one of the best Superman runs of all time, and a big reason for this is Lord Vyndktvx. Over the 19 issue story, he was a constant presence, working in the background of everything that was happening to Superman over his five years in Metropolis. Vyndktvx is a Fifth Dimensional imp who was trying to hunt down Mxyzptlk and his lover Mrs. Nyxly. His attack was nonlinear, so he was always one step behind everything that was going on, watching Superman from a position in time that he couldn’t reach. It’s the kind of multidimensional thinking that most heroes can’t even hope to reach and it comes from years of dealing with the Fifth Dimension. Maybe Batman could figure out a way to win a fight with Vyndktvx or at least slow him down. However, only the Man of Steel knows how to fight bad guys like this.

5) Bizarro

Bizarro might seem sort of funny and pathetic, but he’s also one of the most dangerous villains you could ever face. The thing about him is that he has all of the powers of Superman, so this is someone who could rip people apart with no trouble at all. In fact, he could tear planets apart if he got angry enough. Sometimes, he’s a more of a comedic opposite Superman but there have been versions that were actually evil and usually the one who can deal with that is Superman. He’s the only one with the power to handle a potentially irate Bizarro but more importantly, he knows how to deal with him and keep him from getting to that dangerous stage. Plus, Bizarro has his own obsession with Superman, meaning that he would rather deal with the Man of Steel than anyone else. There might be a few people who have the power to deal with him, but even they would have problem with him.

4) Rogol Zaar

There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Rogol Zaar was a waste of a villain, but that doesn’t mean that he was a weak villain. Far from it actually, as he proved to be one of the most powerful Superman villain sever. The alien who destroyed Krypton, he was powerful enough to smack Superman, Supergirl, Superboy, and General Zod all at once. That’s a level of power that most heroes wouldn’t even hope to reach, which would be a problem against Zaar. You have to be able to hang with someone who can outfight four Kryptonians, three of whom are experienced and well-trained, long enough to figure out a way to win. Maybe Martian Manhunter can do it and that’s a big maybe that’s predicated on the slim chance that ol’Rogol is weak to telepathy (he’s almost certainly not, because he’s actually just a set of powers and not an actual villain). Otherwise, the only person who could win this fight is Superman.

3) Mr. Mxyzptlk

Superman faces off against ridiculously powerful enemies and Mr. Mxyzptlk has always been one of the most potent in that regard. The Fifth Dimensional imp is all about messing with the Man of Steel. Sometimes, this takes the shape of a bunch of gags and such that are meant to be funny and just waste the Man of Steel’s time. Others, they can get rather scary, because this is someone who can basically do whatever he wants. The only way to beat him is to figure out his scheme this time and somehow use it against him, forcing him back to the Fifth Dimension. Much like against Vyndtkvx, Supes just knows how to deal with Mxy. Most of the time, the only way Mxy is going to take any notice of anyone else is if the Man of Steel is there, because most of the time, that’s who he cares about the most. If Supes isn’t there and Mxy doesn’t feel like losing, too bad for everyone else.

2) Doomsday

“Death of Superman” is a legendary tale, one that saw the Man of Steel go up against his greatest challenge, the monster known as Doomsday. A weapon created years before on Krypton, he was made to be a planet killer, a living weapon that was basically just rage and muscles; just drop him on a planet and he’ll do the rest. He had an interesting evolutionary adaptation, though; he was able to revive from death and would be able to survive the thing that killed him last. He was the ultimate unstoppable force and he tore through everyone in his way except Superman, who was able to fight him, ending with both of them falling. Since then, the monster has showed up many more times and every time Supes has been called in. It’s mostly a question of power level; no one else is powerful enough to corral the monster long enough to hurt him. Even with a whole team of heroes, you still need the Man of Steel there to do his part.

1) Mongul

Over the years, many enemies have appeared from space to challenge the Man of Tomorrow. The first Mongul rode in on Warworld, attacking the Earth and challenging the greatest hero in the universe, doing everything he could to kill Supes (Wonder Woman tried her best to hurt him in “For the Man Who Has Everything”, but couldn’t even scratch him without breaking out the Fortress of Solitude’s weapons), the first of several. Since then, two other Warzoons have been able to reach the level of Mongul, deposing the last one and attacking Superman. The most successful by far is the third one, but he was lucky enough to face off against a greatly weakened Last Son of Krypton, capturing him and the Authority. However, by the end, Supes had gotten his hands on the Fire of Olgrun, enhancing his powers to great levels. Even then, the hero struggled against this version of Mongul. While he was ultimately defeated, this version of Mongul would have been too much for any other hero out there.

Who do you think are the strongest Superman villains? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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