Superman has been having something of a renaissance for several years now. While most would point to the release of a new Superman movie as a turning point for the Man of Steel, comic fans have been getting some amazing Superman stories since 2021 with the “Warworld Saga”. Since then, we’ve gotten even more excellent stories from his ongoing series Action Comics and Superman, miniseries like Superman: Space Age, and one-shots starring the Superman family like Kal-El-Fornia Love. These comics have reminded fans why they love Superman so much, including bringing in some of the coolest villains in comics.
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Superman faces off against some of the most dangerous foes, but not all of them are as popular as his big-name nemeses. Some Superman villains aren’t household names, but they definitely deserve to be. These 7 Superman villains are all awesome, but they haven’t been given the chance to shine as much as they should.
7) Livewire
Livewire first appeared in Superman: The Animated Series, where she was voiced by Lori Petty. She was a ’90s-style radio shock jock who didn’t like Superman, eventually gaining electrokinetic powers and fighting him. She’d eventually show up in the comics, and since then has been a lower-level Superman villain, appearing in shorter stories.
She’s not exactly the most powerful enemy of the Man of Steel, which probably plays into how little she’s used, but she’s always entertaining. Livewire is an awesome villain for lower-stakes stories, and the current podcast sphere fits her to a tee. She’s made some comic appearances in the last few years, but there’s so much more that can be done with her.
6) Kryptonite Man
Kryptonite is important to Superman’s mythology, the mineral being one of the few things that can actually hurt the Man of Steel. Many of his enemies use Kryptonite to battle him, and it would be a no-brainer to assume that there is a Kryptonite Man in his history. There have been multiple villains over the decades named Kryptonite Man, with even Lex Luthor using the name in battle against Superman at least once.
The various Kryptonite Men do exactly what you’d think they’d do — use Kryptonite radiation to hurt Superman. This is a mantle that can easily be used to create an all-new A-list Superman villain at any time, and it’s about time that DC gave readers a new Kryptonite Man.
5) Solaris the Tyrant Sun
All-Star Superman is one of the best Superman stories ever, and it reintroduced readers to the best villain they’d probably never heard of. Solaris the Tyrant Sun was introduced in DC One Million. It was a solar computer from the future that gained a hatred for Superman and the Superman Dynasty, trying to destroy the hero and his descendants. Solaris felt like a Silver Age villain brought into the present day, and fit the flavor of a Superman comic to a tee, even though it would rarely actually appear outside of the work of Grant Morrison.
I’ve never understood why creators other than Morrison don’t use it, because it is the perfect Superman villain: a powerful conqueror from the future constantly trying to destroy the Man of Steel. Solaris should be an A-list DC villain by now, and maybe one day all of us Solaris fans will get our wish.
4) Toyman
Intelligent villains and Superman go together like chocolate and peanut butter. Most of the Man of Steel’s greatest villains are super-smart, with Lex Luthor and Brainiac using their intellect and powerful technology to even up the odds with the most powerful hero on Earth. However, there’s another super-intelligent villain that battles the protector of Metropolis: Toyman.
There have been several Toymen over the years, with Winslow Schott being the main one. Schott creates powerful toy-based weapons and has used robotic bodies to battle Superman. He’s proven to be a great villain in any era; early stories played up the campy nature of the character, while later stories took him in darker directions. Toyman is a D-list villain that numerous stories could be built around, and should be even more beloved than he is.
3) Metallo
Metallo is another Superman villain that has been around for a long time, starred in some cool stories, but has never really become a top Superman villain. There have been several versions of Metallo over the years, but the one that fans know the best is John Corben. John is sometimes a soldier and other times just a normal person who goes through a terrible accident (sometimes Superman-related), and is given a new body powered by Kryptonite. Metallo is strong enough to punch it out with the hero, his Kryptonite heart giving him the advantage.
Metallo is usually a mid-level boss of a comic villain, and has starred in some cool stories from various creators. He’s a powerful and interesting villain who is overshadowed by better-known villains, but that doesn’t change how great a Superman antagonist he is.
2) Terra-Man
There have been numerous kinds of Superman villains over the decades. There have been mad scientists, alien overlords, all-powerful monsters, and evil supervillains of all kinds. One of the most unique villains in the Man of Steel’s mythos is Terra-Man. Terra-Man was mostly used in the pre-Crisis years and was an evil cowboy riding a pegasus. There’s something wild about a gunslinger battling Superman while riding a pegasus, but for some reason, DC has never been able to create a modern version of the villain.
Terra-Man is definitely a weird villain, but he’s exactly the kind of villain that Superman needs. He’s bad, but somewhat wacky, which is exactly the sweet spot that every Superman villain needs to hit to be successful.
1) Ultra-Humanite
Lex Luthor is Superman’s greatest enemy, but there was a time when another was considered the Man of Steel’s number one foe. That was Ultra-Humanite, a mad scientist who wanted to take over the world and kill Superman. Ultra-Humanite would master the art of body-jumping, putting his mind into the body of actress Dolores Winters. He’d later put his brain into the body of a powerful albino gorilla and became one of the Justice Society’s main foes.
Since Crisis on Infinite Earths brought the multiple Earths back together, Ultra-Humanite and Superman have fought numerous times, but he’s not really associated with Superman anymore, despite numerous creators trying to reinstate their rivalry.
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