Superman is DC Comics‘ greatest hero, and has often been thought of as the most powerful hero in the publisher’s superhero universe. The Man of Steel is as powerful as he needs to be in any given situation, his Kryptonian cells supercharged by the solar radiation of Earth’s yellow sun. Kryptonians have the potential for amazing powers, gaining super strength, invulnerability, flight, various vision powers including heat vision and microscopic vision, super senses, super speed, freeze breath, and more. He’s a titan of power, and he’s used that power to save the multiverse numerous times, both on his own and with his friends in the Justice League.
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There have been many versions of Superman, but he’s not the only powerful Kryptonian in the DC Multiverse. Over the years, other Kryptonians have been introduced, some as allies of Superman, and others as enemies. These seven Kryptonians who aren’t the Man of Steel (so, no Superboy-Prime or Jon Kent, since they are both technically Superman in different ways) are the most powerful in DC Comics, using their powers for heroism or villainy.
7) Superboy (Kon-El)
So, at one point, Kon-El was shown as Superman in an alternate future, but he’s not technically Kal-El, so he counts. There have been several Superboys over the years, but Kon-El is the best. He was introduced in the aftermath of “Death of Superman”, a clone of the Man of Steel created by Project Cadmus. In order to stabilize his genes (Kryptonians have been notoriously hard to clone), Cadmus used Lex Luthor’s DNA. At first, Superboy’s powers were based on tactile telekinesis. His body was surrounded by a energy field that allowed him to replicate super strength, invulnerability, and flight. As he’s gotten older, he’s developed more normal Kryptonian powers, and kept tactile telekinesis, making him unique among DC’s Kryptonians. He’s not at the same level of Superman, but he’s has been able to fight Superboy-Prime on more than one occasion, which is pretty impressive.
6) Jax-Ur
Jax-Ur was a Kryptonian scientist who was something of a psychopath. He was known for doing terrible experiments and was imprisoned in the Phantom Zone for destroying the Kryptonian moon of Wrethgor. After the destruction of the planet Krypton, he would end up trying to escape the prison dimension numerous times, and ended up running afoul of Superman. He has the usual range of Kryptonian powers, and has sometimes worked with General Zod and later Rogol Zaar. The Man of Steel was able to defeat the villain numerous times over the years. He disappeared in the post-Crisis DC Universe, but returned after Infinite Crisis reinstated aspects of the pre-Crisis universe. Jax-Ur isn’t the most well-known Kryptonian villain, but he’s one of the more interesting.
5) Jor-El
Jor-El is the father of Superman. He sent his son away from the planet of Krypton upon its destruction. For years, everyone thought that Jor-El was dead, but we eventually learned this wasn’t the case. Jor-El had survived because of Doctor Manhattan and ended up on Earth himself, gaining powers from the yellow sun. He started going by Mr. Oz and he eventually decided to make contact with his son, becoming a villain of sorts before trying to reconcile. Later, he would go on a trip through the universe with Lois and Jon Kent, losing track of Jon. Jor-El helped in the battle against his own creation, Rogol Zaar, and would be found guilty for his crimes as Mr. Oz, and sent back to the destruction of Krypton.
4) Bizarro
An argument can be made that Bizarro is Superman, since he’s usually portrayed as either the Bizarro-Earth’s Superman or a clone of Superman, but since his name isn’t Superman, he counts. Bizarro is a Kryptonian, either genetically or because he’s a Kryptonian from his universe, and some of his powers are the reverse of Superman’s. So, for example, he has fire breath and freeze vision. Bizarro is one of Superman’s most dangerous foes. He has a similar level of strength and speed to the hero and has fought it out with the Man of Steel numerous times. Bizarro’s lack of control of his emotions have made him a powerful foe, despite the sometimes humorous nature of the character.
3) Power Girl
Power Girl is Kara Zor-L of Earth-Two. Her origin is similar to the mainline Kara, except she landed on Earth-Two and was raised by her older cousin Kal-L, with Clark and Lois acting as her parental figures. She survived the tumults of the destruction of the multiverse, and has joined several different teams over the years, most notably the Justice League International and the Justice Society. Her power level is uncertain; pre-Crisis Kryptonians are much more powerful, but Earth-Two Kryptonians were weaker at times. So, while I don’t think she’s strong enough to move planets, she’s still more powerful than 90% of heroes on Earth. and other Kryptonians thanks to the amount of solar radiation that she’s absorbed.
2) General Zod
General Zod is the most well-known Kryptonian villain, having starred in two different movies and numerous animated series. Zod was the greatest soldier of Krypton, and for a time was an ally of Jor-El. He believed that Krypton was in danger of destruction, but he decided that the best thing to do would be to take over the planet and force the government to take action. He was put in the Phantom Zone, and would later break out. He hated Superman because he felt that humanity wasn’t something that a Kryptonian should hold dear. He’s been shown to be at least as strong as the Man of Steel, and sometimes stronger, and his military experience has allowed him to use his powers in more tactical ways. Zod has lost his powers but it’s only a matter of time before he gets them back and gets back to his favorite past time of trying to remake Krypton.
1) Supergirl
Supergirl is one of DC’s greatest heroes. Kara Zor-El was a teenager when Krypton died and survived because Argo City was ejected from the destroyed planet. She worked hard with her fellow Kryptonians to make sure they could live, but eventually her father Zor-El was able to create the ship that would save her. She was sent to Earth, found by her cousin, and became Supergirl. Her power level is also pretty hard to pin down. When she was reintroduced in the mid ’00s, it was said that she had the potential to be more powerful than her cousin, so it’s possible that she’s more powerful than Superman and the most powerful Kryptonian in the present day.
What’s your favorite non-Superman Kryptonian? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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