7 Superman Copycats Ranked by How Dangerous They Would Be to The Man of Steel

Superman is widely acknowledged as the very first superhero. So it’s no surprise that other comic book characters have been ripping him off for the last 87 years. From loving homage to vicious satire, creators love to put their own spin on The Man of Steel. Most of these Superman clones, however, couldn’t hold a candle to the original in a fight. The majority of Kal-El’s analogues are imperfect copies, either one dimensional jokes or saddled with a unique handicap — “What if Superman but ____?” There are, however, a few super-proxies that could give The Big Blue Boy Scout a decent run for his money.

We’ve put together a list of Superman-inspired characters from television and film that we think could handle a few rounds going toe-to-toe with The Last Son of Krypton. Before you get too excited, no, Goku isn’t on the list. Despite Akira Toriyama tacking on a few Superman-like elements to Goku’s origin for Dragon Ball Z, for the entire run of the original Dragon Ball he was based on an entirely different character. We tried to limit it to characters created with Superman in mind. Without further ado, here are seven Superman copycats ranked by how much trouble they would give The Man of Steel in a brawl.

7) All Might (My Hero Academia)

All Might is one of the few Superman stand-ins to adhere to the same moral code as his inspiration. A true paragon of virtue, All Might uses his incredible strength, speed, and invulnerability to protect and inspire the citizens of Japan while mentoring a new crop of young heroes as a teacher at U.A. High School. Unfortunately, All Might’s version of Clark Kent — Toshinori Yagi — isn’t just an everyday persona but an actual depowered being with a rather frail constitution.

While it’s hard to think of a reason that Superman and All Might would throw down, if they did, we could definitely see the “Plus Ultra” hero getting in a few good Detroit Smashes before the sheer stress of maintaining a form strong enough to fight the Kryptonian causes him to revert to his weakened alter ego.

6) Brandon Beyer (Brightburn)

The first “Evil Superman” on the list, Brandon shares almost the exact same origin as Kal-El — came to Earth as a baby, raised by loving Kansas farm owners, etc. — but with a sinister twist. On his 12th birthday, Brandon suddenly develops powers comparable to Superman and begins receiving messages from the ship that brought him to Earth, ordering him to “take the planet.” Donning a homemade costume, Beyer goes full-on supervillain, murdering several people, his adopted parents among them.

The young tyrant would most assuredly get the drop on Superman who would initially attempt to appeal to whatever was left of the boy’s humanity. Eventually, though, Beyer’s inexperience would allow Supes the opportunity to incapacitate him.

5) Hancock (Hancock)

Will Smith’s Hancock has a slight advantage over the previous two entries. He has the experience Brandon Beyer lacks and no discernible limits on his stamina like All Might. Instead, what prevents Hancock from rising higher on this list is his addiction to alcohol. As anyone who’s been in a bar fight can tell you, a drunk combatant is not only a danger to others but to themselves as well.

Hancock’s unpredictability while enebriated might throw Superman off for a bit — especially if he’s splitting his attention between the fight and protecting any civilians Hancock may be carelessly endangering. At some point, however, the amnesiac Superhero’s intoxication will begin working against him, allowing Superman to knock Hancock out so he can sleep it off.

4) Metro Man (Megamind)

Metro Man has all of Superman’s powers and none of his weaknesses. While it’s hard to accurately measure his powers based on his limited screen time in the 2010 cult animated film Megamind, we know he’s fast enough to dodge a death ray and has enough time to walk around town having a midlife crisis before returning and faking his own death. Under the right circumstances, Metro Man could prove to be a real threat to The Man of Steel — if he wasn’t so disillusioned by the superhero life.

Metro Man’s whole arc in Megamind revolves around him realizing he doesn’t want to be Metro Man anymore. Even if this hypothetical battle with Superman were set earlier in his career, before he came to this realization, Metro Man’s heart still wouldn’t be in it, leading to an easy win for Big Blue or, at the very least, a draw.

3) Sentry (Thunderbolts)

In Thunderbolts, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine describes Sentry as “stronger than all the Avengers combined,” an impressive qualification if true. Even with the Marvel Cinematic Universe versions of the Avengers being noticeably weaker than their comic book counterparts, Sentry, as observed in Thunderbolts, would appear to be a potential match for Superman in terms of power.

Unfortunately, Sentry suffers from several mental illnesses, making him an unstable combatant at best. Even if his evil alter-ego, the Void, takes over, there’s no guarantee that his shadow powers will work on a Kryptonian. Ultimately, Superman would ensure that he disabled Sentry as humanely as possible, while promising to get him the mental help he needs.

2) Homelander (The Boys)

Homelander is Superman if Clark was created and raised by an unethical conglomerate. Homelander is evil with a capital “E” making him the Vought’s most deadly supe. It’s not even known if Homelander can be killed, or more accurately, if anyone exists in The Boys universe who can do the job. Superman, however, isn’t from The Boys universe.

While Homelander is technically powerful enough to hurt Superman, he has never gone up against another supe on his level. Meanwhile, Superman has faced countless villains with abilities comparable to his own and has always managed to come out on top. Homelander might come out swinging against The Man of Steel, but he would quickly find out the strongest superbeing in The Boys is nothing compared to the best DC has to offer.

1) Omni-Man (Invincible)

A hardened warrior with thousands of years of experience, Omni-Man was powerful enough to singlehandedly eliminate every member of the Guardians of the Globe, Invincible‘s answer to the Justice League. A ruthless combatant, Omni-Man would make short work of everyone else on this list, with the exception of possibly Sentry. Even so, he still wouldn’t be a match for Superman.

Superman’s greatest strength is that he never gives up. Failure is not an option, especially when the planet is at stake. One need only to go back and read The Death of Superman to see how Superman deals with an unbeatable opponent — he beats them. Superman will literally postpone his own death to keep fighting.

Compared to the real deal everyone on this list is nothing but a poseur — a “We have Superman at home,” situation. When it comes to ultra-powerful, extraterrestrial beings who can rock a cape, nothing beats the original.

Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments!

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