Villains
Superman has many villains. Bizarro, Mr. Myxlplyx, The Super-Men, but the most famous villain of Superman is Lex Luthor. Everyone knows him. The bald guy! (In the original comics, he wasn't bald. He had a full head of red hair!) In order for you to know a whole bunch about Lex Luthor, we have to go back, way back. All the way back to Lex's grandparents. (This is mostly based on the show, Smallville.)
If you read Krypton, then you should know that Louise was robbed by a man. Coincidentally, the man who robbed her was named William Luthor. He was Lionel Luthor's father, making him Lex Luthor's grandfather. William and his wife were very poor (yeah, weird, since Lex Luthor is mega-rich). When Lionel Luthor was a teenager, he grew up in Suicide Slums in New York. Growing up in a place like that, anyone would be... a little crazy. And Lionel was. But not "crazy" crazy, but "smart" crazy. Lionel met a man named Morgan Edge. This man was "smart" crazy like Lionel. They became good friends. And Lionel had a plan on how to get lots of money. Lionel's parents were poor, but had lots of life insurance. I'm talking, billions. Lionel made a deal with Morgan. Lionel told Morgan that if Morgan helped Lionel kill Lionel's parents, Morgan would get half of what Lionel gets. Well, Morgan helped him by blowing up their apartment and making it look like a fire. So, Lionel got a few billion and started the fertilizing company LuthorCorp. And Morgan became the biggest crime boss in Metropolis. And that's the story on how Lionel Luthor went from dirt poor to mega-rich in one boom!
Now, Lionel gets a son that he named Alexander Luthor. Lex for short. He lived in Metropolis most of his life and grew up with a mean, aggressive father. Obviously, if you grow up with an aggressive father, you would be more of a... aggressive kid. When Lex was just 9 years old, his brother, Julian, died at just a few months old. Not long afterward, his mother, Lillian, died. So, Lex has experienced death a lot. And it didn't help in his adult life. When he was a kid, his father took him on a trip in a helicopter. Well, that just happened to be the day of the meteor shower (see Smallville). While Lionel was doing business, Lex decided to explore. He walked into a cornfield when the first meteor hit. The blast made him loose all of his hair.
Despite the jokes people made about him, and things people said, Lex Luthor turned out to be a very successful person. And a very smart person, as well. When Lex got older, there was a man named Virgil Swann who died. After he died, his daughter went to talk to Lex Luthor. She told him that Dr. Swann and Lionel used to know each other. She told him that when her and Lex were kids, they used play together. Lex didn't recall. Trying to refresh his memory, she shows him a picture (below the word "Villains") and she tells him that it was the symbol that was used in a secret group that they formed called Veritas. And that Virgil Swann was killed by Lionel because of it. Lex wanted to know if what she was saying was true, so he did a lot of snooping. And eventually figured out exactly what Veritas was.
Veritas was a secret group consisting of members: Lionel Luthor, Virgil Swann, The Queens (see Justice League of America), and the Teagues. They were there because they knew that an alien, they called the Traveler, would be coming to Earth soon and their job was to protect the Traveler. But Lionel had different plans. Lex figured out that the reason why Lex was in that helicopter that day that Lex lost his hair was because he was going to see someone about Veritas. The reason why he was talking to them was because he was planning on killing every other member of Veritas to have the Traveler all to himself. He made the Queens' plane crash, had the Teauges killed, and murdered Dr. Swann himself. But the irony, he couldn't find The Traveler. So he thought. Lionel always knew there was something special about Clark Kent. But never knew what. Then realized, he was the Traveler.
When Lex figured out what Veritas really was, he tried everything in his power to find the Traveler. He thought, in order to do so, he would have to kill his own father to get the sensitive information. He eventually figured everything out and Lex Luthor wanted to confront the Traveler. Lex wanted peace with him. Lex explained to Superman that they could be at the top of the world. Lex said that with his brain and Superman's powers, they could be kings. Superman didn't approve. Superman told him that the world doesn't need a dictator, but a peacemaker. This made Lex Luthor furious. And that's how Superman and Lex Luthor became enemies.
Other than Lex, Superman has many enemies. There is a list of all of them below.
Atlas - He has the same strength as Superman, making him the perfect match. Real Name: Jack Kirby
Atomic Skull - Because of radiation, a man was given atomic eye-blasts and worked for the company SKULL. Real Name: Albert Micheals
Bizarro - An escaped phantom from the Phantom Zone took the DNA from Superman and created a clone of him, except evil.
Bloodsport - A gun-happy man with kryptonite bullets makes him a great match for the Man of Steel. Real Name: Alex Trent
Brainiac - A man-made machine sent to Earth to bring back General Zod to create a new Krypton.
Bruno Mannheim - Metropolis's most powerful gang member. Leader of Metropolis's most hated gang, Intergang.
Composite Superman - A man who's plans to become famous were foiled by Superman, gets the powers of all the League of Super-Heroes and becomes the greatest hero ever. Real Name: Joseph Meach
Conduit - Clark Kent's ex-best friend gets the powers of a solar battery when he realizes he can absorb kryptonite. Trying to kill Clark and Superman leads him to his death.
Darkseid - An alien from the planet Apokolips tries to destroy Earth and overpower Superman.
Doomsday - An alien from the planet Krypton was created to destroy Superman which eventually led to the death of the both of them.
Eradicator - He is a Kryptonian machine that took the body of an average Joe. He was Superman's enemy but later became Superman's ally. Real Name: David Conner.
Faora - She is the wife of General Zod and was sent to the Phantom Zone along with her husband.
General Zod - He is the man responsible for the destruction of Krypton (in most comics). He was the friend of Jor-El until he was about to destroy Krypton. He was sentenced to the Phantom Zone for his crimes.
Gog - In a possible future timeline, a boy called William was the sole survivor of the destruction of Kansas in a nuclear blast. Saved by Superman, he came to view the Man of Steel as a savior and became a minister of a church devoted to him. When Superman tried to correct this misguided view, William came to see him as instead a demon whose failure led to Kansas' destruction. Empowered by the cosmic beings known as the Quintessence, Gog has traveled across the dimensions of Hypertime, slaying versions of Superman wherever he finds them.
Hank Henshaw - An astronaut who died as a result of a doomed mission onboard space shuttle Excalibur. Because Superman failed to save him, Hank Henshaw blames him for the loss of his original body, as well as the death of his wife. Reduced to a formless entity that inhabits mechanical bodies, the Cyborg desires to cause Superman equal pain. He masqueraded as a resurrected Superman after the hero's apparent death, claiming to be the result of Superman's remains being reconstructed into cybernetic form. The ruse was a tremendous success, even earning the Cyborg an endorsement from the U.S. President as the "true" Superman. Hank Henshaw betrayed those whose lives he was entrusted with when he obliterated Coast City with the help of Mongul; this event led to Green Lantern Hal Jordan's mental breakdown and later transformation into Parallax. Henshaw is currently a member of the Sinestro Corps, and continues to mockingly bear Superman's insignia.
Imperiex - With this guy, he forced Superman to have to team up with some of his worst villains in order to stop Imperiex from destroying galaxies. With the help of Steel, Darkseid, and many other villains, Superman eventually defeated the the greatest villain of all.
Intergang - One of the biggest gang in Metropolis. Led by Bruno Mannheim.
Jax-Ur - A one-eyed scientist who accidentally destroyed one of Krypton's moons. The moon was inhabited by about 200 Kryptonians. Murder is life in the Phantom Zone. He was the first person to be sent to the Phantom Zone. When General Zod was sentenced there, he escaped with Jax-Ur.
Kryptonite Man - Kryptonite Man was a child who accidentally passes through a cloud of kryptonite. This gives him amazing abilities and tries to kill Superman.
Livewire - A woman who can control electricity.
Lobo - A bounty hunter and the last surviving member of Czarnian race.
Metallo - A former mercenary was created into a cyborg with a heart of kryptonite. Real Name: John Corben.
Mongul - He is the king of Warworld. He is a lot stronger than Superman, and was killed by the demon Neron.
Morgan Edge - He is the biggest crime boss in Metropolis. He also helped Lionel Luthor kill Lionel's parents which made them both millionaires.
Mr. Mxyzptlk - Mxyzptlk is a being from the 5th dimension. The only way to make him go back to his dimension is by making him say his name backwards.
Parasite - A worker at a research plant finds a vat of waste that Superman collected, and it turned him into a purple monster that gets energy from other people. Real Name: Raymond Maxwell Jensen.
Prankster - A kid who uses high tech weaponry to play pranks on people. Real Name: Oswald Loomis.
Prof. Hamilton - Superman's friend turned evil when he joined the Secret Society of Supervillains.
Silver Banshee - She was a woman double-crossed by a clan chief and was put into a limbo. When she escaped she vowed to get her revenge.
Solomond Grundy - A being created by the same slime of Parasite.
Superboy Prime - The Superboy on a parallel Earth.
Titano - An enormous ape with kryptonite laser vision.
The Toyman - A toymaker gone bad started putting bombs into toys. He was immediately fired from his job but that didn't stop him from creating his toy bombs. Real Name: Winslow Schott.
If you read Krypton, then you should know that Louise was robbed by a man. Coincidentally, the man who robbed her was named William Luthor. He was Lionel Luthor's father, making him Lex Luthor's grandfather. William and his wife were very poor (yeah, weird, since Lex Luthor is mega-rich). When Lionel Luthor was a teenager, he grew up in Suicide Slums in New York. Growing up in a place like that, anyone would be... a little crazy. And Lionel was. But not "crazy" crazy, but "smart" crazy. Lionel met a man named Morgan Edge. This man was "smart" crazy like Lionel. They became good friends. And Lionel had a plan on how to get lots of money. Lionel's parents were poor, but had lots of life insurance. I'm talking, billions. Lionel made a deal with Morgan. Lionel told Morgan that if Morgan helped Lionel kill Lionel's parents, Morgan would get half of what Lionel gets. Well, Morgan helped him by blowing up their apartment and making it look like a fire. So, Lionel got a few billion and started the fertilizing company LuthorCorp. And Morgan became the biggest crime boss in Metropolis. And that's the story on how Lionel Luthor went from dirt poor to mega-rich in one boom!
Now, Lionel gets a son that he named Alexander Luthor. Lex for short. He lived in Metropolis most of his life and grew up with a mean, aggressive father. Obviously, if you grow up with an aggressive father, you would be more of a... aggressive kid. When Lex was just 9 years old, his brother, Julian, died at just a few months old. Not long afterward, his mother, Lillian, died. So, Lex has experienced death a lot. And it didn't help in his adult life. When he was a kid, his father took him on a trip in a helicopter. Well, that just happened to be the day of the meteor shower (see Smallville). While Lionel was doing business, Lex decided to explore. He walked into a cornfield when the first meteor hit. The blast made him loose all of his hair.
Despite the jokes people made about him, and things people said, Lex Luthor turned out to be a very successful person. And a very smart person, as well. When Lex got older, there was a man named Virgil Swann who died. After he died, his daughter went to talk to Lex Luthor. She told him that Dr. Swann and Lionel used to know each other. She told him that when her and Lex were kids, they used play together. Lex didn't recall. Trying to refresh his memory, she shows him a picture (below the word "Villains") and she tells him that it was the symbol that was used in a secret group that they formed called Veritas. And that Virgil Swann was killed by Lionel because of it. Lex wanted to know if what she was saying was true, so he did a lot of snooping. And eventually figured out exactly what Veritas was.
Veritas was a secret group consisting of members: Lionel Luthor, Virgil Swann, The Queens (see Justice League of America), and the Teagues. They were there because they knew that an alien, they called the Traveler, would be coming to Earth soon and their job was to protect the Traveler. But Lionel had different plans. Lex figured out that the reason why Lex was in that helicopter that day that Lex lost his hair was because he was going to see someone about Veritas. The reason why he was talking to them was because he was planning on killing every other member of Veritas to have the Traveler all to himself. He made the Queens' plane crash, had the Teauges killed, and murdered Dr. Swann himself. But the irony, he couldn't find The Traveler. So he thought. Lionel always knew there was something special about Clark Kent. But never knew what. Then realized, he was the Traveler.
When Lex figured out what Veritas really was, he tried everything in his power to find the Traveler. He thought, in order to do so, he would have to kill his own father to get the sensitive information. He eventually figured everything out and Lex Luthor wanted to confront the Traveler. Lex wanted peace with him. Lex explained to Superman that they could be at the top of the world. Lex said that with his brain and Superman's powers, they could be kings. Superman didn't approve. Superman told him that the world doesn't need a dictator, but a peacemaker. This made Lex Luthor furious. And that's how Superman and Lex Luthor became enemies.
Other than Lex, Superman has many enemies. There is a list of all of them below.
Atlas - He has the same strength as Superman, making him the perfect match. Real Name: Jack Kirby
Atomic Skull - Because of radiation, a man was given atomic eye-blasts and worked for the company SKULL. Real Name: Albert Micheals
Bizarro - An escaped phantom from the Phantom Zone took the DNA from Superman and created a clone of him, except evil.
Bloodsport - A gun-happy man with kryptonite bullets makes him a great match for the Man of Steel. Real Name: Alex Trent
Brainiac - A man-made machine sent to Earth to bring back General Zod to create a new Krypton.
Bruno Mannheim - Metropolis's most powerful gang member. Leader of Metropolis's most hated gang, Intergang.
Composite Superman - A man who's plans to become famous were foiled by Superman, gets the powers of all the League of Super-Heroes and becomes the greatest hero ever. Real Name: Joseph Meach
Conduit - Clark Kent's ex-best friend gets the powers of a solar battery when he realizes he can absorb kryptonite. Trying to kill Clark and Superman leads him to his death.
Darkseid - An alien from the planet Apokolips tries to destroy Earth and overpower Superman.
Doomsday - An alien from the planet Krypton was created to destroy Superman which eventually led to the death of the both of them.
Eradicator - He is a Kryptonian machine that took the body of an average Joe. He was Superman's enemy but later became Superman's ally. Real Name: David Conner.
Faora - She is the wife of General Zod and was sent to the Phantom Zone along with her husband.
General Zod - He is the man responsible for the destruction of Krypton (in most comics). He was the friend of Jor-El until he was about to destroy Krypton. He was sentenced to the Phantom Zone for his crimes.
Gog - In a possible future timeline, a boy called William was the sole survivor of the destruction of Kansas in a nuclear blast. Saved by Superman, he came to view the Man of Steel as a savior and became a minister of a church devoted to him. When Superman tried to correct this misguided view, William came to see him as instead a demon whose failure led to Kansas' destruction. Empowered by the cosmic beings known as the Quintessence, Gog has traveled across the dimensions of Hypertime, slaying versions of Superman wherever he finds them.
Hank Henshaw - An astronaut who died as a result of a doomed mission onboard space shuttle Excalibur. Because Superman failed to save him, Hank Henshaw blames him for the loss of his original body, as well as the death of his wife. Reduced to a formless entity that inhabits mechanical bodies, the Cyborg desires to cause Superman equal pain. He masqueraded as a resurrected Superman after the hero's apparent death, claiming to be the result of Superman's remains being reconstructed into cybernetic form. The ruse was a tremendous success, even earning the Cyborg an endorsement from the U.S. President as the "true" Superman. Hank Henshaw betrayed those whose lives he was entrusted with when he obliterated Coast City with the help of Mongul; this event led to Green Lantern Hal Jordan's mental breakdown and later transformation into Parallax. Henshaw is currently a member of the Sinestro Corps, and continues to mockingly bear Superman's insignia.
Imperiex - With this guy, he forced Superman to have to team up with some of his worst villains in order to stop Imperiex from destroying galaxies. With the help of Steel, Darkseid, and many other villains, Superman eventually defeated the the greatest villain of all.
Intergang - One of the biggest gang in Metropolis. Led by Bruno Mannheim.
Jax-Ur - A one-eyed scientist who accidentally destroyed one of Krypton's moons. The moon was inhabited by about 200 Kryptonians. Murder is life in the Phantom Zone. He was the first person to be sent to the Phantom Zone. When General Zod was sentenced there, he escaped with Jax-Ur.
Kryptonite Man - Kryptonite Man was a child who accidentally passes through a cloud of kryptonite. This gives him amazing abilities and tries to kill Superman.
Livewire - A woman who can control electricity.
Lobo - A bounty hunter and the last surviving member of Czarnian race.
Metallo - A former mercenary was created into a cyborg with a heart of kryptonite. Real Name: John Corben.
Mongul - He is the king of Warworld. He is a lot stronger than Superman, and was killed by the demon Neron.
Morgan Edge - He is the biggest crime boss in Metropolis. He also helped Lionel Luthor kill Lionel's parents which made them both millionaires.
Mr. Mxyzptlk - Mxyzptlk is a being from the 5th dimension. The only way to make him go back to his dimension is by making him say his name backwards.
Parasite - A worker at a research plant finds a vat of waste that Superman collected, and it turned him into a purple monster that gets energy from other people. Real Name: Raymond Maxwell Jensen.
Prankster - A kid who uses high tech weaponry to play pranks on people. Real Name: Oswald Loomis.
Prof. Hamilton - Superman's friend turned evil when he joined the Secret Society of Supervillains.
Silver Banshee - She was a woman double-crossed by a clan chief and was put into a limbo. When she escaped she vowed to get her revenge.
Solomond Grundy - A being created by the same slime of Parasite.
Superboy Prime - The Superboy on a parallel Earth.
Titano - An enormous ape with kryptonite laser vision.
The Toyman - A toymaker gone bad started putting bombs into toys. He was immediately fired from his job but that didn't stop him from creating his toy bombs. Real Name: Winslow Schott.