10 Most Unlikely Friendships In Superman Comics

The thing about the Man of Steel is that he has an incredible range of superpowers, so much so that he’s often depicted as being godlike. But for all of his amazing powers, fans would say his biggest strengths are the friendships and alliances he keeps.

Superman is supposedly the most selfless and altruistic person on (his version of) Earth, so it stands to reason that he would have a lot of friends. However, that’s not to say that fans weren’t surprised by some of the alliances he made. In fact, throughout the hero’s comic book history, there were a lot of surprising friendships that took fans by surprise.

10 Lex Luthor And The Joker

When it comes to villains in any comic book universe, it’s less about friendship and more about how long they can get along before one tries to kill the other. That’s certainly the case when it comes to Lex Luthor and the Joker.

Realistically, neither of them have any friends (unless you count Batman in Joker’s case). But Joker might be the closest thing Lex actually has to a real friend at this point, mainly because he doesn’t represent a threat to Lex’s power and he’s pretty much up for anything.

9 Steel And Big Barda

When Superman died in the 1990s, several replacements rose to take his place and share the load. Possibly the best of them all was John Henry Irons, a brilliant scientist who developed a suit of armor to help him be a hero in Superman’s name.

Steel became friends with Big Barda when they served together in one of the dozens of iterations of the Justice League. They couldn’t be more different in almost every way but they share a passion for doing what’s right and fighting the good fight.

8 Power Girl And Harley Quinn

DC can get quite confusing when alternate realities and dimensions start getting added into the mix. Power Girl is from one of those other universes, where she was their Supergirl.

Now a resident of the main DC continuity, Power Girl later forged an unlikely friendship with Harley Quinn. While many readers believed that this friendship might not have lasted due to the fact that it had been based on a foundation of lies, the two women are still seen to have some form of loyalty to one another.

7 Mon-El and Black Canary

It’s would be easy to confuse Mon-El for another Kryptonian, based on his general power set. But he is actually a Daxamite, who was inspired to become a hero by Superboy and has excelled at it.

Black Canary is a well-established hero, who comes from a line of superheroes. While she has superpowers, her most formidable abilities are her fighting skills. Mon-El and Black Canary are different types of heroes but they have formed a unique bond over the years.

6 Krypto And Topo

There’s nothing quite like a good superhero animal sidekick, and DC has a lot of them. Possibly the most famous out of all of them is Krypto, a superpowered dog who once ripped out Mongul’s throat when he became too big of a threat.

Topo, on the other hand, was Aquaman’s adorable octopus sidekick. These days, he’s more of a Kraken-like monster that looks like he wants to drag ships into the depths of the oceans. Somehow, Krypto and Topo make an oddly compelling and often funny duo.

5 Kara Zor-El And Bleez

Over the years, there have been a few different superpowered beings to carry the name Supergirl. And each one of them was a highly respected hero in their own way. But Kara Zor-El might be the best of them all.

One story found Kara in a rough state that led her to join the Red Lantern Corps. While on that team, she formed a bond with a long-time member named Bleez and they became partners in crime.

4 Jimmy Olsen And Daphne Blake

Some comic book friendships stretch past the boundaries of traditional narratives and universes. Superman’s best pal Jimmy Olsen has made more than a few of those types of friendships thanks to his association with the Man of Steel.

There was an adventure that saw Mystery Inc. make their way to Metropolis while investigating some sort of nonsense. Jimmy and Daphne Blake formed a quick friendship, much to the chagrin of Fred.

3 Kon-El And Beast

Much like Supergirl, there have been more than a few Superboys over the years. The one most people are familiar with is Kon-El, aka Conner Kent. He is a powerful hero in his own right and has proven to be tough as nails.

Marvel and DC used to crossover on a regular basis, though those days are well in the rearview mirrors of both companies. One of those events saw an actual friendship form between Kon-El and X-Men’s Beast, which was an odd pairing –  even by crossover standards.

2 Lois Lane And Catwoman

For almost as long as Clark Kent has been having adventures with Superman, he has been in love with Lois Lane. She’s a no-nonsense journalist, who isn’t afraid to put DC’s most powerful hero in his place when the moment calls for it.

But there aren’t a lot of friends she can talk to about being involved with a superhero. Oddly enough, Lois has formed an extremely unlikely bond with Catwoman over this. If anyone understands where Lois is coming from, it’s Batman’s sometimes significant other.

1 Superman And Batman

The friendship between Superman and Batman is easily the most unlikely friendship in the entirety of DC. Batman and Joker makes more sense than Superman and Batman, which is saying a lot.

These two heroes are on opposite sides of the same coin. They are quite literally representative of the light and dark sides of the DC Universe. Superman and Batman should not work as friends yet they are likely the closest friends each one of them has.