Every Copy of Superman Created For Marvel’s Universe

DC’s Superman is, without question, the most famous superhero of the last 100 years – and Marvel has noticed. The house that Stan Lee built has competed with the Distinguished Competition for the entirety of the company’s existence, but can’t seem to create a hero with the same staying power as the Man of Steel (the everyman Spider-Man and the patriotic Captain America being possible exceptions). Thus, they’ve taken to creating copies of him – either to make fun of him, praise him, or to create a being more powerful than him altogether.

One of the earliest modern Superman copies is the hero Hyperion, from the Squadron Supreme (Marvel’s pastiche of the Justice League). Hyperion debuted in 1969, but the Mark Milton version of the character (and the more well-known of the two) arrived in 1971. Hyperion can fly, possesses immense strength, speed and agility, and attacks enemies from afar with “atomic vision” which is comparable in strength to Superman’s heat vision. Hyperion was much more aggressive and some would say an “evil” version of Superman, as the Squadron Supreme was a deconstruction of DC’s most powerful heroes. Even so, the Superman clones continued to appear.

Ikaris the Eternal is another Superman pastiche, with the ability to fly, withstand tremendous physical attacks, and project “cosmic energy” from his eyes (he can use his hands as well, but being a Superman clone, he prefers the former). Gladiator from the Shi’ir Imperial Guard has the same powers as both Ikaris and Hyperion – and, as is the case with Superman, he’s vulnerable to magic and certain types of radiation. But Marvel’s most obvious Superman clone is the Sentry. Robert Reynolds has flight, strength, beams of energy from his eyes, and “…the power of one million exploding suns!” However, he suffers from several crippling mental health issues, including agoraphobia and an alcohol addiction.

The latest Superman-type character from Marvel is Captain Marvel. Carol Danvers isn’t the first person to take the name but she is by far the most powerful: she can fly at tremendous speeds (even through space), has incredibly-high levels of physical strength, and can project starbolts from her hands (while projecting energy from her eyes isn’t her usual method of attack, they do glow in a manner similar to Superman when she gets angry). Perhaps in response to Superman critics who claim the hero is too pure and too strong, Captain Marvel is a well-rounded character with strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, and very human behaviors that allow the audience to better emphasize with her.

Superman has weathered change throughout the decades better than most heroes, but he cannot seem to shake the critics who claim he isn’t a true role model in that he has no flaws. While the other heroes listed above certainly have their flaws, Superman is most certainly a role model to them, if not Marvel writers. As Superman inspires ordinary people, so too does he inspire the extraordinary.