Justice League: The First 10 Supervillains Superman Ever Fought In Comics

Superman has been around for over 80 years now, but when the Man of Steel first appeared in comic books, he was very different. In the beginning, Superman was a mighty warrior who could leap tall buildings, run faster than a speeding bullet, and best bad guys quickly. Of course, those bad guys were almost exclusively mobsters.

The first two long-time supervillains that Superman faced were just humans at the time, albeit brilliant and calculated humans. It took five years before a superhuman appeared to fight Superman, and it took 25 years before Superman faced his tenth supervillain, which includes megalomaniacs and aliens.

10 Ultra-Humanite (Action Comics #13)

The first supervillain that Superman ever faced took place in 1939, and that was surprisingly Ultra-Humanite. This was in 1939 in a story titled “Superman vs. the Cab Protective League” and had Superman battling an organization that victimized independent cab drivers.

The mob boss is Ultra-Humanite, the “smartest man on Earth.” At this time, he was not a giant albino gorilla but was instead a small awkward man. Eventually, he could transfer his consciousness and overcame his physical limitations to make himself strong and smart.

9 Lex Luthor (Superman #4)

Superman’s main nemesis first arrived in 1940 in the pages of Superman #4. This was Lex Luthor. It is important to remember that the Lex Luthor who would manipulate the world and one day become President of the United States was very different before Crisis on Infinite Earths.

In this first appearance, Superman recognized Lex as a mad scientist who wanted to take over the Earth. This first appearance had Luthor challenge Superman to different tests and watched in disbelief as Superman passed them all.

8 The Prankster (Action Comics #51)

It took over two more years before the next supervillain appeared to battle Superman. This came in Action Comics #51 when Superman had to deal with the villain known as The Prankster. Unlike most villains, Prankster pulled off magnificent and impressive pranks against people.

However, behind the scenes, he used these pranks to distract people as he robbed them and committed crimes. The biggest prank in this first appearance was to get a bank to open its vault for him before Superman stopped him.

7 The Toyman (Action Comics #64)

Toyman showed up for the first time in Action Comics #64. Clark Kent first meets Toyman when a little Superman toy races by him, and he stopped it himself. At first, Toyman seemed like a good guy, amusing himself by making toys that will one day also amuse children.

The truth is that he was making these toys to help him commit crimes that will make him rich. He was very similar to The Prankster in that he uses distractions to commit crimes and never can defeat Superman.

6 Mister Mxyzptlk (Superman #30)

It took five years before Superman fought a villain with superhuman powers, and that villain was an imp from the Fifth Dimension. Superman #30 was the first appearance of Mister Mxyzptlk, and while he is not a typical villain, he is still someone who makes Superman’s life difficult.

This imp wants nothing more than to be an annoyance and amuse himself. Since this first appearance, Mister Mxyzptlk continues to show up randomly until Superman can figure out how to banish him again.

5 Brainiac (Action Comics #242)

After Mister Mxyzptlk, there wasn’t a new supervillain introduced for Superman to battle for 14 years. This villain showed up in July 1958 and remains one of Superman’s most powerful villains. In Action Comics #242, Superman met Brainiac for the first time.

At the time, Brainiac was a green-skinned humanoid figure, a brilliant alien who showed up to Earth to steal several cities from the planet. In this issue, Superman discovers that the Kryptonian city of Kandor is aboard Brainiac’s ship.

4 Bizarro (Superboy #68)

Brainiac opened the door for more fantastical villains for Superman to battle. The next to come was Bizarro, who first appeared in Superboy #68 as a tragic figure that never wanted to be a villain. He was an imperfect duplicate of Superboy.

Bizarro then showed up in Action Comics #254 when Lex Luthor created a second version of the creature based on Superman. Luthor couldn’t control him, and Bizarro became the conflicted character he remains to this day.

3 Metallo (Action Comics #252)

In 1959, Metallo appeared for the first time. While this Superman nemesis has developed into a decimated creature over the years, he met his original fate in Action Comics #252. He was a reporter in Metropolis who almost died in an accident.

A scientist rebuilt him using metal body parts, but his new heart required Uranium to work. He then learned that Kryptonite worked just as well as Uranium and it made him one of Superman’s most dangerous threats.

2 General Zod (Action Comics #283)

With the introduction of Brainiac in 1958 with Kandor in a bottle, it was only a matter of time before villains from Krypton showed up. That turned out to be the biggest villain in Kryptonian history in General Zod.

Superboy freed Zod from his prison sentence in the Phantom Zone, thinking he deserved a second chance. Zod decided to take over Earth, so Superboy sent him back, but developed a lifelong enemy in the process.

1 Parasite (Action Comics #340)

The tenth supervillain that Superman ever faced in his rogues’ gallery showed up in Action Comics #340. This villain was Parasite, a former researcher who was exposed to radioactive materials that Superman brought back to Earth for analysis.

He ended up a real threat to Superman because the entire time they fought. He absorbed energy from Superman, making the Man of Steel weaker the longer that they fought.

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