DC fans know that many variants of Superman across the DC multiverse.
With so many powerful figures in DC canon, the question must be asked: How many Supermen are there, and how do they compare to one another? Read on to discover every variant and version of Superman, ranked from weakest to the most powerful.
45 'Realworlds' Superman Was Not a Man of Steel
Multiverse Designation: Unknown
First Appearance |
Creators |
Origin |
Realworlds: Superman (2000) |
Steve Vance and José Luis García-López |
An average man who bulks up and becomes a neighborhood 'Superman |
The Realworlds Superman comes from an Earth similar to the real one where the Man of Steel is a fictional character. Eddie Dial buffed up in prison and became a neighborhood tough guy, but he’s no more powerful than an advanced weightlifter. Sure he’s strong, but he’s not exactly Superman strong.
44 New Order's Superman Spent Years Without His Powers
Multiverse Designation: Unknown
First Appearance |
Creators |
Origin |
Nightwing: The New Order (2017) |
Kyle Higgins and Trevor McCarthy |
A Superman that was de-powered after killing Batman in a Black Kryptonite-induced madness. |
As stalwart a hero as Superman is, Nightwing: The New Order presented a world where Superman was de-powered by Dick Grayson. To make up for accidentally killing Batman, Clark continued to hone his fighting abilities without enhanced strength or Kryptonian powers and actually wound up becoming a fairly effective hero. This Superman eventually got his powers back, but he spent more than a decade without anything ‘Super’ to his name and in the process, discovered the strength hidden inside him.
43 Golden Age Superman Set the Standard for Future Clarks
Multiverse Designation: Earth-2
First Appearance |
Creators |
Origin |
Action Comics #1 (1937) |
Jerry Siegel and Joel Shuster |
Baby Kal-L who became Earth's Superman after being rocketed to Earth. |
Superman may impressed the world when he first debuted with his ability to run faster than a locomotive and leap tall buildings in a single bound. But compared to the counterparts that would debut down the line, he’s fairly weak. This Superman can’t fly and can be easily harmed by nuclear weapons.
42 Cyborg Superman is Terrifying, but Weak Compared to Legit Supermen
Multiverse Designation: Earth-0
First Appearance |
Creator |
Origin |
The Adventures of Superman #466 (1990) |
Dan Jurgens |
Hank Henshaw, a mutated astronaut who became a cybernetic monstrosity. |
Cyborg Superman has some highly advanced weaponry in his bio-organic frame. He’s got powerful levels of technopathy and became an important figure in the Sinestro Cops War. Not to mention he’s functionally immortal. But he’s far, far weaker than the genuine article and nowhere near capable of Superman’s more impressive feats.

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41 Supersaur Combined Superman's Strength With the Awesomeness of a Dinosaur
Multiverse Designation: Earth-27
First Appearance |
Creators |
Origin |
The Jurassic League #1 (2022) |
Juan Gedeon and Daniel Warren Johnson |
An alien Brachiosaurus raised by humans. |
In the prehistoric world of The Jurassic League, the world is protected by anthropomorphic heroes, including the Superman-like Supersaur. Supersaur is a powerful Brachiosaurus who shares the same range of powers as his Prime counterpart. He’s not as strong as most Supermen, but he’s one of the strongest of the all-dinosaur League.
40 Lex Luthor Took On The Role Of Superman
Multiverse Designation: Earth-0
While Lex Luthor and Superman have been rivals for ages, there have been several times when Lex Luthor has decided to step up and take on the Superman logo for himself. This usually happens after some great sacrifice, like the New 52 Superman dying, which inspires Lex to uphold Superman's ideals. Using his Superman suit, Lex is a pretty powerful combatant.
Lex Luthor's scientific genius is still a big part of this version of the character. He uses his technological skills to make his Superman abilities even better and develop new crime-fighting tools.
Not on the level of a Kryptonian, but Lex's genius has always been his most dangerous weapon. While it might seem hard to believe, Lex was a genuine superhero for a while, and Metropolis was completely safe under his watch.
39 Super-Soldier Combines Superman & Captain America's Best Traits
Multiverse Designation: Earth-1996
First Appearance |
Creators |
Origin |
Marvel vs. DC #3 (1996) |
Mark Waid and Dave Gibbons |
A super soldier who gained enhanced powers from a government experiment. |
Despite being the Amalgam Comics' version of Superman and Captain America, he’s a bit weaker than the latter. In the Amalgam Universe, Clark Kent gained enhanced many of Superman’s powers thanks to cells taken from an alien corpse. But even with the tactical brilliance of Captain America on top of that, this Superman is still pretty weak.
38 The Dark Knight Returns Superman Lacked Much of His Usual Strength
Multiverse Designation: Earth-31
First Appearance |
Creators |
Origin |
The Dark Knight Returns #3 (1986) |
Frank Miller |
A Superman that serves the United States' government. |
This Clark is a Superman no doubt and can pull off many of the feats one would expect of the hero. However, this world’s Batman easily clobbered him in their iconic fight with a little prep time. Not to mention this Man of Tomorrow is nearly killed by a nuclear warhead.
37 Steel's Ingenuity Makes Him a Worthy Superman Replacement
Multiverse Designation: Earth-0
First Appearance |
Creators |
Origin |
The Adventures of Superman #500 (1993) |
Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove |
A man who created a suit to fill in for Superman. |
When Superman died at Doomsday’s hands, no one knew if he’d be coming back. John Henry Irons doesn’t have powers, Kryptonian or otherwise. But he believed in Superman and used his intelligence and engineering skills to fashion himself a suit that turned Steel into an iconic hero in his own right.

Long before HOUSE OF BRAINIAC, This Villain Proved He’s DC’s Strongest With One Absurd Feat
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36 Post-Crisis DC Downgraded Superman, But Only Briefly
Multiverse Designation: Earth-0, Post-Crisis
First Appearance |
Creators |
Origin |
The Man of Steel #1 (1986) |
John Byrne |
A revamped Superman following Crisis on Infinite Earths. |
After Crisis on Infinite Earths, Superman was brought down a few pegs from his Silver and Bronze Age equivalents. However, this updated version of Clark grew in power over time, eventually becoming strong enough to rival his older incarnations. But this Clark had to work for the might Superman is known for.