Everyone knows Superman is strong, but the truth is, he’s not the strongest Kryptonian that’s ever been. Sure, when it comes to raw strength, the Man of Steel is absolutely a force unto himself and without a doubt, one of the most powerful heroes in fiction.

if Superman isn’t the strongest, then just who is the strongest Kryptonian in DC Comics’ canon?

Superman Was Extremely Powerful, Then He Got a Major Downgrade

Clark is Just Never Going to Top His Silver Age Power Level

Everyone knows that when Superman first hit the comic book scene, he was strong for his day. The Man of Tomorrow wowed readers everywhere with impressive, sideshow-like feats such as hoisting cars above his head and breaking through chains as if they were twine. Yes, he was strong, but it was a much more tempered strength. He could leap a tall building and run faster than a speeding bullet, but it was a low-level strength Superman was working with. At least, that’s how he was during the Golden Age.

...a tighter editorial really put limits on what Superman was able to do.

Then the Silver Age came around, and it was a wonderful time for the Big Blue Boy Scout. Not only was he faster and stronger than he was when he first debuted, writers were free to give Superman any power as needed to tell the story. If he needed to be able to travel through time, Superman could time travel. If he needed to create small clones of himself from his hands (for whatever reason), then yes, he got that power, too. Anything was fair game during that period, up until Crisis on Infinite Earths, that is.

In a post-Crisis DC Universe, a tighter editorial really put limits on what Superman was able to do. He was still overwhelmingly strong, but no longer could Clark just pull out a random superpower for the sake of the story. That being said, he’s still pulled off some incredibly remarkable feats in the Modern Age of comics, such as holding the weight of a black hole or lifting a book with infinite pages. Powerful indeed, but only a fraction of what he was able to do back in Superman’s glory days.

Every Kryptonian is Powerful, But Who Rivals Superman's Strength?

Everyone in Superman's Orbit Has Something Going for Them

He might be called the Last Son of Krypton, but that's a misnomer as the DC Universe has more than a handful of living Kryptonians. So are any of them stronger than Superman? Well, Supergirl is incredibly powerful, not to mention she was trained by Batman and Wonder Woman (and has a tendency to cut loose more than Clark). Not to mention, Superboy was made from half of Superman’s DNA and Conner has more than mastered his tactile telekinesis and pushed it to new heights.

...none of Superman’s closest living relatives are more powerful than him.

But Supergirl and Superboy’s power pales in comparison to Jon Kent, Superman’s half-Kryptonian son. He’s as close to his father’s level as any Kryptonian could be and, given a few years, he could outperform his father. But as it is right now, none of Superman’s closest living relatives are more powerful than him. Then again, that’s just family. What about other Kryptonians Clark has faced, particularly those who have challenged Superman’s strength directly?

General Zod isn’t just powerful. He’s got a tactical mind that makes him a serious threat every time he rears his head. But despite Zod’s best efforts, he’s never been able to bring down the House of El. Doomsday, on the other hand, is arguably the closest any Kryptonian has ever come to being stronger than Superman. The hyper-evolved brute was the first villain to send Superman to his grave (though that fight was technically more of a draw). Doomsday might have succeeded once, but despite his continuing evolution, the monster is still not stronger than Superman.

To be fair, Doomsday made his mark in the infamous "Death of Superman" storyline.

Superboy-Prime is the Strongest Kryptonian Ever Seen in DC History

All of Superman's Pre-Crisis Strength, None of the Restraint

Superboy-Prime is an interesting case, because he’s technically a variant from Earth-Prime, a world similar to the ‘real’ world. He grew up reading about fantastical worlds only to discover he was the Clark Kent of his world and developed powers of his own. But just like the Pre-Crisis Superman, there was virtually no cap to his power level and when he turned on the world he loved so much, Superboy-Prime became one of the worst threats in DC history.

In Infinite Crisis, he punched a hole in the fabric of reality...

Superboy-Prime has a number of feats that display his outrageous degree of power. In Infinite Crisis, he punched a hole in the fabric of reality, causing ripple effects to the DC Universe timeline. In the same event, Superboy-Prime faces off against Black Adam and effortlessly punches the powerhouse. But that was nothing compared to the “Sinestro Corps War” storyline where Superboy-Prime took on hundreds of heroes and managed to survive them long enough until he was restored to full power. Oh, and to make matters worse? Kryptonite from the Prime DCU does absolutely nothing to him.

To be fair, Superboy-Prime is a special case and his power level is intentionally absurd. But like it or not, he’s canonically the most powerful Kryptonian DC has ever seen. That’s not to say that the Prime Superman couldn’t one day be as strong. But Superboy-Prime has numerous infamous feats, and it’s almost an in-joke of how damn powerful he is among DC Comics fans. Superman is great, but let’s be real, he wishes he had Superboy-Prime's strength.