DC's Superman is famously as strong as superheroes get, and yet there are still a lot of villains who can give the Man of Steel a run for his money. As the protector of Earth and the strongest hero in the universe, Superman has gathered a rogues' gallery full of the most powerful beings in existence, all baying for Kryptonian blood.

Here are the 12 strongest villains in Superman lore. For this list, we're excluding villains who Superman tends to fight as part of the Justice League or as part of wider event stories, meaning that enemies like Darkseid and Perpetua aren't in contention. Instead, we're focusing on recurring villains and those who made history with a major impact on Superman lore.

12 Eradicator

This Ancient Kryptonian Weapon Tried to Replace Superman

Long before Krypton's destruction, the ruling Science Council devised a superweapon designed to keep the rest of the galaxy away from Krypton. Thousands of years later, the weapon - known as the Eradicator - ed into Superman's possession. The Eradicator AI secretly worked to try and transform Earth into a new Krypton while brainwashing Superman into a more callous mindset. Following Superman's death, the weapon tried to replace him, ultimately merging with a cloned Kryptonian body to do it.

Since then, Superman has fought the Eradicator many times, with the synthetic villain possessing the same powers as Kal-El himself. It also boasts telepathic abilities, though these are most effective when its victims don't know they're being influenced.

11 General Zod

Superman's Kryptonian Nemesis

Superman's most iconic Kryptonian enemy, General Zod is a warrior who escaped Krypton's destruction and possesses all Superman's Kryptonian powers, except with years more experience in combat and warfare. Zod is generally depicted as obsessed with terraforming Earth into a new homeland for the few surviving Kryptonians (mostly criminals exiled from the planet before its destruction), but also has a personal grudge with Superman's family, the House of El.

10 Cyborg Superman, aka Henry "Hank" Henshaw

DC's Fantastic Four Parody Turned into Something Darker

Cyborg Superman started out with an origin story clearly intended to parody Marvel's Fantastic Four, as his astronaut family were exposed to cosmic radiation and gained incredible powers. However, unlike the Fantastic Four, these powers quickly turned tragic, killing off the majority of the team - apparently including their leader Hank Henshaw. In actuality, Hank had become a disembodied consciousness, ultimately developing a paranoid hatred for Superman, who he believed caused his family's irradiation by hurling the Eradicator into the Sun.

Like the Eradicator, Cyborg Superman took his modern form after the death of Superman at Doomsday's hands, forging a new body out of cloned Kryptonian tissue and alien technology. Cyborg Superman is every bit as strong as Superman himself, but can also shapeshift his mechanical parts into new forms and control technology on a global level.

9 Bizarro

Superman's Dark Opposite Is a Major Powerhouse

Bizarro has been given different origins over the years, from Superman's faulty clone to a version of the Man of Steel from an alternate dimension. However he started out, Bizarro is Superman's dark mirror and physical equal, with Kryptonian superstrength and durability. One major difference is that Bizarro flips Superman's heat vision and super-breath, allowing him to breathe fire and unleash freezing lasers from his eyes.

Recently, Bizarro got a major power-up after learning that he has the opposite of Superman's vulnerability to magic, allowing him to absorb and unleash mystic energy. With this power, he was able to turn the whole world Bizarro, only stopped by Superman and a briefly heroic Joker.

8 Lobo

Superman Doesn't Hate Many People, But He Loathes the Main Man

An antihero in his own right, Lobo is also pretty much the only DC 'hero' who Superman will it to hating. The two have clashed countless times, with Lobo often hired to take on Superman in his role as a galactic bounty hunter. Lobo is coarse, crass and places little value on the lives of others, even acting as a dark mirror of Superman as the last survivor of his planet Czarnia (though only because he killed everyone else who lived there.) In the recent Superman vs Lobo #2 (from Sarah Beattie, Tim Seeley and Mirka Andolfo), Superman claimed that, "Lobo is the worst person I've ever met, and I regularly have to spend time with Lex Luthor."

Lobo has a strength level equal to Superman and is capable of destroying entire planets with his bare hands. However, the villain is far more invulnerable - Czarnians can only be killed by other Czarnians, and Lobo instantly regenerates from any state of injury. Indeed, even a drop of blood can regenerate into an entirely new Lobo, allowing the antihero to become a one-man army on command.

7 Vartox

Superman's Rival Has a Goofy Design But Incredible Power

A classic Superman villain, Vartox is technically a hero but reliably finds reasons to clash with the Man of Steel. Vartox matches Superman with his own Hyper-Powers, slightly exceeding Superman's strength while also unleashing energy blasts, hydrokinesis and telepathic illusions. While Vartox was able to overpower Superman on several occasions, it's debatable whether he's physically stronger or just a more experienced combatant, though he certainly claimed it was the former.

6 Rogol Zarr

Created by Superman's Father, This Monstrosity Destroyed Krypton

Rogol Zarr is an alien bounty hunter who was responsible for the destruction of Krypton. Rogol Zarr has a personal grudge against the House of El and Kryptonians in general, seeing them as a viral plague that must be prevented from spreading across the universe. Even stronger than Kryptonians, Superman wasn't able to outfight Rogol Zarr even with Supergirl's help, instead trapping him in the Phantom Zone.

5 H'El

Krypton's OTHER Survivor Is an Illegal Clone

H'El is perhaps the most powerful Kryptonian in DC lore - an amalgam clone of multiple Kryptonians who lacks the species' traditional vulnerabilities. Slightly stronger than natural Kryptonians, H'El's mission is to recreate and rule Krypton, feeling a deep betrayal after learning of his clone origin. As well as traditional Kryptonian powers, H'El can telekinetically manipulate exotic matter on a molecular level. He uses this power to enhance his physical strength, as well as unlocking extra powers like teleportation and telepathic illusions.

4 Mongul

For Warworld's Rulers, Fighting Superman Is the Family Business

Mongul's strength has varied over the years, but at his strongest the Man of Steel has compared the villain's raw strength to that of Darkseid himself. Mongul is an alien tyrant who rules over the dystopian Warworld; a weaponized planet with a society constructed around gladiatorial combat. There have actually been multiple versions of Mongul in Superman lore, as each new generation is encouraged to kill off and replace their father once they're strong enough.

Mongul has other powers including energy blasts and heat vision, and is known for his use of the Black Mercy - a rare parasitic plant that traps its victims in their greatest fantasy while draining their life, as seen in the iconic 'For the Man Who Has Everything' by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

3 Doomsday

The Ultimate Kryptonian Monster

The monster that killed Superman (in 1992's iconic 'Death of Superman' crossover), Doomsday is an experimental being created on ancient Krypton. Doomsday has the inherent powers of any Kryptonian, but with the added ability of adaptive evolution - whatever injures or temporarily destroys Doomsday, the villain adjusts to be immune to that type of harm in future, or else gains another advantage that prevents it dying the same way. In the past, Doomsday has overpowered both Superman and Darkseid, as well as shattering the gates of Hell with its strength.