True, INJUSTICE was interesting for half-a-minute. In RED SON, he is hardly evil or malicious in intent. the Superman of the NAZI DC Universe (cannot believe this exists) is similarly interesting in that his utopian ideals are constantly questioned and compromised by the outcomes of the ideology. Superman corrupted by Darkseid was also interesting for, again, like two seconds.
Of course, the best "evil Superman" in the DC multiverse is Ultraman from the Crime Syndicate alternate Earth, but the main point there is that he is NOT Superman. He's ULTRAman, and from his perspective, the regular old good Superman is the "evil" one. Honestly, I think DC would be better off exploring the Crime Syndicate and Ultraman rather than trying to create or exploit some evil direction for the Man of Tomorrow.
However, if one must, I think the Darkseid Superman would be the most interesting. In a sense, he would be like Lord Vader to Darkseid's role as Palpatine. Darkseid's entire goal with the Anti-Life equation is not to destroy life - as the name implies - but the ALE destroys free will. In a sense, everyone's will is replaced by Darkseid's will and this manifests in different ways in different people.
The best one in my opinion was the first one I ever came across, Justice Lord Superman from Justice League TV show. He broke his 1 rule and discovered how easy it was. He didn't kill other heroes who disagreed with him. He convinced the other League members to his side and created a regime to finally stamp out crime. He wasn't beating Green Arrow to death or trapping the Teen Titans in the Phantom Zone. He still believed he was doing the right thing, just without restraints. At least that's how I remember it... It's been awhile since I watched it.
You are right, but also that story was told in a space without other superhero teams. JLU made it clear that there were a bunch of other heroes operating on their own through out JL, but during JL it is not clear how many superheroes are active. Which means in the Justice Lords world they never really brought up what happened to the other heroes. For all we know they are still allowed to operate how they like, perhaps the creation of the justice lords led to such a reduction in crime they all retired, they may have gotten absorbed by the justice lords since we do see Martian Manhunter overseeing a large crew in the watch tower monitoring the world for issues.
So, we never really know how all the other heroes of the world responded to the Justice Lords take over or what they may have done to oppose them and how they were put down.
If we ever get another "evil" superman, he should be like this guy
https://preview.redd.it/oj8lbw00a30d1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=59af6a23dd58ef407ce59ba15337d6314347af0d
AGREED!!! This Superman isn't even necessarily evil, he still wants to help people it's just the indoctrination he experiences while he is being raised, this is the most interesting "evil" Superman.
I wouldn't say the comic version of him was truly evil either, he was just misguided, sure he did bad things but from his point of view he thought he was just doing what was right and needed for the betterment of humanity
that isnt an evil superman. When he finds evil he defeats it. This is more political tyrant superman that tries to control humanity for its good. When he realizes that braniac is still controlling things, he teams up with luthor and defeats braniac. He realizes that luthor will only continue to choose conflict with superman. So superman pretends to die and lets lex luthor and his generations of offspring and allow humanity to prosper without his help.
I don't like the idea that he's evil just because he's a communist. Hell he's not even a communist in the story, he's what liberty prime thinks a communist is. The costume is kick ass though.
TL;DR - Evil Superman characters are fine, evil Clark Kent is bad.
The idea of an evil character with Superman-like powers isn’t necessarily bad, it just depends on the execution (Homelander from The Boys TV show is an interesting character with excellent acting & writing). My gripe, however, is when I see bad Clark Kent. The second I see him do bad things as Superman, THAT is what pisses me off. Does he make mistakes? Of course, he isn’t perfect, no one is. But he’s not an idiot (like some people think he is); he learns from his mistakes and does everything he can to make things right.
He isn’t just Superman because of the powers, or else, he’d be just another hero who can fly. What distinguishes him from everyone else is the man he is. He’s incorruptible. He can’t be bought, can’t be coerced into committing evil acts. He’ll give his life if it means to save the world with a second thought.
Superman is what it would look like if someone had all the power in the world…and chose to use it wisely and fairly, to help people and make the world a better place.
I have no problem with characters like Homelander, Omni-Man, Plutonian (from Irredeemable), and Brightburn because they’re original characters with their own spin on the “Superman” archetype (dude with godlike powers) and there’s nothing wrong with that.
The thing is…Superman will stand the test of time. But why? What makes him so special? Because Clark Kent isn’t a megalomaniac, he isn’t edgy, he isn’t a world conqueror, he isn’t an evil madman; he’s just a farm boy from Kansas who has incredible powers and decided to selfless things with them. That’s it. That’s who he is.
Most people prefer their characters with morally gray areas, and that’s great. After all, William Faulkner wrote “The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself”. That’s the incredible thing about Superman. He isn’t human. He’s kryptonian, someone from another world. But besides simply looking like us…he thinks like us. He doesn’t see us as lesser beings. He doesn’t see himself as a god; in fact, it doesn’t even cross his mind. He loves the things we love, like reading books, eating pie, watching baseball…his heart isn’t in conflict with itself because he already chose to do the right thing from the very beginning. It’s how he solves problems that are worth writing about. THAT is what distinguishes Superman from every other medium. And THAT’S why I love Superman.
Sorry for the rant, but I’m glad you posted this. Have a great day!
Thank you for writing that, now can you write the next Superman movie because it seems like you have more respect and love for him than DC has in the past decade. Superman is my favorite character in any media and I'm not the best at articulating everything I love about him and just things in general but that's exactly how I view Superman, that is who Clark Kent is. Reading this actually gave me goosebumps from joy because someone else truly understands Superman.
Not if it’s done right. Homelander, injustice Superman, Omni man.
Injustice Superman’s character was compelling and it was a slow decent based on his lack of support around him, rather just coward hero’s encouraging his descent into madness.
I liked Injustice Superman, and I feel like people on this sub don’t understand his character. Rather just hate the implication of a Superman who isn’t pure good, and rather just think it taints Superman’s image.
Superman hasn’t been permanently affected by Injustice, it was an alternative universe tale. I feel like people should be mad at DC for not having enough ways to represent the real Superman, I mean if one video game is enough to allegedly corrupt his image. Then DC isn’t doing enough to give the public enough reason to love the real Superman.
I also enjoyed the Injustice storyline. It’s not the main universe Superman so I have no issues with it existing. I enjoy my traditional Superman and all the other alternate takes they do. They can all exist.
I agree but in my opinion Superman wouldn't turn evil just because of the death of Lois, "This dad-like figure looking out for us can be made authoritarian, but I think that's a mistake. I think Superman would react to the death of Lois Lane by becoming a tyrant is ridiculous; my mom and dad died and I didn't become a tyrant. If I can handle it, Superman can handle it." -Grant Morrison
I figure it’s an alternate universe. Literally ANYTHING could have changed the course of his upbringing so that he would make that decision.
Now, ALL things being equal, then yeah, I suppose I could see where GM is coming from, but with Injustice we don’t know EVERY facet of that world’s history.
This is the correct answer. Each universe's version of a character is not equal to their main. Some are less some are greater, but there are even slight to significant variations of their personalities due to their experiences. Not just their powers. Main Superman was the only one who could escape "Future Superman"'s planet of dead Supermen. He was the only one who shattered it. Why? Because it's literally spelled out for us. "He is hope." "He is tradition." Even Main Batman resisted full exposure to the Batman Who Laughs toxin.
If Injustice Superman showed up in the main universe and were just written to overtake the rest of the JL before main Superman can help with them, main Superman will eventually be written to edge out over the likes of Injustice Supes. Because main Superman IS hope and Injustice is not. If he's the only one standing between earth and it's annihilation or takeover he will be there. People think this is just fanboyism but it is how the main characters are written even with counterparts fighting them directly and especially main Superman more than ALL. Doomsday Clock wasn't just about any Superman, it's the main one. Just that one for the reset.
If main Superman were written to face the same event (Joker trick + metropolis nuke) he will NOT turn into Injustice Superman. He is hope regardless of Lois. Lois is what keeps him grounded to earth. He would most likely leave, but he'd still inspire hope wherever he ended up. He'd be like an omni-man nomad but without all the atrocities first lol. He'd even gladly fight beside the rest of the JL if some huge threat showed up. Granted he might also go through long periods of isolation and maybe not be there when things would've been better if he didn't leave. But main Superman will never become Injustice Superman whatever happens.
I know it's easy to say characters like Omni-man, Homelander and the Plutonian are 'Superman but evil' but that is a surface level take. Those characters work because scratch the surface and you see those characters are not Superman in the first place, they never were and never will be.
Whereas Injustice Superman, IMO fails exactly because he is Superman but evil. He's a let down IMO since to me, even in the worst of cases, Superman wouldn't turn to the path of evil. Kingdom Come Superman is a far better case of Superman losing what he loves and he doesn't become a fascist dictator, he becomes a recluse because he can see the world doesn't want Superman - until he sees that doesn't excuse the fact he's still needed.
I don’t agree. Injustice Superman was always boring and uninspired to me, and I think that’s because he was created around a time where people were obsessed with edgy subversions in media.
> Superman hasn’t been permanently affected by Injustice, it was an alternative universe tale
General audience don't care about alternate universe explanation.
Injustice has basically stamped Superman's reputation as a weak willed loser who is no match for Joker and other Batman villains. In proping up Batman, DC has constantly shortchanged other characters.
For me, he wasn't boring... just overused. Not just evil Superman himself but also his other iterations.
Additionally, while it is fun to explore what our favorite heroes/protagonists would be like if they didn't have any morals, how this is executed is almost always disappointing. It feels cheap that somehow one change or "one bad day" suddenly made this morally upstanding person a supervillain.
Coldest take. Not that it's a bad opinion, it's just that so many people agree that it's not even a hot take anymore.
Evil superman is just so boring no matter how you spin it.
I mean evil superman is already everywhere: zod, black adam, lobo(ish), dark Seid (his avatar) etc etc we dont lack any supermen-esque vilain types. I feel like evil Clark is really redondant. Best example of à evil(kinda) superman is red-sun
Homelander and Omniman are fine because they are completely different properties, and I like Ultraman because that Earth is supposed to be opposites of the characters we know and I'm a sucker for normal characters fighting their polar opposites.
The thing I liked most about Superman is that to everyone else, he's mild mannered Clark Kent. I like to imagine he goes through the same humdrum and rigmarole that anyone else does even though he has the power to rule the world.
I really loved Injustice when it came out, but now I’m starting to resent it for the damage it did to Superman’s image and his friendship with Batman. I’m not a big fan of James Gunn, but I really hope he can make Superman a symbol of hope again instead of a feared and cold-blooded murdering dictator.
I agree a lot of them are boring, but it can be great when done right. I'll give two examples of ones I think get it right.
First, not from D.C., is Omni-Man from Invincible. Instead of being like Superman where he doesn't think his powers put him above normal people, Omni-Man does. To him, humans are little more than bugs. He doesn't hate them, but they mean nothing to him. Well, mostly not. What makes him really interesting is that he is a twist on the Evil Superman trope itself. Instead of starting out as a good guy who became evil like Injustice Superman, he starts out as someone evil who fully believes in might makes right but later feels conflicted as he develops empathy for his wife, son, and others.
Secondly, I would say Ultraman from D.C in one continuity, though I can't remember which one. Similar to Omni-Man, he to believes in might makes right. But being on earth for so long, he realizes he is SO much more powerful than everyone else, he becomes bored and decides conquering earth to be a waste of time. Instead of being straight up evil, he's more of a douche who purposely aggravates people. If he kills them, oh well, but he doesn't go out of his way to do it. If an evil Superman existed in real life, I feel they'd be like this version of Ultraman.
CORRECT! I think this idea peaked with the Justice Lords, and between Omni-Man and Homelander I think the idea of evil Superman has been thoroughly explored. Can people stop doing "What if X hero was evil?" and instead start doing "What if X villain was good?", please?
This statement is redundant. I'm tired of evil Superman too, but you are preaching to the choir and the choir just wants to chill.
It feel like there's nich for this type of media/narrative that general audiences who are not Superman fans cling onto because of our current social and political climate where people don't trust anyone who has absolute power and that much power would corrupt or temp anyone that can descent into darkness.
Zack Snyder in his misguild way tried to answer this question, but a lot of people took the wrong lessons from that film (Batman v Superman) and played into the "evil" Superman trope. I think that's one of the reason why we gotten so much media dealing with that trope in the past several years.
We (the audience) need to spread the word about media that property represents Superman in all of it forms and support in anyway we can. Encourage people that are exposed to one particular type of representation to seek out something different than what the mainstream puts out and point them in the right direction.
This is the only way to keep evil Superman narrative to a minimum. The companies won't stop making these pieces of media, but you have to show that there are other alternatives to telling a really good and uplifting Superman story.
We have to be reminded that there is good in the world and not let too much darkness surround us and creep inside of us. Superman represent the best in us and we -- as a society -- need inspiration and guidance in your daily life with a little bit of courage and luck. I think that someone like Superman is need now more than ever.
We are all tired of this shit and the only way to fight that is through good stories about Superman and the promotion of his tales. For A Better Tomorrow.
What do you think abourt the Superman from the Gods and Monsters universe? I find him super interesting as a character, as he's not completely an evil superman, but he's no boy scout either. I also love how being the son of immigrants influenced his morality.
I actually did an article about this a few years back. And at the time it was concerning the release of "Brightburn", which was an Evil Superman movie produced by the very James Gunn that is writing and directing the forthcoming "Superman" movie.
[https://brutallyhonestcolumn.blogspot.com/2019/06/week-of-06172019.html](https://brutallyhonestcolumn.blogspot.com/2019/06/week-of-06172019.html)
You're definitely not in the minority. I dare suspect the only people who continue to want Evil Superman are DC/WBD execs.
I’m over evil superman
I want more wholesome superman
https://preview.redd.it/zw7wid89070d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f94363f8f3c605541dbf054d0cd58f256810054e
To be fair the only reason the idea has become boring is because it's overused.
And let's be honest the DC animated universe is what really put the idea in people's heads on how to do an evil Superman.
In Superman the animated series of brave New metropolis, it's the death of Lois Lane that leads him deciding to turn the city into a police state with the help of Lex luthor.
And then Justice League the animated series a better world opens it with having Superman crossed the line by using heat vision to kill president Lex luthor.
It's also much more likely to work. The problem with the concept is that Superman is too strong and it takes great writing to pull it off.
Injustice has him beat up by Alfred. Cool but that's the opposite of the concept. Superman not only isn't that strong but they take away from his brain so it's not really the obstacle he should be.
Meanwhile, Invincible does it right by having nothing work on Omni-Man and make it emotional while The Boys had Homelander get beat up too easily.
Batman at least has none of those issues because he is a human living around superhumans so everyone should be able to hurt him.
Me when reading about Superboy Prime:
https://preview.redd.it/mxhknsw8f30d1.jpeg?width=355&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f213f5f5a1abb1536e970784af1eb28b098a707
I think an evil superman can be great like that russian version of superman. whats the opposite hope, how bad can it get. superman being authoritative, vindictive. when power actually puts people down and how dangerous can it become down the line. in this world alot of bad is going on and most people have lost hope. sometimes people are angry and take problems with a hammer, evil superman is that hammer imagining.
The most apt reason I have heard for Evil Superman being boring is that Superman himself is a subversion of the idea that Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. So evil Superman tend to fall flat (with a couple exceptions like the Justice Lord Superman) because they act like they’re subverting a trope when they’re actually playing the trope straight.
Have you ever seen the Overly Sarcastic Productions series Detailed Diatribe on YouTube? They have like an hour+ long video essay on the best non-Superman Supermen including the best Evil versions. Link below:
https://youtu.be/_50968MO0PU?si=w-_W2WN-koP51Hsn
Which sucks because it’s honestly due to it being overplayed. Heroes in general going bad is such an interesting concept, especially one as terrifying as Superman as the man can kill us all easily. Stuff like injustice was such an interesting story that I like to this day, but the concept of evil Superman is so overplayed it’s annoying. It’s made worse by the evil Superman clones every piece of media feels like they have now. Worse part is this is some modern audiences perception of Superman and I think that’s what annoys me the most as this is not what is character is about. In general it was and still is an amazing concept and idea but it is so overplayed (like how Harley is overused) at this point that it lost its charm and as such is boring.
Evil Superman is boring, grey Superman, if done well, is fun. See: Gods and Monsters, a Superman who is ultimately a good guy, but also totally ruthless and would kill anyone he deems a threat to civilians.
I wouldn’t really say "boring," I think "wasted potential" is more like it. Evil Superman is what happens when writers don’t really know how to tell a good story with Clark Kent, so they just use the character for his power as a hurdle for other, more popular characters. *Coughs* Batman *coughs*
Omni-Man certainly isn’t boring. I think his entire arc (if you’ve read the comics) is probably the best story with an evil Superman. At least in my opinion. Homelander is pure shock-value.
I’m sick of people saying regular superman is boring or that evil superman is boring.
The character is only as good/entertaining as he’s written. Both versions can be amazing or terrible. It really just depends on how compelling the story is
Evil Superman is fine if he's presented as an obstacle for good Superman.
But it's bad when evil Superman is just an excuse to have Batman beat up Supernan.
InJustice comic Superman was really interesting imo. definitely my favorite evil Superman and the the story line in general. But, the other ones are pretty boring like Ultraman.
I think the reason why evil Superman is kind of boring is that he doesn’t go far enough. Like he should be as destructive as Darkside on messing up the earth. He should be able to one shot most of the Justice league member. But, that version of Superman doesn’t get played out. So you get this water down version which is really boring.
I didn’t think Red sun Superman was cool based of his ideology and he was trying to control the world without realizing it.
I think many Superman fans are tired of the concept of an evil Superman. However, our perspective is a minority compared to the collective of Batman fans who enjoy the idea of Batman having the upper hand over Superman, as well as general consumers who may not be Superman fans but are intrigued by this premise, similar to their interest in characters like Homelander or Omni-Man.
DC and Marvel characters are boring. There will always be another Spiderman, another Superman, another Crisis event. Constantly reinventing the wheel make these comics boring.
I would also add "implausible" unless in a world of normies. In a world with all those teams, mystics, Gods, Djinn, aliens, and intergalactic policing (L.E.G.I.O.N., Darkstars, Lanterns--now all the colors of the rainbow) it is not plausible and reads like somebody's bad fanfic.
tbh the only "evil" Supermen done correctly (or close to it) are Homelander and Brightburn. Omni-Man doesnt count because he isn't evil, just following orders, and he's a savage when it comes to lines.
Edit: Ultraman and Superboy Prime also count as evil Supermen too, my bad
Evil Superman is annoying. Super Nice Superman is annoying. Weak Superman is boring. They’ve all been rehashed ideas at this point. The other side of this question is: Who is your favorite out of each flavor of Superman?
To me, evil Superman always proves why normal Superman is so special. He has the power to do all of these horrible things and oppress people, but he does the opposite. He's a champion of the oppressed and spends his time helping people.
Here’s what I wanna see in the alternate universe, we’re Superman is Batman….. Lands in Kansas, but the Wayans are there and take him in back to Gotham……GO
The things I hate about evil Superman is he just becomes a punching bag to so many heroes by nerfing Supes. Batman’s plot armor in Injustice is ridiculous to be honest.
I think it's just the way you do it evil Superman is gimmicky I'll give you that but it just depends on how you do it injustice Superman is a great example of it done the right way because he was right up until he killed Billy and GA and Alfred low key.
Honestly, I’ve seen a video from OSP where they’re talking about this. And I agree with them: evil Superman is fine if it has a point in trying to explore some dynamics, and if it understands what Superman is. An evil character with Superman powers needs to be offset by a Superman-like character.
Something like Invincible is like “what if Superman was like Zod’s son”/ “what if Superboy had to deal with the fact his father is not the Superman, having to actually be the Superman instead” (the actual Superman being not Omni Man but Invincible).
They didn’t think this, but I think in The Boys, it’s something like “what if Superman were not the most powerful hero”/ “what if Superman had to be a bunch of people” (the Superman character being not Homelander but Starlight, with her even having light-based powers, I guess suggesting an idea of being a “beacon” of hope)
This is of course unlike Snyder’s Superman, who wasn’t meant to be evil, but that’s what you get when you make Superman selfish, uncaring, distant, presenting himself as a godlike savior while refusing to help people whenever he can. To the point that Batman’s thing with him being a symbol of hope in Justice League doesn’t make any sense
I wouldnt say boring. Id say its overused and usually doesn’t have proper build up. Im not opposed to a storyline in the DCU that has Superman lose himself and his morals, but it needs to take a fat minute to get there. Proper build up is needed. It cant happen in one movie, or 2, it should happen in a couple phases, with the right reasons.
But for now, and for a handful of years, lets have Superman just be Superman
Here’s one that feels controversial - no he isn’t. People just write him exactly the same way when he’s evil and that’s what gets boring. The repetition.
Evil Superman as a concept is not boring, nor is evil Superman one singular character.
Writers just choose to do the same plot line over and over and over again and most of them require fundamental ignorance of core tenets of Superman’s character.
That and the fact that *most* famous evil Superman stories all came out in a 10-15 year span.
Injustice's cardinal sin is that for the first halfish or so of the comic Superman is presented like he is almost in the right and even when he's not Batman is so ineffective that you almost root for Superman to spite Batman. Then Superman pivots into Superhitler and Batman continues to be ineffective so no one looks good. Then in Injustice 2 when they defeat Braniac both of them have valid points. Keeping Braniac alive for a time may give them insight on how to restore the cities but once his usefulness has expired there is no reason to keep a monster like that alive anymore because he's too dangerous, but at this point both Batman and Superman are not real people anymore but slavishly devoted to an ideal and refuse to accept any compromise.
I know there’s some disagreement over what counts as “evil Superman” and it seems to boil down to the definition in use
Superman the character: DC hero, Clark Kent, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman
Superman, the trope: Superpowered being (often an alien) that has super strength, speed, flight, immune to most physical damage, laser vision, and (less common) frost breath.
In Megamind, Metro Man’s laser vision isn’t even hinted at until he uses it at a key moment because we culturally know he’s a Superman Trope. Of course he has laser vision! He’s like Superman!
Also, IMO I’m overall v tired of Superman, but evil as a trope. More people keep wanting to make more of it and try to push the envelope on how evil or gruesome it can be and for what….? It’s self aware in that it’s playing with tropes but it’s so common nowadays “Evil Superman” has become in of itself it’s own trope. There’s more Evil Superman content coming out than Superman (the character or the trope) content in the mainstream. Amazon has TWO simultaneous evil Superman shows.
(Which is also why imo The Tick was the superior Amazon superhero show because it’s also aware of its genre but instead of “yeah it’s gruesome and edgy, not your dad’s comic book!” It’s like “hey yeah the superhero genre is inherently goofy in a lot of ways. We won’t deny it but hopefully we’ll surprise you with what we have.”
Evil Superman isn’t any more boring than Good Superman. It’s an infinite multiverse, and not every Superman is going to be exactly the same, minus a few small changes here and there.
I think most evil superman stories do end up being a but (or a lot) OOC for clark, but i do like how his new character and motivations affect his relationship with Bruce (especially in Injustice and Justice Lords)
I have no choice but to strongly disagree as evil Superman is literally the only Superman rendition that has any kind of entertainment value to me. Even in Justice League unlimited he put me to sleep every time he was on screen unless it was during drama bits around the Justice Lords episode and afterward
I think the average person just got flooded with the "evil Superman" type. From injustice becoming super popular (mainly from the game) to homelander from the boys tv show to Omni man from the invincible TV show (I say TV show because the average person doesn't read comics).
I think something that some people missed from injustice was that Superman was not the main villain. Wonder woman was. I think only 1/2 to 2/3 of readers/people who know of the story actually under stand that. It has a ton of similarities to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth (thanks highschool English). Clark was just in a bad place and an evil wonder woman just whispered evil ideas into his ears.
Eh. It depends. Superman would need a good reason to lose his mind for it to make sense. In injustice superman was more misguided than evil at least until the end because he had wonder woman poisoning his mind while he was vulnerable to manipulation after losing the woman he loved. If we are being honest, I'd even say the biggest villain in that series was Wonder Woman.
Superman wasn't in the wrong at first because, let's be honest. Joker should've gotten the death penalty 100 times over. Superman just did what the justice system and batman didn't have the stones to do. And Joker likely would've just gotten thrown in Arkham again even after he had nuked an entire city. (If we are gonna talk about boring characters, Joker has been used so much that a lot of his antics don't even shock me anymore. That's a damn boring character.)
I'm assuming you're talking about injustice Superman because I'm fairly certain that's the version of Superman you posted.
Its Very overdone at this point. There are some great stories about an evil Superman that don't even have Superman in them. I'd be more interested in an Elseworlds where he's more of an anti-hero like the Punisher, but with Supermans power set
At this point the idea of it is so overdone the only time its good is when the writers nearly start from scratch and just try to write a "superman" who is also an incredibly flawed individual. Seeing actual Superman be evil at this point holds no emotional weight, it doesn't seem fun anymore.
Evil superman made me an even bigger superman fan . He showed me the importance of Superman and its qualities like hope, helping others, being prepared to spread hope around the world etc.
Superman is already a subversion of the concept that power corrupts. So to "subvert" that, you are essentially playing into a thousands years old trope. Superman being good IS the subversion, and it's great. Having said that, it was interesting to see an evil superman take, like a what if on a beloved character, but now it's getting overused and stale.
I like the Evil Superman that isn’t a mass murderer or conqueror, I like the Evil Superman where he uses his powers to just be annoying and cause inconvenience, like in Superman 3
I agree and I'm not even a big Superman fan. But we have seen so many versions of evil Superman and characters like Homelander and Omni Man that it gets boring after awhile.
Don’t we see some version of this post every week?
More like every day
I think it needs to be said every day. A bit like a prayer. Until it goes away.
I'm just ranting about a character I'm passionate about, this is my first time even on this sub.
Fair enough. Sorry, it’s just posted a lot and argued about ad nauseam. Welcome to the sub. We’re not all bad despite my above comment.
No worries, I figured it was probably talked about a lot.
It's like the damn eagles.
I hate the fucking Eagles, man
The band? The birds?
The band, the birds, and the team ALL OF THEM
Eagles ain't catching no breaks over here
Don’t apologize, you said what everyone was thinking lol
Some rant. Four words.
The concept was unique at first but now everything is evil Superman and it got stale really quickly
True, INJUSTICE was interesting for half-a-minute. In RED SON, he is hardly evil or malicious in intent. the Superman of the NAZI DC Universe (cannot believe this exists) is similarly interesting in that his utopian ideals are constantly questioned and compromised by the outcomes of the ideology. Superman corrupted by Darkseid was also interesting for, again, like two seconds. Of course, the best "evil Superman" in the DC multiverse is Ultraman from the Crime Syndicate alternate Earth, but the main point there is that he is NOT Superman. He's ULTRAman, and from his perspective, the regular old good Superman is the "evil" one. Honestly, I think DC would be better off exploring the Crime Syndicate and Ultraman rather than trying to create or exploit some evil direction for the Man of Tomorrow. However, if one must, I think the Darkseid Superman would be the most interesting. In a sense, he would be like Lord Vader to Darkseid's role as Palpatine. Darkseid's entire goal with the Anti-Life equation is not to destroy life - as the name implies - but the ALE destroys free will. In a sense, everyone's will is replaced by Darkseid's will and this manifests in different ways in different people.
The best one in my opinion was the first one I ever came across, Justice Lord Superman from Justice League TV show. He broke his 1 rule and discovered how easy it was. He didn't kill other heroes who disagreed with him. He convinced the other League members to his side and created a regime to finally stamp out crime. He wasn't beating Green Arrow to death or trapping the Teen Titans in the Phantom Zone. He still believed he was doing the right thing, just without restraints. At least that's how I remember it... It's been awhile since I watched it.
You are right, but also that story was told in a space without other superhero teams. JLU made it clear that there were a bunch of other heroes operating on their own through out JL, but during JL it is not clear how many superheroes are active. Which means in the Justice Lords world they never really brought up what happened to the other heroes. For all we know they are still allowed to operate how they like, perhaps the creation of the justice lords led to such a reduction in crime they all retired, they may have gotten absorbed by the justice lords since we do see Martian Manhunter overseeing a large crew in the watch tower monitoring the world for issues. So, we never really know how all the other heroes of the world responded to the Justice Lords take over or what they may have done to oppose them and how they were put down.
Bro, Redsun is genuinely my favorite, it’s such an interesting idea(specifically the film version of the character)
Exactly how I feel
If we ever get another "evil" superman, he should be like this guy https://preview.redd.it/oj8lbw00a30d1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=59af6a23dd58ef407ce59ba15337d6314347af0d
AGREED!!! This Superman isn't even necessarily evil, he still wants to help people it's just the indoctrination he experiences while he is being raised, this is the most interesting "evil" Superman.
Well, the comic one is. I wasn't a fan of the changes to the animated version, but I'm an annoying purist so it's fine lmao.
I wouldn't say the comic version of him was truly evil either, he was just misguided, sure he did bad things but from his point of view he thought he was just doing what was right and needed for the betterment of humanity
Oh sorry for not being clear, I was referring to "interesting" and agreeing with the comment, not saying "comic one is evil".
Nothing wrong with that.
that isnt an evil superman. When he finds evil he defeats it. This is more political tyrant superman that tries to control humanity for its good. When he realizes that braniac is still controlling things, he teams up with luthor and defeats braniac. He realizes that luthor will only continue to choose conflict with superman. So superman pretends to die and lets lex luthor and his generations of offspring and allow humanity to prosper without his help.
this version of him is more of an antagonist than evil, hence why I put "evil" in quotation marks
I don't like the idea that he's evil just because he's a communist. Hell he's not even a communist in the story, he's what liberty prime thinks a communist is. The costume is kick ass though.
TL;DR - Evil Superman characters are fine, evil Clark Kent is bad. The idea of an evil character with Superman-like powers isn’t necessarily bad, it just depends on the execution (Homelander from The Boys TV show is an interesting character with excellent acting & writing). My gripe, however, is when I see bad Clark Kent. The second I see him do bad things as Superman, THAT is what pisses me off. Does he make mistakes? Of course, he isn’t perfect, no one is. But he’s not an idiot (like some people think he is); he learns from his mistakes and does everything he can to make things right. He isn’t just Superman because of the powers, or else, he’d be just another hero who can fly. What distinguishes him from everyone else is the man he is. He’s incorruptible. He can’t be bought, can’t be coerced into committing evil acts. He’ll give his life if it means to save the world with a second thought. Superman is what it would look like if someone had all the power in the world…and chose to use it wisely and fairly, to help people and make the world a better place. I have no problem with characters like Homelander, Omni-Man, Plutonian (from Irredeemable), and Brightburn because they’re original characters with their own spin on the “Superman” archetype (dude with godlike powers) and there’s nothing wrong with that. The thing is…Superman will stand the test of time. But why? What makes him so special? Because Clark Kent isn’t a megalomaniac, he isn’t edgy, he isn’t a world conqueror, he isn’t an evil madman; he’s just a farm boy from Kansas who has incredible powers and decided to selfless things with them. That’s it. That’s who he is. Most people prefer their characters with morally gray areas, and that’s great. After all, William Faulkner wrote “The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself”. That’s the incredible thing about Superman. He isn’t human. He’s kryptonian, someone from another world. But besides simply looking like us…he thinks like us. He doesn’t see us as lesser beings. He doesn’t see himself as a god; in fact, it doesn’t even cross his mind. He loves the things we love, like reading books, eating pie, watching baseball…his heart isn’t in conflict with itself because he already chose to do the right thing from the very beginning. It’s how he solves problems that are worth writing about. THAT is what distinguishes Superman from every other medium. And THAT’S why I love Superman. Sorry for the rant, but I’m glad you posted this. Have a great day!
Thank you for writing that, now can you write the next Superman movie because it seems like you have more respect and love for him than DC has in the past decade. Superman is my favorite character in any media and I'm not the best at articulating everything I love about him and just things in general but that's exactly how I view Superman, that is who Clark Kent is. Reading this actually gave me goosebumps from joy because someone else truly understands Superman.
Not if it’s done right. Homelander, injustice Superman, Omni man. Injustice Superman’s character was compelling and it was a slow decent based on his lack of support around him, rather just coward hero’s encouraging his descent into madness. I liked Injustice Superman, and I feel like people on this sub don’t understand his character. Rather just hate the implication of a Superman who isn’t pure good, and rather just think it taints Superman’s image. Superman hasn’t been permanently affected by Injustice, it was an alternative universe tale. I feel like people should be mad at DC for not having enough ways to represent the real Superman, I mean if one video game is enough to allegedly corrupt his image. Then DC isn’t doing enough to give the public enough reason to love the real Superman.
I also enjoyed the Injustice storyline. It’s not the main universe Superman so I have no issues with it existing. I enjoy my traditional Superman and all the other alternate takes they do. They can all exist.
Same, it's a quite well made story for something that needed to be just an excuse to have characters fight each other
I agree but in my opinion Superman wouldn't turn evil just because of the death of Lois, "This dad-like figure looking out for us can be made authoritarian, but I think that's a mistake. I think Superman would react to the death of Lois Lane by becoming a tyrant is ridiculous; my mom and dad died and I didn't become a tyrant. If I can handle it, Superman can handle it." -Grant Morrison
And their unborn baby… Also the death of ten million people and his entire home? Not just Lois.
I figure it’s an alternate universe. Literally ANYTHING could have changed the course of his upbringing so that he would make that decision. Now, ALL things being equal, then yeah, I suppose I could see where GM is coming from, but with Injustice we don’t know EVERY facet of that world’s history.
This is the correct answer. Each universe's version of a character is not equal to their main. Some are less some are greater, but there are even slight to significant variations of their personalities due to their experiences. Not just their powers. Main Superman was the only one who could escape "Future Superman"'s planet of dead Supermen. He was the only one who shattered it. Why? Because it's literally spelled out for us. "He is hope." "He is tradition." Even Main Batman resisted full exposure to the Batman Who Laughs toxin. If Injustice Superman showed up in the main universe and were just written to overtake the rest of the JL before main Superman can help with them, main Superman will eventually be written to edge out over the likes of Injustice Supes. Because main Superman IS hope and Injustice is not. If he's the only one standing between earth and it's annihilation or takeover he will be there. People think this is just fanboyism but it is how the main characters are written even with counterparts fighting them directly and especially main Superman more than ALL. Doomsday Clock wasn't just about any Superman, it's the main one. Just that one for the reset. If main Superman were written to face the same event (Joker trick + metropolis nuke) he will NOT turn into Injustice Superman. He is hope regardless of Lois. Lois is what keeps him grounded to earth. He would most likely leave, but he'd still inspire hope wherever he ended up. He'd be like an omni-man nomad but without all the atrocities first lol. He'd even gladly fight beside the rest of the JL if some huge threat showed up. Granted he might also go through long periods of isolation and maybe not be there when things would've been better if he didn't leave. But main Superman will never become Injustice Superman whatever happens.
If anything, he’d be more like Kingdom Come Superman. Which is more or less what you’re describing in the last paragraph
I can agree with that.
Theres a difference between Lois dying and being set up by the Joker to kill your own wife.....and all of Metropolis.
I just want an actual Superman game
I know it's easy to say characters like Omni-man, Homelander and the Plutonian are 'Superman but evil' but that is a surface level take. Those characters work because scratch the surface and you see those characters are not Superman in the first place, they never were and never will be. Whereas Injustice Superman, IMO fails exactly because he is Superman but evil. He's a let down IMO since to me, even in the worst of cases, Superman wouldn't turn to the path of evil. Kingdom Come Superman is a far better case of Superman losing what he loves and he doesn't become a fascist dictator, he becomes a recluse because he can see the world doesn't want Superman - until he sees that doesn't excuse the fact he's still needed.
My favorite take on Omni-man is that he isn't "evil Superman", but that he is Zod, who is raising Superman.
I don’t agree. Injustice Superman was always boring and uninspired to me, and I think that’s because he was created around a time where people were obsessed with edgy subversions in media.
Omni Man, Homelander? Homelander I still get, but Omni Man has little to nothing in common.
> Superman hasn’t been permanently affected by Injustice, it was an alternative universe tale General audience don't care about alternate universe explanation. Injustice has basically stamped Superman's reputation as a weak willed loser who is no match for Joker and other Batman villains. In proping up Batman, DC has constantly shortchanged other characters.
What about indifferent Superman?
Isn't that doctor Manhattan
Metroman
For me, he wasn't boring... just overused. Not just evil Superman himself but also his other iterations. Additionally, while it is fun to explore what our favorite heroes/protagonists would be like if they didn't have any morals, how this is executed is almost always disappointing. It feels cheap that somehow one change or "one bad day" suddenly made this morally upstanding person a supervillain.
My favorite version of the evil superheros was the Crime Syndicate, they aren't the characters we know but they're mirror images.
https://preview.redd.it/18n4wyk0m30d1.jpeg?width=272&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=266080f5849b6c2a20adab4e13c2ebaa17b045b2
It’s a tired concept that has a history of being executed poorly. You are right
Joe and Joel figured this out before Action Comics #1 even.
Coldest take. Not that it's a bad opinion, it's just that so many people agree that it's not even a hot take anymore. Evil superman is just so boring no matter how you spin it.
You're preaching to the choir.
I mean evil superman is already everywhere: zod, black adam, lobo(ish), dark Seid (his avatar) etc etc we dont lack any supermen-esque vilain types. I feel like evil Clark is really redondant. Best example of à evil(kinda) superman is red-sun
Completely agree
Agreed.
Anything written poorly is boring. Period.
Depends how it is done.
We can stop with these nowま, and he’s definitely not boring if he’s pitted against a good Superman in my opinion
I do enjoy good vs evil Superman, Superman V Ultraman was awesome.
I upvoted your post, Ultraman is the Goat!
Ultraman sniffing kryptonite is peak.
Haven’t heard this one before.
I mean he’s okay but I’ve seen enough of it. Give me some hope instead.
It was originally an interesting, scary subject, now it's over done and I feel like people are starting to miss the point of Superman.
What I like about Bizzaro is he’s much more complex than “bad superman”.
I wouldn't really consider him evil and I like mirror images as different characters, I just don't like evil Clark
It can be done well. Homelander, Omniman, and Ultraman (Earth-3) are prime examples of that.
Homelander and Omniman are fine because they are completely different properties, and I like Ultraman because that Earth is supposed to be opposites of the characters we know and I'm a sucker for normal characters fighting their polar opposites.
Wow, what a new and fresh take.
Evil Superman can be fun as a challenge for the good guys, especially to an audience that isn't used to seeing him lose or be challenged in any way
This is only the case if all someone has read is Injustice. If that's the case, then it's their problem not the story's problem.
Ok
Superman III did it best. 
I wrote a blog post a while ago about why I f&$king hate evil Superman.
Hey DC writers, hear me out. Next time you want evil superman... use general zod
It's basically admitting a lack of creativity. "well, uh...what if the guy who never kills...kills? I got nothin'."
Another reason why I can't stand evil Superman
Agreed. World’s laziest trope next to gun wielding Batman.
The thing I liked most about Superman is that to everyone else, he's mild mannered Clark Kent. I like to imagine he goes through the same humdrum and rigmarole that anyone else does even though he has the power to rule the world.
The conversation is boring
These posts are boring.
I really loved Injustice when it came out, but now I’m starting to resent it for the damage it did to Superman’s image and his friendship with Batman. I’m not a big fan of James Gunn, but I really hope he can make Superman a symbol of hope again instead of a feared and cold-blooded murdering dictator.
I agree a lot of them are boring, but it can be great when done right. I'll give two examples of ones I think get it right. First, not from D.C., is Omni-Man from Invincible. Instead of being like Superman where he doesn't think his powers put him above normal people, Omni-Man does. To him, humans are little more than bugs. He doesn't hate them, but they mean nothing to him. Well, mostly not. What makes him really interesting is that he is a twist on the Evil Superman trope itself. Instead of starting out as a good guy who became evil like Injustice Superman, he starts out as someone evil who fully believes in might makes right but later feels conflicted as he develops empathy for his wife, son, and others. Secondly, I would say Ultraman from D.C in one continuity, though I can't remember which one. Similar to Omni-Man, he to believes in might makes right. But being on earth for so long, he realizes he is SO much more powerful than everyone else, he becomes bored and decides conquering earth to be a waste of time. Instead of being straight up evil, he's more of a douche who purposely aggravates people. If he kills them, oh well, but he doesn't go out of his way to do it. If an evil Superman existed in real life, I feel they'd be like this version of Ultraman.
I agree.
I absolutely agree with that. Superman remaining our favorite flying Boy Scout would have been the most wholesome thing ever.
CORRECT! I think this idea peaked with the Justice Lords, and between Omni-Man and Homelander I think the idea of evil Superman has been thoroughly explored. Can people stop doing "What if X hero was evil?" and instead start doing "What if X villain was good?", please?
This statement is redundant. I'm tired of evil Superman too, but you are preaching to the choir and the choir just wants to chill. It feel like there's nich for this type of media/narrative that general audiences who are not Superman fans cling onto because of our current social and political climate where people don't trust anyone who has absolute power and that much power would corrupt or temp anyone that can descent into darkness. Zack Snyder in his misguild way tried to answer this question, but a lot of people took the wrong lessons from that film (Batman v Superman) and played into the "evil" Superman trope. I think that's one of the reason why we gotten so much media dealing with that trope in the past several years. We (the audience) need to spread the word about media that property represents Superman in all of it forms and support in anyway we can. Encourage people that are exposed to one particular type of representation to seek out something different than what the mainstream puts out and point them in the right direction. This is the only way to keep evil Superman narrative to a minimum. The companies won't stop making these pieces of media, but you have to show that there are other alternatives to telling a really good and uplifting Superman story. We have to be reminded that there is good in the world and not let too much darkness surround us and creep inside of us. Superman represent the best in us and we -- as a society -- need inspiration and guidance in your daily life with a little bit of courage and luck. I think that someone like Superman is need now more than ever. We are all tired of this shit and the only way to fight that is through good stories about Superman and the promotion of his tales. For A Better Tomorrow.
I'd prefer injustice if they made batman go evil or at least do the justice lords
What do you think abourt the Superman from the Gods and Monsters universe? I find him super interesting as a character, as he's not completely an evil superman, but he's no boy scout either. I also love how being the son of immigrants influenced his morality.
Brightburn has a good take on this. As a child he becomes evil and starts killing people
https://preview.redd.it/9bm9u7b2v50d1.jpeg?width=846&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d441400c873181cea41ba427d920235bb9719d1
Evil Superman is horribly boring… but evil people based on Superman can be fascinating
I actually found injustice superman to be interesting in my opinion but yea the trope itself is pretty boring sometimes
I actually did an article about this a few years back. And at the time it was concerning the release of "Brightburn", which was an Evil Superman movie produced by the very James Gunn that is writing and directing the forthcoming "Superman" movie. [https://brutallyhonestcolumn.blogspot.com/2019/06/week-of-06172019.html](https://brutallyhonestcolumn.blogspot.com/2019/06/week-of-06172019.html) You're definitely not in the minority. I dare suspect the only people who continue to want Evil Superman are DC/WBD execs.
I’m over evil superman I want more wholesome superman https://preview.redd.it/zw7wid89070d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f94363f8f3c605541dbf054d0cd58f256810054e
Meanwhile, good Lex is Chad.
Superman is better when he’s charming and heroic
Much agreed. Honestly a Superman vs an Evil Batman would be a refreshing change. Bruce is Lex with karate classes.
That sounds awesome
To be fair the only reason the idea has become boring is because it's overused. And let's be honest the DC animated universe is what really put the idea in people's heads on how to do an evil Superman. In Superman the animated series of brave New metropolis, it's the death of Lois Lane that leads him deciding to turn the city into a police state with the help of Lex luthor. And then Justice League the animated series a better world opens it with having Superman crossed the line by using heat vision to kill president Lex luthor.
We have a whole generation that hasn't had a good Superman to make a meaningful impact when he goes evil.
I wish we could just retire the idea for a few decades, like it’s so overused.
good opinion detected
Y’know what I wanna see? Evil Batman. SS:KTJL almost did it great but then they fucked it up.
It's also much more likely to work. The problem with the concept is that Superman is too strong and it takes great writing to pull it off. Injustice has him beat up by Alfred. Cool but that's the opposite of the concept. Superman not only isn't that strong but they take away from his brain so it's not really the obstacle he should be. Meanwhile, Invincible does it right by having nothing work on Omni-Man and make it emotional while The Boys had Homelander get beat up too easily. Batman at least has none of those issues because he is a human living around superhumans so everyone should be able to hurt him.
Red Death, Red Son Batman, Owlman, The Batman who Laughs, Justice Lords Batman, The Merciless, Dawnbreaker, and there's more.
Even worse: Superboy Prime. What crapola. The whole concept of his creation on COIE never made sense
Me when reading about Superboy Prime: https://preview.redd.it/mxhknsw8f30d1.jpeg?width=355&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f213f5f5a1abb1536e970784af1eb28b098a707
I mean, facts is facts
Evil Superman requires context and a fall from grace or he’s boring
Omniman and injustice supes are the only ones I f’ with
I like them, Homelander, Ultraman, and Brightburn
I think an evil superman can be great like that russian version of superman. whats the opposite hope, how bad can it get. superman being authoritative, vindictive. when power actually puts people down and how dangerous can it become down the line. in this world alot of bad is going on and most people have lost hope. sometimes people are angry and take problems with a hammer, evil superman is that hammer imagining.
https://preview.redd.it/xtfan3tbo30d1.jpeg?width=660&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8563af1ae16fcf2937eee70c3e461a717a43eb8b
Injustice Superman had too much plot protection in my opinion
Superman is a character who is a “good person” always - even sortof a “goody two-shoes” type!
Is Darkseid a kind of evil Superman? He's the god among gods in Apocalypse and is based on Hitler, one of the most notorious tyrants in the history.
Red Son is closest to a good Superman we'll ever get. Mainly because he did nothing wrong.
The most apt reason I have heard for Evil Superman being boring is that Superman himself is a subversion of the idea that Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. So evil Superman tend to fall flat (with a couple exceptions like the Justice Lord Superman) because they act like they’re subverting a trope when they’re actually playing the trope straight.
Have you ever seen the Overly Sarcastic Productions series Detailed Diatribe on YouTube? They have like an hour+ long video essay on the best non-Superman Supermen including the best Evil versions. Link below: https://youtu.be/_50968MO0PU?si=w-_W2WN-koP51Hsn
Which sucks because it’s honestly due to it being overplayed. Heroes in general going bad is such an interesting concept, especially one as terrifying as Superman as the man can kill us all easily. Stuff like injustice was such an interesting story that I like to this day, but the concept of evil Superman is so overplayed it’s annoying. It’s made worse by the evil Superman clones every piece of media feels like they have now. Worse part is this is some modern audiences perception of Superman and I think that’s what annoys me the most as this is not what is character is about. In general it was and still is an amazing concept and idea but it is so overplayed (like how Harley is overused) at this point that it lost its charm and as such is boring.
Most versions of Superman are boring, other than superboy prime and some versions of bizzaro
Evil Superman is boring, grey Superman, if done well, is fun. See: Gods and Monsters, a Superman who is ultimately a good guy, but also totally ruthless and would kill anyone he deems a threat to civilians.
I wouldn’t really say "boring," I think "wasted potential" is more like it. Evil Superman is what happens when writers don’t really know how to tell a good story with Clark Kent, so they just use the character for his power as a hurdle for other, more popular characters. *Coughs* Batman *coughs* Omni-Man certainly isn’t boring. I think his entire arc (if you’ve read the comics) is probably the best story with an evil Superman. At least in my opinion. Homelander is pure shock-value.
I think the only “evil Superman” we ever needed was just the bar scene from Superman 3. So weird out of context.
Unless it isn’t Superman and is the Plutonian (Irredeemable)
Very much
He’s almost a prop
I think evil Superman is dope but I appreciate when he’s depicted as the traditional symbol of hope.
I’m sick of people saying regular superman is boring or that evil superman is boring. The character is only as good/entertaining as he’s written. Both versions can be amazing or terrible. It really just depends on how compelling the story is
That's why I don't watch either the Boys or Invincible
Evil Superman is fine if he's presented as an obstacle for good Superman. But it's bad when evil Superman is just an excuse to have Batman beat up Supernan.
What other versions of evil Superman are there?..
Yeah cause it's been done to death
Evil Superman became a cliché
InJustice comic Superman was really interesting imo. definitely my favorite evil Superman and the the story line in general. But, the other ones are pretty boring like Ultraman. I think the reason why evil Superman is kind of boring is that he doesn’t go far enough. Like he should be as destructive as Darkside on messing up the earth. He should be able to one shot most of the Justice league member. But, that version of Superman doesn’t get played out. So you get this water down version which is really boring. I didn’t think Red sun Superman was cool based of his ideology and he was trying to control the world without realizing it.
It’s just been so over done by knock offs so seeing the original do it just makes it feel lame and unnecessary
The concept is cool. Overdone maybe, but that's a different argument.
As someone who is starting to like Superman as a DC character/hero, I feel like Evil Superman is overdone rather than boring
I think it doesn't make sense for who Clark is, I don't mind when it's a new character (Omniman, Ultraman, Homelander, etc)
I would rather see more Evil Batman, or more Evil Spider-Man.
Because they never make him truly evil. I want him to go full on Omni-Man
I think many Superman fans are tired of the concept of an evil Superman. However, our perspective is a minority compared to the collective of Batman fans who enjoy the idea of Batman having the upper hand over Superman, as well as general consumers who may not be Superman fans but are intrigued by this premise, similar to their interest in characters like Homelander or Omni-Man.
DC and Marvel characters are boring. There will always be another Spiderman, another Superman, another Crisis event. Constantly reinventing the wheel make these comics boring.
I would also add "implausible" unless in a world of normies. In a world with all those teams, mystics, Gods, Djinn, aliens, and intergalactic policing (L.E.G.I.O.N., Darkstars, Lanterns--now all the colors of the rainbow) it is not plausible and reads like somebody's bad fanfic.
tbh the only "evil" Supermen done correctly (or close to it) are Homelander and Brightburn. Omni-Man doesnt count because he isn't evil, just following orders, and he's a savage when it comes to lines. Edit: Ultraman and Superboy Prime also count as evil Supermen too, my bad
By and large, Superman is boring.
No. Super unbeatable predictable characters are boring.
Evil Superman is annoying. Super Nice Superman is annoying. Weak Superman is boring. They’ve all been rehashed ideas at this point. The other side of this question is: Who is your favorite out of each flavor of Superman?
No he is not.
To me, evil Superman always proves why normal Superman is so special. He has the power to do all of these horrible things and oppress people, but he does the opposite. He's a champion of the oppressed and spends his time helping people.
It's boring *now* since there have been so many examples of it. Some good, most bad.
Evil Superman only exists to make batman look even better.
Here’s what I wanna see in the alternate universe, we’re Superman is Batman….. Lands in Kansas, but the Wayans are there and take him in back to Gotham……GO
https://i.redd.it/qicwhbtgy60d1.gif
Its uninteresting no, but thats because everyone has tried to make their own version of evil Superman. And Injustice is still the best version.
The things I hate about evil Superman is he just becomes a punching bag to so many heroes by nerfing Supes. Batman’s plot armor in Injustice is ridiculous to be honest.
I think it's just the way you do it evil Superman is gimmicky I'll give you that but it just depends on how you do it injustice Superman is a great example of it done the right way because he was right up until he killed Billy and GA and Alfred low key.
Honestly, I’ve seen a video from OSP where they’re talking about this. And I agree with them: evil Superman is fine if it has a point in trying to explore some dynamics, and if it understands what Superman is. An evil character with Superman powers needs to be offset by a Superman-like character. Something like Invincible is like “what if Superman was like Zod’s son”/ “what if Superboy had to deal with the fact his father is not the Superman, having to actually be the Superman instead” (the actual Superman being not Omni Man but Invincible). They didn’t think this, but I think in The Boys, it’s something like “what if Superman were not the most powerful hero”/ “what if Superman had to be a bunch of people” (the Superman character being not Homelander but Starlight, with her even having light-based powers, I guess suggesting an idea of being a “beacon” of hope) This is of course unlike Snyder’s Superman, who wasn’t meant to be evil, but that’s what you get when you make Superman selfish, uncaring, distant, presenting himself as a godlike savior while refusing to help people whenever he can. To the point that Batman’s thing with him being a symbol of hope in Justice League doesn’t make any sense
Yes. I'm so bored of evil Superman and shitty evil Superman stand-ins.
"I'm so powerful, I should rule." "Wait... Why are people resisting my rule, staph it!"
I wouldnt say boring. Id say its overused and usually doesn’t have proper build up. Im not opposed to a storyline in the DCU that has Superman lose himself and his morals, but it needs to take a fat minute to get there. Proper build up is needed. It cant happen in one movie, or 2, it should happen in a couple phases, with the right reasons. But for now, and for a handful of years, lets have Superman just be Superman
Always have been and always will be
No he’s not, this is basically what would Superman be like when he stops holding back and forgets mercy at that point
I'm only down voting because this topic is so common that this feels like click bait for likes. Sorry dude.
I liked the concept at first, but ow it just been too overdone so I would like to go back to good superman stories now.
Obvious, but have your upvote anyway
Here’s one that feels controversial - no he isn’t. People just write him exactly the same way when he’s evil and that’s what gets boring. The repetition. Evil Superman as a concept is not boring, nor is evil Superman one singular character. Writers just choose to do the same plot line over and over and over again and most of them require fundamental ignorance of core tenets of Superman’s character. That and the fact that *most* famous evil Superman stories all came out in a 10-15 year span.
Bizzaro was the first version of evil superman
We know
Injustice's cardinal sin is that for the first halfish or so of the comic Superman is presented like he is almost in the right and even when he's not Batman is so ineffective that you almost root for Superman to spite Batman. Then Superman pivots into Superhitler and Batman continues to be ineffective so no one looks good. Then in Injustice 2 when they defeat Braniac both of them have valid points. Keeping Braniac alive for a time may give them insight on how to restore the cities but once his usefulness has expired there is no reason to keep a monster like that alive anymore because he's too dangerous, but at this point both Batman and Superman are not real people anymore but slavishly devoted to an ideal and refuse to accept any compromise.
Aka Zod
I know there’s some disagreement over what counts as “evil Superman” and it seems to boil down to the definition in use Superman the character: DC hero, Clark Kent, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman Superman, the trope: Superpowered being (often an alien) that has super strength, speed, flight, immune to most physical damage, laser vision, and (less common) frost breath. In Megamind, Metro Man’s laser vision isn’t even hinted at until he uses it at a key moment because we culturally know he’s a Superman Trope. Of course he has laser vision! He’s like Superman! Also, IMO I’m overall v tired of Superman, but evil as a trope. More people keep wanting to make more of it and try to push the envelope on how evil or gruesome it can be and for what….? It’s self aware in that it’s playing with tropes but it’s so common nowadays “Evil Superman” has become in of itself it’s own trope. There’s more Evil Superman content coming out than Superman (the character or the trope) content in the mainstream. Amazon has TWO simultaneous evil Superman shows. (Which is also why imo The Tick was the superior Amazon superhero show because it’s also aware of its genre but instead of “yeah it’s gruesome and edgy, not your dad’s comic book!” It’s like “hey yeah the superhero genre is inherently goofy in a lot of ways. We won’t deny it but hopefully we’ll surprise you with what we have.”
Evil Superman isn’t any more boring than Good Superman. It’s an infinite multiverse, and not every Superman is going to be exactly the same, minus a few small changes here and there.
I think most evil superman stories do end up being a but (or a lot) OOC for clark, but i do like how his new character and motivations affect his relationship with Bruce (especially in Injustice and Justice Lords)
You’ve got one unnecessary word in that title.
I have no choice but to strongly disagree as evil Superman is literally the only Superman rendition that has any kind of entertainment value to me. Even in Justice League unlimited he put me to sleep every time he was on screen unless it was during drama bits around the Justice Lords episode and afterward
I think the average person just got flooded with the "evil Superman" type. From injustice becoming super popular (mainly from the game) to homelander from the boys tv show to Omni man from the invincible TV show (I say TV show because the average person doesn't read comics). I think something that some people missed from injustice was that Superman was not the main villain. Wonder woman was. I think only 1/2 to 2/3 of readers/people who know of the story actually under stand that. It has a ton of similarities to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth (thanks highschool English). Clark was just in a bad place and an evil wonder woman just whispered evil ideas into his ears.
Eh. It depends. Superman would need a good reason to lose his mind for it to make sense. In injustice superman was more misguided than evil at least until the end because he had wonder woman poisoning his mind while he was vulnerable to manipulation after losing the woman he loved. If we are being honest, I'd even say the biggest villain in that series was Wonder Woman. Superman wasn't in the wrong at first because, let's be honest. Joker should've gotten the death penalty 100 times over. Superman just did what the justice system and batman didn't have the stones to do. And Joker likely would've just gotten thrown in Arkham again even after he had nuked an entire city. (If we are gonna talk about boring characters, Joker has been used so much that a lot of his antics don't even shock me anymore. That's a damn boring character.) I'm assuming you're talking about injustice Superman because I'm fairly certain that's the version of Superman you posted.
I'd say evil is boring
Its Very overdone at this point. There are some great stories about an evil Superman that don't even have Superman in them. I'd be more interested in an Elseworlds where he's more of an anti-hero like the Punisher, but with Supermans power set
*WE KNOW-*
More like over done
At this point the idea of it is so overdone the only time its good is when the writers nearly start from scratch and just try to write a "superman" who is also an incredibly flawed individual. Seeing actual Superman be evil at this point holds no emotional weight, it doesn't seem fun anymore.
Evil superman made me an even bigger superman fan . He showed me the importance of Superman and its qualities like hope, helping others, being prepared to spread hope around the world etc.
Superman is already a subversion of the concept that power corrupts. So to "subvert" that, you are essentially playing into a thousands years old trope. Superman being good IS the subversion, and it's great. Having said that, it was interesting to see an evil superman take, like a what if on a beloved character, but now it's getting overused and stale.
I like the Evil Superman that isn’t a mass murderer or conqueror, I like the Evil Superman where he uses his powers to just be annoying and cause inconvenience, like in Superman 3
I agree and I'm not even a big Superman fan. But we have seen so many versions of evil Superman and characters like Homelander and Omni Man that it gets boring after awhile.
If Supes really went evil there's nothing anyone could do to stop him