Since his debut as the world’s first superhero in 1938’s Action Comics #1 – the Last Son of Krypton has had a number of incarnations, evolving through the decades as a reflection of the times he lived in, but one thing will never change – the Man of Tomorrow is here to stay! With James Gunn’s new “Superman” movie hitting theaters this summer (2025), we figured it would be a good time to do a deep dive into (nearly) every version of Superman… so far!

The Golden Age – Action Comics #1 (1938-1961)

“Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings at a single bound—look, up there in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman!” Originally created in 1938 by Jewish immigrants, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman made his debut as the world’s first superhero in Action Comics #1!

This early version of Superman was invulnerable, super strong, and had super speed, but many of his iconic powers (X-Ray vision, heat vision, frost breath, etc) were introduced later on as the series continued, in fact he even lacked the ability to fly until 1941’s Superman #10, and it wasn’t officially addressed as one of his powers until Superman #30 in 1944!

Inspired by Hercules, this original iteration of the character primarily took on real-world evils as a champion of the little guy: low-life criminals, corrupt business tycoons, natural disasters, and even once stopped a war by kidnapping two warring dictators and forced them to sign an armistice! Lex Luthor (originally just called Luthor) didn’t make his first appearance until 1940, originally with red hair and sporting a Death Ray, and (just like the Joker’s first appearance) was originally meant to be killed off only to be brought back by popular demand!

The Golden Age Superman later reappeared in 1985’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” and again in 2005’s “Infinite Crisis” as the Superman of “Earth-2” (even though it was the original version) – distinguished as an older variant with graying temples, referred to as ‘Kal-L’ (as opposed to ‘Kal-El’).

“The Adventures of Superman” Radio Show (1940-1951)

While Superman got his start in comic books, the fandom flourished with the 1940’s Radio Show! Several key elements of the character were invented for the series, including Perry White and Kryptonite! One of the most famous (and important) episodes featured Superman taking on the KKK in “Superman vs the Clan of the Fiery Cross”! (Which was later adapted in 2019’s “Superman Smashes the Klan”)

Shazam! / Captain Marvel (1940)

While Superman was kind of the template for so many superheroes to come (inspiring ‘The Batman’ in 1939’s Detective Comics #27, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Aquaman, Thor, and so many others), ‘Captain Marvel’ aka ‘Shazam’ was probably the closest direct analog – with a twist! First appearing in Whiz Comics #2, a young boy, Billy Batson, is granted superhuman powers by a wizard called Shazam when he speaks his name, transforming into an adult superhero with: the Wisdom of Solomon, the Strength of Hercules, the Stamina of Atlas, the Power of Zeus, the Courage of Achilles, and the Speed of Mercury!

Side Note: Since Marvel Comics also has its own Captain Marvel, DC decided to start referring to their Captain Marvel as Shazam.

The Max Fleischer Superman Cartoons (1941-1943)

The importance of the Max Fleischer cartoons can’t be understated – they were undoubtedly iconic, with a distinct 1940’s war-time style that went on to inspire the art deco look for Bruce Timm and Paul Dini’s “Batman: The Animated Series” in the 90’s! At this point, Superman primarily took on Mad Scientists and Evil Robots.

The Superman Serials – starring Kirk Alyn (1948)

Kirk Alyn made history as the first actor to don the cape and tights for the 1940’s black and white serials.

“Superman and the Mole Men!” – starring George Reeves (1951)

In the 1950’s, George Reeves made his debut on screen as the Big Blue Boy-Scout in “Superman vs the Mole Men” which famously spun off into the popular TV series, “The Adventures of Superman” which ran from 1951 to 1958! Lois Lane was portrayed by both Phyllis Coates, and Noel Neill.

Bizarro Superman (First Appearance 1958)

Bizarro first makes his appearance in 1958’s Superboy #68 as an imperfect clone of Superman. Since then, he’s had a number of increasingly strange incarnations over the years. And while he tends to be a villainous foil for the Man of Steel, he’s often portrayed as a tragic and somewhat innocent monster.

Supergirl (First Appearance 1959)

Kal-El’s long lost cousin, Kara Zor-El made her debut in Action Comics #252. She’s come a long way since then, and is a very distinct character in her own right.

The Superman Manga – Japan (1959)

Tatsuo Yoshida, the Japanese creator of “Speed Racer” also made a Superman manga! It has yet to be officially translated and released to American audiences…

The Wacky Random Transformations of the 50’s and 60’s!?

Following the more grounded early comics, between the Golden and Silver Age of the 50’s and 60’s, Superman comics really went off the rails with some completely bonkers one-off non-cannon stories that truly stretched the limits of absurdity! Many of these stories inexplicably involved wild transformations either involving a 5th dimensional being called ‘Mr. Mxyzptlk’, or an encounter with Red Kryptonite – which originally had very different properties (in most modern versions Red K affects Clark mentally by taking away his inhibitions, as a drug / alcohol metaphor).

Rather than going into a ton of detail here, check out our WTF Moments for more!

The Silver / Bronze Age Comics (1961-1986)

While it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when Superman entered the “Silver Age”, many point to Superman Issue #146 from 1961 which retold his origins with a slightly more sci-fi angle, and some much needed character development for characters like Jor-El and Lara. The reason this Superman is distinct from the Golden Age version of the character is because they later meet through some multiversal shenanigans.

This iteration of the character went on to become one of the most recognizable versions of the character, cementing his place in pop-culture, amid some of the absolute wackiest storylines in comics history (see previous entry), prior to 1971 when Denny O’Neil came in and made the character a bit more grounded, while reinventing some of his rogues gallery like Lex and Brainiac to be a bit more menacing.

Following the events of “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, prior to DC’s line-wide reboot, they decided to give the Silver Age Superman a send-off in a heartfelt take penned by Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta), entitled “What Ever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” – the first time the character was given a proper ending.

General Zod (First Appearance 1961)

General Zod, one of Superman’s greatest adversaries first showed up in Adventure Comics #283. A menacing Kryptonian soldier with all of Kal-El’s powers! He is often paired with his minions: Non and Ursa, or Faora. (See: Superman II, Man of Steel)

Mon-El (First Appearance 1961)

Mon-El was a Daxamite Prince, first appearing in Superboy #89, who had similar powers to Clark, but without the Kryptonite weakness! He temporarily took over as Superman during the Post-Crisis continuity, and eventually joined up with the Legion of Superheroes in the far future.

Ultraman / Earth-3 (First Appearance 1964)

This villainous doppelganger from Earth-3, “Ultraman” was first introduced in Justice League of America #29 (1964). As the leader of his world’s Crime Syndicate (whose members include: Owl-Man, Superwoman, Johnny Quick, Power Ring, etc), he’s only gotten more sinister since! Earth-3 was basically the equivalent of Star Trek’s “Mirror-Verse” for the DC Universe.

Side Note: The DC multiverse has been switched around a few times over the years, during Grant Morrison’s “Earth-2” storyline, Earth-2 was the ‘Mirror-Verse’ of Ultraman and the Crime Syndicate, but it’s since been reverted back to Earth-3 as of 2013’s “Forever Evil”.

Hyperion / Earth-712 (Marvel, 1969)

Mark Milton aka Hyperion first debuted in Avengers #69 as Marvel’s (villainous) take on Superman from an alternate universe. His version of the Justice League was called the Squadron Supreme with characters like: Nighthawk, Power Princess, Amphibian, and Doctor Spectrum. The character was later revived and reinvented as an anti-hero in 2003’s “Supreme Power” by J. Michael Straczynski.

“Super Friends!” (1973-1985)

Following the success of the JLA comics, Hannah Barbara tapped the property for 93 episodes featuring: Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Hawkman, and The Flash fending off against the Legion of Doom, whose ranks included: Lex Luthor, Brainiac, The Riddler, Sinestro, Cheetah, Scarecrow, Black Manta, Captain Cold, Solomon Grundy, Gorilla Grodd, Giganta, Toy Man, and Bizarro!

Ikaris – “The Eternals” (Marvel Comics, First Appearance 1976)

Ikaris first showed up in Jack Kirby’s “The Eternals” #1 in 1976 from Marvel Comics – another Superman variant (complete with laser eyes), this time albeit more heroic than the last one. The character recently appeared in the MCU played by Richard Madden.

“SUPERMAN: The Movie” – starring: Christopher Reeve (1978)

Richard Donner’s 1978 film was a gigantic blockbuster hit that laid the groundwork for comic book movies to come. Starring: Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent / Kal-El / Superman, Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, Marlon Brando as Jor-El, and Gene Hackman as evil genius, Lex Luthor!

Christopher Reeve went on to reprise his role in “Superman II” where he faced off against General Zod (Terrance Stamp), “Superman III” – the one with Richard Pryor (for some reason?), and Supes fought the Nuclear Man in “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” (1987)

Side Note: Christopher Reeve’s Superman was given a revival in the “Superman ’78” comic book series in 2021 where he faced off against Brainiac based on the original concept for Superman III.

Click here for Erik’s Top 15 DC Movies!

“Superman” – The Atari Video Game?! (1979)

The Man of Steel at his most pixelated!

Indian Superman?! – Unofficial Bollywood Films (1980/1987)

There are actually a few unofficial ‘Bollywood’ knock-offs from India featuring a character called “Superman” (or in some cases “Mr. Superman”?!) despite in some cases having very little resemblance. The first of these was a ridiculously campy musical about a young orphaned boy who is granted superhuman powers after praying to the Hindu God, Hanuman, which he then uses to seek vengeance for the death of his parents decades later… in between a series of over-the-top dance sequences of course.

Another (extremely low budget) Indian “Superman” adaptation debuted in 1987, which was a comedic take on “Superman: The Movie” that literally lifted entire sequences from the Donner film – poorly taped off a TV screen! And then finally, there’s that famous sequence that went viral a few years back where “Superman” and… “Spider-Woman” (?!) have a dance off in the park from a Hindi movie titled “Dariya Dil” which is actually a family drama that has nothing to do with superheroes.

Goku – “Dragon Ball, DBZ” Manga / Anime by Akira Toriyama (First Appearance 1984)

A lot of people over the years have pointed out similarities between Superman and Goku from the incredibly popular “Dragon Ball Z” anime, based on the Japanese manga by Akira Toriyama. While the character is technically based on Chinese Mythology (specifically Sun Wukong from “Journey to the West”), it’s hard to ignore some of the parallels, with Goku being an alien (a Saiyan) from a distant world who arrived on Earth as a baby (originally named Kakarot) who has immense powers, including the ability to fly, and even has to face off against other survivors of his doomed planet, like Vegeta (who has some key similarities to a certain General Zod). He also has a ‘Lois Lane’ in the form of Chi-Chi, and even dies and comes back multiple times!

Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns” / Earth-31 (1986)

Frank Miller gave us a slightly more cynical take on Superman in his gritty 80’s graphic novel, “The Dark Knight Returns” where he’s written as a government stooge, and an antagonist to a world-weary Batman who decides to pick a fight with him in a mech suit… and wins!

The ‘Post-Crisis’ Superman (1986-1993 / 1994-2011)

The “Modern Era” begins with John Byrne’s classic 1986 mini-series, “The Man of Steel”! Superman is slightly de-powered, his origin and background are given an overhaul, Lex Luthor is now a successful business man, and Lois Lane (eventually) figures out his secret!

This was also the first Superman to face off against the unstoppable Doomsday where he tragically met his end in 1993’s “The Death of Superman”… Or did he?

Reign of the Supermen: Superboy / Steel / The Eradicator / Cyborg-Superman (1993)

Of course DC saw an opportunity to capitalize on the supposed demise of its long-enduring legacy character, so immediately followed that up with “The Reign of the Supermen” – which featured four new ‘Supermen’ across four different titles: Superboy (The Adventures of Superman), Steel (Superman: The Man of Steel), The Eradicator (Superman in Action Comics), and Cyborg-Superman (in the main Superman title).

Superboy was later revealed to be a hip young teen clone of Kal-El (Kon-El / Connor Kent), Steel was a brilliant African American engineer (John Henry Irons), who developed a mech suit in an attempt to further Superman’s legacy, ‘The Last Son of Krypton’ was soon revealed to be the Eradicator – a soulless Kryptonian AI with energy powers, and Cyborg-Superman who was eventually revealed to be a resurrected Hank Henshaw before showing his true villainous colors, as his facade fell away (long story).

Superman – Back in Black (1994)

Superman died, but he got better. (long story) The important thing is that he returned with a cool black solar suit, and a luscious mullet!

“Supreme” (Image Comics, 1992)

First appearing in Rob Liefeld’s “Youngblood” before getting his own series, “Supreme” was an egotistical, ultra-violent anti-hero. He was later retooled by Alan Moore, winning him an Eisner Award for his work on the series in 1997!

Superman: Speeding Bullets – Elseworlds (1993)

“Superman: Speeding Bullets” is an Elseworlds story about a universe where Kal-El was raised by the Waynes in Gotham City! When Joe Chill murders Thomas and Martha Wayne, young ‘Bruce’ melts his face off with heat vision! He then grew up to become… Batman?!

“PRIME” (Malibu Comics, 1993)

Another over-the-top 90’s rip-off of Superman, this one with a Shazam-like twist where an immature 13-year-old teenager, Kevin Green is given immense power by transforming into an OP superhero…

ICON (Milestone Comics, 1993-1997)

Dwayne McDuffie’s “ICON” (aka Augustus Freeman IV) was a being from an alien planet with super strength, invulnerability, and flight – the difference being that he became stranded on Earth in the 1800’s and took on the form of an African American man after being discovered and raised by a slave named Miriam. Centuries later he’s now the protector of Dakota City. The character and his universe eventually merged with the DC Comics continuity in the early 2000’s.

“Lois and Clark” – starring: Dean Cain (1993-1997)

Only 90’s kids will remember Dean Cain as their Superman, or more importantly, Terri Hatcher as the intrepid reporter by his side, Lois Lane. What this show lacked in special effects, it made up for in genuine charm, and the sheer chemistry between it’s two leads. They were also the first on-screen Super couple to tie the knot, which also happened concurrently in the comics at the time!

Mr. Majestic (WildStorm / Image Comics, 1994)

First appearing in WildC.A.T.s #11 (1994), created by Jim Lee and H.K. Proger for the WildStorm universe, Majestros aka “Mr. Majestic”, an alien warlord from the planet Khera, is a militant Superman variant, stranded on Earth for centuries. During the reign of the Roman Empire, Majestros fell in love with a human woman named Rebecca. During WWII, he formed “The Big Three” with Maximum Man and The High, before joining up with the government-sponsored “Team One” during the Cold War, and eventually was forced to kill his friend John Colt, and exiled himself to the Arctic. Years later he returned, after being approached by Savant to help Zealot in her battle with Tapestry. He then became the leader of the WildC.A.T.s. At one point, Mr. Majestic ends up in the DC Universe and Superman helps him get back to his own reality.

“Superman: At Earth’s End” – Elseworlds (1995)

A bonkers one-shot story following an older, de-powered Superman surviving in a post-apocalyptic future – absolutely the edgiest version of the character, and certainly in the running for the most 90’s thing to ever happen to comics.

“Superman: Kal” by Dave Gibbons – Elseworlds (1995)

Another unique Elseworlds take on the Superman mythos, this time reimagined as a Medieval Knight!

“Super Soldier” – Marvel / DC (1996)

A ridiculous amalgam of Clark Kent / Superman and Steve Rogers / Captain America from a poorly thought out multiversal crossover between DC and Marvel…

“Kingdom Come” by Mark Waid and Alex Ross – Elseworlds / Earth-22 (1996)

In this masterwork of a graphic novel by Mark Waid with the incredible art of Alex Ross, we’re given a vision of a dystopian future where an older, weary Superman has exiled himself from the world after losing Lois Lane to the Joker…

The ‘Kingdom Come’ version of Superman has since appeared in the main continuity with his arrival in 2007’s Justice Society of America #9.

“Superman: The Animated Series” – starring: Tim Daly (1996-2000)

Spinning off the success of “Batman: The Animated Series”, the 90’s Superman series took flight with Tim Daly as the voice of Superman / Clark Kent, who would continue the role in both “Justice League”, and “Justice League: Unlimited”!

This was a series that really understood the essence of the character(s), and was easily the closest adaptation of the comics at the time. From Clancy Brown’s menacing voice as Lex Luthor to Dana Delany’s incredible banter delivery as Lois Lane. The show also featured a version of Brainiac that was a Kryptonian AI who was responsible for the destruction of Krypton!

The series was also the debut of fan-favorite villain, Livewire!

Tim Burton’s “Superman Lives” – starring: Nicholas Cage (Cancelled in 1998)

That one time Nicholas Cage almost played Superman… (We got a brief glimpse of this reality in 2023’s “The Flash” movie) For more on that story though, watch “An Evening with Kevin Smith”!

Click here for my old article on “6 Terrible Superman Movies That You Won’t Believe Almost Happened!”

Dark Side Superman – Elseworlds (1998)

One of the most evil and ruthless Superman variants in the multiverse was created as a clone by Darkseid in this dark and twisted Elseworlds story.

Apollo (WildStorm Comics, 1998)

Apollo is yet another Superman variant who has since been inducted into the mainstream DC continuity. First appearing in StormWatch #4, Apollo is an extremely powerful hero who is married to his husband Midnighter (his universe’s Batman), both heroes came out of retirement to join ‘The Authority’.

“Superman Red / Superman Blue” (1998)

Red and Blue electric variants?! Because comics.

“DC One Million” – Kal Kent (1998)

The Superman of the 853rd century!

“DC One Million” – Superman Prime (1998)

Introduced in DC One Million #4.

Superman 64 (1999)

One of the worst video games of all time? (One day we’ll get a decent one… One day!)

“The Superman Monster!” – Elseworlds (1999)

A bizarre mash-up of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” and Superman – where mad scientist, Vicktor Luthor discovers a crashed spaceship with the remains of a dead infant, which he then uses in his ghoulish experiments to resurrect the dead, creating a monster with powers beyond those of normal men…

Neo – “The Matrix” (1999)

Ok, this one might be a slight stretch, but in “The Matrix”, Keanu Reeves learns that he’s trapped in a simulation and that he is ‘The One’, an all-powerful being in this virtual realm ruled by AI where he’s able to bend digital physics to his will, giving him a number of incredible abilities, including the ability to fly! So one could argue he’s a kung-fu cyber-punk Superman.

“Superman and Batman: Generations” by John Byrne – Elseworlds (1999-2004)

John Byrne’s “Superman and Batman: Generations” is an excellent Elseworlds Tale that reimagines the history of the DC universe without the usual ‘floating timeline’ of the regular ongoing comics. We get to see the characters age, have families, grow old, lose loved ones, and eventually get replaced by their progeny, with each chapter taking place a decade later than the last! In his 70’s, Superman eventually leaves Earth in the care of Batman III (Bruce Wayne Jr.) and Kal-El’s grandson, Clark Wayne, who takes on the mantle of ‘Nightwing’! Eventually we flash forward to the year 2919, where Superman is living in a Fortress of Solitude on an asteroid in a distant galaxy with his wife, Lana Lang whose magical powers also slowed her aging.

“Superman: Last Son of Earth” – Green Lantern / Elseworlds (2000)

A bizarre Elseworlds story about an alternate universe where Clark Kent is born on Earth and sent to Krypton where he’s raised by Jor-El and eventually becomes a Green Lantern before returning to save his home planet.

“The Sentry” / Earth-616 (Marvel, 2000)

Robert Reynolds aka “The Sentry” is possibly the closest thing to the main Marvel universe’s version of Superman. The twist here is that he’s a severely mentally unstable alcoholic with a villainous alter-ego known as “The Void”!

“Batman Beyond: The Call” (2000)

In this episode of “Batman Beyond”, Terry McGuinness (Bruce’s apprentice) meets an older Superman.

“Smallville” – starring: Tom Welling (2001-2011)

“Smallville” was a 10-year long, teen drama version of Superman’s origin story – with Clark Kent (Tom Welling) growing up in Smallville, Kansas before moving to Metropolis, and eventually donning the cape (in literally the last episode). For all it’s faults, bad CGI, soap opera esque twists, and weird meteor-freak-of-the-week plot points, this show paved the way for the CW / ‘Arrowverse’ shows that followed in it’s wake.

Smallville was a pretty fun show back in the early 2000’s – back when DC fans were lucky to get anything outside of the occasional cartoon, and well before we all knew what good TV actually was. The early seasons focus on Clark in highschool learning his powers, and pining over Lana Lang (Kristen Kreuk), while the later seasons have Clark meeting other heroes, and slowly figuring out his dual identities while falling for Lois Lane (Erica Durance), but the most interesting aspect of the show was the parallel storyline of how Lex Luthor became a villain. Michael Rosenbaum gives us one of the absolute best on screen performances for the character, while John Glover portrayed his overbearing and manipulative father, Lionel Luthor, the CEO of Luthor Corp.

Despite being extremely popular at the time, the show hasn’t aged particularly well, mostly because of just how much filler content their was each season, not to mention overtly cheesy dialogue, and not quite having the budget to pull off certain storylines. That said, there were a handful of entertaining episodes that really play on the larger mythos.

Tom Welling also returned one last time as his version of Clark on the CW’s ‘Arrowverse’ crossover event, “Crisis on Infinite Earths” in 2017.

“Stan Lee’s Superman” (2001)

Stan Lee of Marvel fame (Spider-Man, Hulk, Fantastic Four, DareDevil, The Avengers, X-Men, etc) took his crack at reinventing a number of DC heroes for a fun limited series! His version of Superman was a Kryptonian cop named Salden who uses a flying harness to capture criminals. During one mission, he ends up trapped on Earth, and must use his enhanced powers to solve Earth’s problems (poverty, crime, war, etc) so the human race can develop the technology he needs to return home.

“Superman: RED SON” by Mark Millar – Elseworlds / Earth-30 (2003)

In the alternate universe of Mark Miller’s “Red Son”, Kal-El’s spaceship crashes in the Soviet Union, instead of Kansas, and the history of the 20th Century went very differently…

Omni-Man – “Invincible” by Robert Kirkman (Image Comics, 2003-2018)

Another villainous Superman variant from the incredible “Invincible” comics by Robert Kirkman. Invincible follows Mark Grayson, a teenage superhero whose father is Omni-Man, the world’s greatest hero and leader of ‘the Guardians of the Globe’, whose members include: Darkwing, War Woman, Red Rush, Green Ghost, Aquarius, Martian Man, and the Immortal. Unfortunately (for everyone), Mark’s dad is later revealed to be a scout for the tyrannical Viltrumite Empire sent to conquer Earth (after he ruthlessly murders his entire team), and his son is the only one that can stand in his way… In the amazing Amazon Prime animated series from 2021, he’s voiced by J.K. Simmons!

“Superman: Birthright” by Mark Waid (2003-2004)

Mark Waid’s “Birthright” was a modern retelling of Superman’s origins, and one of my all time favorite graphic novels. One of the big changes to his backstory was incorporating Clark and Lex’s history together in Smallville. It also feels like a modernized take on “Superman: The Movie”, and was used as inspiration for parts of both “Man of Steel” and James Gunn’s upcoming reboot!

This is a character-driven story that gives us a very human and relatable Clark Kent attempting to learn about his heritage and find his place in the world, an insidious Lex Luthor with a plot to use xenophobia and public perception against Superman, and even a glimpse into the history of Krypton! An absolute must read for any comic book / superhero fan.

Honorable Mentions for other retellings of Superman’s origins: Tim Sale’s “For All Seasons” (1998), Kurt Busiek’s “Secret Identity” (2004), and Geoff Johns’s “Secret Origin” (2009).

“Superman: Godfall” (2004)

In this storyline, Kal-El briefly wore an alternative outfit while on Krypton… in the past?

“The New Frontier” by Darwyn Cooke (2004)

“DC: The New Frontier” was a reimagining of the Silver Age Comics as one cohesive storyline, taking place between 1945 and 1960, following Barry Allen (The Flash) and Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) featuring retro-redesigns of characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, and of course Superman. Story and art by the late great Darwyn Cooke, earning him an Eisner Award, Harvey Award, and Shuster Award! Darwyn Cooke is easily one of my favorite artists to this day, and one of the best visual renditions of the character with a nod to the old school Golden Age look of the character.

“Infinite Crisis” – Superboy Prime (2005)

The ultimate adversary in the “Infinite Crisis” saga was revealed to be a powerful / evil variant of Superman, “Super Boy Prime”!

‘Superwoman’ / Earth-11 (2005)

First appearing in Superman / Batman #23, alongside ‘Batwoman’, this version of ‘Superwoman’ inhabited a gender-swapped universe on Earth-11.

“All Star Superman” by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (2005-2008)

Considered by many go be one of the greatest Superman stories ever told. Grant Morrison’s “All Star Superman” is a stand-alone tale about what happens when Superman realizes that he’s dying from solar radiation, and how he decides to use his remaining time on Earth. “All Star” is 12 chapters, with each symbolically representing a different month – starting and ending with the Summer Solstice, and even follows the Hero’s Journey pretty closely. This one really leans into the mythological elements of the character as an archetype, and also has one of the best depictions of Lex Luthor to date.

“Superman Returns” – starring: Brandon Routh (2006)

“Superman Returns” Bryan Singer’s controversial sequel to the original Donner movies was met with mixed reviews. Brandon Routh did his best impression of Christopher Reeve’s Clark Kent, Kate Bosworth was a decent Lois Lane, and Kevin Spacey gave us an entertaining rendition of Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor. While the effects and overall style of the movie were good, Returns also lacked any action, compelling stakes, or really anything new. The movie is also highly critiqued for essentially making Superman a deadbeat dad.

Although this was Brandon Routh’s only big screen outing as the character, he did return in the 2017 CW / ‘Arrowverse’ crossover special, “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, as an older, tragic variant inspired by the ‘Kingdom Come’ Supes…

Homelander – “The Boys” (Dynamite Comics, 2006)

Possibly the most villainous version of Superman first appeared in “The Boys” #3 by Garth Ennis. Raised as a lab rat without empathy or human connection, ‘The Homelander’ is an ultra-violent, psychotic corporate “hero” and the leader of ‘The Seven’, members including: Black Noir, Queen Maeve, and The Deep. He was portrayed to menacing perfection by Antony Starr on the hit 2019 TV series from Amazon Prime!

Overman / Earth-10 (2007)

Overman, the Nazi Superman of Earth-10… Worst. Dimension. Ever.

“Final Crisis: Superman Beyond” – Quantum Superman / Earth-4 (2008)

Created by Grant Morrison and inspired by Watchmen’s Dr. Manhattan, ‘Quantum Superman’ aka ‘Captain Atom’ is a powerful being with fourth-dimensional awareness. He was a central character in Morrison’s “The Multiversity: Pax Americana”.

“Final Crisis: Superman Beyond” – Cosmic Armor Superman (2008)

“Cosmic Armor Superman” aka “The Thought Robot” was created by Grant Morrison as a multiversal, all-powerful, omniscient being that oversees all reality from a fifth dimensional vantage point. By far the most overpowered version of the character to date!

“New Krypton” (2008-2009)

During the “World of New Krypton” saga, Superman had to come to terms with the reemergence of 100,000 fellow Kryptonians, briefly joining their ranks, alongside General Zod!

‘President Superman’ / Earth 23 (2009)

Calvin Ellis, the Superman of Earth 23 also happens to be the President of the United States – based in part on Barack Obama!

“Irredeemable” – The Plutonian (Boom! Studios, 2009-2012)

Mark Waid’s “Irredeemable” featured ‘The Plutonian’, the world’s greatest hero who became his world’s worst villain, another great variation on the evil Superman trope…

“Blackest Night” – Undead Black Lantern Superman (2009)

During the massive Green Lantern crossover, “Blackest Night” by Geoff Johns, the nefarious Black Lanterns invaded – reanimating fallen heroes and villains within their ranks as super-powered zombies – including the original Golden Age Superman from Earth-2 – Kal-L!

“Superman: EARTH ONE” (2010-2015)

In “Superman: Earth One” we’re given yet another alternate backstory for our hero, through a very modern lens with a few dramatic changes: Clark is much more reclusive and guarded about his alien origins, and only reveals himself to stop a Dheronian alien despot called Tyrell (whose species destroyed Krypton), Lois and Clark never end up together as romantic partners (he instead ends up with Lisa Lasalle), this version of Lex is a woman named Alexandra Luthor (who blames Superman for her husband’s death), and General Zod is revealed to be Kal-El’s uncle.

“Flashpoint: Project Superman” (2011)

During the “Flashpoint” storyline in the comics, we saw a universe where everything had gone wrong: The Flash never got his powers, Batman was Thomas Wayne avenging the death of his son, Aquaman and the Atlanteans were at war with Wonder Woman and the Amazons, and Kal-El’s ship crashed into Metropolis where he was then captured by the military and experimented on by Lionel Luthor, kept deep underground in a secluded bunker, away from the light of the sun…

The New 52 – Superman (2011-2016)

Following the events of “Flashpoint”, the DC universe was reborn – with a few twists… And one of the biggest changes was with Superman himself. In Grant Morrison’s ‘Action Comics’ reboot, we’re given a brash, young, and inexperienced Clark Kent who (like the Golden Age version of the character) leaps giant buildings in a single bound, bulldozes his way through solid walls, and goes after corrupt lobbyists, and wife beaters. He also had a working class look, with jeans, work boots, a blue t-shirt, and a red cape!

Eventually, after fighting Metallo and Brainiac, this Superman gains a Kryptonian armor suit (designed by Jim Lee) – complete with a high-collar, minus the classic red undies. The New 52 Superman also met Neil deGrasse Tyson one time, and even ended up dating Wonder Woman instead of Lois Lane!

“INJUSTICE: Gods Among Us” – Video Game (2013)

The “Injustice” fighting games take place in a dark alternate universe where Superman becomes a dictator after he snaps and kills the Joker, while Batman and others form a resistance to try and take him down.

“Man of Steel” – starring Henry Cavill (2013)

Henry Cavill made his debut in Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” where he fended off a Kryptonian invasion led by General Zod (Michael Shannon). This Superman had a Kryptonian super suit, killed Zod, fought Ben Affleck’s Batman, teamed up with Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, and sacrificed himself fighting Doomsday to save Amy Addams (see: “Batman v Superman”). His Lex Luthor was a young tech billionaire played by Jesse Eisenberg, but the less said about him the better.

And in “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” (2021), we finally got to see a badass live-action rendition of the black resurrection suit!

Click here for my in-depth review of Zack Snyder’s DC Trilogy!

Val-Zod / Earth 2 (2014)

On “Earth 2” (in the New 52 – not to be confused with the ‘Golden Age’-verse, or the ‘Mirror-Verse’), Val-Zod, the son of General Zod, became Superman after the death of his world’s Clark Kent.

Side note: Michael B. Jordan was actually tapped to play Val-Zod in a HBO-Max limited series at one point, but the project seemingly never got off the ground due to a change in leadership at DC / WB.

‘Brutaal’ / Earth-2 (2014)

‘Brutaal’ was a variation on Bizarro from the New 52 “Earth-2” series with Val-Zod. He started out as an evil Superman clone created by Darkseid who began to deteriorate over time.

Lego Superman – Channing Tatum (The Lego Movie, 2014 / The Lego Batman Movie, 2017)

Lego Superman (voiced by Channing Tatum) first appeared in “The Lego Movie” alongside Lego Batman (Will Arnette), Lego Wonder Woman (Cobie Smulders), and Lego Green Lantern (Jonah Hill) – all of whom reprised their roles in the “Lego Batman” movie.

All Might – “My Hero Academia” (2014)

“My Hero Academia” a manga-turned-anime inspired by American comic books features it’s own (heroic) variation of Superman in ‘All Might’!

“Superman: TRUTH” (2015)

A continuation of the New 52 Superman, this storyline follows a significantly de-powered Clark who ditched the suit and cape for jeans and a t-shirt, now riding around America on a motorcycle. In one of the key moments of the series, Supes saves a group of protestors from police brutality by cops in riot armor!

“Supergirl” – starring Melissa Benoist / Arrowverse (2015-2021)

Melissa Benoist plays Kara Zor-El in this CW ‘Arrowverse’ series, which frequently crossed over with “The Flash” and even featured a few appearances by Tyler Hoechlin as Superman (but more on him later). Although this was a Supergirl series, the writers lifted several plot points from the Superman comics, and even adapted a version of Alan Moore’s Black Mercy storyline!

“Superman: American Alien” by Max Landis (2016)

Another self-contained iteration of Superman’s origins for the modern era, this time by Max Landis. This is a version of Superman who is slowly evolving into the character and goes through a lot of trial and error before finally donning the iconic costume and saving the world in the final chapter. Prior to the red and blue suit, Clark wears a cheap, black, proto-suit with a spray-painted S and aviator goggles!

Lex Luthor as Superman (2016)

A reformed Lex Luthor briefly took over as Superman and joined the Justice League, following the death of the New 52 Superman.

“New Super-Man” – Kenan Kong (2016)

Kenan Kong became the Chinese “Super-Man” when he was imbued with Kal-El’s life force.

DC Rebirth (2016-2017)

During DC’s “Rebirth” storyline, the Post-Crisis Superman (who had a son with Lois in his timeline) wound up in the new universe and eventually merged with his fallen New 52 variant, taking the memories and experiences of both versions forward…

Note: The events of “Doomsday Clock” (2017-2019), the Watchmen cross-over series, rewrote the timeline yet again, giving Superman a slightly revised (and more streamlined) backstory, once again.

Superwoman (Lois Lane) – Rebirth (2016-2018)

During the Rebirth storyline, Lois Lane gained Superman’s powers taking on the wholly original moniker: “Superwoman”!

“KRYPTON” (2018-2019)

“Krypton” was a prequel series about Kal-El’s grandfather. The series has some clever depictions of characters like Brainiac, General Zod, Lobo, and even Doomsday!

“Son of Kal-El” – Jon Kent / Superboy (2021)

Superman’s son, Jon Kent aka “Superboy” (who came out as gay) briefly took on the mantle of Superman, while his pops was away.

“Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” by Tom King (2021)

Like Superman, Supergirl has had a lot of incarnations over the years, but one of the most notable reinventions of the character came recently in Tom King’s excellent “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” – which was so good that it’s being used as the basis for an upcoming movie!

“Dark Knights of Steel” – Prince Kal (2021)

A high-fantasy take on the DC universe featuring Prince Kal, and the Knights of El!

Vampire Superman?! / Earth-63 – Elseworlds (2021)

In “DC vs Vampires: All Out War”, Superman is bitten by a vampiric Wonder Woman!

“Superman and Lois” – starring: Tyler Hoechlin (2021-2024)

Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch both reprise their roles as Superman and Lois from “Supergirl” and the ‘Arrowverse’, this time in an alternate timeline where they’re living in Smallville with two sons.

The series featured Wolé Parks as John Henry Irons aka ‘Steel’, and in Season 4, Michael Cudlitz gave us one of the best renditions of Lex Luthor to date! The show also gave us a live action comics accurate depiction of Superman’s golden-age costume in a flashback!

Supergirl / Kara Zor-El from “The Flash” – starring: Sasha Calle (2023)

In the drastically alternate timeline featured in “The Flash” movie (starring Ezra Miller), Sasha Calle played a variant of Kara Zor-El that fought Zod’s invasion alongside Michael Keaton’s Batman from the Burton-verse… for some reason.

“My Adventures with Superman” – Anime, starring: Jack Quaid (2023)

The all-new Superman anime, “My Adventures with Superman” gave us a fresh, fun, modern take on the mythos, focusing in on the Daily Planet trio of Clark, Lois, and Jimmy.

“Absolute Superman” (2024)

The recent “Absolute” line of comics has given us some pretty drastic departures from the heroes we know and love, and ‘Absolute Superman’ is no exception. This version of Kal-El grew up on Krypton, coming to Earth as an adult equipped with a high-tech suit, a built-in AI sidekick, and even a nano-tech cape!?

James Gunn’s “SUPERMAN” – starring David Corenswet (2025)

James Gunn’s “Superman” reboot finally hits theaters this summer! David Corenswet is stepping into the red boots as Kal-El / Clark Kent, with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. The movie also features: the Guy Gardner Green Lantern (played by Nathan Fillion), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan). Judging by the trailers, this one seems to be the most comics-accurate interpretation we’ve ever gotten from the character in live action. This one really feels like they finally got it right.

Well, there you have it! Did we miss anyone? Let us know in the comments below…

Listen to Comic Zombie #49: The SUPERMAN Movies, and be sure to check out “Every Batmobile Ever?” and “Every Star Destroyed in Star Wars!”

James Gunn’s “Superman” soars into theaters on July 11th, 2025!