Superman is the most popular and important superhero in the world. He created the genre around him, and every other hero has been trying to live up to the standard he set from his very first issue. It is no understatement to say that Superman is the beating heart of DC, and in that vein, there must always be a Superman. Clark Kent has been around since the beginning of it all, but he hasn’t always been the one with the cape. There have been a lot, and I mean a lot of people who have taken up the Superman mantle over the years, and today we’re going to rank them all. For the sake of simplicity and not writing over a hundred entries, we will only be counting characters in the main DC Universe and in the present time period. No alternate versions of the character like President Superman or potential futures like Kal Kent in DC One Million. They definitely deserve to be praised, but right now we are talking about who the best Superman we’ve seen today is. So without further ado, let’s dive right into it.
11) Cyborg Superman
Hank Henshaw was an astronaut aboard LexCorp’s space shuttle Excalibur, but an accident killed him and most of the other crew, leaving him a disembodied consciousness. Blaming Superman for his death, he bonded with the Kryptonian Birthing Matrix and formed a half-syborg clone body of Superman, and set out to get revenge against the Man of Steel. Unfortunately, by the time he returned Superman had seemingly died fighting Doomsday, so Henshaw instead set out to ruin everything Superman stood for. He was one of the four potential successors to the Man of Steel in the “Reign of the Supermen,” impersonating the actual Superman and destroying Coast City, planning to do the same to Metropolis. Although he was only pretending to be him, Henshaw did go by the Superman name and was endorsed by the President of the United States as the one true Superman, named the Man of Tomorrow. Still, his atrocities go against everything the real Superman stands for, and so he’s more than earned last place on this list.
10) The Eradicator
The Eradicator was a device created hundreds of thousands of years ago by one of Superman’s distant ancestors to preserve Kryptonian culture by preventing mingling with other planets. Eventually passed onto Superman by an alien priest known as the Cleric, the device dedicated itself to protecting the legacy of Krypton through Superman. Unfortunately, that often involved trying to destroy or convert Earth into a new Krypton to force Superman to fully accept his Kryptonian heritage over his Earth one. After Superman died fighting Doomsday, the Eradicator also took up the role of carrying on Superman’s legacy, taking the title of the Last Son of Krypton. He stored Superman’s recovering body in a Healing Matrix to sap power from it, intent on perfecting the Superman legacy as a Kryptonian. The Eradicator has worked beside Superman as often as he’s been a villain, but will always prioritize Krypton over Superman’s desire to protect Earth. Xenophobia makes for a poor Superman.
9) Denny Swan
Premiering in “The Final Days of Superman” storyline, Denny Swan was a normal human man before he was struck by a sentient bolt of energy and was infused with Superman’s genome. He was transformed into a being of pure energy, and became convinced that he was the real Superman and Clark Kent was an imposter. Unfortunately for the wannabe Superman, Denny’s body grew more and more unstable, as did his mental state. He eventually lost all control over his energy and went nuclear, needing to be carried high up into the sky by both New 52 Superman and Post-Crisis Superman, with New 52 Superman sacrificing himself to absorb Denny’s energy. His career lasted the least amount of time, and he was far from anything resembling a hero, but he did inadvertently help give us one of the most heartwrenching comic book deaths of all with the passing of New 52 Superman, so he gets some points there.
8) Don-El
Don-El is from way back in the heart of the Silver Age, being one of the Kryptonians trapped within the Bottle City of Kandor, and was Superman and Supergirl’s first cousin. He served as the Kandorian police chief and captain of the Superman Emergency Squad, which was a group of Kandorians dedicated to assisting Superman and Supergirl whenever they needed it. However, Don-El donned the trunks to fill Superman’s shoes in Superman #337, when he went delusional and convinced himself that he was Superman. He freed and enlarged himself and flew around pretending to be Superman, leading Clark to impersonate his numerous villains to scare Don-El into no longer wanting to be Superman and remembering who he was. He did cause some trouble impersonating Superman, but he’s also helped out Superman plenty, so he earns eighth place.
7) Lex Luthor
After the New 52 Superman sacrificed himself, Lex Luthor was inspired to become a hero himself. Crafting a new suit of armor, Lex dubbed himself the new Superman and set about protecting Metropolis and the world. What makes this heel turn so incredible is that it wasn’t some trick or plot to gain Superman’s trust, but Lex legitimately being inspired by the Man of Steel and wanting to be like him. After so many years spent trying to destroy everything Superman stood for, Lex finally came around to understanding him. He was actually a pretty good hero, even if he kept his patented narcissistic attitude, and the worst part about him being Superman is that it had to end so soon. I’d definitely love to see him take up a heroic role again, even if that type of thing never ends well.
6) Kong Kenan
Okay, technically Kong Kenan isn’t Superman, he’s Super-Man, but I still think he counts for this list. After standing up to the supervillain Blue Condor, Kenan drew the attention of the Ministry of Self-Reliance, an organization sanctioned by the Chinese government to create their own version of the Justice League. Kenan was imbued with the qi of the dead New 52 Superman, granting him the same Kryptonian powers, and he became the New Super-Man of China. What makes Kenan such an interesting character is that he didn’t start out anything like Superman. He was a headstrong bully who was more interested in fame than actually helping people, but over time he came to learn what being a hero meant, and he grew into the role of Super-Man. He was even accepted into the Super Family, and fights crime alongside the other Kryptonian heroes. I love Kenan, but his inclusion here means that it can be argued I should include the first Super-Man of China, Emperor Super-Man. To that I say; no. This list is already long enough, and besides, he added a whole extra word to the identity. A hyphen I can abide, but the word Emperor is too far to be considered Superman.
5) Conner Kent
Best known as Superboy, Conner is a clone formed by combining the DNA of Superman and Lex Luthor. Made by Project Cadmus to fill Superman’s void after his death, Conner is the final of the four men who would call themselves Superman during the “Reign of the Supermen” storyline. He only bore the title for a short time, and during that period was an attention-seeking brat. He eventually came around, growing to be one of the greatest heroes around, but his tenure as Superman unfortunately came at the least heroic part of his life. Still, Conner has more than proven he embodies the hope and truth that Superman fights for. He has taken up the mantle in plenty of alternate universes and potential futures, and if he should ever have to claim it again, I know that he would make Clark proud. Conner has been pushed to the side in recent years, but he definitely deserves to come back to the spotlight.
4) Jon Kent
The son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, Jon is easily the best person to take up the Superman mantle besides Clark himself. He hasn’t exactly had an easy life, being born in a realm outside of time and space made from the pieces of dead universes, having to adjust to living in secret on Earth, and then being held captive by an evil version of his dad for nearly seven years. Yet through all the hardship, Jon has held onto his heart and will to do what’s right. When Clark left Earth to free the prisoners of Warworld, he left Jon in charge of protecting their home, letting him take up the mantle of Superman. Jon served as the world’s only Superman until his dad’s triumphant return, and still fights alongside his dad as Superman. He has the potential to be an even greater hero than his dad, but as of right now, it doesn’t feel like Jon has come into his own. He’s in the middle of an identity crisis. He’s Superman, but the entire world only sees him as Superman’s son, and that’s all he sees too. He’s far more self-conscious than his dad and has yet to truly carve out his own place, but he’s still more than proved he deserves the S on his chest. Jon is a true hero, and being second to Superman is very, very far from being an insult. He’ll come into his own one day, and when he does, he’ll be the best hero of all.
3) New 52 Clark Kent
While it might seem strange to differentiate Clark and New 52 Clark, they are actually two distinct characters. New 52 Clark still has the same origin as his other counterparts, but his parents died when he was just eighteen. This version of Superman is more aggressive than you’d expect, more in line with his earliest stories in the Golden Age. That is not to say that he is any less of a hero than any other version, as he fought to save the Earth and protect those on it more times than any one person can count. Unlike his other selves, this Superman fell in love with Wonder Woman instead of Lois Lane, and he was with the Amazonian Princess until the day he died. His body was falling apart after multiple events that did irreparable damage to his cells, and he spent his final days helping as many people as he could. He died saving a crowd of people from Denny Swan’s explosion, and left the mission of being Superman to his Post-Crisis counterpart. He passed surrounded by the ones he loved, saying that he was so blessed to have lived the life he did. This is maybe Superman’s best death, and easily a showcase of exactly why this Clark is just as much Superman as any other version.
2) Kal-L
The Original Man of Steel, Kal-L is the Golden Age Superman who was moved to live on Earth-2, the Earth that housed all of the stories from DC’s Golden Age. He is the Superman who started his career fighting all kinds of social issues for the sake of the common man, who eventually became editor of the Daily Star, who died at the end of Infinite Crisis helping his counterpart stop Superboy-Prime. This Superman is the one who started it all, the original superhero. It’s impossible to overstate his importance to every facet of the superhero genre, so I won’t. I’ll just say that this Superman represents something special: an old world where dreams were so real you could grab them with your hands. He came from a much brighter world, one where he changed everything, and his true name is Superman. Still, there’s one thing holding him back. This Superman is a little more disconnected from humanity, always a bit alien and seeing himself as standing outside instead of beside. This Superman is well and truly the Man of Steel, but our last entry is too.
1) Clark Kent
Introduced in the Silver Age and standing proud today, Clark Kent, stands as the greatest version of Superman of all time. The reasoning is simple; where Kal-L is a man on the outside, Clark has always seen himself as one of us. Clark Kent was raised by Ma and Pa Kent to be a hero, someone who would use his powers to help others above all else. He is the ultimate embodiment of hope, and the champion of truth, justice, and a better tomorrow. He fights for everyone, not just for the future, but so that people can enjoy a better today. Superman is the greatest superhero of all time, and it goes without saying that Clark Kent has shown the world exactly what a superhero should be. He is the ultimate immigrant story, the ultimate story of a man trying his best to be a good person, and the ultimate role model for everyone. When the world seems darkest, we all turn to Superman to remember that things are never hopeless. Clark sees himself as a normal person, the same as anyone else, because he believes that everyone is good at heart, and anyone else in his position would be just like him. We should all try to be more like Superman, and any character who has that level of inspiration is easily one of the greatest characters of all time.
So there we have our list of every character who has taken up the Superman mantle, and those who have borne the responsibilities that come with it. Plenty of people have taken it up for ill gain, and there are literally hundreds of alternate universe versions of characters becoming a Superman inspired by Clark, but at the end of the day, the true test of a Superman is fighting for what’s right. I’d say that plenty of the people on this list fit that requirement perfectly. Which version of Superman is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
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