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What can killSuperman ? Just asking for a friend . Kal - El has such a sterling reputation that most people recall he ’s invulnerable . Though they call him the Man of Steel for a reason , that title is most emphatically an overstatement . Cranking up the heat energy on his history and hypothetic match - ups will make the Man of Steel melt .
You see , Superman has been beaten up , beat down , and outright kill several time before . Far from unbeatable , he ’s vulnerable to hoi polloi , places , and thing . His Friend have the capacity to finish him , his own family has the power to ruin him , and even the slightest shift in the air can leave him exposed to potentially fatal attacks . heavy tree fall hard . No devotee wish him ill , but it ’s time to prepare the platter heterosexual person : Superman has more than a few chinks in his armor .
Updated on July 2nd , 2021 by Amanda Bruce : As Superman features in a new idiot box series , and has a Modern movie on the way , devotee uphold to see him as both indestructible and incredibly vulnerable . For all his Kryptonian powers , Clark Kent is still very human . While there are quite a few villains who could match his military strength , there are also just as many human vulnerabilities that could get the champion to his news , and it ’s always a undecomposed time to search them .
Doomsday
The Death of Supermanwas a watershed minute in comics history . surely , Marvel Comics ' original Captain Marvel had been killed off by fairly natural means , having fail of cancer in a infirmary bottom skirt by his comrades in arms . That one might ’ve prick , but Doomsday ’s beatdown of Superman blow out of the water the DC world to its heart and soul . The Man of Steel had his contribution of setbacks over the years , having require a few hit here and there , but he was the reigning champ of the superhero world . Superman lose a fight is one matter , but getting flat - out pop by Doomsday is another . Superman just is n’t supposed to die . When Lois Lane cradled his crushed body in the last page of that portentous 1993 DC Comics issue , however , the impossible had at last become real .
This plot of land proved so annihilating to lecturer that Zack Snyder adapted it for the big screen inBatman v battery-acid : Dawn of Justice . The scrap between Doomsday and Kal - El is so visceral on the page that it ’s little wonder it was go to the DCEU .
Red Sun Radiation
In many respects , Superman is like a bread and butter , breathing battery . If some time on the beach give the average someone vitamin D , an hour in the sun open Superman illimitable exponent . clock time under our fiery and yellow sunlight is the source of Superman ’s power , but if he misplace access to its potent rays , he quickly becomes vulnerable .
For Superman , time beneath a red sun is the only affair worse than the privation of sensationalistic ray of light . For a Kryptonian such as Kal - El , red Sun have the capacity to stunt his superhero electric potential , zapping his yellow sun reserves and weakening him by a substantive level . Though red sunlight was the aboriginal reservoir of vigour surrounding the planet Krypton , it has a deleterious issue on Superman , who has spent his entire living absorbing yellow irradiation on Earth following the destruction of his home major planet . Should an enemy attempt to put down the Man of Steel , the engagement would best begin beneath the deplete mightiness of a red Sunday .
Mind Control
There ’s a reasonBatmanhas a backup supplying of Kryptonite . The Dark Knight knows full well that a short nous ascendence goes a long way for Superman . After all , the Man of Steel is a flying , bullet - proof , one - serviceman army . Clark Kent may be a authentically congenial guy , but if his mastermind gets highjack by a third party ( see : Martian Manhunter , Eclipso , Maxwell Lord , and others ) , that ’s like having the atomic launch code uploaded to Facebook .
It ’s happened before , and it will hap again . Superman has a low - tolerance mental firewall , and more than a few scoundrel have hacked his Kryptonian database and turned him into a drone . Though it has yet to result in the Man of Steel intrust seppuku , brain dominance has put Superman in some truly precarious positions . Indeed , someone like Martian Manhunter ( whom Kal - El himself take for “ the most powerful being on Earth ” ) could plainly subvert Supes ’ mind and set him on a path of ego - destruction if he want to .
Batman
From the funnies to the animated moving picture to the big cover , Batman has maintain a distinguished vocation of ticktock up his frenemy , Superman . Frank Miller’sThe Dark Knight Returnsis a patently polemical comedian , but there ’s no avoid the truth : Batman pulverized his scarlet - crest opponent . ThoughTDKRis the most famous case of their fisticuffs , Batman literally shoot down the Man of Steel in another issuance , the 1991Supermanannual . In this alternate realness , the Dark Knight tire out a Kryptonian ring and bludgeoned Kal - El to dying with it .
Superman has most definitely returned the favor , of form , but in assessing their tenner - long dance betwixt friendly relationship and competition , Batman has a good track record . He also has the raw goods that have contributed to his success on the battlefield : the wealthiness , the brainpower , and the tactical precision that has made fools of the upright fighters in Gotham and beyond . As for their most late big - screen meet - up , there ’s little doubt that the Dark Knight could ’ve annihilated Kal - El during their showdown inBatman v back breaker : Dawn of Justice . If only their mothers did n’t occur between them .
A Lois Lane Breakup
Just as he gain his tycoon from yellow sun radiation , Superman boosts his confidence via the affection of Lois Lane . When she ’s endangered , absent , or emotionally unavailable , he can get depressed . Though most of their funnies relationship has been fair unchanging , Superman hit a raw Sir David Alexander Cecil Low in the 1969 issue ofSuperman ’s Girl Friend Lois Lane . Apparently " girlfriend " was still a two - part word in the sixties , and also a precursor of doom for Superman , who would soon get friend - zoned by his former gentlewoman love .
In “ The Bride of Batman , ” Lois Lane bail on Clark Kent and falls really , madly , deeply in sexual love with Bruce Wayne ( not knowing he ’s the man behind the mask ) . put up at the altar , Superman cogitate to himself , “ Lois does n’t even know he ’s Batman ! She ’s marrying him for himself!”The manhood ! His mind drop dead even further into sorrow , thinking , “ What a twist ! Me , the best mankind at the wedding of my ripe friend and the miss I love!”Though it ’s revealed that this was just an “ imaginary storey , ” it ’s open that Lois Lane is Clark Kent ’s Achilles heel . The idea has become rife in live - action mechanism as well with Lois being the key to cave in through to him in movies likeJustice League .
Magic
CouldHarry Potterbeat Superman ? That is the question . It ’s not onlyThe Boy Who Livedthat presents such an experiential scourge , but really any character capable of using magic to lame the hulking Kryptonian . It may sound unfair to even bring it up , but magic trick stops for no man – only those who can respond with spells of their own . Some have theorise that of all the superheroes to fall prostrate before the powers of magic , Superman is themostvulnerable .
That ’s whyShazamhas humbled Superman on multiple occasion . Despite being physically subscript to the Man of Steel , the mankind formerly known as DC ’s Captain Marvel merely has to extend to into his handbag of magic tricks to leave Superman squall uncle . While Shazam has rendered him catatonic once before , the larger burden of wizard war will divest Superman of his ability to effortlessly access his power , leaving him vulnerable to parry attacks he would usually hold up without hesitancy .
Kryptonite
Kryptonite makes Superman defenseless . In what is likely the most universally know fact in superhero lore , the Man of Steel ca n’t cope with the radioactive , green infinite stone . The macrocosm of kryptonite is so unwaveringly established in the world of cartoon strip that raw storylines for Superman must be careful not to tread to a great extent on the trope . Indeed , as comic writers have made green kryptonite hard to come by , other heavyweight were forced to get clever . For deterrent example , the Green Lanterns of Earth capitalise on their emerald epithet and made quasi - kryptonite with their Oanite rings , putting a similarly deadly curse word on the Man of Steel .
But it ’s not just green kryptonite that makes Superman curl up into the fetal position . There are many form of the radioactive stuff : ruby-red , blue , amber , and more . Though some affect him emotionally and others physically , they are all the primary manner to strip Superman of his strength .
A Neck-Snap
It ’s so obvious , yet it took eighty - odd year for it to find its way into a Superman storyline . Thanks toMan of Steel , Superman showed paladin and baddie alike the easiest way to drink down a Kryptonian : just snap their necks like Jean - Claude Van Damme . This does n’t insure an unemotional reaction to the kill , however , as evidenced by Superman ’s Wilhelm scream after turn a red - eyed Zod into a lifeless remains . It only shows that a Kryptonian neck opening is essentially meet the same way as a human ’s and that a misaligned vertebra or two can extend to a entire flop of strong-arm will .
With this elementary noesis in mind , only one question must be ask : which characters in the DC universe ( and elsewhere ) could successfully manhandle Superman ’s noodle ? rooter of all cartoon strip tribes will readily admit that there area great many characterswho could give the Man of Steel the same fate as General Zod .
Supergirl
Who is older , more versed in Kryptonian culture , and possibly even stronger than Superman ? Kara Zor - El , Kal ’s pricy first cousin . That ’s right , Supergirl present a clear and present peril to Superman . While she can keep up in the sky and fly as fast as her cousin , Kara absorbs solar radiation syndrome more easy than Kal . This is n’t conjecture , or a fanboy comment meant to terrorizeSupermanfans . No , as it work out , Batman himself propose his opinion and declaredSupergirlto be potentially strong than her much large cousin . He understand the Kryptonians manoeuver like bombardment cadre , and he knows Kara is prim for combat . Considering he helped train her in the martial artistic creation , Batman ’s opinion is establish on fact .
When battle against the Anti - Monitor , Supergirl struggle the scoundrel in ways Superman could not . She demonstrated a level of aptitude that made her cousin blush , and as a termination , she gave her life so he could live . What can kill Superman ? Supergirl , though she ’d never want to .
His Conscience
How do you put limitation on a god ? write for Superman must be a authentic challenge , demanding authors to simultaneously showcase his otherworldly persuasiveness while presenting desirable barricade to his eccentric . Over the years , a litany of literary shackles has been place on Supes , like his ability to fly lasting only as long as he can bind his breathing place .
Despite the many permutations on Superman ’s strong-arm capacity , however , one trait has remained strong : his unfitness to cut easy and fight with abandonment . More often than not , the Man of Steel eschews becoming a berserker for utilizing a much more unemotional approach to defense . He hesitates , he hems and haw , and he so often withhold the full wrath of his powers . Superman cognise he could wipe out 99 % of the known populace if he please , but it ’s his conscience , his almost fearful opinion of himself , that makes him live on in a constant state of endangerment . While Superman has incredible proficient strength , he seldom taps into his true potency , and he thereby renders himself vulnerable to weaker foes who have nothing to lose .
