Since his first appearance in DC Comics' Action Comics, no. 23 (1940), Luthor has been singularly obsessed with Superman, and his quest to destroy the world's first superhero has been relentless.
In 85 years of action and adventure, there's only ever truly been one woman for Superman. It's the greatest love story that comics have ever told: Clark Kent loves Lois, Lois loves Superman, and somewhere along the way, she falls for Clark as well.
He especially takes delight in seeing the mighty brought low whether in strength or moral conviction. Darkseid's primary weakness may be his obsession to get even with people who have gotten the better of him, especially Superman, Wonder Woman, and the New Gods.
It released an image where Jon shares a kiss with Jay Nakamura, who was his friend and is now clearly something more. That kiss officially becomes canon on Tuesday, with the release of the fifth issue of Jon Kent's solo comic book series “Superman: Son of Kal-El.”
He wishes to rid the world of Superman, ostensibly because he views Superman as a threat to humanity, but in reality envies Superman's popularity and influence. Given his high profile as a supervillain, however, he has often come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe.
Darkseid is much stronger than the entirety of the Masters of Evil put together. He would easily batter Hercules into submission. Darkseid's strength is greater than Superman's, which is the kind of strength that can crack planets.
1 – Lex Luthor: First appearing in “Action Comics #23” (April 1940), Lex Luthor is the greatest criminal mind of our time. Bent on world domination with an extremely high IQ, Lex fights a never ending personal, public, and political battle against the Man of Steel. Lex Luthor is Superman's greatest enemy.
Naturally, Superman fears death like most people, but his battle with Doomsday is especially traumatic when considering his powers. Superman is nearly invulnerable to physical attacks, so having had a being beat and stab him to death is even more unnerving, despite Superman's eventual resurrection.
Doomsday as he appeared in Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey #2 (May 1994). Doomsday ranked as #46 on IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time. He is best known as the character that killed Superman in The Death of Superman story arc "Doomsday!".
As mighty as they are, neither Thanos nor Superman is immortal. Both have been killed in the past, meaning neither is unbeatable. However, Thanos would need an ironclad plan to trap and defeat the Man of Steel, because if it comes down to plain old fisticuffs, Superman is definitely going to win.
Even so, taking both heroes at their maximum potential, it's practically a given that Superman would overpower Thor in terms of sheer physical strength. He may not consider himself a god, but the Last Son of Krypton can still outmatch the God of Thunder on his best day.
However, he was killed off pretty early by Mother Mayhem in a most shocking move. Ironically, Lex's death made the Cult of Trigon even more intimidating, paving the way for Conner Kent aka Superboy to take over his company.
The prevailing theory in geekdom is that kryptonite can kill Superman because it disrupts his solar panel-like energy absorption. Without energy from the Sun, he weakens and eventually dies. Though kryptonite is a fictional mineral, the way it interferes makes sense.
This raises the question as to why Batman was scared of Lex Luthor specifically. The reason Batman's other villains can't compare is that Lex Luthor is the literal foil to Bruce Wayne. Bruce's greatest fear is becoming the very evil he fights against every night, which explains Batman's no-kill rule.
The series features Jon protecting the Earth as the new Man of Steel in the DC Universe. In October 2021, DC Comics revealed that the character is bisexual and began a romantic relationship with a male friend, Jay Nakamura, a superhero and online activist.
