WEIRDO Ranks: Every Live-Action Superman Villain 🦸🏻‍♂️ (Part 2 of 4)
One of the greatest rogues’ galleries in the history of comic books!
With one of the most iconic rogues’ galleries in the history of comic books, Superman only ever deserved top notch thespians to play his nemeses on screen. With this series of articles, I will be discussing the top performances of Superman’s live-action comic book villains, as well as their overall significance to their respective characters’ mythos.
Disclaimer: There are probably some villains that I missed and/or did not feel the need to acknowledge. Also, possible spoilers ahead for those of you who have not seen the projects mentioned below!
15. Rogues (CW’s Supergirl)
With rogues like Indigo, Manchester Black, and Maxwell Lord all wreaking havoc upon Central City, Supergirl certainly had her hands full throughout the show’s six seasons. Due to the series being a CW production, however, many performances swayed along the lines of corny and misused. While breakout villains like Agent Liberty and Reign left an indelible impression on audiences, others like the contrived Mxy, Leviathan, and Queen Rhea sullied any grandeur the show had.
14. Doomsday (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice)
The death-defying monstrosity that is Doomsday gave DC’s Trinity of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman a run for their money in Zack Snyder’s sequel to Man of Steel. Fans were excited for the spike-infested creature to lay waste to Metropolis’s infrastructure and inevitably exterminate Superman like in the comics. What ensued was a CGI slugfest of radioactive mayhem in a requisite ending seeking to appease the source material.
13. Lex Luthor (Superman Returns)
Kevin Spacey had the misfortune of following up Gene Hackman’s performance at a time when Michael Rosenbaum was already slaying the role on the small screen. With a genuine disdain for Superman yet a preposterous plan for world domination, Spacey’s Luthor emulates both the best and worst things about Hackman’s iteration. Superman Returns remains a solid film in its own right, but Spacey’s corporeal actions and sexual allegations against him make watching the movie somewhat distasteful.
12. Rogues (CW’s Smallville)
When Smallville arrived on the scene two decades ago, fans were excited for a modernized take on Clark Kent’s origins, as well as the assortment of enemies that would be brought to life with the technology of the times. Big baddies like Darkseid, Doomsday, Zod, and Metallo all received majorly positive treatment on the small screen, impressing audiences with the network’s ability to faithfully adapt such larger-than-life supervillains…for the most part.
11. Lex Luthor (Superman: The Movie, Superman II, Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace)
Though I’m not personally a fan, I can only respect what the Christopher Reeve Superman movies represented and achieved at a time where such films were not commonplace. Same goes for Gene Hackman’s portrayal of Lex Luthor, wherein his threatening demeanor outweighed his goofiness as he plotted against Superman with Kryptonite, alien beings, and nuclear war. Hackman became the one true Lex for an entire generation of comic book fans and general moviegoers alike.
