Superman & Lois has an abundance of great Superman villains it can bring aboard the series. On Superman & Lois, Tyler Hoechlin’s Man of Steel has had to overcome a number of challenging adversaries from DC Comics. The show has already introduced the Eradicator, Bizarro, and Parasite, with season 3 bringing in Bruno Mannheim and Lex Luthor
While Superman & Lois has done a fantastic job of mining lesser-known Superman villains, there is also a plethora of other villains for the show to incorporate. Some are also villains who have been seen relatively little in movies and TV, while others have been adapted repeatedly. Regardless, his deep rogues’ gallery presents the series with all sorts of storytelling opportunities. Here are 10 important Superman villains the series could use at some point in the show’s future.
Mister Mxyzptlk
One of Superman’s more comedic villains, Mister Mxyzptlk’s reality-bending abilities are nothing to joke about. With that said, the potential of Mister Mxyzptlk has not been exploited to the same extent as other Superman villains, and his rather goofy nature often leads to him being modified in live-action adaptations. This is the case for the versions of Mxyzptlk seen on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman (played by Howie Mandel) and Smallville (played by Trent Ford), and Superman & Lois could similarly create its own intepretation of the character.
Cyborg Superman
Following The Death of Superman story, the Reign of the Supermen follow-up would introduce a collection of would-be successors to the Man of Steel, one of them being the villainous Hank Henshaw a.k.a. Cyborg Superman. In his cybernetic form, Henshaw can upload his consciousness to any form of technology, and also possesses Kryptonian-level powers to make him a strong opponent for Superman. The show already has two villainous Man of Steel counterparts, but if done correctly, Cyborg Superman could be unique to both of them, both visually and personality-wise.
Kryptonite is well-known as Superman’s greatest weakness, but unlike most villains who have to find a way to locate and weaponize the Kryptonian mineral, John Corben a.k.a. Metallo has it built right into him. Metallo has been seen as an enemy of the Man of Steel on numerous TV shows, such as Brian Austin Green’s Metallo on Smallville. The challenges Metallo brings against Superman go without saying, and they make the Kryptonite-powered villain a natural choice for Superman & Lois.
Lobo
The intergalactic bounty hunter known as Lobo is perhaps DC’s most beloved off-the-wall character, existing in the gray area between anti-hero and villain and bringing a quipping, snarky attitude that makes his involvement in any Superman story a joy. Superman: The Animated Series pit Superman against the character before eventually forcing a team-up between them. While Lobo would later appear on Krypton (played by Emmett J. Scanlan), his encounters with the Big Blue Boy Scout have been too few and far between in Superman adaptations. Superman & Lois can fix that by bringing Lobo into play as Kal-El’s perpetually grinning frenemy.
Brainiac
Every superhero has a villain whose mind always seems to be one step ahead of the hero’s, and for Superman, that villain is Brainiac. While Brainiac has been re-imagined in various iterations, his origin typically portrays him as an advanced Kryptonian super-computer in humanoid form with an intellect far beyond even the most intelligent beings in the universe. Brainiac is also known for shrinking and bottling entire cities, including Krypton’s captol city of Kandor. The problems he’s caused in the comics, as well as in Smallville and Krypton, prove he would be an excellent fit for a season-long antagonist role in a future storyline.
Doomsday
Doomsday is famous for having killed Clark in The Death of Superman story arc, so whenever Doomsday shows up in a Superman movie or TV show, the stakes are inevitably raised. Doomsday has been seen in live-action before in Superman movies and TV shows like Smallville, Krypton, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and was even initially teased to appear in Superman & Lois season 2. Though the teases ultimately revealed the show’s new villain to be Bizarro, Doomsday is another massive Superman villain who could still make quite an impact on Superman & Lois.
General Zod
Superman’s long-standing enemy General Zod has technically been on Superman & Lois before, albeit in a more ethereal form of possessing the Man of Steel with John Henry Irons freeing him. General Zod has a great deal of history both on television and cinematically, with Terrence Stamp, Callum Blue, and Michael Shannon playing various iterations of Zod. Additionally, being a Kryptonian warrior, Zod has always been one of Superman’s most physically formidable enemies. After the tease of General Zod in Superman & Lois season 1, the show needs to finally let him make a physical appearance opposite Kal-El on Superman & Lois.
Faora
As General Zod’s trusted second-in-command, Faora is just as powerful a Kryptonian warrior and arguably an even more ruthless opponent for Superman. Due to her fighting skills, Faora is easily capable of holding her own against Superman. Should General Zod appear on Superman & Lois, Faora joining him is a no-brainer.
Jax-Ur
Another of Superman’s Kryptonian adversaries, Jax-Ur is a combination of brains and brawn for Superman to contend with. Being a Kryptonian, Jax-Ur shares all of Superman’s powers, while his brilliant mind as a Kryptonian scientist makes him an intellectual foe for the Last Son of Krypton as well. While Jax-Ur may not be main villain material, he could certainly work as a secondary antagonist whose scientific knowledge is used to help the season’s big bad.
Darkseid
No DC villain sits higher on the throne of evil than Darkseid. Appearing in a ghostly form on Smallville, Darkseid makes his cinematic debut in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but is still relatively underutilized in live-action compared to his role on the Justice League animated series (voiced by Michael Ironside). Bringing Darkseid on Superman & Lois would be a great expansion of the show’s scope, especially after the tease of Darkseid’s Secret Society of Supervillains. Even better, with the New Gods existing outside the multiverse, Darkseid appearing on Superman & Lois could show how great of a threat he is to every Earth within it, perhaps as Clark’s final villain.
