Villains define the hero. It’s no secret, no matter the way the story is told. Villains test the hero, humble the hero and make them stronger. Afterall, pressure is a must in order to create a diamond. Some villains do it their own way. Some take a psychological approach, others take a more physical method. Many stand above the rest. Few are infamous icons. The villains for Batman and Spider-Man are famous in their own right. Yet, another rouge’s gallery gets overlooked; Superman’s own. Doomsday, Zod, and Lex Luthor have made their impression on Superman. But like any good hero he has overcome those fights in some way or another. Which means Superman has proven that he could hold his ground against all types of foes. So how will the Man of Steel fair against enemies that exist outside of his own continuity? Which ones will give Superman a unique fight?
Pennywise will be an unusual but fresh fight for Superman. The type of enemies that Superman tends to fight are the ones that prefer to go toe to toe with him. Very few sit back and try to outwit him. Yet, Pennywise will perhaps take the chance to engage with Superman but will prefer to heavily rely on his fear tactics, a method Superman seldomly sees. Superman will have to be fighting a physical force as well as internal issues. If Pennywise were to prey on Superman long enough, he will transform himself into something Superman fears, like he does when he takes on a clown form to scare children. A Pennywise/Doomsday hybrid will be great sight to see! In addition, Pennywise will bring a few layers for Superman to fight; the physical appearance of a demonic clown, all the fears that Pennywise could turn into, being nigh invulnerable to physical attacks, and existing as a force rather than a physical body. Once Superman thinks he overcomes one aspect of Pennywise’s nature, there is another that Superman has to defeat.
Superman has come across a few robots in his life but Skynet and the terminators might bring in a few new flares. Skynet is a highly advanced, highly aggressive, super adaptable artificial intelligence that is always planning on human genocide. One of the main ways that go about doing that is creating then unleashing their ultimate weapon; The Terminator. Multiple Terminators have been created, from the standard of the T-800s to the Rev 9. And The Terminators are exceptional in their jobs. If Superman were to become Skynet’s newest John Connor, there’s reason to believe it would tweak its models to be better adapted to fight Superman. In a sense, an army of Kryptonite laced Terminators, much the same as Metallo. Each Terminator different to be better equipped to take him down. One that is more offensive, one that is made to fly near to his speed, one more robust, one more versatile. Much how Skynet made various ones to kill John Connor, it will do the same for Superman. And if Superman is able to over the Terminators, Skynet itself will prove to be difficult for Superman. Since this is an advanced, artificial intelligence that floats around, Superman has nothing to strike. Nothing to come in physical contact with. And if he does, Skynet has shown it has contingencies to always remain on top.
The Man of Steel has fight against and alongside different gods yet one might be different enough to throw him off. Kratos has quite literally been the end of two separate pantheons. As the son of Zeus, he has immortality and godly strength. Attributes that are formidable on their own without adding in his Spartan training. But Kratos does have that. Other things he has access to are magical abilities and enchanted weapons such as his famous Blades of Chaos and Levithan Axe. A formidable formula for Superman to overcome. While Superman’s strength might be greater than Kratos’ own, the access to magic that Kratos has could level the playing field. Plus, Kratos has experience not only fighting but defeating foes that are somewhat similar to Superman. No matter their size, abilities, power or strength, Kratos goes up against his enemies with little hesitation and no fear. Why would Superman be different for him? The power he as to kill gods makes Kratos a Superman level threat from the start. His rage revives him from a lethal blow from Olympus’ most powerful weapon. His arsenal is abundant. The fight between the Man of Steel and the God of War will escalate to a small scale war.
Superman comes from a different galaxy and the Sith has intentions to conquer it all. From Darth Plagueis to Darth Maul to Darth Vader, they all have evil ambition to rule the galaxy with dictatorial intent. And each range in their power levels with the force. Each with their own lightsaber skills, but all connected to the dark side of the force. With a collected mindset to rule and an army of troops on their side, the Sith, the Empire or Darth Vader, will be a unique challenge to Superman. Their claws are galaxy wide and inside multiple planets. Weapons are the best in the galaxy. The number of their troops are immense. A sign of a powerful opponent even for someone as powerful as Superman. But more than anything, Superman has to fight an idea, a belief, something that is highly difficult to defeat. His fight with the dark side of the force will inevitably put him on a collision course with Darth Vader. Two powerful beings in their own right. Two beings that have multiple ways to fight and defeat opponents. Two begins that are vastly different from each other but as the world of Boxing says, styles make fights. And of course, this fight brings up important questions; Is Superman stronger than the Force and can a lightsaber hurt Superman?
Many different opponents have made it their mission and existence to defeat Superman. Some have had more success than others. Because of this success, it leads the mind to think of other opponents, outside of his continuity, that Superman can fight. There are numerous that could thrash him around at the least and defeat him at the most in their own ways. Being Superman, of course he will have to endure the strongest of opponents that exist elsewhere. Although his success in the fight may vary, the clash itself will be cinematic.
