80 years of Superman and his greatest foes

The only thing deadlier than facing off against a mad scientist egomaniac is that villain's bodyguard. Mercy Graves, Lex Luthor's personal assistant/bodyguard was introduced in 1996 as part of "Superman: The Animated Series," but her popularity would see her be spun off into the comics world as well as make an appearance in "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice."

Another transplant from "Superman: The Animated Series," Livewire gave the Man of Steel more than he could handle, as being made of pure energy made her almost unstoppable. The character's popularity would also translate into comics, where she continues to give Big Blue a hard time mixed with more than a few shocks.

Created in 1971, Faora or Faora Hu-Ul was a fellow prisoner in the Phantom Zone with General Zod who would escape to battle Superman. The character was adapted for Richard Donner's Superman franchise, with her name changed to Ursa. Interestingly enough, both Faora and Ursa would end up in the DC universe as equally murderous man-haters ready to take a piece out of the Man of Steel at a moment's notice.

Siobhan McDougal (later Smythe) wanted to prove that she was every bit as worthy to her family's legacy as her male relatives, using a supernatural ritual to become the Silver Banshee. From her introduction in 1987, the Banshee has been a thorn in the side of Superman, using her powers of supersonic screams to render the Man of Steel nearly helpless on more than one occasion.

Introduced in 2001, Manchester Black was the leader of a vigilante team known as “the Elite,” a group priding itself on killing its enemies, so they couldn’t return to cause more trouble. Obviously, this rubbed Superman the wrong way, leading the two on a collision course that ended with the Man of Steel burning out Black’s powers using a razor-thin blast of heat vision.

There have been a number of characters in the DC universe with the name Ultraman, but the one thing they share in common is that they're all alternate universe versions of Superman, and none of them is ever up to any good. Where Superman leads the Justice League, Ultraman sits as the head of the Crime Syndicate of America and, unlike Superman, his powers increase when exposed to Kryptonite.

The victim of a gene-bomb that would turn his skin invisible, the second villain to be named Atomic Skull started plaguing Superman in 1991. Tired of being defeated by Superman time and again, the Skull would cut a deal with a demon to get enhanced strength and atomic powers, which included projecting purple energy from his hands and mouth.

Like Bruce Wayne, Morgan Edge's superpower was unlimited cash. Unlike Wayne, however, was Edge's taste for organized crime. As the boss of Metropolis mafia outfit, Intergang, Edge would run afoul of the Man of Steel on more than one occasion, but that didn't mean his lack of powers would make him any less dangerous.

The father of the love of Superman's life, General Sam Lane didn't love Superman nearly as much as his daughter did. In fact, he pretty much saw him as a threat to national security, leading him to employ various means, mostly dangerous and illegal, to challenge the Man of Steel in fights to the death.

Introduced in 1942, Oswald Loomis, better known as the Prankster, has served as one of Superman's oldest foes. With an MO of using practical jokes, such as laying a patent claim on the alphabet as a device to commit crimes, the Prankster may not be one of Superman's more powerful foes, but that didn't make him any less annoying to the Man of Steel.

With his 1943 debut, Winslow Schott, aka Toyman, was another underpowered villain who matched wits with Superman over the years, using his toy creations to stymie the Man of Steel on more than one occasion.

As with many unwitting S.T.A.R. Labs employees, Rudy Jones managed to stumble into an experiment that changed him into the purple creature known as the Parasite. Able to detect and devour any large source of power, Parasite became an instant foe of Superman's from his first appearance in 1987. (An earlier version debuted in 1966, but had little shelf life.)

Most villains can be accused of having a heart of stone, but when it comes to cyborg and Superman villain Metallo, his heart is a specific type of stone: Kryptonite. Introduced in 1959, John Corben was a con man and murderer who got into a fatal car crash but was saved by a scientist who placed his brain in a robot body. Although the scientist did not mean for Metallo to use his Kryptonite heart for evil, Corben's criminal mind immediately saw it as a chance to be a thorn in the Man of Steel's side in numerous encounters.

An imp from the Fifth Dimension, Mr. Mxyzptlk has taken both pleasure and pride in plaguing the Man of Steel from his earliest appearance in 1944. With powers that allow him to bend and shape reality to his will, he's given Superman his fair share of headaches over the years, and the only way to be rid of him is to trick him into saying or spelling his own name backward (Kltpzyxm - "kel-tip-zix-um"), forcing him to return home for no less than 90 days.

A riff on the origin of Marvel's "Fantastic Four," astronaut Hank Henshaw and his crew encounter radiation flares which cause them to undergo significant and grotesque transformations. For poor Hank, it meant having his skin melt off his body. As Henshaw dies, his brain is transformed into a cyborg body that instantly seeks revenge. When Superman is killed by Doomsday, Henshaw sees this as an opportunity to serve as an impostor of the Man of Steel during the "Reign of the Supermen" event. Eventually, once the real Superman returns, the two become forever enemies.

The name of two of Superman's greatest foes, Mongul the Elder saw Superman as a prize to collect for his Warworld, a planet devoted only to gladiatorial games. When the older version of Mongul was killed, his son would take up the mantle of Superman antagonist, causing even more destruction than his father, including that of Coast City, causing Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, to go insane and become Parallax.

In 1992, under a lull in sales, DC decided that its greatest hero must die, and the instrument of this destruction would be a mindless alien fittingly called Doomsday. The earth-shaking fight, depicted in the "Death of Superman" comic event, lived up to its promise, as the Man of Steel, after finally defeating his foe, died in the arms of Lois Lane. Of course, he would eventually get better, and so would Doomsday, being resurrected time and again to try and kill Superman, but it never quite worked as well as the first time.

First appearing in 1958, Bizarro Superman was a take on Frankenstein's Monster, as he was an imperfect clone of the Man of Steel, who, while well-intentioned, wreaked destruction just about everywhere he went. Bizarro would go on to use the same technology that made him into creating an entire Bizarro World full of imperfect copies of Superman, his friends and family. The mirror image that Bizarro represented served as a point of frustration for the Man of Steel, as he tried to remember that Bizarro never really wanted to hurt anyone.

The artificial being mostly responsible for the destruction of Superman's home world, Brainiac specialized in capturing and miniaturizing entire cities for his collection. Using his 12th-level intellect, Brainiac successfully defeated Superman numerous times but could never quite finish him off for good, a point of shame for a being whose brain is nearly unrivaled in the DC Universe.

One of Jack Kirby's most villainous creations, New God Darkseid, ruler of Apokolips, is certainly Superman's most powerful and indefatigable foe. Forever in search of the Anti-Life Equation, it is not enough for Darkseid to rule but rather to end life as we know it. With the power of Omega Beams and an army of fanatical loyalist and mindless Parademons, Darkseid invaded Earth a number of times only to be thwarted each time by the Man of Steel.

When he first appeared in 1963, General Zod wasn't high up on the list of priorities for Superman as villains go. But thanks to his appearance and iconic portrayal by Terence Stamp in "Superman: The Movie" and "Superman II," he quickly flew up the ranks to serve as one of the Man of Steel's greatest and most deadliest foes. Zod is the flip side to Superman, and where Big Blue is compelled to protect, Zod knows nothing but destruction.

Yes, Superman's No. 1 rival comes in at second on our list and for good reason. While Luthor has been the Man of Steel's longest and most hated adversary since his first appearance in April 1940, sometimes, as the the saying goes, "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer."

With friends like Batman, who needs enemies? While the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight have been longtime friends in mainstream continuity, in numerous depictions, from Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" all the way to Zack Snyder's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," the Caped Crusader is possibly more distrustful of Superman than even Lex Luthor, his second-greatest adversary. This unfortunately has set the two at odds more than once and can only lead to a tragic ending for one or both members of DC Comics' "Holy Trinity."