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Summary
EvenSuperman , the DC Universe ’s guiding figure of heroism , is n’t infallible . When Clark Kent became a hero , he desire to apply his godlike king for the betterment of the humans . regrettably , for all of his powers , Superman is just as likely to fail as anyone else .
Superman ’s battled foreign tyrants and universe - destroying monstrosities . But in his prospicient career as a superhero , there are a few moments where the Man of Steel come up short . translate on to discover 10 of the greatest unsuccessful person in DC history .
10Drove Superboy Away From Earth
Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow #1, Kenny Porter, Jahnoy Lindsay
Superboy come back into DC ’s persistence after almost a decade ’s absence . But Conner struggle to chance his position amid an implausibly crowded Super - Family , which now had two Kryptonians sharing the Man of Steel soubriquet . Conner tried to talk with Superman , who could n’t give Superboy the time of day . So Conner left Earth to stake out his own claim in the creation . regrettably , it accept Superman two whole week to even noticethat Superboy had left Earth . Even Clark realized how much he had let down his ally and vowed to treat him well .
9Didn’t Save an Astronaut from a Terrifying Death
Hitman #34, Garth Ennis, John McCrea
Superman make out that mistakes befall , but that does n’t mean they frequent him any less . InHitman # 34 , Tommy Monaghan has a prospect run into with the hero on a especially regretful Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . Superman had attempted to rescuea work party of spaceman from a nuclear space birdie and managed to save most of them . But it was n’t until the squad was safely laden into an escape valve pod that Clark realized theteam ’s air force officer got left behindright before the shuttle explode . Superman recognized there was nothing he could do , but the commander ’s haunted face allow a lasting belief on Clark ’s creative thinker .
8Killed General Zod and Several Phantom Zone Prisoners
Superman #22, John Byrne
Superman has often been at odds with his nemesis General Zod , but one consequence consider the hero putting him and several other Kryptonians to death . During John Byrne ’s run on Superman , the Post - Crisis Superman encountered Zod and several other escapee from the Phantom Zone in an alternative creation . discern that the villain were too dangerous to be keep alive , Clark depowered the Kryptonians with gold kryptonite andexposed them to the far deadlier green kryptonite . Superman , a stout shielder of life , merely stood by and watched as his resister kill one another and begged for their spirit .
7Didn’t Speak Out Against Lex Luthor’s Presidential Campaign
Adventures of Superman #586, J.M. DeMatteis, Mike S. Miller
Lex Luthor has had a lot of devious plans over the years , but his most successful gamble was hunt for President of the United States . Lex campaigned and was swept into agency on a platform of major reforms . But Lex , being the baddie he is , used his position to his reward , make task strength and regime departments dedicated to replacing Superman and turn the public against him . Though Superman congratulated Lex on his triumph , Clark fumed at the situation and care he had speak out against Lex during his campaign . But Superman ’s silence put DC ’s most unsafe madman in the high power in the United States .
6Killed His Most Powerful Nemesis and Retired
Action Comics #583, Alan Moore, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson
Superman does n’t care killing and cogitate no one deserves to take a life . In “ Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow ? ” , Superman ’s impish foe , Mister Mxyzptlk , turned over a nefarious new leaf and attempted to kill Superman and Lois Lane . But Superman do to defeat his foe by using his Phantom Zone projector just as Mxyzptlk tried recall to the Fifth Dimension , killing him bytearing Mxyzptlk between dimensions . Superman was so shake by the events that he decided to punish himself for breaking his code by remove his top executive with gold kryptonite , ending his career .
5Couldn’t Save Pa Kent From a Heart Attack
Action Comics #870, Geoff Johns, Gary Frank
One Superman failure was also an important lesson for him to ascertain . During the “ Brainiac ” arc , Superman meets Brainiac ’s true build , who seek to bottle Metropolis and destroy Earth . Clark stops him , but Brainiac manages to get one last act of retaliation . Brainiac ’s ship launches a skyrocket at the Kent farm to kill his adoptive parent , Jonathan and Martha Kent . They avoid getting hit , but the strain activate a heart attempt in Jonathan and unfortunately , Superman is too recent to save his dada . Jonathan has died of a heart blast in several continuities , and it always reminds Clark that he ca n’t save everyone .
4Beat Doomsday at the Cost of His Own Life
Superman #75, Dan Jurgens, Brett Breeding
Out of all the villains in Superman ’s rogues gallery , no baddie got a win over the grinder like Doomsday did . The interstellar baddie came to Earth and rampaged across the Earth , no one able-bodied to match his fury save for Clark . But between Doomsday ’s size of it , potency , and regenerative ability , the villain actually had Superman on the circle . Clark had to dig up late and use every last ounce of lastingness he had to vote down Doomsday , which he did . However , the world watched in scummy horror asDC Universe ’s greatest icon died from his injuries .
3Killed Lois Lane and His Unborn Child
Injustice: Gods Among Us #1, Tom Taylor, Axel Giménez, Mike S. Miller, Jheremy Raapack
Injusticemay not be the main DC Universe , but the dark world check one of the most caustic losses in Superman ’s history . The Joker kidnapped Lois Lane and rag Superman into a trap where the Clown Prince of Crime do drugs him and convinced Superman that she was really Doomsday . In Superman ’s drugged - up state , he kill Lois and their unborn fry . That departure , on top of Metropolis being nuked by the Joker , sent Superman into a black place . Clark killed the Joker and began a totalitarian drive to cease crime in the world by any way necessary .
2Allowed His Son to Leave Earth With Jor-El (gal)
Man of Steel #6, Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Fabok
Like most father , Superman tries to do right by his Word . However , he made a call that seriously lacked in judgment when he allowed his Kryptonian father Jor - El to take Clark ’s son Jonathan to blank space to train the son . It was defective enough that Clark have his 11 - twelvemonth - old boy venture out into infinite , but the determination was made worse by the fact that Jon was nobble by Ultraman , who kept Jon ensnare in a volcano for years . By the time Jon made his way back home , he was 17 . Not only were many fans angry with this direction , buteven Clark was haunted by his decisionnot to fight for Jon .
1Lost a Second Krypton and Thousands of Kryptonians
War of the Supermen #1, James Robinson, Sterling Gates, Jamal Igle
The “ New Krypton ” arc recognize a dream for Superman : A 2d luck for his home cosmos . Superman saved the bottle city of Kandor and pull through its population of a hundred thousand Kryptonians . Unfortunately , he go wrong to realize how prejudicial Kryptonians could be and that there were forces on Earth that would n’t stand for that many superpowered aliens exist . A cold state of war developed between New Krypton and Earth with Superman caught in the midriff . When all was said and done , Earth ’s forces bring home the bacon andthousands of Kryptonian lives were extinguishedand Superman could n’t do a matter about it .
Supermanis still one of the DC Universe ’s groovy heroes , but these 10 failures stick out out as the worst in his history .
