Summary
- Bringing back Lex Luthor, who could team up with or continue to challenge Superman in a sequel.
- Ultraman could evolve into Bizarro, offering a unique and beloved villain for potential future films.
- The Elite and Livewire could add depth and new challenges to a sequel, exploring different themes and dynamics.
James Gunn and DC Studios have kicked off the DCU with Superman, which not only introduced David Corenswet as the titular superhero but also several villains, both obscure and popular. Considering the movie is already a massive success with critics, audiences, and the box office, fans are already wondering which villains will appear in an eventual sequel.
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Whether it’s another solo Superman movie or him teaming up with another hero, the potential for villains is vast. James Gunn has created a universe with unlimited potential, as not only did he bypass the origin story, but established a mythology that is more fantastical and outlandish. This could bring in villains that would fit perfectly in the sequel due to their unique powers, stories, and personalities that would follow up the themes and stories from the first movie.
10 Lex Luthor
It Would Be A Shame Not To Bring Back Nicholas Hoult
- Created By: Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster
- First Appearance: Action Comics #23
Even though David Corenswet’s Superman was the star, Nicholas Hoult became a fan-favorite for just how evil his take on Lex Luthor was as a hateful xenophobe with a superiority complex. Since Lex Luthor is Superman’s greatest nemesis in the comics, it would be a waste to never use him again in any of the movies, especially when he can lure other villains to work for him.
Lex Luthor was arrested at the end of James Gunn’s Superman, but that doesn’t seem like something that would stop one of the smartest people of the DC Universe. He could find a way to break out and continue his mission to kill Superman, or, in a fun twist, have to work with Superman to stop a mutual threat to the Earth.
9 Bizarro
Ultraman Could Be The Seed That Grows Into Another Character
- Created By: Otto Binder, George Papp
- First Appearance: Superboy Vol. 1 #68
The first movie introduced Ultraman as an evil counterpart to Superman, who perished by being pulled into a black hole during the final battle. However, that doesn’t mean he’s dead, as this potentially sets up the opportunity for him to return deformed and altered, becoming the DCU’s version of Bizarro —a character who has had many different backstories over the years.
Even if it’s not a transformed Ultraman, Bizarro has risen to be a beloved villain in comics, animation, and even live-action television shows due to being both scary and tragic. In some versions, he’s a defective clone of Superman. In others, he’s from a dimension where everything is opposite, making him cursed to always be different from Superman, despite not being inherently evil.
8 The Elite
Evil Superheroes That Prove That Superman Is Incorruptible
- Created By: Joe Kelly, Doug Mahnke
- First Appearance: Action Comics Vol. 1 #775
The Elite is a team of cynical superheroes who torture, kill, and commit more atrocious acts to save the world, and they do it out of spite for Superman’s good-hearted nature. James Gunn’s Superman was made to make the point that a superhero being a good person is not cheesy or outdated and is needed in a modern era full of pessimism and constant irony.
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If James Gunn wants to continue with that message, The Elite, consisting of characters like Manchester Black, Vera Black, The Hat, Coldcast, Menagerie, and Bunny, would be the perfect villains for that. In the comics and one of the best Superman animated films, the Man of Steel is put through a test of strength and will to prove to the Elite that power doesn’t always corrupt.
7 Livewire
An Electric Villain Who Could Continue The Themes Of The First Movie
- Created By: Evan Dorkini, Sarah Dyer
- First Appearance: Superman: The Animated Series Season 1, Episode 18
There has yet to be a Superman movie with a main female villain, so a character like Livewire could be an ideal switch-up, since she is a powerhouse whose electricity powers can hurt strong metahumans like Superman. In Superman: The Animated Series, where she first debuted, she is a proud abhorrer of Superman who runs a radio talk show dedicated to hating him.
A sequel to Superman could use Livewire as someone who still agrees with Lex's smear campaign against the Man of Steel, especially since Jor-El sent him here to be a conqueror. Superman could somehow have been accidentally involved with the incident that transformed her from Leslie Willis to Livewire, thus driving her hatred even further to trying to destroy Superman both metaphorically and literally.
6 Parasite
The Monster Villain Who Could Bring Horror To The Superman Franchise
- Created By: Jim Shooter, Al Plastino
- First Appearance: Action Comics Vol. 1 #340
James Gunn comes from a horror background with Slither, and that movie has continued to influence all his movies, such as Starro in The Suicide Squad. With a villain like Parasite, a Superman sequel can delve into body horror territory, as he is a regular human who mutates into a giant purple monster that can absorb the life force of a human like a sponge.
Parasite is most famous for what he can do to metahumans, being able to not only drain their lives but also assimilate their superpowers. Whether Superman is acting solo in the movie or has another superhero as a partner, they would have to find alternate ways to defeat Parasite that wouldn't involve using their powers.
5 Maxima
The Perfect Choice For A Superman/Supergirl Crossover
- Created By: Roger Stern, George Pérez
- First Appearance: Action Comics #645
Since Supergirl has her own movie with Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow, the sequel could be a team-up film that has a villain they have both faced in the comics. Maxima is the Empress of an extraterrestrial civilization who desires the perfect mate to create powerful children, thus guaranteeing immortality to her empire.
In more recent comics featuring Maxima, she only needs Superman for reproduction needs, while her heart is revealed to be for his cousin Kara, AKA Supergirl. That alone could be the perfect setup for a story in which Kara possibly falls for Maxima, but has her heart broken when it turns out that she is nothing more than another despot trying to conquer the universe.
4 Mongul
The Ruler Of Warworld Hates Superman
- Created By: Len Wein, Jim Starlin
- First Appearance: DC Comics Presents #27
James Gunn's new DC Universe is a world where aliens, kaiju beasts, and metahumans are commonplace for people to encounter. This could allow Superman to go on more cosmic adventures, such as meeting Mongul, the twisted tyrant of Warworld, who forces champions of planets to not only fight in a gladiatorial arena for people’s amusement but for the fate of planets.
Mongul is one of Superman’s most well-known enemies in the comics, often obsessed with defeating the last Kryptonian by any means necessary, as control over Warworld keeps him as a dictator. Even outside Warworld, Mongul has been a threat to Superman by putting him in an idyllic dream world where he never wants to wake up, which could be used to explore the deeper and sadder parts of Clark Kent as a character.
3 Bloodsport
The Deadliest Assassin Deserves A DCU Revival
- Created By: John Byrne
- First Appearance: Superman Vol. 2 #4
With certain events of The Suicide Squad being canon and not canon to the DCU, James Gunn has a chance to tell certain events that were only mentioned in that film with Bloodsport. In the DC Extended Universe, Bloodsport is confirmed to have been put in prison for shooting Superman with a Kryptonite bullet, something that should be explored on camera.
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Idris Elba’s take on Bloodsport proved to be one of the best characters in the DCEU and since John Cena is coming back as Peacemaker, fans would love to see Idris Elba do the same. Every piece of Bloodsport’s armor can form or be combined to create new weapons, mostly guns, that he uses to become one of the world’s greatest assassins. Fans would likely flock to see Bloodsport in a more villainous role.
2 H’el
Krypton Created Another Superman Before Kal-El
- Created By: Mike Johnson, Sami Basri
- First Appearance: Supergirl Vol. 6 #13
With Jor-El’s reasons for sending Superman to Earth being to conquer in James Gunn’s version, it would be the perfect opportunity to introduce H’el, a genetically created warrior made by Krypton’s elite. Using the DNA of several Kryptonians, He’l was created to preserve the legacy of Krypton by any means necessary, not knowing that he was a clone hybrid.
In the comics, Jor-El sent He’l into space with a prototype ship that later carried Superman to Earth. The DCU could explore He’l’s arrival on Earth to recruit Kal-El for his mission. However, when Superman chooses loyalty to humans over He’l, it leads to a confrontation, as He’l views Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van like his own parents. It would be a nice change-up as a Kryptonian villain rather than rehashing General Zod.
1 Brainiac
Brainiac Could Be The Alien Threat That Lex Was So Scared Of
- Created By: Otto Binder, Al Plastino
- First Appearance: Action Comics Vol. 1 #242
In most versions of Superman’s origin, Krypton is destroyed either when its core destabilizes or because the red sun consumes the planet. However, some alternate versions of the DC Universe depict Krypton being harvested and destroyed by Brainiac, a Coluan obsessed with collecting every civilization and its knowledge, which could also be the case in the DCU.
Brainiac has appeared in animation, television, and DC video games over the years, but there has yet to be a live-action adaptation, despite fans requesting it for years, even during the DCEU era. Brainiac’s invasion of Earth would make for an exciting battle between two aliens and would also evoke classic films like Independence Day and War Of The Worlds.
Superman
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- July 11, 2025
- Runtime
- 130 minutes
