10 Characters Who Beat Superman In A Fight

On his best day, the most formidable foes can't beat Superman. Even if it is just a good day, it should still be pretty hard to pull one over on one of the Man of Steel. However, everyone has an off day every once in a while. And though it may be rare, this even includes the alter-ego of mild-mannered Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent.

But who exactly are these all-powerful titans that managed to best the Last Son of Krypton during the times when he may not have been at his best? Throughout comic book and pop culture history, there have been a number of instances where the iconic superhero created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster found himself on the losing end of a battle. In this list, we will take a look at some of the opponents that stood across the ring from the Man of Tomorrow (in one case, literally) and came out on top. 

And though some may be no-brainers, others may be incredibly hard to believe. As in, "how did they even end up in the same universe together?" hard to believe. But you'll believe it after we dive into this murderer's row of mighty warriors that brought Superman to his knees.

Known around the globe as "The Greatest" throughout his boxing career, the legendary Muhammad Ali proved that he was also the greatest in the galaxy when he appeared in the comic book "Superman vs. Muhammad Ali." In the DC Comics one-shot created by Dennis O'Neil, Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, and Terry Austin, the renowned boxer joined forces with Superman to stop the destruction of Earth at the hands of a hostile alien race known as the Scrubb. Although in order to determine which of our planet's champions would step in the ring against the Scrubb champion, the two heroes would have to come to blows themselves.

To make Ali vs. Superman a fair fight, the maniacal Scrubb leader Rat'Lar transports the fighters to the planet Bodace because it orbits a red star. Due to their proximity to a red sun instead of a yellow one, Superman's super strength and other abilities are rendered useless. Also, Ali is allowed to train Superman in boxing ahead of the fight to teach the superhero the nuances of the sport. But when the pair is found to have used time travel technology in the Fortress of Solitude to extend their one-day training session into two months, Rat'Lar threatens to call the match a forfeit and destroy Earth because of their sneaky and dishonorable actions.

Once their match gets underway, it's clear that Superman and Ali are evenly matched in strength. However, without the ability to end a fight quickly thanks to the power boost from Earth's sun, Superman is bested by Ali's technique. In the end, though Superman refuses to quit despite being beaten to a pulp, he falls on his face as Ali wins the fight.

In the summer of 2025, both Marvel Studios and DC Entertainment dominated movie houses around the world when "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" and "Superman (2025)" debuted in theaters. But well before their movies went head-to-head at the box office, these characters collided in the pages of "Fantastic Four/Superman" in 1999. And during this confrontation, the Big Blue Boy Scout fell to the otherworldly power of Galactus.

Subtitled "The Infinite Destruction," this Elseworlds story by Dan Jurgens, Art Thibert, and Gregory Wright revealed that The Eater of Worlds was the reason that the planet Krypton met its demise. Upon learning this information from a crystal that seemingly contains the essence of his father and becoming concerned that Galactus could head for Earth next, Superman seeks out the Fantastic Four to potentially stop this cosmic being from devouring his world. Unfortunately, this crystal turns out to be a trap crafted by Galactus to claim the Last Son of Krypton as his latest herald.

Following the successful execution of his plan, Galactus imbues Superman with the Power Cosmic and the mission to find new planets to satisfy his master's insatiable hunger. But in the end, while Superman ultimately did find planets for his master to devour, this act also snapped him out of Galactus' control when he objected to the destruction of a planet teeming with life.

There aren't too many situations where heroes have to fight other heroes in the DC Universe. However, in the unlikely event of mind control, alternate timeline shenanigans, or something else along those lines, bastions of good, such as Wonder Woman and Superman, may need to prepare to fight each other.

Here's the thing, though: When the Warrior of Truth is pitted against the Man of Steel, Wonder Woman will usually come out on top. Similar to the Muhammad Ali situation, Superman isn't a trained fighter. When he faces someone with equal strength who has studied the way of the warrior, he's toast. And as we have seen several times over the years, including moments in "Superman/Wonder Woman Annual" #1, "Justice League" #47, "JLA: League of One," and "Injustice Gods Among Us: Year Four," that's usually how it plays out.

However, in the recent "Wonder Woman: Dead Earth," Daniel Warren Johnson may have delivered the most brutal outcome of a Wonder Woman/Superman fight to date. This story follows the Amazing Amazon as she awakens from a centuries-long slumber to find the world ravaged by a nuclear war. In the third issue of this series, which gives "Mad Max" meets "The Odyssey" vibes, she goes to the Fortress of Solitude and discovers that Superman didn't save Themyscira from a missile strike launched by humans.

Obviously mad that her friend couldn't help her people while she was incapacitated, Wonder Woman fights Superman to the death in her rage. Following this fatal flurry, she rips out his skull and spine to carry with her as a reminder not to let rage consume her. Johnson's work is just absolutely brutal and definitely worth checking out.

Another frequent foe for Superman is the imposing cosmic tyrant known as Darkseid. The ancient and all-powerful New God has tussled with Supes across many mediums. From comics to films to the beloved TV show "Superman: The Animated Series," these two have had many physical altercations over the years. In fact, many will argue that Darkseid is even Superman's greatest enemy.

It's hard to dispute this claim, especially when DC Comics released a compilation called "Superman vs. Darkseid" featuring some classic fights featuring the Man of Steel and the Dark Lord of Apokolips. Including work from legendary comic book writers John Byrne, Marv Wolfman, Greg Pak, and more, this collection literally features these characters' greatest hits. However, a more recent book saw them face off in a much different kind of battle.

In the fifth issue of "Superman: Up In The Sky" by Tom King, Andy Kubert, Sandra Hope, Brad Anderson, and Clayton Cowles, Clark Kent's heroic alter-ego searches for a lost girl named Alice. His search leads him to Darkseid, who promises to share any information that he knows as long as his nemesis does something for him in return. The villain demands that Superman kill an innocent being who happens to be sick with an incurable disease. Considering that he was taught never to kill, Superman faces quite a conundrum. 

In the end, he tells Darkseid that he had carried out his part of the bargain. While his adversary accuses him of lying, it doesn't matter either way because both outcomes resulted in him breaking a vow that makes him who he is. Either Superman killed someone, or he broke his word. Rather than a physical altercation this time around, both outcomes put a moral victory in the win column for Darkseid due to a battle of wits.

Although Darkseid may be Superman's greatest enemy, there is only one villain that Superman fears: Doomsday. Created by Dan Jurgens, Brett Breeding, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson, and Roger Stern during a 1991 DC Comics editorial retreat, this genetically modified prehistoric Kryptonian is a primordial powerhouse driven by hatred and destruction. And to show that he meant business right out of the gate, The Ultimate Killing Machine became the first character in DC canon to kill the Man of Steel.

Doomsday was introduced in the 1992 storyline "The Death of Superman." After the ancient force breaks out of an underground prison and easily defeats the Justice League International, he and Superman begin a slobberknocker across America. The reverberations from their punches are strong enough to shatter windows for miles around. And as Superman gets more and more exhausted, Doomsday seemingly remains unfazed as the armed forces, scientists with lasers, and other heroes such as Supergirl attempt to aid Metropolis' main man. In the end, their battle culminates in front of the Daily Planet, where one final blow causes both combatants to sustain fatal wounds. Though Doomsday is ultimately defeated, Superman succumbs to his injuries and dies in Lois Lane's arms.

Despite the intense violence and brutality of their first meeting, both Superman and Doomsday would be resurrected eventually. But the impact of this battle has definitely not been forgotten.

Superman apparently doesn't do well when he comes face-to-face with doom with a capital D. First, he came up short against Doomsday when they met on the field of battle for the first time. Then, Big Blue experienced similar results against the infamous Doctor Doom as well.

That's right! Galactus wasn't the only Marvel Comics villain to tango with the Last Son of Krypton. The famous foe of the Fantastic Four finds himself in Superman's sights in 1981's "Superman and Spider-Man," the sequel to the 1976 crossover "Superman Vs. The Amazing Spider-Man." In the story, Doom seeks to enact Project Omega, his latest plan for world domination that involves creating a power source problem that only he has the solution for. As part of this scheme, the Latverian ruler unleashes the Hulk on Metropolis, teams up with Parasite, and finds an ingenious way to subdue Superman.

The most interesting thing to note here is that Superman vowed to uphold the laws of man. He's never identified as a vigilante, so he will always do his best to follow the law. So when Doctor Doom welcomes the hero to the Latverian embassy in New York City and reveals his entire plan, Superman can do nothing but listen because of diplomatic immunity. The building is technically on Latverian soil, and in Latveria, Doom is the law. Although, to make matters worse, Doom also synthesized his own kryptonite dust to further subdue his super-sized threat. If it wasn't for Spidey, then Supes would've been a goner for sure.

In the end, the joint forces of Spider-Man and Superman were enough to foil Project Omega, but Doctor Doom still got away unscathed thanks to his diplomatic immunity. But honestly, if Doom had utilized more magic to control the situation, Superman's demise would've been threefold, as he is famously weak against anyone who knows how to wield magic.

Darkseid and Doomsday are major players when it comes to Superman's rogues gallery, but Lex Luthor has to be the most consistent opponent for the hero. And though he is a mere mortal, Luthor has found multiple occasions to clash with his arch-nemesis. And though the scale of success may vary, he definitely succeeded in defeating Superman a few times.

For example, in "All-Star Superman" by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, Jamie Grant, Phil Balsman, Travis Lanham, and Jamie Grant, Luthor sabotages a mission to the sun by making it so Superman's cells become overpowered by the star's rays. Despite making him stronger, this overexposure to solar radiation was also killing him. While Superman does manage to ultimately give Lex his comeuppance, the hero becomes a solar consciousness that keeps the sun up and running. In other words, Luthor actually followed through and rid the world of Superman.

In another instance, while a win is a win, this one probably didn't feel great. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo reunited for DC Black Label's "Batman: Last Knight On Earth" and presented a timeline where Lex Luthor challenges Superman to a debate on whether good or evil really reigns supreme in the world. The catch is that the loser will be executed. So to determine a winner, every human on the planet gets linked via Starro to vote after hearing both sides. Superman gives such an impassioned speech for good that Luthor changes his point of view. But things turn out to be so dire for humanity in their current state that the LexCorp leader's half-hearted argument is enough to convince their audience to side with doom and gloom. While the tide looked to be turning for a brief second with the hero and the villain finally on the same side, Superman is fatally impaled.

It took Lex Luthor at least a year to kill Superman after exposing him to a lethal dose of solar radiation in "All-Star Superman." And when the Man of Steel took the brunt of an atomic bomb blast in "The Dark Knight Returns," he's only able to stay alive thanks to the solar energy absorbed by a nearby flower. But can you imagine just how wrecked he would be if he ever came face to face with Godzilla and his atomic breath? Well, you don't have to imagine it for much longer because this dream match-up happened in "Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong" from Brian Buccellato, Christian Duce, Tom Derenick, and Luis Guerrero.

The two icons came face to face after a skirmish between the Justice League and the Legion of Doom resulted in the Titans of the Monsterverse appearing in the DC Universe. In the second issue, Hawkgirl and Shazam arrive in Metropolis to aid Superman in battle against Godzilla. But nothing that the trio tries seems to work on the King of the Monsters. Finally, after Billy Batson attempts to use his living lightning against their foe, Superman gets blasted with Godzilla's atomic breath while saving a powered-down Billy and plummets to the ground below.

With one blow, Superman is sidelined for several issues as he fights back from the brink of death. The two eventually have a rematch, but the first matchup was an undisputed victory for Godzilla.

Superman didn't only have to contend with an atomic bomb in Frank Miller's iconic Batman story "The Dark Knight Returns." The Last Son of Krypton also had to deal with the Caped Crusader himself. And considering that Bruce Wayne has contingency plans for essentially every possible scenario in battle, it shouldn't be a surprise to learn that he even has one to subdue his old friend Clark Kent if necessary. In fact, he has multiple plans in place if he ever needs to stand against Superman.

In the final issue of the acclaimed limited series, a grizzled Batman encounters a government-supported Superman for one last battle. Armed with synthetic kryptonite, heavy-duty armor, and the Batmobile, the two former teammates go blow-for-blow in a knock-down, drag-out brawl. The Man of Steel even breathes in kryptonite dust to weaken him from the inside out — a tactic that was revisited when the duo duked it out on the big screen in Zack Snyder's "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice." In the end, Superman is defeated, but Batman seemingly suffers a stroke after the heat of battle proved to be too much this time. 

However, at Wayne's funeral, Kent detects a faint heartbeat and gives Robin a wink to signal that the coast is clear. Despite being on opposing sides of this battle, their friendship endured.

Of course, this is just one of many outcomes when Batman and Superman face off. Sometimes things get way more brutal, like when Batman becomes Doomsday in order to stop an evil Superman from threatening humanity. But "Batman: The Devastator" has a tragic ending. Despite killing his opponent just as the original Doomsday had done years prior, Batman is unable to reverse the effects of the Doomsday Virus and stays in that form for the rest of his days.  

Though they're relatively few and far between compared to some of the opponents on this list, Batman and Superman's battles stretch across the multiverse. In the "Injustice: Gods Among Us" universe, though, the Dark Knight has some serious backup. We're not even talking about the Justice League or any of the Robins or Batgirls right now, either. We're referring to probably the most unsung member of the Bat Family. And though he has a history of battle in his younger days, Alfred Pennyworth probably hadn't delivered a beating like he did to Superman in quite some time.

In the year one finale of the book based on the fan-favorite video game of the same name, the long-time butler of the Wayne family played protector to Bruce Wayne once again. When Superman bursts into the Batcave and breaks Batman's back over his knee, Alfred takes a pill that gives him strength comparable to the Man of Steel. Using this newfound power, Pennyworth headbutts Kal-El, then brutally beats him down with a barrage of punches.

And if you thought it was surprising to see Alfred's name anywhere on this list, just imagine how much more shocking it was for Superman, who had not yet received such a decisive physical defeat in the "Injustice" storyline up to this point.