In the Injustice Universe, Superman had one of the most divisive journeys ever. He was tricked into killing Doomsday, not realizing this was a pregnant Lois Lane. Following her death, the Man of Steel murdered the Joker, as the Clown Prince of Crime was responsible for the ruse.

Now, that could have been forgiven as an impulsive crime of passion. However, Superman used the likes of Wonder Woman to install a macabre government of heroes and villains loyal to him. Together, they derailed armies, took over the world, and made it their own military realm. With that in mind, here is a list of the most sadistic things he enacted personally as he sought to make his Earth a “better” place via an iron fist.

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10

Superman Burned the Martian Manhunter Alive

Kal-El Made Fun of J’onn J’onnz’s Tragic Martian Background

While a lot of ground was covered in the DC video game, there was still a ton of story to be told in the Injustice tie-in comics. Injustice: Gods Among Us Vol. 1 #10 had Superman and Wonder Woman learning that the Martian Manhunter was a spy working with Batman’s rebels.

A scuffle broke out. In the skirmish, Superman used his heat vision. The lasers roasted J’onn J’onnz to death. What made it so horrific was how Kal-El tortured J’onn mentally by letting him know this was how J’onn’s family died. They were torched in the Martian war back home. It rubbed salt into the tragic wounds and showed Superman would reproach and use words to hurt people he once considered family.

9

Superman Arranged For Alfred Pennyworth’s Torture

Zsasz Cut Alfred to Death When He Couldn’t Get Info on Batman’s Rebels

In Injustice: Gods Among Us — Year Five, Superman hired Victor Zsasz to break into the Batcave and torture Alfred for information. Sadly, the villain killed the butler in Issue #23 when he wouldn’t snitch about Batman’s whereabouts. Superman said he didn’t plan for things to go that far.

But he knew that Alfred being collateral damage would lure Bruce out, and drive a wedge between the Dark Knight and Damian. Superman encouraged Damian to kill Zsasz, which made the former Robin more loyal to Kal-El. It was a nefarious play, made even more demented by Bruce trying to stop Zsasz from being killed, as he knew Alfred wouldn’t want Damian obsessed with revenge. Superman was very cerebral in how he hurt Bruce using Damian.

8

Superman Incinerated Human Rebels

The Man of Steel Fried the Joker Underground

Injustice: Gods Among Us — Year Five #16 had Harley Quinn and Batwoman trying to recruit resistance members. They worked with the Joker Underground gang. They wanted these humans to side with them because they could protect them from an oppressive Superman.

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Kal-El got word of a meeting in Gotham, flew over and incinerated them all. He was cold, cruel and unforgiving. It showed this world’s Batman and Harley how far lost he was. Superman lived up to the billing as a fascist judge, jury and executioner in this morose, merciless sequence.

7

Superman Snapped Lex Luthor’s Neck

Kal-El Broke Lex for Betraying the Regime

In Injustice: Ground Zero #19, Superman got to express his rage against another traitor from his cabinet: Lex Luthor. Lex flipped and joined Batman’s insurgency after realizing Superman had become a monster. Lex had his warsuit and kryptonite weapons in one key battle.

In this universe, he was Superman’s friend, which made it tough to kill the Kryptonian. Superman ended up getting his hands on Lex. He choked him out in public and crushed his neck. This sent shockwaves throughout the world, with colleagues like Cyborg and Billy Batson getting worried about Kal-El’s fury and ego.

6

Superman Fried Billy Batson

Kal-El Hated Shazam Questioning His Authority

In Injustice: Ground Zero #20, fans saw fully what happened to Billy. The young hero, also known as Shazam, didn’t like how the Regime was murdering opposers like Lex, or planning to level cities like Gotham and Metropolis. Superman was even going to invade other dimensions of the DC multiverse.

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When Billy said Lois wouldn’t like this, Superman choked him, froze his mouth so he couldn’t summon his magic, and then fried his brains. It was a brutal murder fit for the Mortal Kombat Universe. This savage behavior is what got the likes of Barry Allen/Flash to want to betray Superman’s warped form of peace and order.

5

Superman Mind-Controlled Batman

Kal-El Used Bruce’s Genius to Predict Crime and Oppress Citizens

At the end of the Injustice 2 game, there were two finales. One saw Batman defeat and imprison Superman. The Regime fell and a more altruistic rebuild occurred. The other option saw Superman defeat Brainiac and use the alien’s technology to mind-control Batman.

Superman even threatened Kara with this same punishment and slavery if Supergirl didn’t become his acolyte. The Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe crossover explored more of Superman using this Batman in a non-canon storyline. Batman predicted crime for Superman, allowing the Regime to arrest or kill perpetrators before they did anything. It was a darker spin on Minority Report. Kal-El basked in the concept of playing god, all at Bruce’s expense.

4

Superman Murdered Skeletor to Rebuild Reality

Kal-El Also Murdered Darkseid In a Magical Act of Revenge

In the He-Man crossover, Superman duped Prince Adam. He used He-Man’s Sword of Power and the Orb of Power to consume Darkseid’s essence. He then used the Anti-Life Equation and Eternia’s magic from the Nexus of All Realities. He planned to remake history using a DC Flashpoint but with a mystical twist.

Adam was shocked at how ruthless Kal-El was. Superman even punched through Skeletor the same way he did the Joker. He was intent on remaking reality. Luckily, Adam got Shazam’s power and killed Superman in this alternate reality-Injustice realm. It proved to Bruce after he got free, that this evil Superman couldn’t be tamed — he had to be murdered for the future to survive.

3

Superman Pummeled Green Arrow to Death

Kal-El Pounded Oliver Queen To Death In the Name of Vengeance

In Injustice: Gods Among Us #33, Superman attacked Green Arrow at the Fortress of Solitude. Oliver Queen came to steal super pills that could enable someone to fight Superman. But in the skirmish, one of his arrows deflected off Superman and hit Jonathan Kent.

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Clark was angry that the government tried to kill him and Diana, so he lost control and bludgeoned Oliver to death. It left Jonathan, Martha and even the Jor-El hologram scared. Oliver did get a pill out to Batman, so his death wasn’t in vain. The gap would be filled when an Oliver from another reality joined the team, helping Black Canary heal.

2

Superman Outed Batman’s Identity

Superman Revealed Bruce Wayne’s Vigilante Secret In a Petty Manner

In the Injustice: Gods Among Us books, Superman outed Batman in two ways. He first doxxed him on social media. He tweeted out Bruce’s secret identity as a vigilante on a Twitter pastiche. He then went live and let the world know who was under the cape and cowl. This live broadcast saw Wayne Industries freeze Bruce’s funds and strip away other assets he needed to hunt Superman.

It underscored that Clark was willing to use all resources to play dirty. He didn’t care that the world knew his identity, as he couldn’t be killed. But doxxing the Caped Crusader would endanger him and his allies as symbols of hope and inspiration.

1

Superman Killed A Whole Planet

Kal-El Murdered Ganthet and Mogo to Intimidate the Green Lanterns

Injustice: Gods Among Us — Year Two #24 had Superman going into berserker mode. After a fight that saw him kill Black Canary, he was powered up by a Yellow Lantern Ring. It purged the kryptonite she almost killed him with. It enraged him, made him stronger, and seeded fear around him.

Superman attacked the Guardian of Oa, Ganthet, plunged him into the Green Lantern planet Mogo, and then pushed both into the sun. They were instantly incinerated. This left the other Green Lanterns terrified, while the Sinestro Corps lapped up how vengeful and merciless Superman could be. This ordeal reiterated that the Man of Steel was a terrifying powerhouse who had no qualms about going to the extreme to prove a point.

Superman

NAME

Kal-El, Clark Kent

Alias

Superman

FIRST APP

Action Comics #1, 1938

Created By

Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster