25 Bizarre Alternate Versions Of Superman You Won’t Believe Exist

Whom Gods Destroy is a 1996 four-issue comic book mini-series. A true 90s classic. The uncanny X-Men’s “father” Chris Claremont, had the crazy but brilliant idea to mix superheroes with Greek mythology and World War II.

This is how we ended up with the very first half-man, half-horse superhero. Centaur Superman fights against the Nazis in an Axis dominated Europe. Wait, it gets even better. In Whom Gods Destroy Lois Lane becomes a Wonder Woman. Just because Zeus decided so!

In this oriental version of the original story you get what you probably guess by now. The Japanese version of the superhero, who is also a shogun by the way. In case you still wonder how or why, the answer is simple really. Kal-El’s spaceship landed in ancient Japan instead of Smallville, Kansas.

As for the painful difference in time period? Trust us, we asked the same question.

Superduperman, as the awfully ridiculous name suggests, is a spoof of Superman. Superduperman appears in the parody comic strip MAD magazine #4, having the same abilities of the original superhero. But…there’s a but here! He combines his superpowers with a weird sense of humor and attitude. If you’re looking for a good laugh, then you will definitely appreciate this piece of satirical art.

In this story, Superman is found by Lionel Luthor, Lex’s daddy. He’s raised as Lionel Jr. alongside Lex, who’s technically Superman’s brother. However, the comic stays true to the original in some ways. When Lex finds out his brother’s secret, he shows him some true brotherly love by killing him the following year.

In this limited but classic nineties series titled JLA: The Nail, Jonathan and Martha Kent’s pickup truck gets a flat tire caused by a nail. This prevents them from finding baby Kal-El’s spaceship. This little detail changes history as we know it. For example, Metropolis is a much uglier and unsafe place without Superman.

Oh yeah, did we mention that Superman was adopted by an Amish couple and grows up as one, too?

This Superman comes from the future and is the distant descendant of the original Superman. His real name is Klar Ken T-5477, and he’s a reporter for the Daily Interplanetary News. DIN is located in, you guessed it, Metropolis. Some things never change after all.

A big difference between this Superman and his ancestor is that he is immune to Kryptonite. However, he’s vulnerable to seawater, due to radioactive fallout that settled into the oceans of various planets after a nuclear war.

Forget all you know about Tarzan and Superman. In Sons of the Jungle, you will be introduced to the weirdest comic story there is. Instead of landing in Kansas, the alien baby ends up in the jungle.

He is raised by gorillas, while the real Tarzan is never lost by his clumsy parents and grows up to be a classy Englishman named Lord Greystoke. It’s quite a fun story if you like twisted endings and alternative tales.

While visually distinct and with a different name, Apollo is cast in the mold of the Superman archetype. A very unusual one to be honest. Apollo was genetically enhanced to be a solar-powered defender and a member of the superhero team The Authority.

He’s openly gay, and is married to his superhero partner Midnighter. Guess what? Midnighter’s a version of Batman in this alternate universe.

Calvin Ellis a.k.a. the “Black Superman,” first appeared in Final Crisis #7 and was inspired by Barack Obama. He’s an African American version of Superman, who’s also the President of the United States. The first black president in the history of the United States for that matter.

In the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, Superman has conquered the planet. However, Metropolis has been destroyed and Lois Lane is dead. As a result of this tragedy, Superman’s determined to wipe out crime for good.

Ironically, he’s the one who becomes a mass murderer. In order to eliminate crime on Earth, he kills anyone in his path who will try to stop him.

Did you know there’s a Nazi version of Superman? You know, an Aryan blonde with a swastika replacing the S symbol. No? We didn’t either before we researched this topic.

Apparently on Earth-10 (one of the many DC multiverses), the Nazi Party is boss. It even has its own version of Superman named Overman. As you understand, this “Superman” supports the Nazi ideology of genetic purity. He’s the kind of hero that was created on human suffering. Definitely a Nazi. No joke!

When you think that nothing can shock you anymore in the world of superheroes, there’s always a writer who will prove you wrong. In the world of JSA: The Liberty Files, Superman is a dude named Zod. Yep, he has the same name with Superman’s enemy in Man of Steel.

He’s not your traditional Superman, but a total sociopath banished to Phantom Zone. Why he got banished you wonder? Well, he created a deadly synthetic plague when he was only eleven years old. What a cool kid, eh?

This rare limited edition of Superman came out in October 2007. It takes place on Earth-8 and features a German Superman. Herr Superman serves in Monarch’s army.

He’s not a Nazi or anything of this nature, just a German superhero with a wild accent. What’s even wilder? He loses his powers at some point and gets impaled to death.

Earth-Three is a fictional alternate universe in the DC Comics universe. It first appeared in Justice League of America #29 back in 1964. In this alternate “comic reality,” Superman is a villain and a leading member of the Crime Syndicate of America.

As you understand, this Superman doesn’t save the world. Instead, he tries to ruin it. What’s even worse about this alternate story? Lex Luthor (of all people) is supposed to be the good guy and the only surviving superhero.

You’re probably very confused right now. Reading the name Bruce Wayne; looking at the photo of Batman, while at the same time we try to convince you that what you see is Superman. However, we are kidding you not!

In Superman: Speeding Bullets, the orphaned Kal-El is adopted by Thomas and Martha Wayne. They name him Bruce instead of Clark, and you can imagine how the rest of the story goes.

All-Star Superman is a Superman comic maxi-series, consisting of twelve issues. It ran from November 2005 to October 2008 and literally won every major award there is.

In this amazing but extremely depressing story, Superman is subjected to a slow cellular death through intense solar radiation. Without much time left, he tries to complete his very own bucket list.

We’ve seen quite a few things in superhero worlds. However, the combination of two superheroes in one, is quite shocking even for the most open-minded fans. Super-Soldier is the amalgamated version of Superman and Captain America.

In this story, Clark Kent volunteers to become a super-soldier during WWII. Scientists make him a human experiment by using a combination of an enhancement serum and cells taken from an alien spacecraft. Add in the mix a supercharge of solar energy and you’re ready to go. Crazy stuff, right?

This story takes place in the distant future, where we meet a depressed Clark Kent. He’s retired both as a professional and as a superhero after the murder of Lois Lane whom he failed to save.

Of course, in the name of his love for mankind, he finally makes a heroic comeback. And as you’ve probably guessed by now, he ruins the party for all the bad guys worldwide.

Superman splits into two different but romantic men in this alternate tale from the early sixties. One of them marries Lois Lane and the other Lana Lang. They both live happily ever after. In the contemporary story of the same alternative and weird plot though, Superman develops energy-based powers.

This happens after he’s losing his original powers. He then gets a corresponding new costume. He again splits into two different guys, known as Superman Red and Superman Blue.

The young Superman in this comic book is more human than ever before. From a great hero he transforms into an absolute amoral villain once he realizes what kind of amazing powers he possesses.

This is definitely one of the deepest Superman stories ever. It hides great underlying political and social messages about what human selfishness can do to anyone with power.

The title of this one says it all, really. Superman: True Brit is a humorous adaptation of Superman in which his spaceship crashed in Weston-Super-Mare in England. The British version of Superman has a British accent. He also drinks tea instead of coffee.

He loves his full English breakfast, and looks like a 1960’s British rock star. Plus he says “mate,” not dude.

This story takes us to Earth-Two. Superman is a mature, wiser superhero from a parallel Earth. And when we say mature, we mean old; with white hair and wrinkles. However, Kal-El  still in great shape with a six-pack and all that.

This right here is the Frankenstein version of Superman. Bizarro managed to simultaneously impress and shock the fans at the same time. He’s super ugly and lacks of intellect. He doesn’t even know how to use his superpowers for anything good or useful.

To make a long story short, Bizarro is the definition of the term antihero. Not exactly the Superman we know and love.

In this comic book, Steve Gerber (story’s writer) tries to pass many social messages through the narrative. He focuses more on xenophobia and authoritarianism. The plot’s truly intelligent and reverses the usual Superman origin.

See, in this story Superman is sent from Earth to Krypton. There, he discovers a Green Lantern power ring, which gives him all the superpowers he has on earth as a Kryptonian.

This is arguably the greatest alternate version ever written about Superman. In this superb story, Superman lands in the Ukraine, not in Kansas. He is raised as a proud Soviet who was taught to love and serve the communist principals of the Soviet Union.

However, he’s still the same compassionate, fair, courageous, and fearless superhero who loves humanity more than anything. He still obeys his super-hearing and responds to every call for help. His favorite “habit” remains saving lives.