Superman Villains that need a Big Screen outing

Let’s face it, as far as Superman villains go, the movies have only ever really shown us Lex Luthor and General Zod. With rumours circulating that General Zod will be the villain in the upcoming Man of Steel, it seems a little bit short-sighted to focus on a character that’s already been done. (We’ll ignore the fact that no one will ever be able to top Terence Stamp as Zod) That would be a bit like having the Joker as the villain in every Batman movie.

The trouble with Superman has always been the fact that kryptonite aside, he’s pretty much indestructible, thus making his battles with Luthor a tad one-sided. Luthor has to come up with schemes that include the green crystal in some form, but if Superman avoids it, all he has to do is punch through a few walls and fly around the world a few times to beat Luthor. As an equal being with the same powers, Zod really put him through his paces, so to see Superman having to do something other than throw his weight around, we need to see him up against a worthy adversary. So which other villains could make for interesting viewing? Here are my top three.

Cover of Action Comics #242 (Jul, 1958)

Brainiac

This alien android first appeared back in 1958. There have been several versions of Brainiac over the years but his principle fetish is shrinking cities, including Kandor, Krypton’s capital city. His power is a high intellect, which allows him to understand all forms of engineering, physics, applied sciences and technology. He’s the type of supervillain who creates incredible devices, like his force field belt or shrink ray. He also manages to develop the ability to travel through time and space – which makes the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound look a little pathetic.

Brainiac was originally considered as the villain for Superman III, but the idea fell through and apparently the makers thought it would make more sense to have Superman battle a computer. I think Brainiac would be an interesting addition to the Superman cinematic universe since his powers allow him to become a worthy adversary for Superman, his name is already known through his many appearances in the comics, and there just aren’t enough bald green android aliens on the big screen.

Doomsday Annual #1 1995

Doomsday

Ironically, Doomsday’s first appearance was in the Superman: The Man of Steel comic series back in 1992. Born in Krypton’s prehistoric era, Doomsday was originally called the Ultimate. The result of a scientific experiment gone horribly wrong, Doomsday eventually escaped Krypton and rampaged across the galaxy as a killing machine that no longer needed food or air. He’s even crossed paths with a Green Lantern in his time, before ending up on Earth where he managed to dispatch the entire Justice League.

Doomsday would make a fine cinematic villain as he’s actually managed to kill Superman (though naturally the Man of Steel never stays dead for long) and his ability to build up resistance to threats means Superman always needs to find a new way to stop him. We’ve so far seen Doomsday in the animated Superman: Doomsday movie but it would be interesting to see how Zack Snyder would depict him. The ‘classic’ Doomsday is just a mindless killing machine, so would Snyder use this version, or go for the slightly more evolved ‘intelligent’ Doomsday?

Cover of Action Comics 820 (Dec, 2004)

Silver Banshee

This is my absolute favourite Superman villain of them all – my very first Superman comic was the issue that first featured the Silver Banshee. Born an ordinary girl into a Gaelic clan, Siobhan McDougal becomes the Silver Banshee after a family ritual goes badly wrong and she ends up being dragged into the underworld. “The Crone” grants her powers and allows her to return to Earth, although the Silver Banshee has to repay her by retrieving a book for her. Naturally the book has ended up in Metropolis, where she encounters Superman for the first time.

The Silver Banshee boasts your typical strength, agility and speed, while in true folklore fashion, her banshee wail can kill if she knows her victim’s name – somehow she can also use her sonic powers to teleport. She doesn’t need to rely on gadgets like Brainiac, and she’s not just a mindless thug like Doomsday. So far the Silver Banshee has appeared in the comics (also crossing over into the Supergirl universe) and she was touted to be one of the villains in Superman Reborn, which fell through. I’d love to see her in Man of Steel since we haven’t had a decent female villain on screen in years, and we’ve never seen Superman deal with a female foe. She’s single-minded, powerful, and supernatural – which is just what the silver screen needs.

What about you? What Superman villains would you love to see on the big screen?