- 10/07/2025
Prankster V Superman?
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00:00So, Superman is undeniably one of the most popular superheroes in the world, having starred in
00:05multiple films and headlined several comics every month for absolutely decades. And as you might
00:10expect, being as popular as that, there are numerous supervillains just lining up around
00:14the Bureau de Change who want to knock his bloody block off. But many of them, they're going to be
00:17waiting a fair while because, let's face it, they're not that great. And some of them are just
00:22way too crazy to ever appear in any mainline upcoming Superman film. So let's take a look
00:27at them as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 Superman villains way too crazy
00:31for Superman.
00:3210. Bloodsport
00:34The first version of Bloodsport was Robert Dubois, a Vietnam draft dodger who went crazy and imagined
00:39himself to be a hardened war veteran. His role was succeeded by Alexander Trent, an angry white
00:44supremacist who wanted to wreak havoc on the world. The common bond between them was an advanced
00:49teleporter in their armor which they used to bring futuristic weaponry to themselves at a moment's
00:54notice. Sounds cool, right? But you know what? Apart from that, he's pretty unremarkable in all
00:58of the important ways, and notable in all of the wrong ones. His modus operandi consists of having
01:03just some guns and kryptonite weapons. It's incredibly unoriginal, and there are hordes
01:08of Superman villains who have similar gimmicks. Conversely, on a personal level, he's completely
01:12unlikable and rather ridiculous. Both incarnations are crazy, with one being completely unstable and
01:17the other being, well, an unstable racist. As a character, he lacks any sort of compelling motive
01:22or characterization to go with his rather bizarre theme. So in a movie, he'd amount to little more
01:26than a disposable henchman. 9. Terror Man
01:29When cowboy Toby Manning was a boy, he was abducted by aliens. They taught him how to use
01:34their weapons and sent him back to the present day with their own guns that were modified to look
01:38like Old West revolvers. To top off the ensemble, he would often ride around on a flying horse and
01:43try to lasso Superman. Now, the updated version of his origin was a little less ridiculous, but still
01:47not exactly memorable. Like a version of Poison Ivy, he fought to protect the Earth with the
01:52same futuristic revolvers and cowboy gimmick as before. Why a cowboy would want to save the
01:56Earth like that with high-tech weaponry? It's weird, isn't it? It's just odd. But good on you,
02:00mate. We need more eco-warriors, but maybe with less warrior parts. You know what I'm trying to say.
02:04Now, why he wouldn't work in a film is because Terror Man's identity is built around two concepts
02:09that haven't really played well on film in recent years, cowboys and aliens. And that's about the
02:14extent of his character. His personality is undefined, and his exploits aren't very special.
02:18If Superman needed to fight some type of hired gun, using the one who completely reads like a
02:23useless and unmarketable gimmick would seem like a rather poor choice.
02:268. Encantadora
02:28Lord Lucero's father finally acquired the fantastic mists of Ibella, only for them to drive him
02:34utterly insane. His daughter would instead embrace their power and become Encantadora. Though she
02:40would occasionally help Superman, this femme fatale's most memorable enterprise was selling
02:44fake kryptonite to criminals. But here's the real problem. She feels like a ton of wasted potential.
02:50She was given an immense amount of power, but chose to use it for the most mundane and impractical
02:54purposes. But more than that, selling fake kryptonite in a city where the real thing seems
02:58to be pretty easily acquirable makes her out to be a fairly inept criminal.
03:02Beyond the failings of her character, magic has never really had much place in Superman's world.
03:06Sure, it can weaken him, but it doesn't really fit with who he is as a character. And this is all the
03:10more true for the movies, where the more comic book-style elements of his character seem to be
03:14tolerated rather than embraced.
03:167. Microwave Man
03:18One of Superman's first supervillains, Lewis Padgett, found his way to harness microwaves
03:23and use them for crime. Before his initial spree of robberies could continue, though,
03:28aliens took notice of his creations and invited him to travel the universe with him. Returning to Earth
03:32as an old man, he used the aliens' power to have one final fight with Superman before he died.
03:37Though he only appeared in two issues, the story of Microwave Man is so stupendous and memorable
03:42that his legacy still carries on. Because it's important to remember that even though Superman
03:46himself is an alien, it's still a fairly silly notion for the villain to gain his superpowers
03:51via alien abduction. Now, in fairness, Microwave Man is exactly why comics exist,
03:56that belongs in a more fantasy-orientated world. Unfortunately, though, he hasn't really aged all
04:01that well, because at the time of his creation, microwave technology was still a novelty. Now it's an
04:05old, familiar discovery that would seem so stupid to see highlighted in a film, especially if it
04:10required aliens to make it a serious threat. 6. Silver Banshee
04:14After a failed supernatural ritual, Gaelic clan leader Shabam McDougall was sucked into the
04:19netherworld and transformed into something inhuman. She's offered a chance to return to the world,
04:24but only if she can deliver an occult book to her demon captors. Naturally, that book in question
04:28now resides in Metropolis. Under the guise of the Silver Banshee and sporting an otherworldly
04:33shriek, she would repeatedly plague Metropolis while trying to retrieve the book and restore
04:38herself. But it wouldn't work in a film because, well, she's already appeared on TV, and it didn't
04:43really work out that well. And the character looks simply unbelievable in real life, and her ancient
04:47Gaelic origins in no way fit with Superman's mythology or the types of films that he stars in.
04:52And when you think about it, Superman already has a huge roster of female villains which he could fight
04:57off against on the silver screen, so the Silver Banshee is probably going to be very far back in that queue.
05:015. TITANO The DC Universe is no stranger to
05:05super-powered apes, but thanks to his special powers, TITANO stands apart. Once a normal
05:10chimpanzee, he was experimented on and became supersized, as well as gaining the power to
05:15shoot kryptonite beams out of his eyes. His exact origins have been altered somewhat over the years,
05:20but he's regularly portrayed as a mindless ape that's been granted super-strength and other
05:24various powers. In every incarnation, his immediate reaction always seems to just go around just
05:28mindlessly destroying the city. And as much as Superman fighting King Kong could be a sight to
05:33behold, it's not exactly something that fans are clamouring to see. Somehow, a giant super-powered
05:38gorilla just doesn't seem to fit in with Superman's story in any realistic or meaningful way. On top of
05:43that, because the DCEU is already struggling as it is, introducing a super-powered gorilla might set
05:48things back just a little bit. 4. COMPOSITE SUPERMAN
05:52After being saved by Superman and given a job in his museum, Joseph Meech quickly became resentful of
05:57the caped crusader. One night, while cleaning up, he was struck by a bolt of lightning and given
06:02superpowers. Choosing to shapeshift into a green monster, he came up with a costume that was half
06:06Superman and half Batman, with the goal of seeking out and humiliating both heroes. Over the years, his
06:11identity has been inhabited by other entities, but each one remains as unbelievable as the next, all the while
06:17sporting that same over-the-top costume. And I mean, the reason why he just wouldn't work on film is
06:21just look at him. There's no possible way something as far-fetched as this could ever exist in the
06:26rather hyper-serious world that Superman now finds himself in. There's so many villains based on
06:31variants of Superman that if they really wanted to use his opposite, they could easily turn to the
06:34likes of Bizarro or Cyborg Superman before they had to stoop as low as possible to use composite Superman.
06:413. CANCER
06:42When Superman became poisoned with kryptonite, a team led by Dr. Emil Hamilton was quick to save
06:48him by removing the main malignant tumor inside of him. Some time later, General Zod, then a Russian
06:52despot, acquired the tumor and brought it to life. The creature he created was massive, gifted all
06:57sorts of superpowers, and hated his former father, Superman, for rejecting him. Cancer would then use
07:03his toxic touch to seek revenge on Superman and all of his allies. And the reason why this wouldn't work
07:07on film is, because cancer isn't exactly super marketable, is it? I mean, just listen to that
07:12origin story and tell me that that would work as a film. No, it would not. It's incredibly,
07:16incredibly insensitive.
07:182. PRANKSTER
07:19So when his children's show was cancelled, Oswald Loomis sought out revenge of the executive who
07:24pulled the plug. Eventually, his plots of vengeance would expand as he took to all of Metropolis to
07:28stage pranks and acts of chaos and crime. Now, over the years, his enterprises have evolved,
07:33operating as a distraction for other criminals as well as a cybercriminal. Nevertheless,
07:37he always read like a kind of non-threatening knockoff of the Joker. Now, to his credit,
07:42the character has been steadily improving over the years, but he's still never really been a real
07:46match for Superman. I mean, acid pies and electronic buzzers against the Man of Steel?
07:50Really? Prankster's more of an annoyance that acts like a light breathe of a Superman while he's
07:54going between stopping aliens from destroying planets. Now, this function is important in a
07:58monthly comic, but films need to go all out each time. There's no desire for Superman to have
08:03some downtime during a movie, and thus Prankster feels just useless.
08:071. Mr. Mixelplick
08:08So if the Prankster is a thorn in Superman's side, then Mr. Mixelplick is the ultimate nuisance.
08:14Everyone's favourite imp from the fifth dimension, he shows up on a whim to challenge
08:18Superman with his world-bending, albeit light-hearted, games from time to time.
08:22Despite his preposterous nature, he's been one of Superman's most recurring foes and is beloved by
08:27many fans for his fun-loving attitude when compared to Superman's usual foes. But it wouldn't work on
08:32film because realistically, there seems to be very few ways to portray this character in a successful
08:36way that wouldn't involve completely overhauling who he actually is. His appeal is how unbelievable
08:41and over-the-top both his personality and his powers are, and that just doesn't work on multiple
08:45fronts. It would be very tricky to convey his vast powers in live-action, and his bombastic attitude
08:50isn't really suited for a more serious film.
08:53Despite all of this, though, the character was very nearly included in Superman 3, so I guess
08:57anything is possible, but you know what? We're not holding our breath here.
09:00And there we go, my friends. Those were 10 Superman villains. Way too crazy for Superman
09:04on film. I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in the
09:07comments section below. As always, I've been Jules, so you can go follow me over on Twitter
09:10at RetroJWithA0, or you can swing by Liv and Let's Dice, where I do all of my streaming
09:15outside of work, and it'd be great to see you over there, my friends. But before I go, I just want to say
09:19one thing. Hope you're treating yourself well with love and respect, my friends, because you deserve
09:22all of the best things in life, and do not let anything or anyone else tell you otherwise,
09:26alright? You are the hero of your own story. Now go out there and absolutely smash it today.
09:31As always, I've been Jules, you have been awesome, never forget that, and I'll speak to you soon.
09:35Bye.
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