SUPERMAN IS DUE FOR A LOSS

Superman is like Floyd Mayweather.  He never loses.  And much like the undefeated boxer, there are many who would like to see Superman knocked on his cape.

But who is going to make it happen?

Superman vs the DC Universe

Batman

Let’s start with the first hero on everyone’s mind.  Superman and Batman have had a long history together.  However, in spite of recent hype, they are more often seen working together than at each other’s throats.

There were many tense moments between these two heroes and they have fought at times.  Batman tried to attack Superman without much success until he started carrying Kryptonite with him everywhere he went. This evened things up, but not always.

In the end, these two are best friends. One’s strengths balances out the other’s weaknesses.  Besides, Batman even admitted in Hush that, despite having Kryptonite and a plan, “He (Superman) can’t be stopped. But he can be stunned.”

This may be why they settled their differences, at least until the next marketing push. 

Wonder Woman

The iconic Amazon Princess is often seen as Superman’s equal in physical strength.  Depending on which story you are reading, she has one of two origin stories.

Option One: Hippolyta wanted a child so badly that she created one out of clay.  Hera blessed it with life and that child grew to be Wonder Woman.

Option Two: Hippolyta was one of Zeus’s conquests and Wonder Woman is the demigod child of that union.

Either way, she is divine in birth and trained in war.  She has defeated Hercules and Ares on several occasions.  Her fights with Superman are epic.

They have knocked each other out and even nearly killed one another in fits of rage.  Superman has the edge in the number of victories, however, and is considered to be slightly stronger and faster than she is.

Again, these two are great friends and seem to have found a way to get along.

Captain Marvel (SHAZAM)

Billy Baston is a young orphan who is granted the powers of the gods so that he could be their champion.  He says “SHAZAM” out loud and is transformed into Captain Marvel.  Each letter in the name SHAZAM represents one divine gift.  S – The wisdom of Solomon. H – The strength of Hercules. A – The stamina of Atlas. Z – The power of Zeus. A – The courage of Achilles. M – The speed of Mercury.

He and Superman have had wars, so many that it came to the point in which he and Superman decided it would be best to determine who was the strongest in an arm wrestling match.

Superman and Captain Marvel don’t like each other.  It may be out of mutual jealousy that their powers and station in the DC Universe are so similar.  It could also be that there are just some people who don’t get along.  Everybody gets one.  The Hero Envy blog has a full tally of their fights here.

Gods in the DC Universe

Superman has beaten men, monsters, and demigods.  So how does he fare against actual deities in the DC Universe?

Pretty damn well.

In War of the Gods, Superman defeats the Aztec God, Quetzalcoatl.

Atlas and Samson challenge Superman to an arm wrestling match in All Star Superman.  He accepts both of their challenges at the same time.

Superman’s biggest victory in the god division is over Darkseid.  There are many, many fights between these two characters as Darkseid has quickly become Superman’s #1 adversary (even over Luthor, who can’t seem to get the job done after nearly seventy years).

Darseid is one of the New Gods, a race of beings that make up the top pantheon in the DC Universe.  His power is on par with Zeus, Odin, and other chief gods of their realms.  He is the architect of so many horrible things that he has earned his place as the ultimate evil in the DC Universe.  He has beaten Superman in their early meetings, but not lately.  Superman has grown beyond even Darseid’s ability to defeat.

So what happens when the hero of your universe has overcome all challenges, godly or otherwise?  The same thing that happens when you are the champion of your division, he starts taking challenges from the other league.

Superman vs the Marvel Universe

Think of it like the Superbowl or the World Series.  The top teams are already champions where they come from.  Now it is time to determine who is the overall best of the best.  The same is true for comics characters.

The first one up to bat…

Spider-Man

After Lex Luthor blasted Spider-Man with a power-boosting ray, he was doing pretty well against Superman.  Then the effects wore off and “The Battle of the Century” turned out to be a dud.  Sound familiar, boxing fans?

Just because you are the most popular character in your company doesn’t mean that it is a good idea to fight the most popular character in the other company.  Maybe try to find someone in your weight class next time.

The Incredible Hulk

The hype was out of control over whether the Hulk was stronger than Superman.  It culminated in a fight in book three of the Marvel Versus DC collection in which Superman put the green monster down.

Some argue that this fight shouldn’t count because the winner was voted on by the fans.  I disagree.  Who better to decide these type of arguments than those who are invested in keeping the characters alive and thriving as a part of our culture?  These two have fought a few more times and the Hero Envy blog has those listed here as well.

The Mighty Thor

Marvel’s resident god of thunder has it all:  strength, toughness, magic, centuries of hardened combat experience.  Again, the comic world was hyped for a huge showdown between Thor and Superman.

It finally happened in Avengers vs. Justice League #2.  Both teams were in a “capture the flag” style competition and were busy fighting each other for the various prizes.  At one point, Superman and Thor found each other on the battlefield and went at it without holding back.

As usual, it ends with Superman standing over his challenger as the clear winner.  Many, many Marvel fans were upset.

Why Does Superman Always Win?

This is a hard question to answer.  My guess is that it has to do with the combination of his powers.  His faster-than-light-speed movement and planet-crushing strength are just too much to overcome when used together.  Most characters are either strong or fast, not both and usually not at his level.

So Who’s It Going To Be?

Someone has to be the one to put Superman down.  It happens to all great champions eventually.  There is just that one guy who has your number.

Tito Ortiz took out Ken Shamrock.

Buster Douglas took out Mike Tyson.

___________ will take out Superman.

As of right now, the top contenders are…

Son Goku 

With his ultra fast martial arts, mountain-crushing punches, and planet-destroying energy blasts, Son Goku is a famous Manga and Anime character who is a much-debated challenger to the Man of Steel.

The gaming company, ScrewAttack, came out with a video detailing and predicting this fight.  Although they use a good deal of math to come to their conclusion, the video seemed to create more controversy than already existed before its release.

The Silver Surfer

The Silver Surfer is a herald of Galactus, a world-devouring cosmic being.  He travels at speeds well beyond light, is incredibly strong, and manipulates energy.  It is that last part that makes him dangerous to Superman.

Superman absorbs solar radiation as food and uses that energy to power his abilities.   The Silver Surfer can manipulate all types of energy, including solar and kryptonite radiation.  Even if the Silver Surfer is not as strong or as fast as Superman (which he may not be considering his losses to Thor), he potentially has the ability to drain Superman of his power source, weakening him to a manageable level.

The problem is pulling this off before catching a beating and waking up a statistic on Superman’s bout sheet.

SUPERMAN IS DUE FOR A LOSS

The question is:  Who is going to be the one to do it?

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