Superman's 12 Greatest Weaknesses, Ranked (2024)

With great powers come great weaknesses, and Kal-El, also known as Clark Kent or Superman, is no exception. Despite being able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, fly like the wind, blast rays of heat from his eyes, or gusts of icy cold wind from his mouth, the Man of Steel has a long list of vulnerabilities that could take him out in a fight.

Given his usually overpowered nature, Superman has more weaknesses than most fans would think. If they have the knowledge, supervillains with enough raw power and the right tools to take advantage of his weaknesses could potentially defeat the Last Son of Krypton.

Updated on March 18, 2024 by Scoot Allan: Before James Gunn set about rebooting the Man of Steel, Henry Cavill's Superman was set up to take on Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam. While few foes can top Superman's incredible abilities, Black Adam has an edge due to the Man of Steel's weakness to magic. That's just one of a few weaknesses that villains have used to even the playing field when fighting a powerful hero like Superman.

12 Superman Doesn't Have A Resistance To Telepathy

• Related Enemies: Queen Bee, Manchester Black, Maxwell Lord

While Superman has acquired some psychic defenses in the past, Kal-El possesses no innate resistance against psionic attacks. Superman is vulnerable to telepathy, and those who can control the mind would have an easy time dismantling the Kryptonian. In the New 52, he's fallen under the control of villains like Queen Bee, though there are other examples.

During Superman's battle with the Psycho-Pirate, his Medusa Mask was able to penetrate Superman's mind and wreak havoc. Maxwell Lord betrayed the Justice League when he took over Superman's mind and used the Man of Steel to attack the League. Superman only stops when Wonder Woman kills Max Lord by snapping his neck.

11 Magic Is One Of Superman's Greatest Weaknesses

• Related Enemies: Eclipso, Black Adam, Mr. Mxyzptlk

For all of his defenses, powers, and perfections, Superman is just as vulnerable to magic as any other non-mystical character. DC has a few powerful magic users who could give the Man of Steel a run for his money. Heroes like Zatanna can easily take down Superman if they can avoid his powerful attacks.

A great example of magic's effect on Superman can be found in his numerous battles with magic-powered characters like Shazam and Black Adam. Shazam was one of the only heroes who could stop Superman when Eclipso possessed him. Black Adam has also frequently shown how, thanks to his magically enhanced strength, he can best Superman in a fight.

10 Intense Electricity Can Stop Superman In His Tracks

• Related Enemies: Livewire, Brainiac, Batman

Just like magic, Superman is also weak against electricity. This weakness seems odd considering he can withstand immense heat and explosive forces. Nonetheless, electricity brings the Last Son of Krypton to his knees, giving his enemies a chance to strike more devastatingly while he's staggered.

Superman's encounter with Livewire in Superman: The Animated Series perfectly highlighted this weakness. Even wearing rubber gloves, Livewire's incredible electrical powers tossed Superman about the hydroelectric plant like a ragdoll.

9 Superman Can Be Susceptible To Certain Drugs

• Related Enemies: Scarecrow, The Joker, Lex Luthor

While Superman isn't vulnerable to most psychotropic hallucinogens, they can manipulate or potentially kill the Man of Steel if modified with kryptonite. A primary example of this can be found in the Injustice: Gods Among Us series, which expanded on the story of the similarly titled video game.

Before the game's events, The Joker used a modified version of Scarecrow's fear gas to incite Superman to violence. Superman mistakenly murdered his pregnant wife, Lois Lane during the fear gas-fueled trip, leading to a nuclear explosion in Metropolis. Superman killed Joker in retaliation and created a fascist dictatorship to prevent any future evil.

8 The Man Of Steel Has Contracted Debilitating Transformative Viruses

• Related Enemies: Lex Luthor, Doomsday, Amazo

Superman is a biological lifeform, and like all biological lifeforms, he is still susceptible to sickness and disease. All it takes is the right virus at the right time, and the Man of Steel can fall ill almost like any normal human during flu season.

The Doomsday Virus was just one example of Superman being infected. After defeating Doomsday, a disease in his rival's virulent corpse infected Superman. He started to transform into one of the strongest. albeit monstrous. versions of Superman before his allies found a cure.

7 Atomic Radiation Can Seriously Weaken Superman

• Related Enemies: Atomic Skull, Neutron, US Government

The Man of Steel gets his powers from Earth's yellow sun, but solar radiation differs slightly from atomic or nuclear radiation. While he's shown that he can certainly survive the explosive detonation of a nuclear weapon, he doesn't come away unscathed.

In Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, Superman tried to stop a nuclear missile while intervening in a tense war for the President. Superman crashed into the rocket before it hit its target, but the fallout from the blast changed the robust Kryptonian into an emaciated man sick with radiation poisoning. While solar energy healed him, he was left completely vulnerable to his enemies.

6 Superman Loses His Powers When Under A Red Sun

• Related Enemies: General Sam Lane, Lex Luthor, Batman

Superman gets his powers from Earth's yellow sun. His cells drink in the star's radiation, making him stronger, faster, and denser than anyone else on Earth. However, his incredible powers can be completely stripped away when he is exposed to radiation from a red sun instead of a yellow one.

Superman's home planet of Krypton circled a red sun, so Kryptonians didn't naturally have any powers. While Kal-El can retain some of his powers for a limited time under a red son, Superman would eventually lose his abilities. Villains like Lex Luthor have replicated red solar radiation and weaponized it against Superman to gain the upper hand a few times over the years.

5 Superman's Sensitive Hearing Can Be A Deadly Weakness

• Related Enemies: Silver Banshee, Cyborg Superman, Batman

Along with super strength and speed, Superman also enjoys the perks of super-sensitive hearing. Unfortunately, that can sometimes come with drawbacks. The Man of Steel is at risk of sonic attacks from tech geniuses like Lex Luthor, Batman, and Brainiac.

Superman has been the brunt of sonic weaponry more than once, which nearly stopped the Kryptonian dead in his tracks. In Zack Snyder's Batman v. Superman, the Dark Knight deployed high-pitched frequency guns that slowed Superman down enough to exploit his other weaknesses.

4 Superman's Vision Powers Can't Penetrate Lead

• Side Effect: Some things that harm Superman can also be stopped with a lead shield

One of the Man of Steel's most well-known weaknesses is his inability to see through lead. Lead hampers Superman's X-ray vision, which has sometimes allowed his enemies to conceal themselves or deadly weapons from Kal-El.

While lead is not lethal to Kryptonians like to Daxamites, it can also block his powerful heat vision. Lead is a powerful tool in the hands of an enemy. Like magic, it could easily give any of Superman's most iconic villains the upper hand in a fight.

3 DCAU's Superman Could Suffocate Or Drown

• Unique Weakness: Most other versions of Superman can exist without oxygen, though some hold their breath for long periods.

The DC Animated Universe version of Superman's power was limited compared to his comic counterpart. In the comics, Superman can subsist purely on solar radiation, but the animated version needed to breathe, which meant he could suffocate or drown.

In the DCAU, Superman wears an oxygen suit several times while working in outer space. This suit severely limits the hero and makes him susceptible to attacks in space or under the ocean that could destroy his air supply and put him in a dangerous situation.

2 Superman's Loved Ones Can Be Used Against Him

• Related Enemies: Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Cyborg Superman

A few natural weaknesses come from Superman's Kryptonian heritage or his limited resistance to certain kinds of attacks. However, the weakness that will almost always stop, threaten, or endanger Superman is his love for the people in his life.

His wife, Lois Lane, has frequently been used to strike back at Superman. Things only got worse when they had their son Jon, who thankfully developed his powerful abilities to keep him safe. Even his close friends at the Daily Planet and teammates in the League were potential victims to be used to deter Superman or manipulate the Man of Steel over the years.

1 Kryptonite Is Superman's Greatest Weakness

• Related Enemies: Lex Luthor, Metallo, Kryptonite Man

One weakness that almost every Superman fan knows about is the deadly rock known as kryptonite. There aren't many DC characters who can defeat Superman without kryptonite. Superman wasn't the only thing from Krypton to arrive on Earth, as irradiated pieces of his home planet Krypton also arrived on Earth.

Unfortunately, the last remaining pieces of Krypton are now deadly to Superman. Exposure to Kryptonite severely weakens the Man of Steel and causes him to lose his incredible abilities. Prolonged exposure could also prove fatal to Superman. Those are just the dangers of green Kryptonite, as each color and variant has a different effect on Superman.

Superman

Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book Action Comics #1.

NAME

Kal-El, Clark Kent

Alias

Superman

FIRST APP

Action Comics #1, 1938

Created By

Jerry Siegel , Joe Shuster

POWERS

Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, reflexes. Heat vision, X-ray Vision. Ice breath. Flight

TEAM

Justice League

RELATIONSHIPS

Superboy, Supergirl, Batman, Wonder Woman

Franchise

Superman