Superman has a reputation for being incredibly kind and understanding, but sometimes he has to flex his muscles, proving that he's a lot tougher than anyone gives him credit for. With his incredible powers, Superman often goes out of his way to present himself as much tamer than he actually is. These moments demonstrate that while Superman doesn't want to show off how powerful he is when he lets loose, there simply isn't anyone cooler than him.
When it comes to undeniably cool superheroes, most fans tend to point to Batman. After all, he is dressed all in black, appears from the shadows and brutally takes down criminals. Even when Batman and Superman team up, most still seem to think that Batman is the cooler of the two – usually because Superman retains his true power. Everyone always calls Superman a Boy Scout and teases him about how kind he can be, but when push comes to shove, Superman has demonstrated some truly unbelievable moments that show a true badass side to him.
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Superman has his own Batman: Year One Moment
Action comics #1 by Grant Morrison, Rags Morales, Rick Bryant, Brad Anderson, Alex Sinclair and Pat Brosseau
Superman has an extremely iconic moment Batman: Year One scene at the beginning of the New 52. Superman makes his presence known in Metropolis by attacking a corrupt billionaire's penthouse. Superman simply walks past all the security, grabs the man, and threatens to kick him out of his luxurious home. When the man refuses to repent for hurting people through his business dealings, Superman throws him off the balcony but catches him before he hits the ground. Superman then warns him that if he doesn't change his ways, he will definitely return. It's a page straight out of Batman's book and it's undeniably badass.
One of the most famous moments in Batman history is in Batman: Year One by Frank Miller. In this seminal story, Bruce makes his appearance as Batman known in Gotham City's criminal underworld by ambushing one of their meetings. Batman makes an incredible first appearance by blowing up a wall, entering the room amidst the rubble and smoke. It's an intense scene and immediately establishes Batman as a major enemy in the criminal world of Gotham City. Anyone who hears this would call it a classic Batman moment, but most don't know that Superman has a similar moment.
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Superman instantly crosses the universe to stop Lex Luthor
Action comics #1050 by Tom Taylor, Joshua Williamson, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Clayton Henry, Nick Dragotta, Mike Perkins, Alex Sinclair, Frank Martin and Dave Sharpe
Superman is fast, but over the years he has only gotten faster, especially in recent stories. It is well known that Superman is fast enough to travel through time or move faster than the speed of light, but during a battle with Lex Luthor, Superman showed that he is as fast as the Flash. In an attempt to get rid of Superman for a while while he implements his latest master plan against the Man of Steel, Lex Luthor teleports Superman across the universe, assuming this would buy him some time.
Lex Luthor estimates that it will take Superman weeks to return from space. Instead, Superman returns within seconds. He then states that distance simply doesn't mean anything to him as a concept anymore, especially after his power-up following his time in Warworld in the previous Action comics bow. No matter how far something seems, Superman can simply cover the distance instantly, resulting in Superman catching Lex by surprise, instantly stripping him of his power suit before he can even react.
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Superman crosses the universe to save a girl
Superman: In Heaven #6 by Tom King, Andy Kubert, Sandra Hope, Brad Anderson and Clayton Cowles
One of the things that makes Superman the perfect hero is that he is there for everyone. There is no one too small for him to help. When an evil alien scientist kidnaps a young girl for experiments, Superman travels across galaxies to bring her back. The scientist is perplexed by this, stating that a girl on a planet full of billions of people is certainly inconsequential. A little girl wouldn't be missed. Superman disagrees with this statement and lets nothing stop him from saving her. At one point, the scientist even captures Superman, trapping him inside Kerenthium steel, an unbreakable metal.
The scientist mocks Superman, asking if he knows what unbreakable means, to which Superman simply responds with “No sir, I don't” as he shatters the surrounding steel. If that wasn't enough, Superman follows up this feat by destroying a battalion of machines that are currently defeating all of Earth's heroes. Despite his seemingly overwhelming power, Superman destroys them all single-handedly. He traverses the universe whole just to save one girl – a girl who the scientist insists is worthless, but Superman knows that no one is worth it and that everyone is worth saving.
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Superman defeats the unstoppable doomsday
Superman #75 by Dan Jurgens, Brett Breeding, Glenn Whitmore and John Costanza
Doomsday was one of the most dangerous and powerful villains of his time. Doomsday earned his name when he landed on Earth and began his rampage. It seemed like the world was going to end. No matter which member of the Justice League came after him, none of them could stand up to him. Doomsday has defeated Wonder Woman, Batman, Martian Manhunter, Booster Gold and dozens of others. No one was able to stop his rampage as he headed towards Metropolis, where Doomsday finally encountered Superman, and their final battle began.
This fight lasted several hours with Doomsday and Superman hitting each other with absolutely everything they had. The force of his punches shattered the glass in the surrounding block. Doomsday easily defeated everyone else, but Superman managed to face him. While everyone else had fallen, Superman was able to finally end Doomsday and gave his own life to do so in one of the most iconic Superman issues of all time. The impact of Superman and Doomsday's fight is still felt in the DC Universe today – and will likely be felt for years to come.
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Superman brutally takes down Manchester Black
Action comics #775 by Joe Kelly, Lee Bermejo, Doug Mahnke, Dexter Vines, Wayne Faucher, Wade Von Grawbadger, Tom Nguyen, José Marzan Jr., Jim Royal, Rob Schwager, Richard Horie, Tanya Horie and Comicraft
There are many heroes in the DC Universe who are completely and legitimately good people, Superman being one of the best examples. But not everyone can believe that there really are good people. Manchester Black tried to be a hero in his own way, but he just couldn't believe that someone as pure as Superman was real. This ideological divide led to the two coming to blows, as Manchester wanted to prove that Superman was not a genuine hero, resulting in Superman finally cutting loose and showing Manchester Black what he could really do if he wasn't a good person.
Manchester Black is a powerful telepath, but his powers were instantly removed when Superman used a combination of his microscopic vision, x-ray vision, and heat vision. With these three combined, Superman instantly destroys the part of Manchester's brain that allows him to use his powers. In an instant, Manchester lost his abilities and was forced to surrender to Superman. Superman doesn't usually cross that line, but to prove a point, he had to show how dangerous he really could be.
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Superman knocks out the world forger with one punch
Justice League #25 by Scott Snyder, Jorge Jiménez, Alejandro Sánchez and Tom Napolitano
There are many different gods in the DC Universe. Although Superman is powerful, his power is usually not on a cosmic scale. But one event proved that not even the gods are safe from Superman. During the events of Justice League #25, the Justice League encounters the World Forger, a being who creates worlds. Unfortunately, the World Forger is convinced that Earth must be destroyed for the universe to survive. As Superman does not agree with this idea, the Forger of Worlds banishes him to a dark universe, leaving him trapped and powerless.
Fortunately, Batman manipulates this universe so that it is populated with yellow suns, and Superman flies through each one with ease. As Superman continues flying through the yellow suns, he becomes more and more powerful. Returning to the World Forger, he puts everything he has into one more attack, hitting the World Forger with his fist and leaving him unconscious for a few moments. Superman has some incredible feats of strength, but knocking out a being that creates worlds is a next-level achievement.
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Superman traumatizes a man for his crimes
Superman: Birthright #6 by Mark Waid, Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Dave McCaig and Comicraft
Many people say that Superman should use his powers more aggressively and that he should go directly after criminals, instead of just handing them over to the police. Superman doesn't usually take such an active path, but there are some things that infuriate him enough that he needs to do more than just help catch a criminal. In Superman: Birthright, a racist gun dealer sells weapons to two students, which they use in a school shooting. After Superman interrupts the students, he tracks down the arms dealer. Although he denies selling the weapons to the children, Superman knows this.
Superman has just arrived from the scene of a school shooting. He saw people terrified and traumatized by the event. Because of this experience, he felt that the arms dealer needed to be traumatized as well. Grabbing a gun, Superman shoots him in the face at point blank range, but then uses his super speed to catch the bullet before it hits him. This moment leaves the arms dealer horrified, and is one of the coolest things Superman has ever done, proving that Superman it can inspire both fear and hope – only for the people who deserve to be afraid.