Summary

• Superman's failure to notice and acknowledge Superboy's departure from Earth demonstrates his fallibility as a hero.
• The haunting memory of leaving an astronaut behind in a shuttle explosion reminds Superman of the lasting impact of his mistakes.
• Superman's decision to let his son Jonathan leave Earth with his Kryptonian grandfather ultimately leads to years of captivity and regret for Clark.

Even Superman, the DC Universe’s guiding figure of heroism, isn’t infallible. When Clark Kent became a hero, he desired to use his godlike powers for the betterment of the world. Unfortunately, for all of his powers, Superman is just as likely to fail as anyone else.

Superman’s battled alien tyrants and universe-destroying monstrosities. But in his long career as a superhero, there are a few moments where the Man of Steel came up short. Read on to discover 10 of the greatest failures in DC history.

10 Drove Superboy Away From Earth

Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow #1, Kenny Porter, Jahnoy Lindsay

Superboy came back into DC’s continuity after nearly a decade’s absence. But Conner struggled to find his place amid an incredibly crowded Super-Family, which now had two Kryptonians sharing the Man of Steel moniker. Conner tried to talk with Superman, who couldn’t give Superboy the time of day. So Conner left Earth to stake out his own claim in the universe. Unfortunately, it took Superman two whole weeks to even notice that Superboy had left Earth. Even Clark realized how much he had disappointed his ally and vowed to treat him better.

9 Didn't Save an Astronaut from a Terrifying Death

Hitman #34, Garth Ennis, John McCrea

Superman knows that mistakes happen, but that doesn’t mean they haunt him any less. In Hitman #34, Tommy Monaghan has a chance encounter with the hero on a particularly bad day. Superman had attempted to rescue a crew of astronauts from a nuclear space shuttle and managed to save most of them. But it wasn’t until the team was safely loaded into an escape pod that Clark realized the team’s commander got left behind right before the shuttle exploded. Superman recognized there was nothing he could do, but the commander’s haunted face left a lasting impression on Clark’s mind.

8 Killed General Zod and Several Phantom Zone Prisoners

Superman #22, John Byrne

Superman has often been at odds with his nemesis General Zod, but one moment saw the hero putting him and several other Kryptonians to death. During John Byrne's run on Superman, the Post-Crisis Superman encountered Zod and several other escapees from the Phantom Zone in an alternate universe. Recognizing that the villains were too dangerous to be kept alive, Clark depowered the Kryptonians with gold kryptonite and exposed them to the far deadlier green kryptonite. Superman, a stalwart protector of life, merely stood by and watched as his opponents killed one another and begged for their lives.

7 Didn't Speak Out Against Lex Luthor's Presidential Campaign

Adventures of Superman #586, J.M. DeMatteis, Mike S. Miller

Lex Luthor has had a lot of devious plans over the years, but his most successful gamble was running for President of the United States. Lex campaigned and was swept into office on a platform of major reforms. But Lex, being the villain he is, used his position to his advantage, creating task forces and government departments dedicated to replacing Superman and turning the public against him. Though Superman congratulated Lex on his victory, Clark fumed at the situation and wished he had spoken out against Lex during his campaign. But Superman’s silence put DC’s most dangerous man in the highest office in the United States.

6 Killed His Most Powerful Nemesis and Retired

Action Comics #583, Alan Moore, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson

Superman doesn’t like killing and thinks no one deserves to take a life. In “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?”, Superman’s impish foe, Mister Mxyzptlk, turned over a villainous new leaf and attempted to kill Superman and Lois Lane. But Superman managed to defeat his enemy by using his Phantom Zone projector just as Mxyzptlk tried returning to the Fifth Dimension, killing him by tearing Mxyzptlk between dimensions. Superman was so shaken by the events that he decided to punish himself for breaking his code by removing his powers with gold kryptonite, ending his career.

5 Couldn't Save Pa Kent From a Heart Attack

Action Comics #870, Geoff Johns, Gary Frank

One Superman failure was also an important lesson for him to learn. During the “Brainiac” arc, Superman meets Brainiac’s true form, who attempts to bottle Metropolis and destroy Earth. Clark stops him, but Brainiac manages to get one last act of revenge. Brainiac’s ship launches a rocket at the Kent farm to kill his adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent. They avoid getting hit, but the stress triggers a heart attack in Jonathan and unfortunately, Superman is too late to save his pa. Jonathan has died of a heart attack in several continuities, and it always reminds Clark that he can’t save everyone.

4 Beat Doomsday at the Cost of His Own Life

Superman #75, Dan Jurgens, Brett Breeding

Out of all the villains in Superman’s rogues gallery, no villain got a win over the hero like Doomsday did. The interstellar villain came to Earth and rampaged across the globe, no one able to match his fury save for Clark. But between Doomsday’s size, strength, and regenerative abilities, the villain actually had Superman on the ropes. Clark had to dig deep and use every last ounce of strength he had to defeat Doomsday, which he did. However, the world watched in abject horror as DC Universe’s greatest icon died from his injuries.

3 Killed Lois Lane and His Unborn Child

Injustice: Gods Among Us #1, Tom Taylor, Axel Giménez, Mike S. Miller, Jheremy Raapack

Injustice may not be the main DC Universe, but the dark world contains one of the most bitter losses in Superman’s history. The Joker kidnapped Lois Lane and baited Superman into a trap where the Clown Prince of Crime drugged him and convinced Superman that she was actually Doomsday. In Superman’s drugged-up state, he killed Lois and their unborn child. That loss, on top of Metropolis being nuked by the Joker, sent Superman into a dark place. Clark killed the Joker and began a totalitarian crusade to end crime in the world by any means necessary.

2 Allowed His Son to Leave Earth With Jor-El (gal)

Man of Steel #6, Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Fabok

Like most fathers, Superman tries to do right by his son. However, he made a call that seriously lacked in judgment when he allowed his Kryptonian father Jor-El to take Clark’s son Jonathan to space to train the boy. It was bad enough that Clark let his 11-year-old son venture out into space, but the decision was made worse by the fact that Jon was kidnapped by Ultraman, who kept Jon trapped in a volcano for years. By the time Jon made his way back home, he was 17. Not only were many fans angry with this direction, but even Clark was haunted by his decision not to fight for Jon.

1 Lost a Second Krypton and Thousands of Kryptonians

War of the Supermen #1, James Robinson, Sterling Gates, Jamal Igle

The “New Krypton” arc realized a dream for Superman: A second chance for his home world. Superman saved the bottle city of Kandor and saved its population of a hundred thousand Kryptonians. Unfortunately, he failed to realize how prejudicial Kryptonians could be and that there were forces on Earth that wouldn’t stand for that many superpowered aliens existing. A cold war developed between New Krypton and Earth with Superman caught in the middle. When all was said and done, Earth’s forces won and thousands of Kryptonian lives were extinguished and Superman couldn’t do a thing about it.

Superman is still one of the DC Universe's greatest heroes, but these 10 failures stand out as the worst in his history.