List of Superman enemies in the context of "Darkseid"

Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, first appearing in issue #1 of Action Comics, published in the United States on April 18, 1938. Superman has been regularly published in American comic books since then, and has been adapted to other media including radio serials, novels, films, television shows, theater, and video games. Superman is the archetypal superhero: he wears an outlandish costume, uses a codename, and fights evil and averts disasters with the aid of extraordinary abilities. Although there are earlier characters who arguably fit this definition, it was Superman who popularized the superhero genre and established its conventions. He was the best-selling superhero in American comic books up until the 1980s; it is also the best-selling comic book series in the world with 600 million copies sold.

Superman was born Kal-El, on the fictional planet Krypton. As a baby, his parents Jor-El and Lara sent him to Earth in a small spaceship shortly before Krypton was destroyed in an apocalyptic cataclysm. His ship landed in the American countryside near the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, where he was found and adopted by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who named him Clark Kent. The Kents quickly realized he was superhuman; due to the Earth's yellow sun, all of his physical and sensory abilities are far beyond those of a human, and he is nearly impervious to harm and capable of unassisted flight. His adoptive parents having instilled him with strong morals, he chooses to use his powers to benefit humanity, and to fight crime as a vigilante. To protect his personal life, he changes into a primary-colored costume and uses the alias "Superman" when fighting crime. Clark resides in the fictional American city of Metropolis, where he works as a journalist for the Daily Planet alongside supporting characters including his love interest and fellow journalist Lois Lane, photographer Jimmy Olsen, and editor-in-chief Perry White. His enemies include Brainiac, General Zod, and archenemy Lex Luthor.

Metropolis is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of Superman and his closest allies and some of his foes. First appearing by name in Action Comics #16 (Sept. 1939), Metropolis is depicted as a prosperous and massive city in the Northeastern United States, in close proximity to Gotham City. In recent years, it has been stated to be located in New York.

The co-creator and original artist of Superman, Joe Shuster, modeled the Metropolis skyline after Toronto, where he was born and lived until he was ten. Since then, however, the look and feel of Metropolis has been greatly influenced by New York City.

Brainiac (Vril Dox) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, Brainiac first appeared in Action Comics #242 (1958), and has since endured as one of Superman's greatest enemies.

Brainiac is commonly depicted as a superintelligent android or cyborg from the planet Colu who is obsessed with collecting all knowledge in the known universe. He travels the galaxy and shrinks cities to bottle size for preservation on his skull-shaped spaceship before destroying their source planets, believing the knowledge he acquires to be most valuable if he alone possesses it. Among these shrunken cities is Kandor, the capital of Superman's home planet Krypton, and Brainiac is even responsible for Krypton's destruction in some continuities. Regarded as one of the most dangerous threats in the DC Universe, Brainiac has come into repeated conflict with Superman and the Justice League. Although stories often end in Brainiac's apparent destruction, the character's artificial consciousness is resurrected in new physical forms, some robotic and others more organic-based in appearance.

Dru-Zod, better known as General Zod, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Superman. The character, who first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 (April 1961), was created by Robert Bernstein and initially designed by George Papp. As a Kryptonian, he exhibits the same powers and abilities as Superman and is consequently viewed as one of his greatest enemies alongside Lex Luthor, Darkseid, and Brainiac. He is also well known for his catchphrase "Kneel before Zod!"

Originally bald and clean-shaven, Zod's look in popular culture was defined by the character's depiction by Terence Stamp in the films Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980). Eventually, the character was reintroduced to the DC Multiverse with black hair and a goatee similar to Stamp's portrayal. Zod was also portrayed by Michael Shannon in the DC Extended Universe films Man of Steel (2013), Batman v Superman (2016), and The Flash (2023).

General Zod was a fictional character in the Superman film series based on the DC Comics character of the same name. He is portrayed by Terence Stamp. Zod is notably the only other villain to appear in the film series originating from the comics besides Lex Luthor.