10 Different Ways Superman Has Been Defeated

3. Red Sun Radiation

As said earlier, Superman is given his powers from Earth€™s yellow sun, but under a red sun radiation Superman is reverted to mortal stature. In Superman: Red Son, a three issue storyline exploring what would have happened had the infant Kal-El landed in the Soviet Union, President Lex Luthor teams up with Batman to trap Supes in a radiation chamber designed to sap the hero€™s powers. Superman would have been beaten to a pulp had Wonder Woman not freed him from his confinement. The Nineties animated Superman series explored this vulnerability as well, with Brainiac using a red sun lamp to inhibit the Man of Tomorrow€™s powers and keep him trapped in his collection. Although the red sun doesn€™t neccasarily defeat Superman, it enables pretty much anyone to attack him as if he were a weak human being. This makes it one of the most innovative and interesting ways that Superman has been bested in comics and on TV.