8 Comic Book Characters That Broke Superman

4. Mongul - For The Man Who Has Everything

Had DC not pulled the rug from right underneath Alan Moore's feet with regards to the rights to Watchmen, chances are we'd have seen more of the writer with the Man of Steel. As things currently stand though, we have but only two Superman stories from Moore, and they're both utterly compelling.

The first, titled 'Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?', was billed as the 'last' Superman story and kickstarted a whole trend of superhero comics after its release. The second - and the one relevant to characters who well and truly broke the Man of Steel - was called For the Man Who Has Everything, which was even adapted into an episode of Justice League.

The story sees Batman, Wonder Woman and Robin (the Jason Todd version), arriving at the Fortress of Solitude to celebrate Superman's birthday. When they arrive, they discover a parasitic alien called the Black Mercy attached to Kal-El's chest, which has placed him into a coma.

As the heroes endeavour to sever the beast's connection to Supes, we see what exactly it's doing to his mind. While it's attached, and feeding on Superman's essence, the Mercy treats Superman to a vision of what his life would've been like had Krypton not exploded. He lives a regular existence, has his own son, and genuinely believes it's the real thing before the vision begins to show its true colours.

With that in mind, you can probably gather that, when the heroes eventually manage to sever the beast from Superman, he isn't overly pleased. He slaps the culprit behind the attack, Mongul, all over the fortress, giving Robin the opportune moment to place the plant on the tyrant, and treat him to his own twisted vision of galactic domination.

What makes this particular moment so sad though isn't just that Kal has to watch Krypton suffer, but that it clearly stays with him for a long time afterwards.