8 Comic Book Characters That Broke Superman

3. Darkseid - Superman: The Animated Series

Superman: The Animated Series is all kinds of underrated. Yes, it may not be consistent as Batman: The Animated Series or even its successor shows Batman Beyond and Justice League, but it wasn't short of some tremendous arcs - especially the ones that drew upon Jack Kirby's Fourth World.

STAS could trace its roots back to John Byrne's run on the character, and one of the best elements it took was the feud between Supes and Darkseid. The show goes to some tremendously dark places over the course of its three season run, and nowhere more-so when Darkseid's concerned.

In Season 2, the Lord of Apokolips leads an all out invasion of Earth, starting with Metropolis. Superman is there to meet him, and so are the boys in blue of the SCU, led by Dan Turpin, whose visual appearance and personality in the series were based on Darkseid creator and comics King himself, Jack Kirby.

As New Genesis arrives to scare Darkseid off Earth, he fires one last shot that kills Turpin, which causes Superman to fly into a fit of rage. The moment is SO shocking, while the funeral that follows also serves as a fitting tribute to Kirby's comics career.

Darkseid proves to be the source of much of Superman's anguish over the entire DCAU, culminating in one final battle in Justice League Unlimited where Supes refuses to hold back his power any longer. An all-time great sequence, from an all-time great show.