8 Comic Book Characters That Broke Superman

2. Joker - Injustice: Gods Among Us

Superman Joker
DC Comics

It's doubtful many expected the Injustice series to pack such a killer narrative when it was first announced, and yet, seven years on from when the first game released, it's proven to be one of the most successful reimaginings of the entire DCU to date.

The game was good of course, but the subsequent comic book spin-off helmed by writer Tom Taylor proved to be a breakout hit. It was dark and gory, but grounded by genuine pathos, with Taylor nailing each and every character's voice over the series' three year run.

The story itself probably needs no introduction by now, but it bears repeating anyway. In this continuity (which takes inspiration from the final pick), Superman falls victim to a tremendously cruel plot from the Joker, where the Clown Prince utilises Scarecrow's fear gas to make him believe Doomsday was attacking Metropolis. In reality, Doomsday was actually a pregnant Lois Lane, and Supes only realises this after he's flown her all the way into space, where she tragically dies. Adding further insult to injury is that this also triggers a nuclear bomb that destroys all of Metropolis, so uhh, yeah, not great.

Justifiably incensed, Supes goes right back to Earth and shoves his whole arm through the Harlequin of Hate, thus kickstarting a chain of events that would see him start a superhero civil war, and become Earth's new dictator.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.