10 Terrible Mistakes That Almost Ruined Superman For Everyone

4. Electric Superman

When Thomas Edison (supposedly) invented many of the electrical items we still use today, people thought it to be magic. When Bob Dylan made the switch from acoustic to electric guitar there was uproar, and claims that he was a "Judas" to the folk genre. When Superman became electric, everyone was...confused. And the character was nearly ruined forever. So there was a fairly big chapter in Superman's life that we're gonna get to in due course, but the important thing to know right now is that it involved him going away for a little while and coming back different. Noticeably different. Desperate, last-ditch attempt at raising sales by getting publicity from a big, unnecessary change different. Oh comic books, same as it ever was!

Advertised as "ready for the next century!" upon his debut in, um, 1997, this brave new Superman was certainly a change from the norm. Not only did he not have a mullet, but he was bright blue all over! His skin, too! And he lacked any of his usual powers, instead having some ill-defined control over, like, electricity and stuff! Because he'd somehow lost his regular abilities, we guess? Also he briefly split into two people, Superman Blue and Superman Red, who had different personalities (guess which was cool and which was hot-headed, go on, guess). This lasted for a year. People were genuinely worried this was the way Superman would be forever. That would not have been a good thing if it were so.