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DC’s Superman has had many imitators over the years, which makes sense considering he was one of the first superheroes. Superman still stands out as one of the most powerful and decent heroes to ever wear tights and a cape. And while many of Superman’s imitators come from his own universe, there are quite a few that exist outside as well.
Marvel has introduced their own popular heroes over the years that have served to separate the publisher from its distinguished competition. Though there have also been quite a few characters that are similar to or seem directly inspired by Kal-El’s origins or Superman’s powerset.
10 Hyperion Is A Member Of Marvel’s Justice League Known As The Squadron Supreme
The Squadron Supreme is an alternate reality take on the Justice League, who first encountered The Avengers in their home reality before they were stranded on Marvel’s Earth. The team is led by the incredibly powerful Hyperion. While there are quite a few different versions of the character in Marvel’s multiverse, they share a similar origin and powerset with Superman.
Mark Milton was the Eternals’ last surviving member, who was sent to Earth and raised by a human family as Mark Milton. Hyperion is able to absorb cosmic energy, which gives him incredible strength, super speed, flight, and even atomic vision, which often has him referred to as Marvel’s Superman.
9 Wundarr The Aquarian Was Sent To Earth In A Rocket By His Parents & Gained Powers
One of Marvel’s most interesting and oft-forgotten takes on the classic Superman origin story was the character known as Wundarr the Aquarian. He’s an alien who was sent to Earth on a rocket by his parents, who incorrectly believed that their world was dying.
Wundarr was transformed by the cosmic rays he passed through on his way to Earth, which prematurely aged his body and gave him incredible powers, which were further enhanced by an encounter with the Cosmic Cube. While his mind was still child-like initially, he eventually matured and became revered as a new age guru before he was ultimately turned into a zombie.
8 Gladiator Is An Alien With Confidence-Based Powers That Are Similar To Superman’s
The X-Men were the first to encounter the powerful alien named Kallark in 1977’s X-Men #107, though he was better known across the galaxy as Gladiator, Praetor of the Shi’ar Imperial Guard who eventually took over the entire Shi’ar Empire as its Majestor.
While his origins differ greatly from Superman’s and were largely unknown for years, his incredible powerset included enhanced strength, speed, durability, flight, and even heat vision—fairly reminiscent of Superman’s powers. The biggest difference is that Gladiator’s abilities are based on his own confidence level, which can lead to weakness if he is made to doubt himself.
7 Superior Was A Superman Analog With A Twist That Was Published By Marvel’s Icon
While the character of Superior doesn’t exist in the Marvel universe, he was created by Mark Millar and Leinil Francis Yu for Marvel’s Icon imprint as a creator-owned series that featured an analog of Superman, with a twist.
Superior existed only as a beloved comic book character until a youth suffering from Multiple Sclerosis was transformed by an alien monkey/demon into his hero Superior. While the premise is more like a Faustian Shazam, Superior’s enhanced strength, flight, and overall look owe a lot to Superman.
6 Omega The Unknown Was A Mysterious Being With Incredible Abilities From A Dying Planet
One of Marvel’s oddest characters who remained a mystery for years was the powerful alien survivor known as Omega the Unknown, who was created by Steve Gerber. Omega escaped to Earth and shared an unusual connection with a young boy named James-Michael Starling.
Starling not only dreamed about Omega’s exploits after they happened, but he also began to display similar powers. Both Omega and Starling were later revealed as mechanical creations designed by aliens who were forced to share the same power source until Omega’s later death.
5 Wonder Man Is An Avenger Whose Ionic Body Gives Him A Similar Powerset As Superman
Simon Williams gained his ionic abilities as Wonder Man thanks to Baron Zemo’s scientific work, which empowered him with super-strength and durability that later evolved to include flight, energy vision, and a powerful ionic form.
While Wonder Man’s name seems to imply more of a connection with DC’s Wonder Woman, his look and power set drew inspiration from Superman and he quickly became one of the Avengers’ heaviest hitters.
4 Ikaris Is The Eternals’ Leader & Shares Many Of Superman’s Awesome Abilities
One of the most powerful members of the Eternals is their leader, Ikaris, whose incredible abilities include super-strength, enhanced speed and durability, and cosmic energy eye beams.
While Ikaris and the Eternals were themselves used as inspiration for Jack Kirby’s other DC race known as the New Gods, it’s easy to see the influence Superman had on the Eternals’ leader. Ikaris’ drive to protect humanity while the other Eternals segregated themselves puts him more in line with Superman than their related powers.
3 Zoran The Sun God Is An Alternate Reality Take On Superman That Fought For His World
Marvel’s Illuminati attempted to manipulate cosmic events from behind-the-scenes to protect Earth for years, though they were eventually forced to take a more active role when a series of multiversal incursions threatened to destroy Earth and their entire reality. These inversions saw a number of alternate Earths nearly collide and merge with Marvel’s reality, causing a paradox.
One of these alternate Earths featured a Justice League-like team that was led by Zoran the Sun God, who displayed similar devastating powers as Superman that saw him defeat Hulk and nearly save his Earth before the Illuminati managed to destroy Sun-God’s Earth in order to save their own.
2 Virtue Is A Skrull Who Was Tricked Into Believing He Was An Orphaned Alien Sent To Earth
When the Skrull homeworld was destroyed by Galactus, the creator of the Super-Skrulls empowered his only son with incredible abilities and sent him in a rocket to survive on Earth, where his shape-changing powers would disguise him as a human.
He was raised as Ethan Edwards and grew up to become a reporter for the Daily Bugle, as well as a superpowered hero known as Virtue. He eventually discovered his origins as a Skrull and began to believe he was a monster, until his human parents and his short-lived partner Spider-Man were able to convince him to be a hero.
1 The Sentry Held A Similar Place As The Avengers’ Main Powerhouse Before Turning Bad
Bob Reynolds was transformed into the powerful hero known as the Sentry after he drank an experimental compound that was designed to replicate Captain America’s super-soldier serum, which gave him the power of a”million exploding suns.”
The Sentry’s mind didn’t handle the increase in power well and it created a dark alternate force known as the Void that threatened the Earth almost as much as the Sentry saved it. While their origins were very different, The Sentry is still known as one of Marvel’s most powerful Superman-like characters, and even wore his own S-shield on his belt.
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