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The Man of Steel is a beacon of hope, a shining light in the dark, reaching out a hand to guide humanity through its darkest hour. He is everything we should want to be and strive toward, always helping anyone and everyone he can, whether their needs are big or small. The trend of darker stories about Superman has been increasingly popular in recent years, with Zack Snyder’s DC movie universe, the Injustice video games, and even Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League showing Superman turning to the dark side.
However, within the DC Comics multiverse, there exists a forever-evil version of Superman: Ultraman. He was born of similar circumstances but on an Earth fueled by evil. Typically, in stories where Superman goes dark, he eventually finds his way back to the light, and all is set right. Ultraman, however, lives to rule his world through whatever means necessary.
Ultraman’s Origins: The Superman of Earth-3
His Earth Is the Opposite of Earth-Prime
Ultraman’s origins and timeline differ between eras of DC Comics, but post-New 52, Ultraman still comes from Krypton—a Krypton full of terrible and selfish people. The young Kal-ll is sent to Earth 3 and instructed to become the strongest being on the planet. Ultraman convinces John and Martha Kent of Earth-3 to adopt him but kills them years later when he no longer has use for them.
This version of Ultraman leads his evil team of supervillains to the prime DC Earth during the Forever Evil event in the New 52 relaunch. He is later killed by the Anti-Monitor near the end of the New 52 and is resurrected after the events of Dark Knights: Death Metal when the multiverse is remade, altering his origin once again.
Ultraman’s Powers and Abilities
What Kal-ll Is All About
Unlike the Kryptonians of Prime DC Earth, Ultraman is not weakened by Kryptonite but is instead powered by it. In some versions of the character, Ultraman possesses the standard powers of Kryptonians, like super strength, and gains new abilities such as heat vision when exposed to Kryptonite. This applies specifically to green Kryptonite, not other colors.
However, in the animated film Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, an adaptation of Grant Morrison’s Justice League: Earth 2, Ultraman is weakened by blue Kryptonite and powered by green Kryptonite. The Kryptonite color spectrum has faded from relevance in recent years, likely to simplify continuity, and the effects of other Kryptonite colors on Ultraman remain unknown.
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Ultraman is also weak to sunlight. During the events of Forever Evil, he blocked out the sun because of how harsh yellow sunlight was to him. Unlike Superman, Ultraman does not have a weakness to magic.
How Ultraman Is Different from Superman
He’s the Man of Steel’s Opposite in Many Ways
The differences between the Man of Steel and Ultraman go much deeper than their powers and general demeanors. While Superman acts out of a desire to make the world a better place, Ultraman is driven by a need to inflict as much pain and suffering as possible. This stems from his upbringing. Superman grew up in a loving home with a caring family who taught him the difference between right and wrong. In contrast, Ultraman was born into a cold, ruthless world that taught him survival was only possible through strength.
Superman may be afraid during times of peril, but he knows when to show it and when to be brave. Ultraman, however, is a coward, often choosing to run and hide from fights he knows he can’t win. He manipulates and abuses those around him, especially those he considers his allies.
Ultraman: The Leader of the Crime Syndicate
With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?
In all his versions, Ultraman leads his own team of super-powered villains: the Crime Syndicate. This team mirrors the traditional Justice League, with counterparts like Owlman, Superwoman, Power Ring, Johnny Quick, Sea King, and Deathstorm. Newer versions also include an Atom parallel called Atomica. The Crime Syndicate has existed since the earliest versions of Ultraman, predating Crisis on Infinite Earths, and has battled both the Justice League and the Justice Society.
The team served as the main antagonists in the Lego DC Super-Villains video game, where they swapped places with the League and attempted to take over the world. Ultraman doesn’t always get along with everyone on the team; he is often shown bullying Power Ring and mainly keeps Superwoman around for physical affection. Owlman, the Batman parallel, has even attempted to overthrow Ultraman as the team’s leader.
More recently, a toy listing from DC revealed that an Ultraman figure is part of the toy line for the upcoming Superman film. While James Gunn said that the toy doesn’t “spoil anything,” it’s possible that viewers will be seeing more of Ultraman very soon.
“}]] Ultraman is Superman’s evil counterpart. Here’s what you need to know about the Man of Steel’s dark doppelganger. Read More