It is no secret that DC’s Superman has set the gold standard when it comes to superheroes. He possesses a vast array of abilities and a smiling good-guy personality. However, while tapping into the popularity of the Man of Tomorrow in the name of inspiration, Marvel Comics has often strayed too close to replicating him. And on more than one occasion.
From copying the strength and the ability to fly to modifying his backstory just enough to bypass any legalities, Marvel has had eyes on the Big Blue Boy Scout’s entire narrative in the DC Universe for a really long time now. And while imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, some of these carbon-copy Marvel characters feel less like an homage and more like a blatant rip-off.
Join us as we take a lighthearted look at Marvel Comics’ most obvious copycat characters that are Superman rip-offs.
10 Sentry
A more recent Superman rip-off, Sentry appeared in Marvel Comics in September 2000, was created by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee. With a complex backstory of being a troubled man who accidentally stumbled upon a laboratory and ingested an experimental super-soldier formula, the Sentry was depicted as one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel universe; his strength matching the likes of Thor and Hulk.
Much like the Man of Steel, the Sentry possesses vast superhuman abilities, including incredible strength that knew no bounds, the power of flight, and near invulnerability. He wore a suit with a massive “S” on the front and shared Superman’s revered position of being fascinating and undefeatable.
The only main between the two is that Sentry has a darker side to him. An alternate personality called the Void, which seeks to undo all the good Sentry as ever done, and these deeper psychological complexities add new layers to the Marvel character.
9 Gladiator
A member of the Strontian species, Gladiator is the leader of the Imperial Guard of the Shi’ar Empire. He made his debut in Uncanny X-Men #107 as a protector of his people. He served loyally but found himself frequently engaging in battle with heroes of the universe who went up against the Shi’ar. His alter-ego, Kallark, is clearly named after the two names of Superman – Kal-El and Clark Kent.
Looking at strength, Gladiator is physically invulnerable. He’s as strong as Superman and is also gifted with the power of flight. He’s known across the universe for the great feats he has accomplished, like combating cosmic threats, knocking Thor around, and destroying entire planets with a single punch.
Beyond brute force, the fact that creators Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum based Gladiator on Superboy, the younger version of Clark Kent, and John Byrne, who further developed his stories, made sure Gladiator’s powers are similar to Superman’s revamped version in 1986’s The Man of Steel.
8 Wonder Man
Another one of Marvel Comics’ strongest superheroes is Wonder Man. Formerly known as Simon Williams, he is an actor-turned-superhero who underwent Baron Zemo’s experimentation and was exposed to ionic energy, which granted him immeasurable strength, agility, flight, invulnerability, and the ability to project bio-electric energy through his eyes. In his early years, Wonder Man bounced between heroism and villainy.
He was an accomplice in Zemo’s plan to infiltrate the Avengers, but he later became one himself.
Much like the early versions of Superman, Wonder Man has super-strength and the ability to fly. In appearance, too, he’s all bulked up, wears his own letter on his chest, and has an outfit that matches that of Superboy.
The main difference between Wonder Man and Superman is that the former is more self-centered than righteous. Creating Wonder Man, then placing him into a deathlike coma only to bring him back in Avengers #151 after ruffling some features over at DC was a bold move from Marvel creators.
7 Hyperion
Several rip-offs of Superman exist across Marvel Comics’ eighty years in business. Among the earliest ones, Hyperion hailed from a parallel world called Earth-13034 where he protected his city with his might. He joined the Squadron Supreme and the Avengers to bring justice but often struggled with his god-like power and responsibility.
Much like the Man of Steel, Hyperion possesses superhuman strength, speed, flight, longevity and heat vision. Not just Hyperion, every version of the character within the Marvel Comics is an obvious “parody” of the Justice League members to show that the Avengers can assert dominance over the team.
And when he’s not busy fighting, Hyperion’s natural personality reminds you of the DC goofball as well. But while similarities in powers exist, Hyperion is a psychologically complex character, which makes him more than a mere copy.
6 Virtue
Let’s first back up to before Virtue became the superhero he is. A Skrull refugee and the son of the planet’s chief scientist, Ethan Edwards managed to escape Galactus and the destruction of his home, eventually crash-landing in Iowa and growing up with a farmer who raised him with strong morals into a good man. This rigid devotion and origin story reminds you of DC’s Superman, doesn’t it?
The elderly couple that raised him had no idea that Ethan was an alien shapeshifter genetically engineered into a superhero. As Virtue, he worked with Spider-Man, later discovered the truth about his heritage and joined the anti-Avengers group called the Revengers, before returning to his ethical, virtuous, good-guy self. Virtue’s power set and role as a protector aligned him with Superman’s morals and might.
5 Omega the Unknown
Fans probably don’t remember him because of his brief stint and unfinished narrative in the Marvel Comics, but Omega the Unknown was the most popular analogue for Superman. Written by Steve Gerber and Mary Skrenes and illustrated by Jim Mooney, he had his own comic book issues run from 1976 to 1977 before they were canceled due to low viewership.
Omega belonged to an alien race. When space robots attacked them, he managed to escape to Earth in a spaceship and developed an ambiguous connection with 12-year-old James-Michael Starling, who dreamed of becoming a superhero.
Their placement within the multiverse was never resolved, but looking at his physicals like enhanced strength and nigh-invulnerability, his cultural background as an outsider seeking a place to belong, and his costume, which had long red boots and a cape, it’s clear that Omega is a Superman rip-off.
4 Captain Marvel
Marvel’s own Superman first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 and was created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan. Mar-Vell was a Kree soldier sent to observe and infiltrate Earth. He was anyway thrown by the tyrannical rule of his own empire, and when he saw how generous and orderly people on Earth were, he grew to appreciate them and decided to fight for justice as Captain Marvel. Having sacrificed himself to save countless lives, he was an inspiration to heroes.
Idolized by many, Captain Marvel was a character that proved that it didn’t matter where you belonged from as long as you were willing to do the right thing. His journey of discovering passion and making Earth his home is what made Mar-Vell an ideal and a more popular Superman rip-off. MCU fans are more familiar with Carol Denvers, who took the mantle of Captain Marvel and continued his legacy after he died, establishing herself as a cosmic champion like no other.
3 Blue Marvel
Kevin Grevioux, the creator of Blue Marvel, based the character on the concept of “What if Superman were black in the early 1960s, and how would the world react to him?” Formerly a scientist and war veteran, Dr. Adam Brashear had faced many difficulties as an African American man wanting to serve the country. When he discovered he had abilities like inhuman strength, ability to manipulate matter, flight and durability, he took on the masked identity of Blue Marvel.
The similarities in both the characters’ backstories may be stark – with Superman being vilified for being an alien and Blue Marvel being forced into retirement because of the color of his skin – but Blue Marvel is more complex. It also takes time for Earth to accept him as potentially the strongest hero of his time. He joins the Mighty Avengers and the Ultimates, defeats Sentry and even holds his own against the Ultimate Hulk.
2 Superior
Although he’s published under the company’s Icon imprint and doesn’t appear in the comics very often, Superior is a Marvel character. His creator, Mark Millar, has publicly acknowledged the fact that the Man of Steel was a major inspiration for him. Superior possesses the same powers as him, including the superhuman speed, strength, durability, stamina, endurance as well as freeze breath.
In the comics and the movies, we see Superman stopping short to save a car or stop misdirected trains, actions that may not be as significant as avoiding a global catastrophe but are just as noble. Superior, as a carbon copy, has stopped a satellite from crashing, driven a submarine to shore, and prevented a natural disaster. Not only are these qualities adjacent to Superman’s but they also remind us of another one of Marvel’s strongest heroes, and that is Captain Marvel.
1 Sun God
Sun God, or Zoran, hailed from Earth-4290001, an alternate dimension that had its own version of the Justice League and Superman. As the gold-skinned leader of the Great Society, he was benevolent but prideful. He wielded immense solar-fueled might until being captured by villains who wanted to dominate the world.
The reason fans don’t remember Sun God very clearly is because his appearance was brief, and he was killed by Doctor Strange, which is a homage to the scene in Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, where Superman is critically injured. And yet, Sun God’s powers of flight, strength and near-invulnerability made him synonymous to the Man of Steel, because he defeated other superheroes like Hulk and Iron Man in just two blows.
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