10 Weirdest Superman Stories Ever, Ranked

Over the years, Superman has been a trailblazer in the superhero genre, establishing the fundamental qualities of what it means to be a superhero. Since his debut in “Action Comics” #1, he’s led the way in comic book storytelling, witnessing and shaping every era of comics. From realistic portrayals to absurdly bizarre tales, Superman has consistently been at the forefront of superherodom. Of course, if you’re a comic book reader, you know that sometimes these stories can get quite strange! Particularly during the Silver Age, it seemed as though writers were randomly selecting words from a dictionary to determine the plot twists for each issue. To put it mildly, Superman has embarked on some of the most bizarre adventures ever conceived in comics. So, let’s delve into the top ten strangest ones! There are countless other strange stories I’d love to explore, but trust me, these ten should be more than enough to satisfy your curiosity.

10) The Skyscraper Superman!

Today, we’ll delve into an ordinary yet intriguing tale – the storyline from Action Comics #325 titled “The Skyscraper Superman!” This narrative finds our hero, Superman, encountering Red Kryptonite that transforms him into a colossal figure during his battle with extraterrestrial adversaries. Now, this isn’t extraordinary considering the historical impact of Red Kryptonite on Superman’s storyline, which has often served as a versatile plot device to shape the narrative in various ways. What’s mind-boggling though, is that this transformation reminds Superman of an incident from his infancy on Krypton, where Jor-El accidentally used a growth ray, causing baby Kal-El to balloon into a mountainous terror before Krypton’s destruction. The notion of a childhood memory resurfacing upon being turned giant, when he was presumably less than two years old, is both amusing and absurd. However, as expected, Superman eventually regains his normal size, as the idea of Clark Kent undergoing a sudden growth spurt would be challenging to justify.

9) Superman’s NEW Power!

In the bygone days when there were no set standards, during the Golden Age of unrestricted storytelling, Superman was the ultimate teaser. Take for instance, Superman #125, which created a stir by showcasing a mysterious new power that left everyone in awe – and it truly did shock them! In this tale, Superman gains the ability to conjure up a miniature version of himself from his own hands. This Mini-Superman is endowed with all of Superman’s powers, leaving the Man of Steel almost completely powerless, except for flight and invulnerability. And those abilities never return; Mini-Superman is now an independent entity. The world adores the Tiny Man of Steel, causing even the actual Superman to feel envious and, surprisingly, contemplate killing his miniature self. In a heartrending climax, however, Mini-Superman sacrifices himself to shield his creator from a Kryptonite meteor, restoring Superman’s powers as he dies a heroic death. Although this story is somewhat well-known, I felt it necessary to include it since it has lost some of its initial intrigue over the years.

8) The Lady and the Lion

In Action Comics #243, Superman experienced a Beauty and the Beast-style tale of his own. He encountered a woman in the Mediterranean who claimed to be a descendant of Circe, the witch who could transform people into animals. She proposed marriage to him, but when he declined due to her being a stranger and calling herself a witch, she gave him a potion that would turn him into an animal. True to form, Superman transformed into a lion-man the next day. Although Lois Lane promised to stand by his side, Superman’s embarrassment at his bestial appearance caused him to abandon Metropolis forever. He initially joined a circus, but eventually ran even further away to Africa, where he became the leader of a pride and faced a lioness’s advances. In the end, Superman discovered that the potion contained Kryptonite, which allowed him to find an antidote in the library of Kandor. As a result, Superman was able to revert back to his human form, minus the excess hair.

7) The Kryll Way of Dying

In this issue #289, things begin conventionally enough as Batman and Superman meet up, discussing their mutual longing to make the world a better place. However, an unexpected turn occurs when the Fortress of Solitude is invaded by alien creatures resembling worms. These beings aim to siphon off the life essence of our heroes. As it turns out, they are Probes created by an extraterrestrial race called the Kryll, who lost their ability to feel emotion long ago. They seek planets rich in emotions, and Earth’s most potent source of emotion happens to be Batman and Superman’s unique friendship – sorry Lois.

However, encountering the World’s Finest’s emotions stirred something within the Probes, making them realize the world’s beauty. Ultimately, they choose to self-destruct to let Earth continue untouched. Although this issue offers a truly heartwarming moment between these iconic superheroes, the emotion-draining alien worms definitely push the boundaries of comic book oddities. Yet, I couldn’t help but enjoy every single page of it!

6) The Invasion of the Super-Ants!

In issue #296 of Action Comics, Earth was overrun by colossal ants with extraordinary strength, wreaking havoc in various parts of the globe, targeting nuclear facilities. When Superman attempted to thwart them, he found their spaceships ran on Kryptonite, rendering him powerless. In a desperate bid, Lois Lane was abducted by these ants, leaving Superman with no choice but to resort to extreme tactics. By passing through a cloud of Red Kryptonite at the right angle, he partially transformed into an ant, enabling him to converse with his new adversaries. The ants disclosed that Lois had been taken to force Superman to find a way to communicate with them. Their true intention was to warn Earth about the peril that led to their home planet’s demise – nuclear weapons. In a rather obvious message, this alien ant invasion served as a prelude to an anti-nuclear public service announcement (PSA), which Superman delivered to the United Nations, addressing the reader directly. This was a clever and straightforward approach to delivering a powerful message about the dangers of nuclear weapons.

5) The Two Faces of Superman!

As a passionate movie buff, I’d rephrase it like this: Have you ever come across a tale that sounds strikingly familiar? In this alternate take on Superman’s origin story, Jor-El, in a desperate bid to save his son, Kal-El, sends him off into space as Krypton implodes. However, an unexpected encounter with a derelict alien ship results in two Kal-Els, each landing on Earth at different times and places. In the version I’m about to share, the duplicate Kal-El was discovered not by Ma and Pa Kent, but by career criminals named Wolf and Bonnie Derrek. They raised this child with a hatred for law and order, transforming him into Super-Menace, a criminal bent on becoming the most formidable in the universe. Unlike our beloved Superman, Super-Menace sought power not to protect Earth, but to rule as its greatest menace. He wore a domino mask, a clear indication of his villainous nature. This story follows an evil counterpart of Kal who, instead of embracing goodness, was corrupted by the wicked ways of Wolf and Bonnie Derrek. Unfortunately, even Silver Age comics found this cosmic energy duplicate too powerful to handle, and despite his self-sacrificing act that eliminated his criminal parents, Super-Menace was deemed too dangerous to be included in the main continuity.

4) The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue

Instead of the ’90s version of Red and Blue Electric Supermen, we’re talking about the original color division of Superman here. This tale, found in Superman #162, is classified as an “imaginary story” because it doesn’t fit into the regular continuity. It’s suggested that this could be the final Superman story ever told. After the inhabitants of Kandor City criticize Superman for his failure to both enlarge them and stop crime on Earth, he creates a device to make him incredibly intelligent. This intelligence split him into two identical versions: Superman-Red and Superman-Blue. Together, they tackle every problem on Earth, enlarging the Kandorians, creating New Krypton for them, eliminating evil with an anti-evil ray that reforms Lex Luthor and other villains, curing diseases, ending poverty, and appointing Superman Robots to guard the worlds in case of disasters. Superman-Red moves to New Krypton and marries Lois Lane, while Superman-Blue stays on Earth and marries Lana Lang. Everybody gets a happy ending, which makes this story seem quite outlandish given its placement amidst regular Superman comics. It’s essentially the bizarre, ultimate ending for everyone’s tale, and they pulled it off in a very Silver Age style!

3) The Bride of Jungle Jimmy

Any compilation of bizarre Superman tales would be incomplete without mentioning an episode from the comic book series “Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen“. Jimmy could easily compile multiple lists with these unusual experiences, but we’ll focus on issue #98, a prime example of the peculiar situations that Jimmy often finds himself in. In this story, Jimmy and Clark Kent embark on an adventure to a jungle film set, where they discover the crew is using movies to persuade locals and a resident gorilla for filming rights. Unfortunately, they show Bruna the gorilla the movie “King Kong“, which leads her to kidnap Jimmy due to her fondness for it. Instead of simply rescuing Jimmy by flying him away, Superman decides to play along with the chaos. He pretends to be a local “witch doctor” and marries Jimmy to Bruna, the gorilla. Eventually, Jimmy manages to escape by showing Bruna a movie depicting a gorilla pushing him off a cliff. However, the twist is that Jimmy is still legally married to the gorilla, an issue never resolved. Furthermore, when Jimmy’s girlfriend Lucy Lang learned about the marriage, she immediately ended their relationship and gave Bruna a veil. This tale is a brilliant display of absurdity and reads like one prolonged practical joke on poor Jimmy Olsen.

2) The Suicide Snare

There’s no denying that the story in Action Comics #593 is undoubtedly one of the most disturbing Superman tales ever penned, and I genuinely hope nothing comes close to matching its level of discomfort. In this narrative, a character named Sleez mind-controls Superman and Big Barda, who, as you might expect, is as sleazy as they come. Instead of following the typical path of world domination or battling the Justice League, Sleez concocts an unusual plan: he attempts to film a scandalous video featuring Superman and Barda. I’m sure you can imagine the myriad issues with this storyline. Thankfully, they are saved before anything untoward happens, but let me tell you, this tale is nothing short of mind-boggling. The fact that even Darkseid, the God of Evil himself, felt compelled to warn Mr. Miracle about Sleez’s schemes after firing him speaks volumes about how despicable Sleez truly is. Can you believe it? Even Darkseid isn’t on board with this level of immorality.

1) Superman: At Earth’s End

The stories we’ve previously discussed have been extraordinary, bizarre, and more unbelievable than reality itself, but Superman: At Earth’s End surpasses them all. This tale is so outlandish that I only half-seriously suspect hallucinogenic substances were in play during its creation. If the picture of a senile, drug-addled Superman wielding a gun as large as he is doesn’t give you a hint, let me assure you, it barely scratches the surface. This Elseworlds tale serves as a sequel to Kamandi: At Earth’s End, and follows a future Earth being systematically destroyed by nuclear bombs at the hands of emotionless cyborgs known as the Biomech Sevens. When they zero in on Gotham City, an incapacitated Superman vows to save Batman’s former home. Along the journey, he encounters a group of rebellious, motorcycle-riding teenagers with mohawks who lead the resistance against the rulers of the city, known as the DNA Diktators. Delving deep into the undercity, Superman discovers the teenagers’ parents as mutated slaves, SS lion-men, an undead Batman monster-clone, and the true masterminds behind everything in Gotham. Not one, but two Hitler clones! Because a single clone of Hitler ruling over a Batman monster army wouldn’t make sense. In the end, the powerless Superman utilizes his gun symbolic of ’90s excess and eliminates the Hitler clones. Mortally wounded, he carries Bruce’s body to a funeral pyre to prevent further misuse of his friend’s corpse. Somehow, someway, the story concludes with the teenagers delivering an anti-gun public service announcement, claiming that without guns Superman would still be alive! I can’t find words to describe my feelings towards this story. This level of absurdity makes the inner workings of the Joker seem like a Magical Treehouse book. Nothing could ever surpass the sheer lunacy this book embodies, and if anything did, I doubt I could handle it.

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2025-06-15 21:14