Superman; one of the most powerful heroes to ever exist not only in the DC Comics universe but in the comic book industry at large. The Man of Steel known as Clark Kent, was an alien child from the planet Krypton who was the sole survivor of his planet following its destruction.

Adopted by the Earth couple The Kents, Clark would grow up with the morals taught by his adoptive parents and the knowledge of his people to become the greatest hero, Superman. Yet others have donned his symbol over the years. Here are the 10 best heroes who did.

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10 Christopher Kent

The Superman of Earth 16 begins this list. Christopher Kent was introduced in the comic book Countdown Arena in 2008. He is a much more advanced and evolved version of Superman, and has learned to reformat his power into any energy source he chooses, allowing him to overcome the Superman of Earth 31 and 32.

He later passed on during a battle with Monarch, when he attempted to defeat the foe using untold amounts of energy that would eventually burn up his body entirely. A retcon of the character came out after Flashpoint and during The Multiversity event in 2015.

9 Superdemon

If there have ever been two characters who you could never have imagined being retconned or merging together in some sort of metamorphosis, it would be Etrigan the Demon and Superman. Fans know by now the story of Clark Kent and his heroics over the years, but Etrigan is another story altogether.

Etrigan was a demon from Hell who despite his very violent tendencies found himself allied with the heroes of the DC Universe thanks to his merging with Jason Blood, a knight in King Arthur’s court. The Superdemon leads the League of Shadows on Earth 13 filled with magic.

8 Supermartian

On Earth 32, the closest hero to embody the Man of Steel happens to be a fusion of Clark Kent and his longtime Justice League ally Martian Manhunter. The fan favorite martian hero is also known as J’onn J’onzz, and his story is one filled with tragedy and heroism.

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After losing his family to a war with the White Martians, the last of the Green Martians J’onn J’onzz escaped to Earth and eventually became the hero known as the Martian Manhunter. A fantastic detective and hero, the fusion of these two heroes makes for an interesting addition to the legacy.

7 President Calvin Ellis

Calvin Ellis As Superman

One of the most unique versions of Superman has to be President Calvin Ellis of Earth 23. Inspired partially by real-life American President Barack Obama, the hero was introduced during Final Crisis as a multiracial figure from Krypton who’s legacy inspired a rise of prominent African American superheroes on his world.

He would later became a prominent figure in the Multiversity event, and in the event’s aftermath would form the team Justice Incarnate, to battle threats to the multiverse as a whole. A fan favorite incarnation of the hero, Calvin Ellis is a perfect addition to the Superman legacy.

6 Captain Allen Adam

Otherwise known as the Quantum Superman, Allen Adam was the Superman of a Post-Crisis Earth 4. Considered one of the most powerful beings of all 52 Earths, Allen was an amalgamation of the hero Captain Atom and the character Dr. Manhattan of the Watchmen universe.

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Gaining his powers from an experimental U-235 engine that fused quantum particles with his body, he is later recruited during Final Crisis: Superman Beyond and ascends to a higher consciousness in order to fuse Superman with Ultraman, which allows them to control the Superman Robot meant to battle The Dark Monitor, aka Mandrakk.

5 Val-Zod

Val-Zod is one of the more unique characters of the DC Universe to wear Superman’s symbol and be a part of his legacy. The biological son of General Zod and Ursa, Superman rescues the child from a ship similar to his own, and he and Lois adopt the boy and raise him.

He would eventually battle his father and mother, and during a conflict he would sacrifice himself by taking his parents back into the Phantom Zone himself, sealing the doorway behind him. His Earth 2 counterpart however was a hero who took up the Superman mantle himself.

4 Power Girl

One hero who takes up Superman’s mantle is none other than Power Girl. The Supergirl of Earth-2, Kara is Superman’s cousin who arrives years after Clark. Eventually this version of Kara becomes stranded in the main DC Universe, where another Superman and Kara already exist.

Stranded in this universe, Kara adopts the new identity Power Girl. A more mature yet ferocious fighter and hero than Supergirl, Power Girl also adopted a more human alter ego to live daily life, and has had many adventures within the Superman family despite her origins from an entirely different universe and another Supergirl.

3 John Henry Irons

One of the more noble and heroic humans to take up Superman’s mantle has to be John Henry Irons, a brilliant weapons engineer who left his job at AmerTek Industries after he discovered a weapon he’d designed had fallen into the wrong hands and was used to harm innocent people.

After surviving the Doomsday attack and seeing Superman’s passing, he saw his weapons used in a gang war in Metropolis and decided to build a massive steel suit with Superman’s symbol on it, becoming the hero known as Steel. Becoming his own hero, he still honors Superman’s legacy of heroism.

2 Kon-El

A nearly identical clone of Superman, the half human, half Kryptonian hero known as Superboy, aka Kon-El, is one of the best heroes to take up Superman’s mantle. A clone of Superman and Lex Luthor made by Cadmus Labs, the teenage hero was introduced in the aftermath of Doomsday’s attack on Metropolis that saw the passing of Superman.

Cadmus wanted a Superman of their own that would follow their directive, and Kon-El was the 13th attempt at that. He appeared during the Reign of the Supermen storyline, alongside Cyborg Superman, The Eradicator and Steel, later working alongside Superman.

1 Kara Zor-El

The best person to ever hold up the Man of Steel’s legacy and become a true hero has to be Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl. The cousin of Superman, she arrived on Earth years after he’d already grown to become Superman. She would later adopt his mantle, becoming Supergirl.

Holding the same morals and strengths of Superman, she fights wholeheartedly and has seen her fair share of sacrifices and challenges. Now holding on a major television stint on her own show on The CW and played by the wonderful Melissa Benoist, Supergirl is becoming a household name and truly heroic.

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