The crest of the Man of Steel has been emblazoned on many a Superman over the years. There have been tons of Clark Kents to suit up and fight crime, protecting their world and standing alongside all the other major superheroes.
Of course, not every Superman has been a Clark Kent. Both inside the main universe and across the multiverse, the comics have introduced a ton of heroes that have emblazoned the emblem on their outfits while not actually being Clark Kent himself. Though they might not call themselves Superman, they certainly had no problem settling into the role of the world’s greatest hero.
12 Eradicator
Eradicator is a Kryptonian weapon that was meant to wipe out all cultures that weren’t Kryptonian in nature. Eventually, the weapon found its way to Superman, and even changed Superman to make him into the perfect Kryptonian, though this didn't last for long. The Eradicator pretended to be Superman after Superman died, but gave himself away because he was so much more vicious than the actual Superman.
11 Kaleb
Kaleb was the last son of Hydros in the Legends of the Dead Earth annuals. In this world, Lex Luthor became the head of a Galactic Empire, and went out of his way to wipe out planets where the inhabitants could gain powers like Superman. Kaleb was rescued by some rebels against the Galactic Empire, and became someone fighting in the name of Superman. He was even referred to as Superman by both the rebels and a clone of Lex.
10 Zod
Zod has been Superman on a number of different occasions. In some of them, he was specifically referred to as Clark Kent, but there’s one exception to this. In the multiverse, on Earth-15 the Superman was another Kryptonian known as Zod. On Earth-15, superheroes had fought long enough to free the planet from war and criminals, and Zod was able to live in peace. But Superboy Prime ruined this, killing multiple members of the Justice League.
9 Hank Henshaw
Hank Henshaw is one of Superman’s longest-running enemies, but it didn’t start out that way at first. After an accident in space where Hank and his family were exposed to cosmic radiation, Hank was only able to save his wife Teri before seemingly dying.
He would eventually return seething with hatred for Superman, but with him dead he took on a cyborg body and claimed to be Superman reborn. Eventually when Superman returned he would reveal himself to be Hank Henshaw again, and the rivalry between the two of them would begin.
8 Harvey Dent
On Earth-9, Superman is actually Harvey Dent. He wasn’t like Two-Face, but instead saw his power activate when he fell off a building. Rather than be from another planet, this Superman was a human who began evolving at a rapid rate, gaining telekinesis and telepathy alike. Like Clark, this would be the first superhuman on his Earth but there would be more gathering over the course of the Tangent universe’s storyline. When this world was re-visited a while back, this Superman had become ruler over his planet.
7 Kal Kent
Kal Kent is the Superman of the 853rd century. He’s the distant descendant of Superman, and under the light of the Super-Sun of that era he has powers exceeding even Superman himself. He’s incredibly intelligent, possesses telepathy, and several additional senses that come from a different part of his bloodline like Super-ESP. He’s strong enough to resist the pull of a collapsing star and even punch a hole in time itself. He’s the leader of the Justice Legion A in the future.
6 Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor briefly decided to step into the role of Superman in the aftermath of Forever Evil. There he created a special suit of armor that made him vastly more powerful than any he’d ever worn before, and his ego pushed him to join the Justice League and try to defend Metropolis himself. This didn’t last of course, and eventually he found himself back on the side of the bad guys again.
5 Jon Kent
The son of Superman and Lois Lane, when fans first meet Jon he’s just figuring out how his powers work alongside his dad’s teaching. But more recently, fans have seen him separated from his folks and aged several years until he became a teenager. He’s a lot closer to becoming Superman than ever before, and fans have even seen further that in the 30th century where the character becomes Superman in place of his dad.
4 Conner Kent
Originally a clone of Superman and Lex Luthor, Conner Kent was meant to be Superman himself. But when he emerged from the cloning unit prematurely, he was still several years too young to be Superman.
Refusing to be acknowledged as Superboy, he worked as a hero in Hawaii for years before starting to live with the Kents. Fans have seen the future where he becomes Superman though, working with Tim Drake as part of the Titans of Tomorrow. He’s not exactly heroic in this time line, but he still has the title of Superman.
3 Val-Zod
Val Zod was the last member of the House of Zod once his parents were ordered to be killed by the leaders of Krypton. Ultimately, Val Zod was one of a handful of children who left Krypton before it exploded and he wound up on Earth. Val largely remained out of the spotlight because of his parents’ teaching, which turned him into an extreme pacifist. The only reason he actually came out of hiding was because Superman and the other heroes fighting against Darkseid vanished when they were under attack again, taking on the symbol of the House of El and the title Superman to be a symbol of hope.
2 Kenan Kong
Kenan Kong is also known as the Superman of China. Kenan was chosen by the Ministry of Self-Reliance to be imbued with special energy that was meant to be the last energies of a dying Superman. He has the qi of Superman, and focuses his power through eight different Trigrams which each grant him a different power. Though Kenan started out as kind of a jerk, his time working with the Justice League of China saw him learn to use his power responsibly, and he’s grown into a stalwart ally of Superman.
1 Calvin Ellis
Calvin Ellis is the Superman of Earth-23. Based on President Obama, Calvin is the President of the United States on an Earth where most of the heroes there are black. In his world, he was raised by the Ellis family, but would go on to become the President where he balances using his power to intervene in foreign affairs and trying to maintain his secret identity. The character was chosen as the leader of the Justice Incarnate, a team of superheroes from across the multiverse, and he’s been shown to even be powerful enough to defeat Super-Doomsday from Earth-45.