Superman Villains We'd Love To See In Season 3 Of Superman & Lois

Now that the second season of "Superman & Lois" has come to a close, it's clear that this series isn't interested in telling the same old Superman stories we've seen before. While the series often takes inspiration from countless versions of the character, from the 1940s Max Fleischer cartoons to "Smallville," it also takes characters in entirely different directions than we might've predicted. In Season 1, the villainous Morgan Edge — a major Metropolis player in the comics who's had countless run-ins with Superman — turns out to be none other than Superman's biological half-brother, Tal-Rho, a character who doesn't even exist in the comic books!

Season 2 threw some exciting character twists at us too, introducing a being who many thought would be Superman's ultimate killer, Doomsday, only to pivot and reveal him as Bizarro, a warped version of Superman from another world. And it didn't end there! Cult leader Ally Allston was eventually exposed to be a version of the Superman villain Parasite (the Alexandra Allston version) in a triumphant twist that raised the stakes to even higher levels than before. There's no doubt that "Superman & Lois" is just getting started, and while we anxiously await the upcoming third season with a new villain on the way, we're left to wonder which supervillains will make it onto the show next. Here is our "Superman & Lois" Season 3 villains wishlist!

The Superman villain that just about everyone wants the Man of Steel to battle in live-action, Brainiac has been a staple in Superman's rogues gallery for over 60 years. While his origins vary from a mad Coluian scientist bent on shrinking and collecting cities from across the universe to an advanced Kryptonian artificial intelligence involved in the destruction of Superman's homeworld, the truth is that Brainiac is always a formidable foe. Having appeared twice in live-action previously — played by James Marsters on "Smallville" and Blake Ritson on "Krypton" — there's no reason that the Collector of Worlds couldn't be adapted again here.

Usually involved with the bottling of the Kryptonian city of Kandor, bringing Brainiac to "Superman & Lois" would be an excellent way to raise the stakes to intergalactic levels and continue to involve Tal-Rho in the story. Honestly, bringing back Blake Ritson's superior version of the character from the canceled "Krypton" series might be the move here, thus possibly (retroactively) making "Krypton" and "Superman & Lois" take place in the same world. Sure, there might be some complications with that, but if "Superman & Lois" could continue to tell intriguing stories while also finishing out those unfinished from "Krypton"? Well, we wouldn't complain, especially since Ritson's Brainiac is the definitive portrayal of the character.

Possibly the villain that fans love to hate the most in both the Superman and Green Lantern comics is the Cyborg Superman (or just Cyborg). Originally known as Hank Henshaw, a scientist exposed to cosmic radiation that nearly killed his wife and destroyed his entire body, this robotic Man of (literal) Steel has been a constant thorn in Superman's side since the 1990s. Made especially popular during the "Reign of the Supermen" arc after "Death of Superman," Henshaw pretended to be Metropolis' Kryptonian hero for months, albeit with a half "Terminator" like get-up, and often clashed with the other "Supermen," such as the Eradicator, Steel, and Superboy. Then, he nuked Green Lantern's hometown of Coast City, finally revealing himself as a villain that only Superman could stop.

While a version of the character had been introduced on "Supergirl," it's recently been confirmed that "Superman & Lois" does not take place in the same world as the rest of the Arrowverse shows. This means that there's no reason that Henshaw couldn't be reinvented here since he's never had a proper live-action debut. Obviously, this would cause trouble for Superman and the Kent family, but there's no doubt that they could handle it. 

Oh, and if for some reason the Henshaw version of the character is off the table, there is a version of the Cyborg Superman out there who is actually a warped version of Supergirl's father Zor-El if "Superman & Lois" wanted to keep it in the family.

Long before Hush became a mainstay Batman villain, Superman had his own ally turned villain who terrorized his personal and professional life. Ruin was a mystery for a long time, and even Superman thought that his best friend from his days in Smallville, Pete Ross, was behind the mask all along after Lana Lang (Pete's ex-wife) was threatened. However, this was nothing more than a ploy to catch the Man of Steel off-guard and frame him for taking all of the sun's energy from the people of Earth, a "theory" that was later disproved. Eventually, Ruin revealed himself to be none other than Superman's former scientific advisor and friend, Dr. Emil Hamilton. This was a shock to many, and although the character continued to appear in Superman-related media, he was rarely seen in the comics again.

Thankfully, "Superman & Lois" has a habit of taking Superman characters and turning them on their heads, subverting fan expectations completely. This means that there's no reason the show's version of Ruin would have to be Hamilton at all, but rather a character who already fits into the "Superman & Lois" mold. Ruin could be anybody! 

This might be a story that would need more than a single season to tell, but it's certainly one worth pursuing. There's no doubt that of all the modern-day Superman villains, Ruin has the most personal connection to the Man of Steel, making him all the more dangerous.

Okay, so if you're a big Superman fan but you don't know who Tyrell is, don't freak out, as he only ever appeared in the "Superman: Earth One" series of graphic novels that were released from 2010 to 2015, revamping Superman in a 21st-century context. While the series introduced new versions of Parasite, Lex Luthor, and even General Zod, it also introduced a new foil for the Man of Steel in Tyrell, a soldier from Krypton's neighboring planet Dheron who was tasked with hunting down and killing every living Kryptonian in the wake of Krypton's destruction — including Kal-El. Not only is "Superman: Earth One" an excellent retelling of the familiar Superman tale, but the inclusion of Tyrell makes it even better.

Tyrell is pretty merciless as far as villains are concerned, going so far as to slaughter countless alien races in search of the Last Son of Krypton. Thanks to his genetics, Tyrell also gains superpowers under a yellow sun, though his aren't as advanced as a Kryptonians, nor can he fly without the use of metallic wings. He's a pretty frightening character who will stop at absolutely nothing to complete his goals. 

Although "Superman & Lois" villains tend to live a bit closer to home, there's no reason a completely redesigned Tyrell couldn't make his way to Earth to hunt down the last remaining Kryptonians — remember, Leslie Larr is still out there too.

Did you know that Superman's very first live-action villain didn't even originate in the comics? In fact, she didn't even appear in a Superman comic book until 2021! That's right, the femme fatale Spider Lady (originally played by Carol Forman) was Superman's first foil on-screen back in the old Columbia Pictures "Superman" film serials from the late 1940s. Of course, Lex Luthor was the villain in the sequel, but in the Man of Steel's initial film outing, he took on this dangerous queen of Metropolis' criminal underworld, who had countless henchmen and her very own Relativity Reducer Ray, though it's unclear exactly what that means.

Since "Superman & Lois" loves to reference characters and costumes from the past 80 years of Superman history, Spider-Lady seems like a pretty easy sell. While the series would need to rework the character to fit the more small-town setting of Smallville, there's certainly potential for a web of conspiracy to be unraveled beyond just Smallville. It sounds like something that Lois Lane and Chrissy Beppo would want to uncover themselves! 

Thankfully, the writers behind the beloved CW series seem pretty well equipped to tackle just about any Superman-related character. If anyone could do Spider-Lady justice, it would be them.

The Lord of Warworld himself, Mongul is sort of a Darkseid type of villain who hopes to rule the galaxy and remake it in his own image. Though he has gone up against other intergalactic heroes such as Green Lantern (he even helped Cyborg Superman destroy Coast City and would later join the Sinestro Corps), his main beef is with Superman. In his very first appearance, he kidnapped Superman's friends Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Steve Lombard to get the Man of Steel to help him reactivate the artificial Warworld. Though there are various versions of the character, including his son (also named Mongul) and daughter (Mongal), the original has made his mark on the Superman mythos, especially due to his work in the iconic "For the Man Who Has Everything" story.

While Warworld itself might be a bit hard to show on "Superman & Lois" (though we'd love it if they tried), Mongul — maybe even allied with his two children — could easily make his way to Earth hoping to invade. This could be an interesting way to explore intergalactic family dynamics, with maybe Mongul II and Mongal deciding to take their lives into their own hands and stand up for something good like Jonathan and Jordan Kent. Or, mirroring more recent comic book arcs in "Superman: Son of Kal-El" and "Action Comics," maybe Superman must travel to Warworld while Jordan steps up in Superman's place to protect the world? After this season, it's certainly a possibility!

A crazed alien bounty hunter, space biker, and mercenary originally from the planet Czarnia before he wiped out his entire race, Lobo is kind of a psycho and definitely not "season-long villain" material. However, like Bizarro in Season 2 or Thaddeus Killgrave in Season 1, he could make an appearance or two in future installments of "Superman & Lois." Known as sort of a parody of the brutality of 1990s comic book heroes (namely the Punisher and Wolverine, who were a bit unhinged at that point in time), Lobo took on a life of his own and constantly caused trouble for the Man of Steel. Between appearances on "Superman: The Animated Series," "Justice League," and "Krypton," Lobo has certainly made his rounds in the greater DC Universe.

What some "Superman & Lois" fans might not know is that Lobo actually appeared in a comic book tie-in to the series in early 2022 called "Earth-Prime: Superman & Lois," where he battled Superman briefly before leaving Earth. Whether this was a tease for us to expect Lobo in a future episode or just a clever way to make him a part of the overall "Superman & Lois" story has yet to be seen, but there's no doubt that we'd love to see him take on our favorite hero in live-action. Honestly, if they really wanted to make fans happy, they'd just bring back Emmett J. Scanlan as the "Krypton" version of Lobo and let the sparks fly!

Having originally first appeared in Christopher Reeve's final Superman film "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace," known as one of the worst Superman films ever made, Mark Pillow's Nuclear Man has gained something of a cult status among Superman fans. Created by Lex Luthor through a strand of Superman's own hair, the Nuclear Man is a being powered by the same son as Kal-El, and is just as formidable as the Man of Steel, albeit even more dangerous. Because of his status as a cult icon, Nuclear Man has even made his way into the modern comic book continuity, where he has found himself trapped in the Phantom Zone, waiting to be released.

"Superman & Lois" fans should know that Nuclear Man has direct ties to the series as well. In the same "Earth-Prime" comic that introduced Lobo to the world of "Superman & Lois," Nuclear Man was also seen battling Superman (via ComicBook) in a panel fairly similar to their fight in "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace." Of course, just because he showed up in the comic book doesn't mean that will translate to live-action, but there's no doubt that many Superman fans would love to see the Nuclear Man eventually redeemed on the screen. With all the cues that Tyler Hoechlin's Superman seems to take from Christopher Reeve's performance, it would certainly be a joy to watch him battle against a version of Reeve's final opponent.

Okay, this one is probably the most obvious. At this point, just about every live-action incarnation of Superman has faced off against Lex Luthor, and while Tyler Hoechlin's Superman and Jon Cryer's Lex Luthor have an explicit Arrowverse backstory in the "Supergirl" universe, this world's incarnation of Lex Luthor is still out there! After being teased in Season 1 that "Captain Luthor" would be a part of the show (only to gain John Henry Irons instead), it's time to finally see the Man of Steel and his iconic enemy cross paths on "Superman & Lois" — especially given that Clark Kent and Lex Luthor have a history in Smallville.

What's great about the series taking place on another Earth — besides the immense creative freedom that the scenario inherently brings — is that this version of Lex Luthor could be completely retooled and isn't limited to the history of "Supergirl" or any other version of the character. Many have also hoped to see Michael Rosenbaum from "Smallville" reprise the role, even if it's a different version of Lex entirely. 

No matter what direction the showrunners decide to go with "Superman & Lois," one thing is for sure, while you can tell an exciting Superman story without Lex Luthor, he's usually a part of all the best ones!