From being transformed against his will to losing in an intergalactic competition, Superman has experienced several humiliations he’d rather forget.
Superman is one of DC Comics' iconic heroes, but things aren't always easy for him. The Man of Steel has had his share of humiliating experiences over the years, especially in Superman's famous for stories where he undergoes bizarre transformations.
Sometimes, Superman fights embarrassment from losing simple battles or from complications in his personal life. Other stories feature a twist where Superman has more control of the situation than it seems, but must play along in order to win. Even though things turn out better in the end, there are several humiliating experiences Superman prefers to leave in the past.
In "The Weirdo Wedding of Jimmy Olsen," Jimmy Olsen and his love-interest Lucy Lane tied the knot. It's initially a joyous event, and Superman gifted the couple with a lavish house and robot maids. An envious Miss Gzptlsnz, however, got revenge by giving the couple a cursed lipstick and a watch.
These devices transformed Superman into a giant mole whenever Jimmy and Lucy kissed. As a result, Super-Mole ended up crashing the banquet hall and ruining the wedding. Jimmy and Lucy eventually figured out the plot and ditching the items.
In "Superboy Goes Ape," Superboy got exposed to red kryptonite while trying to catch an organ grinder's monkey, making a monkey out of him. The organ grinder enticed the young superhero with a banana, taking him on as his new monkey. Lana Lang, suspecting that the monkey was both Superboy and Clark Kent, obtained a license to become his new owner.
It turned out the transformation had a delayed effect, and Superboy grew into a King Kong sized monster. Beppo the Super-Monkey intervened, only for the radiation to transform him into a clone of Superboy. Fortunately, the radiation wore off and Beppo used his new appearance to appear as Clark Kent alongside Superboy.
In "A Prize Of Peril," Superman and Green Lantern broke out into a fight when they both arrived on the scene to stop a meteor shower. One of the Guardians of the Universe got offended by their conflict and suggested a contest to determine which hero would be Earth's main protector.
Doctor Fate appeared, offering to help stage the contest. The two heroes found themselves at the mercy of their worst fears. Green Lantern faced a yellow spider. Superman faced a giant image of his father, Jor-El, who spanked him. Eventually, Superman and Green Lantern realized the whole contest was a trick. The "Guardian" was just an illusion, and Doctor Fate was Felix Faust in disguise.
In "Seven-Foot-Two… and Still Growing!," Superman found himself growing into a giant thanks to Lex Luthor. Normally, the increase in height would be an advantage in a fight. However, Luthor had a trick up his sleeve: the one thing that won't grow was Superman's brain.
Not only was his mind starting to cloud, but Superman risked reaching a point where he couldn't think at all. Superman tried to protect his brain using a special helmet, but Luthor simply forced him to grow out of it. Thankfully for the Man of Steel, The Atom saved the day with a shrink ray.
In "The Monster From Krypton," Superman transformed into a Drang, a dragon-like monster from Krypton. Superman's attempts to explain the situation only made things worse. When the transformed hero showed Jimmy Olsen his costume, everyone assumed the mysterious beast had killed Superman.
Even Supergirl arrived on the scene to fight her transformed cousin. Superman eventually spelled out, "I AM SUPERMAN," but it was no easy feat. In the first few attempts, Superman was attacked by the army after writing the first few letters.
In "Superman's Saddest Day," Superman was already having a rough day, as it's the anniversary of the destruction of Krypton. In fact, Superman had already cried himself out when Jimmy Olsen announced he needed to collect Clark's tears. Jimmy came across an old prophecy that required four different tears, including that of a Kryptonian, for a mysterious power.
Superman discovered he still had more tears left to shed when shown his foster-parents' graves. To make matters worse, Superman realized the purpose of the tears was to create a fake bomb. To save Jimmy, Superman tricked him into thinking it only created artificial light.
In "The Mystery of the Crimson Avenger," Superman, Batman, and Robin encountered a mysterious would-be hero calling himself the "Crimson Avenger." The character was an inventor named Albert Elwood, who patterned his alter-ego on one of DC's first masked heroes. Unfortunately, the figure did more harm than good.
At one point, when fighting the Octopus Gang, the Crimson Avenger aimed a device against the criminals and hit Superman and Batman instead. This caused the two heroes to inflate like balloons and float away. The effect was temporary but proved especially dangerous for Batman as he nearly plummeted to the ground. The Crimson Avenger behind the transformation turned out to be an Octopus Gang member in disguise, and the real Elwood helps save the day.
In “The Catwoman’s Black Magic," Superman's love interest, Lois Lane, was hypnotized by Catwoman into becoming her double. The new villainous Lois Lane remembered Clark Kent was Superman's "friend" and sent zoo animals after him, exposing his identity. The real Catwoman reclaimed her identity and lured Superman to her lair, posing as Lois.
While there, Superman got transformed into a cat and nearly ate the real Lois Lane, who'd been changed into a mouse. In a follow-up story, Batman and Robin rescued Lois just in time, but Super-Cat was stuck in his predicament until Lana Lang used a magic cat's paw to turn him back.
During the story "The Interplanetary Olympics," Superman found himself pit against aliens from other worlds to see how his powers measured up. During the events, Superman humiliated himself each time. Even Lana Lang's suggestion to use kryptonite to increase his powers failed miserably.
In the end, everyone discovered the whole competition had been rigged. The aliens were actually pirates hoping to steal Superman's powers. As he explained to Lana, Superman saw through the ruse and made sure not to exert his strength, which prevented it from being absorbed.
Hello, my name is John Witiw, and you may remember me as a writer for Viral Pirate, Frontrunner Magazine, or Co-Ed, but now I’m here for CBR! Feel free to suggest stories you’d like to see at johnwitiw@yahoo.com!
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