As DC's flagship character and one of the first superheroes ever created, Superman is like the king of superheroes, and commands an iconic legacy that stretches back some 85 years. His powers are well known by now: he can fly, has super speed, virtually unlimited strength, super hearing, X-ray vision, is practically impenetrable, and can shoot laser beams from his eyes, to boot.
He's so powerful that fan debates around who could beat him have been going on for decades and decades. Yet, for all his Godlike abilities, he's famously also far from invincible, since just a little piece of the green rock known as kryptonite from his home planet is enough to kill him.
Marvel may not have a superhero quite like Superman, but the MCU has still been a treat for their fans and moviegoers in general with the massive selection of powerful characters we've seen from it so far. No one's doubting Superman's legendary status among superheroes or suggesting he'd be a pushover by any means. However, given the right circumstances, as seemingly unbeatable as he is, these MCU characters could probably still defeat him in a fight.
10 Thor
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As the God of Thunder, Thor has displayed some immense feats during his time in the MCU. Even when he seems weakened, he often levels up and uses lightning to charge himself to new levels of strength. If that's not enough, he wields weapons like Mjölnir and Stormbreaker, sentient enchanted weapons imbued with cosmic power.
How Thor Would Beat Superman
All the evidence tends to point towards Thor being more powerful. After all, theoretically, nothing is supposed to be able to stop Mjölnir returning to him, even a man of steel. However, we know from crossover comic books that the pair have actually fought, with Superman defeating him, and even catching Mjölnir in the process. So, the theoretical possibility aside, Thor would probably have to concede this one.
9 The Hulk
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Marvel's favorite green giant and Superman have been the subject of countless fan opinions and even crossover match-ups that saw them actually going at it on many occasions. The Hulk is renowned for one thing: his incredible strength. Stemming from his exposure to gamma radiation, his anger issues are legendary, with his strength reaching some iconic heights over the course of his history. However, Superman's strength is legendary, and he has a myriad of other powers, too.
How The Hulk Would Beat Superman
This one's admittedly far from cut and dry, with most classical fights between the two usually going the way of Superman, since he can fly and would probably end up just tossing The Hulk into space or something. However, there have been iterations (not in the MCU) of The Hulk where his strength has grown to practically limitless lengths, and we know he only gets stronger the angrier you make him.
The Hulk could probably take a thorough beating, and even the laser eyes might not do him much damage. As a clincher, DC themselves have admitted he could beat Superman, so we'll leave this one within the realm of possibility despite past encounters.
Here's a clip of an awesome rendering of how a fan/animator envisioned this fight possibly going down:
8 Iron Man
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Tony Stark is, of course, just a man when he's not in an Iron Man suit. However, his formidable mind makes him anything but ordinary, and he often uses that incredible intellect of his to devastating effect. In a straight-up fight, even with all of Iron Man's speed and firepower when he's suited up, he still wouldn't really stand a chance against the last son of Krypton, but that doesn't mean he can't beat him.
How Iron Man Would Beat Superman
Despite Superman regularly taking out other worldly beings, far more powerful than Iron Man, we know his arch enemy is actually just an evil version of Tony Stark. Lex Luthor is a billionaire genius, but also just a man. Yet, he's inflicted some horrific beatings on him over the years by using his brain power to diabolically brilliant effect.
While Lex is formidable, Tony Stark is more resourceful, tenacious, and has a bigger ego, that makes him unable to ever accept defeat. Knowing him, he'd likely figure out Superman's weakness, send him chasing a hologram of himself, and fire a weapon made of Kryptonite at him when he least expects it. He just has to avoid being hit, even once, while doing it.
7 Kang the Conqueror
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This is a tricky one. Kang the Conqueror is still slated to be the Avenger's next Thanos-level villain, despite the off-screen woes of Johnathan Majors once making it seem like the character would be scrapped. We've already gotten a taste of his powers, but its true extent stems from his 'time ship' and the fact that he has access to advanced technology from the future that gives him an edge in virtually any contest.
How Kang the Conqueror Would Beat Superman
Kang's multiversal travels have produced variants of him, with the most powerful one we've seen alluding to the fact that he's already conquered and destroyed entire universes and defeated powerful heroes like Thor in them. If he's able to access his ship and the tech he has at his disposal from it, he could likely possess the means to beat Superman. However, if he doesn't, and it comes down to a straight-up fight, it's highly unlikely he'd stand any chance against Kal-El.
6 Dr. Strange
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As a master of the mystic arts, Dr. Strange is one of Marvel's most complex characters with a command of magic that's basically unmatched. Leaving aside his many adventures over the years from the comic books, his exploits in the MCU alone have shown us just how powerful he can be. His ability to conjure portals, effect matter, and cast all manner of spells sometimes felt almost limitless at times in the movies.
How Dr. Strange Would Beat Superman
Aside from being a tactical mastermind, we've seen Strange do some pretty unbelievable things. Never one to rest on his laurels, his continuous studying and willingness to tamper with dark spells mean he has an endless trove of knowledge to manufacture a solution to beat Superman. If all else fails, we know if he has the Time Stone, so he can simply weigh up every scenario where Superman is defeated and make it happen.
5 Hela
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The half sister of Thor, Hela showed us in Thor: Ragnarok just how powerful and ruthless she can be. As the Goddess of Death, her powers include astral projection, the ability to manipulate dark magic, levitation, and being able to fire devastating energy bolts. She's taken out entire armies by herself, including Asgard's, which included a battalion of the legendary Valkyrie warriors. Even Thor himself couldn't stop her himself and had to summon Surtur, a mythological fire demon, to do it for him.
How Hela Would Beat Superman
Hela's ruthless nature and catastrophic powers are difficult to contend with on their own. However, it's her strength that gives her the best edge. Mjölnir was forged from the heart of a dying star and made of a rare cosmic metal called Uru. Nothing is supposed to be able to stand in its way when wielded by Thor, yet In Ragnarok, Hela caught and then crushed Mjölnir with her bare hand. If anyone is capable of beating Superman on strength alone, it's her.
4 Thanos
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The Mad Titan has already shown us not only how ruthless he can be, but also how effective he can be at killing just about anyone in his path. In the MCU, Thanos wiped the floor with everyone from the Hulk to Captain Marvel and barely broke a sweat doing it. He also wiped out half of all life in the universe.
How Thanos Would Beat Superman
Even on raw power alone, Thanos proved he could compete with beings as strong as Superman. However, it's with the Infinity Stones that he truly comes to prominence. With them, he could turn Superman to dust and literally do it with just a snap of his fingers.
3 Professor X
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With the X-men only recently being officially introduced to the MCU, it felt fitting that it was Professor X himself we got to see in it first. As the founder of the iconic team of mutants, he's also proven to be one of the most powerful. Even though we never saw that in the MCU since the Scarlet Witch defeated him easily, to be fair, it was an older version of him. Professor X, at the peak of his powers, makes for a far more formidable opponent than we've seen in the MCU so far.
How Professor X Would Beat Superman
We've gotten far better glimpses of his full range of powers from the X-Men movies themselves. Aside from being the world's most powerful telepath, Charles Xavier has displayed other stunning uses of his powers. For example, beyond X2 and other films, he proved that he could basically freeze time for everyone around him. Xavier might be the closest match to Lex Luthor, since he is also considered a technological genius, aside from his obvious amplified brainpower.
While his powers on their own are formidable, if he has access to Cerebro, his telepathic abilities are amplified, and he can instantly kill everyone on the planet with his thoughts by simply concentrating. His ability to get inside a person's head and warp their reality means there are endless ways he could simply drive Superman mad, or worse, get to him through his other great weakness — Lois Lane.
2 The Scarlet Witch
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In Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we got a taste of the full extent of Wanda Maximoff's powers when she's The Scarlet Witch. Her actions in the film saw her easily reduce Kamar-Taj to ruins, breaking through all of its defenses and wiping out its defenders like they weren't even there. If that wasn't shocking enough, she faced the superhero group The Illuminati in an alternate universe and took them down just as easily.
How The Scarlet Witch Would Beat Superman
The Scarlet Witch boasts a virtually unstoppable mix of abilities: telekinesis, manipulating energy fields, warping reality, acting as a conduit for powerful dark magic, and using hexes as an expression of 'chaos magic.' Wanda's most devastating attribute is the ability to get inside her opponents' heads, so it's not hard to imagine her being able to defeat Superman without even needing to throw a single punch. Of course, she'd need to do all this without him knowing an attack was coming, because he could use his speed and strength to get her on the ropes quickly.
1 Captain Marvel
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Probably the closest thing to a Marvel hero on a similar footing as Superman, Captain Marvel possesses the ability to fly, as well as super speed, super strength, and devastating energy manipulation that she can channel in powerful ways. She's taken on many beings from other worlds and also has alien DNA since an accident merged hers with a Kree soldier's.
How Captain Marvel Would Beat Superman
It's likely that with brute strength alone and a fair fight, Superman would scrape by as the winner. However, Captain Marvel has often been shown to have a nearly indomitable will, so it isn't hard to imagine that she could manufacture a way to find his weakness and exploit it, giving her the edge. Even if not, the fact that she's one of the few Marvel heroes who can at least go toe-to-toe with him in a straight-up fight is still pretty impressive.
Superman is Still Awesome
While this is all likely to anger Superman fans and Marvel fans a great deal, here's why it shouldn't: despite appearances, this is by no means a sleight against Superman or anyone in the MCU. There's no shame in admitting that the Man of Steel can beat, easily or not, anyone Marvel could ever throw at him — he is basically a god, after all.
Beyond this fact, even the most ardent of Marvel fans would have to admit that it's his immortal heritage that gives him the edge. Love or hate him, there's no denying that Superman will always be the poster child for Superheroes, with a supreme legacy that will likely never be eclipsed.
Lastly, if you think agonizing over the hypothetical battles of a fictional character is pointless and has no value, here's an excerpt from an article that aptly describes why Superman (and by extension, superheroes in general) have such a positive impact on the world:
"Superman has gone on to have multiple iterations and adaptations over the years, constantly evolving and telling new stories while simultaneously instilling moral values and inspiring people to be something greater, to be better, to be super. The character has helped a lot of people in his lifetime, whether it means giving courage to a kid to stand up against his bullies in school, being the symbol of hope that shines as a beam of light helping you get through a dark part of your life.
Why is the character so inspiring? The answer to that question is pretty simple. Even though Superman is a character with absolute power, he chooses to use that power for the benefit of the people, and the world as a whole, contradicting against the saying 'absolute power corrupts absolutely.'"
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