Which villain would be the best "final boss"?

[daBronzeBomma]

So, big-time fan of both the tv show GAME OF THRONES and the book series A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE that inspired it.

It got me thinking: if we ever did get a Superman centric tv show again, and it ran for multiple seasons with a clear overarching plot in mind from series premiere to series finale ...

Who would be that show's final boss villain?

Who could be this self-contained Superverse's equivalent to The Night King?

And before we go any further, let's get one thing clear:

it's NOT Lex Luthor.

Lex is very clearly the entire Lannister clan all rolled into one (Tywin's ruthless brilliance, Circe's murderous pettiness, Jaime's entitled charm, and Tyrion's acidic wit).

He's there from day one and he'll be there at the end. Too omnipresent to be the show's final big bad.

I think, done right, the best choice for this self-contained Superverse's final boss villain is none other than ...

Brainiac.

Brainiac bottling up Metropolis should be the long- dreaded endgame. That event should impact the Superverse even more than Doomsday rampaging through the city, or Zod leveling it.

Mongul could work, but he doesn't have the fear factor that Brainiac automatically brings.

What do you think?

[Vordan]

I like your idea and it does make sense. Brainiac or Darkseid are best suited for the “Night King” type role. We could also have Solaris take on that type of role as a Cthulhu type Big Bad in the background.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Alan Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow provided a very good answer as to who the ultimate boss of Superman's mythos would be in terms of power-level, character, and overall theme.

[qwertyuiop1998]

Darkseid,if not LEX.

[Shadowcat]

I’d love to see someone develop Mongul or Imperiex to that role. Darkseid gets used far too much.

[Superbat]

Darkseid

BUT

It should be like Naruto, where the final boss was a god being but the final battle was against the rival.

[Vampire Savior]

The way I would stage it is like this:

Lex has a key role throughout the entire series. He's mostly an antagonist, but sometimes a grudging ally. As the show progressed it would appear that Superman's final challenge would be against Darkseid, but...

When the great evil Darkseid is defeated, and all seems well, there would be perhaps two more episodes that reveal a twist, and the final confrontation is a one on one with Superman and Lex in his power suit. It wouldn't even necessarily have to be about the fate of the world, like in the Darkseid battle. It could be about something personally involving Superman, Lex, and maybe Lois that was never wrapped up. Or maybe Lex gets the Anti-Life Equation instead of Darkseid. There are a lot of ways you can do it. The point is that it would show that while Darkseid is perhaps the greatest threat, Superman's true personal rival is Lex Luthor.

I'm actually thinking about how in Pokemon Red and Blue, once you beat the Elite Four, you have to somewhat unexpectedly battle Gary Oak as the final boss.

[qwertyuiop1998]

Darkseid

BUT

It should be like Naruto, where the final boss was a god being but the final battle was against the rival.

The way I would stage it is like this:

Lex has a key role throughout the entire series. He's mostly an antagonist, but sometimes a grudging ally. As the show progressed it would appear that Superman's final challenge would be against Darkseid, but...

When the great evil Darkseid is defeated, and all seems well, there would be perhaps two more episodes that reveal a twist, and the final confrontation is a one on one with Superman and Lex in his power suit. It wouldn't even necessarily have to be about the fate of the world, like in the Darkseid battle. It could be about something personally involving Superman, Lex, and maybe Lois that was never wrapped up. Or maybe Lex gets the Anti-Life Equation instead of Darkseid. There are a lot of ways you can do it. The point is that it would show that while Darkseid is perhaps the greatest threat, Superman's true personal rival is Lex Luthor.

I'm actually thinking about how in Pokemon Red and Blue, once you beat the Elite Four, you have to somewhat unexpectedly battle Gary Oak as the final boss.

Same feeling,Supes final boss should be a godlike being,but eventually will back to superman vs lex this two rivals battle

[Arsenal]

Kind of like in GOT where the big bad is the night king but the final fight will be between Dani & Cersei

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Fellas, the final boss of Superman in the greatest final story of Superman is Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow is Mr. Mxyzsptlk, the character originally conceived by Siegel and Shooter to be Superman's most powerful rogue.

So there's already one major candidate tossed, presented, vetted, and approved already.

[llozymandias]

How about the Luthor/Brainiac team?

[Stanlos]

So, big-time fan of both the tv show GAME OF THRONES and the book series A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE that inspired it.

It got me thinking: if we ever did get a Superman centric tv show again, and it ran for multiple seasons with a clear overarching plot in mind from series premiere to series finale ...

Who would be that show's final boss villain?

Who could be this self-contained Superverse's equivalent to The Night King?

And before we go any further, let's get one thing clear:

it's NOT Lex Luthor.

Lex is very clearly the entire Lannister clan all rolled into one (Tywin's ruthless brilliance, Circe's murderous pettiness, Jaime's entitled charm, and Tyrion's acidic wit).

He's there from day one and he'll be there at the end. Too omnipresent to be the show's final big bad.

I think, done right, the best choice for this self-contained Superverse's final boss villain is none other than ...

Brainiac.

Brainiac bottling up Metropolis should be the long- dreaded endgame. That event should impact the Superverse even more than Doomsday rampaging through the city, or Zod leveling it.

Mongul could work, but he doesn't have the fear factor that Brainiac automatically brings.

What do you think?

His most challenging non-deity threats have been Dominus and Mxy, IMHO.

Someone like that or one of the Cathexis would be what I would expect because they are capable of front end and backend manipulation/direction and they have the power to elevate/increase the powers of well known lesser Superman foes.

[Stanlos]

How about the Luthor/Brainiac team?

I think they would be among the Superman villains that were given upgrades by whoever is the real villain. Those two would be an example indirect/behind the scenes meddling since either of their egos would doubtless not want to see themselves as anything other than the leader.

Even if they are not.

[The World]

Ultrahumanite.

[daBronzeBomma]

Liking some of these replies on here. Just going to add my two cents.

A Superman-centric show should not presume the existence of any characters not of the Superverse franchise.

Basically, there is no Justice League coming to the rescue. It's Superfam or bust for this tale.

Hence, imho, Darkseid is kinda not the ideal candidate for the big bad. He's great for the entire Justice League, but for the Superverse alone, he seems like overkill.

Also, while he has established a personal animus with Kal, he more belongs to his own franchise (New Gods) or at-large in the general DCU.

Also, Darkseid brings the other New Gods into this tale, which is like cramming a delicious taco salad into a delicious banana split: two great tastes that do not go great together. Too many foreign aspects to blend together.

If we're going the brickhouse cosmic alien conquerer type, give me the Superverse-native Mongul over the outsider Darkseid for a much more compatible narrative mix.

Just give Mongul back his pre-coie strength and durability while further upping his pre-coie TK and TP abilities.

And turn his WarWorld into a legit Dyson's Sphere powered by a mobile red sun at its core.

As for Mxy?

Sorry, but imho, his depiction in WHTTMOT is such a one-time high outlier that ... it's just not Mxy. Like, at all. Mxy's whole shtick is way more like Star Trek's Q: a nigh-omnipotent being who is not bound by spacetime but for whom mischief (not maliciousness) is their defining characteristic.

A truly evil Mxy is a job for the Spectre, not Superman, unless you like boatloads of PIS in your story (and, as bad as PIS is in print, it's 10x worse onscreen).

Anyway, my two cents. So far.