Choose the 24 best supporting (good, evil, neutral) Superverse characters

[daBronzeBomma]

Btw, Clark automatically gets the 0th spot.

Think of it like 5 x 5 grid of characters with Superman at dead-center. 25 characters in all.

How to divide the remaining 24 spots?

Up to you, tho I'd suggest either

A) 12 mostly-positive characters with 12 mostly-negative characters

B) 8 good, 8 neutral, 8 evil.

These are the 24 Superverse supporting characters of any moral alignment, and they can be obscure or obvious. They do have to have some interaction with Clark in one of his guises.

My first try:

1. Lois Lane
2. Lex Luthor
3. Krypto
4. Brainiac
5. Martha Kent
6. Faora/Ursa (whichever is the sociopathic loner)
7. Perry White
8. Mongul
9. Jonathan Kent (Senior/Pa)
10. Karen Starr (1 merged Kara)
11. Lady Blaze
12. Doomsday
13. John Henry Irons
14. Bizarro
15. Cat Grant
16. Mxyzptlk
17. Lar Gand (drastic revamp)
18. Nuclear Man (drastic revamp)
19. Lana Lang
20. Parasite
21. Morgan Edge
22. Maxima
23. Metallo
24. Lucy Lane

What would your list look like?

[Jon Clark]

1) Lois Lane- Neutral as she can bring out Superman's better qualities or his worst depending on the writer.
2) Lana Lang- Negative as she traps him in his boyhood and the Clark Kent side of his personality
3) Jimmy Olsen- negative as he seems to exist simply to cause problems for Superman to solve
4) Lex Luthor- Negative in that his continued role in modern stories is to render Superman ineffective. Superman just can't get an upperhand.
5) Supergirl- neutral as she can add a lot to Superman's character but can also be used to undermine him (Kal as bad cousin, Kal as less powerful)
6) John Henry Irons- positive embodiment of Superman's values from a human perspective.
7) Mon-El - Positive in that he lets young Clark be himself. Provides someone Clark can relate to on his own level.
8) Krypto- positive in that he lets Superman enjoy himself and cut loose.
9) Cat Grant- neutral as she has been portrayed positively as a fellow journalist and sympathetic friend for Clark, but also is tainted by a number of attempts to make her "catty" in personality (sexually aggressive, petty, )
10) Steve Lombard- negative as every attempt to grow him past a stereotypical jock seem to get reset.
11) Trish Q- positive. A reporter who actually is doing her job.
12) Ron Troupe- Positive, a reporter who is on Clark & Lois' level without needing continual rescues by Superman
13) Jonathan Kent (Sr)- Neutral. Shown reasonable well during Clark's youth. Character tends to undermine Superman/boy's agency though.
14) Pete Ross- Positive Provides someone for Clark to relate to who is a regular kid growing up.
15) Carl "Moosie" Draper- negative, Sad-sack who grows up to be a supervillain obsessed with Lana
16) Kenny "Conduit" Braverman: negative, another Smallville native gone bad
17) Martha Clark Kent: negative. Superman's unkillable parent who thrives on her ability to reduce Earth's Greatest Hero to a momma's boy unable to think for himself (see [I]Man of Steel[, Superman Returns, and Justice League/I])
18) Jor-El- negative, a one-time scientist whose sole accomplishment was to save his son, Jor-El has become the smartest being on Krypton, the "person" who motivates Superman, Mr. Oz, destroyer of Krypton, gadfly of the universe …
19) Frank, doorman at 333 Clinton Ave- neutral
20) Chloe Sullivan- Positive- gives Clark a confidant in on the secret who isn't a love interest
21) Susie Thompkins- positive addition by giving both Lois and Clark a complication not related to their romantic relationship.
22) Bobby Bigmouth- positive, Lois and Clark having an underworld snitch is a great idea.
23) Inspector Hawkins- positive, Love the idea of a detective who decides to put his skills to the ultimate test by deducing Superman's secret identity. And he makes a return visit later.
24) Lena Luthor- neutral. Loved the Pre-Crisis woman who was Lex's sister but unaware of it. Hated the versions that were just female versions of Lex (looking at you Supergirl)

[Kuwagaton]

A little different from just villains or allies since for example, Doomsday doesn't really work as supporting cast, you know? Starting from the top:

Lois - Pos, and pretty obvious
Lex - Neg, incredibly enduring
Jimmy - Pos, also very enduring and extremely successful as a spin off
Perry - Pos, DP main character makes him hotbed for extension characters
Kara - Pos, pretty obvious
Brainiac - Neg, the second greatest villain
Pa Kent - Pos, sorry Ma but they give him more relevance by far still
Lana - Clark's friend in every phase
Mxy - Neu, the heart of imagination
Ham - Pos, contender for "best friend" from about 1987-2002
Kon-el - Pos, poster boy and adopted family
John Henry - the Earth to Superman's Sky
Bizarro - Neu, the second best source of gags
Zod - Neg, forced his way to being a top villain
Henshaw - Neg, the closest to his Joker as a character
Parasite - Neg, extremely versatile villain(s)
Darkseid - Neg, the most formidable villain
Maggie - Pos, a milestone character who's been able to branch further
Dominus - Neg, had a whole year run as the main villain
Steve - Neu, somehow this guy always makes it
Cat - Pos, almost gave it to Ron but Cat's slightly more relevant
Lucy - Pos, a versatile supporting character,
Mongul - Neg, keeps Superman's foot in space
Prankster - Neg, I'll just always root for this fool

[daBronzeBomma]

Hmmm ... here's my 2nd attempt ... more Metropolis-based this time (sorry Ma and Pa) ... p = positive, n = negative, z= zero / neutral

1. Lois Lane - p
2. Lex Luthor - n
3. Cat Grant - z
4. Kara / Karen Starr - p
5. Brainiac - n
6. Morgan Edge - z
7. Krypto - p
8. Faora - n
9. Steve Lombard - z
10. Jimmy Olsen - p
11. Mongul - n
12. Lucy Lane - z
13. Perry White - p
14. Doomsday - n
15. Ron Troupe - z
16. John Henry Irons - p
17. Mxyzptlk - n
18. Maggie Sawyer - z
19. Mercy - z
20. Lady Blaze - n
21. Sam Lane - p
22. Bibbo - p
23. Metallo - n
24. Bizarro - z

Hmmm ... instead of a 5x5 grid, maybe I need a 7x7 grid. 49 Superverse characters total, 48 non-Clark characters to be divvied up however which way ...

[KC]

Positive:

1. Lois Lane
2. Superboy (Jon Kent)
3. Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)
4. Superboy (Kon-El)
5. Krypto
6. Ma Kent
7. Jor-El
8. Jimmy Olsen
9. Perry White
10. Maggie Sawyer
11. Lana Lang
12. Steel (John Henry Irons)

Negative:

1. Lex Luthor
2. Brainiac
3. Zod
4. Mister Mxyzptlk
5. Doomsday
6. Mongul
7. Cyborg Superman
8. Bizzaro
9. Parasite
10. Metallo
11. Silver Banshee
12. Toyman