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Superman is known for his all-perfect attitude to the extent of being called a boring boy scout. The hero is known to have a stable and loving upbringing and a high standard of moral values. As such, he fights evil only to save the good and has no joy in battles, destruction, and revenge. However, existing for a long time and in various timelines has its downside.
The flying hero has given his readers many stories where he is downright nasty. While he sometimes behaves like a bully, at others, he is downright disgusting.
Comic readers accept that the portrayal of the Kryptonian will depend on the writer of the series and will often mirror the socially acceptable behavior at the time of the publication. However, a quick look will show that Superman is sometimes being racist and sometimes sexist. There have been times when the Kyrytonian shocked his fans too.
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Disclaimer: Instances are listed in no particular order.
Wrecking cars, spanking Lois Lane, and other instances when Superman was wicked and behaved badly
1) Superman killed the Joker
Though a superhero-based video game, the Injustice series brought out the worst in the alien superhero after it was expanded into comics. In Injustice: Gods Among Us, the hero turns into a tyrant in his grief. A series of events turned him into a killer against his own golden rule.
The Man of Steel lost his self-control after The Joker tricked him into murdering a pregnant Lois Lane along with his unborn child. As Lois died, a nuclear bomb tuned to her heartbeat detonated, destroying the city of Metropolis. An enraged Superman killed the Joker and ended up as a dominating tyrant.
2) He bullied Olsen even when he adopted him
Jimmy Olsen expressed regret for being an orphan in Jimmy Olsen #30. In an admirable answer to that, the Kryptonian hero adopted him. Later, when he misread his calculator, telling him that he would "destroy his son” instead of “destroy his sun”, he decided to scare Olsen away from the relationship.
However, the steps he took were cruel and made him look like a jerk. This included making Olsen do all household chores, insulting him, and burning the Dad’s Day gift brought by Olsen. Thankfully, Jimmy gets the message and walks out of the adoption.
In Jimmy Olsen #98, Superman even gets Jimmy married to a gorilla.
3) He turned ruthless as Red-Son
This arc was created by Mark Millar in his Elseworlds stories. In the case of Kal-El’s spaceship landing in the Soviet Union, he would grow up in a communist regime loyal to that nation. In this storyline, Lex Luthor opposed him from the United States. Since the story portrays Luthor as a good character, readers found his imperfections smart.
However, the superhero is depraved in handling the common man. All the dissidents, whoever opposed him, were transformed into mindless drones so that they could worship Superman.
4) He fought the Justice League
The New 52 series revealed Justice League as a team of mismatched metahumans who are neither friends nor foes to each other. When Batman and Green Lantern landed in Metropolis after escaping the authorities, the Kryptonian hero did not treat them well. The protector of Metropolis ended up pushing them into a scuffle.
5) He was merciless as Superboy
In one issue of the Superboy series, the teenager is shown babysitting a super baby. The bawling tantrums from the super baby irritate the angsty Kent boy to the point that he reaches the end of his patience. He tosses the baby up to the stratosphere so that he can have a peaceful time.
Being a super baby, the child was not hurt. However, the act was irresponsible for the alien hero since he was brought up by the morally correct Kents. This looks very unlike the canon Clark Kent fans like.
6) Superman became a zombie in one of the arcs
In Blackest Night 2009, death powered the long-dead with black power rings and brought them back as zombies. This gave rise to the Black Lanterns. Many of the DC heroes died and came back as zombies, including Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Arrow. The Man of Steel seemed evil unlimited as a zombie with rotting flesh and an exposed jaw till all was saved.
7) He ill-treated Lois Lane under the pretext of helping her
There have been various occasions where the Kryptonian hero mistreated the love of his life. In Lois Lane #5, he hit her with a fat ray, making her gain 100 pounds. He pretended not to recognize her and also ended up body-shaming her. He even reasoned that he inflicted all that upon her to disguise her as a way to protect her.
In Lois Lane #14, Superman installed guard robots that looked like him around his home. These were coded to spank Lois Lane. So, when she lands up in his house, she is identified by the bots, put on house arrest, and spanked until Clark returns home.
8) He destroyed cars and tenements
Action Comics #12 introduced the violent side of the Man of Steel when he waged a war against reckless drivers. Today’s world recognizes the intent of promoting safe driving, but the superhero chose smashing cars over words for slogans and awareness.
When the Kryptonian heard the town mayor criticizing the tenement buildings, he took the law into his hands and decided to smash the buildings. There was no discussion with the residents or collaboration with the authorities. The superhero destroyed the tenements to build new houses for the residents.
9) While pretending to help him, Superman was insensitive to Batman
In Batman: Noel, Batman felt cheerless one Christmas time. Clark decided to play the happy friend trying to shake Bruce Wayne out of despondency. In his attempt, the Kryptonian forcefully flew the caped hero up into the sky to show how the residents of Gotham were celebrating the grand festival. Though not evil, this tactless move is a breach into personal space and could be infuriating.
10) He has repetitive problems with Batman
In one Batman classic story, Poison Ivy brainwashed the Kryptonian alien, making him do unspeakable things. Batman’s Kryptonite ring helped the caped hero control the mighty fighter and finally, with the help of Catwoman, the superhero could break off the influence of Poison Ivy.
In another story arc, both Superman and Batman time travel to Revolutionary War. Trying to avenge his lack of importance, the flying superhero framed the caped crusader for witchcraft. From crushing coal into a diamond on his doorstep to riding a broomstick dressed as Batman, he succeeded in getting Wayne arrested. Though under the possession of evil spirits, these manipulative acts are quite unworthy of the superhero.
In The Dark Knight Returns, a power-hungry Superman assisted a corrupt government. While the flying hero destroyed planes and contested allies, Batman retired peacefully. Except that the Kryptonian would not allow the Dark Knight to stay in peace but continued to battle an elderly Bruce. As such, the two heroes have often battled each other.
These are just some of the moments when the Kryptonian behaved like a jerk. However, for the most part, the superhero has maintained his all-perfect attitude and has managed to behave in his signature good person manner.
