Superman, explained · Glossary
A to Z.
Every Superman word worth knowing, from Kryptonian names to comics shorthand.
111 terms · each labelled by continuity
A
- Absolute Superman
- A reimagined, darker Kal-El in DC's Absolute line, written by Jason Aaron (2024–)Current comics
- Action Comics
- The anthology that debuted Superman in #1 (June 1938); still publishedComics
- Alura (In-Ze)
- Supergirl's mother, wife of Zor-ElComics, film
- Amalgam Comics
- The 1996–97 DC–Marvel line of mash-up charactersCrossover
- Apokolips
- Darkseid's fire-pit planetComics
- Argo City
- A chunk of Krypton that survived; Supergirl's homeSilver Age, modern
- Atlas annuals
- UK hardback Superman annuals (about 1951–70) reprinting DC storiesUK
B
- Bizarro
- A flawed, backwards Superman copy with reversed powersComics
- Bizarro Code
- The law of Htrae: do the opposite of what Earth doesComics
- Black Mercy
- An alien plant that traps its victim in a perfect dreamComics
- Blue kryptonite
- Harms Bizarros instead of KryptoniansComics
- Bottle City
- Kandor, shrunk and kept under glass (first by Brainiac, 1958)Silver Age
- Brainiac
- A Coluan intellect that shrinks and steals cities; the Man of Tomorrow villainComics, film
- Brainiac 5
- Brainiac's heroic descendant in the Legion of Super-HeroesComics
- Bronze Age
- Comics era from about 1970 to the mid-1980s (boundaries approximate)Era name
C
- Cape
- Part of the costume; how tough it is varies by version (the "made from his baby blankets" origin is popular but Unverified here)Varies
- Cat Grant
- Gossip columnist and later media boss at the Daily Planet or CatCoPost-Crisis, TV
- Clark Kent
- Superman's human name and identity, given by the KentsAll eras
- Continuity
- The official shared history of a comics universe at a given time
- Crisis on Infinite Earths
- The 1985–86 event that merged DC's multiverse and rebooted SupermanComics
- Cyborg Superman
- Hank Henshaw, a half-machine impostor from "Reign of the Supermen"Post-Crisis
D
- Daily Planet
- The Metropolis newspaper where Clark, Lois, Jimmy and Perry workAll eras
- Daily Star
- The Planet's original name in the Golden AgeGolden Age
- Darkseid
- Tyrant of Apokolips, armed with Omega BeamsComics
- DCAU
- The DC Animated Universe (STAS, Justice League, 1990s–2000s)Animation
- DCEU
- The 2013–2023 film universe (Man of Steel, Henry Cavill)Film
- DCU
- James Gunn and Peter Safran's film and TV universe (2024–)Film, TV
- Doomsday
- The bone-spiked monster that killed Superman in 1992Post-Crisis
E
- Earth-One
- The Silver Age world of the main DC heroes (pre-1985)Silver Age
- Earth-Three
- The evil mirror world, home of UltramanSilver Age
- Earth-Two
- The world of DC's Golden Age heroes, including Kal-LGolden Age, Silver Age
- Elseworlds
- DC's label for stories set outside continuity (e.g. Red Son)
- Eradicator
- A Kryptonian artefact that builds the Fortress and tries to rebuild KryptonPost-Crisis
F
- Fifth dimension
- Mr. Mxyzptlk's home, where magic rulesComics
- Fortress key
- A giant key so heavy only Superman can lift it (1958)Silver Age
- Fortress of Solitude
- Superman's secret base, in the Arctic, the Antarctic or elsewhereAll eras
G
- Gold kryptonite
- Permanently removes a Kryptonian's powersComics
- Golden Age
- Comics era from 1938 (Superman's debut) to about the early 1950s (boundaries approximate)Era name
- Green kryptonite
- Radioactive Krypton fragment that weakens and can kill KryptoniansAll eras
H
- Heat vision
- Beams from his eyes; a power added over timeAll eras
- House of El
- Superman's Kryptonian family line (Jor-El, Kal-El, Kara Zor-El)All eras
- Htrae
- The cube-shaped Bizarro World ("Earth" backwards)Silver Age
I
- Imaginary Story
- A Silver Age "what if" outside continuitySilver Age
- Injustice
- Games and comics where a grieving Superman becomes a tyrantGames
- Intergang
- A Metropolis crime syndicate armed by ApokolipsComics
J
- Jimmy Olsen
- Daily Planet photographer and Superman's pal; named on radio in 1940All eras
- Jon Kent
- Clark and Lois's son, born in 2015's Convergence: Superman #2Post-Crisis, Rebirth
- Jonathan and Martha Kent
- The Kansas farmers who adopt and raise ClarkAll eras
- Jor-El
- Superman's father, a Kryptonian scientistAll eras
- Justice League
- DC's superteam, with Superman as a founding pillarAll eras
- Justice Lords
- An alternate Justice League that rules by force (Justice League, 2003)Animation
K
- Kal-El
- Superman's Kryptonian name; first in a comic in Superman #113 (1957)Silver Age
- Kal-L
- The Earth-Two spelling, first in the 1939 newspaper stripGolden Age
- Kandor
- Krypton's capital, shrunk and bottled by BrainiacSilver Age
- Kara Zor-El
- Supergirl, Superman's cousin from Argo CityAll eras
- Kelex
- The robot caretaker of the post-Crisis FortressPost-Crisis
- Kingdom Come
- Waid and Ross's 1996 tale of an older Superman in a harsh hero ageElseworlds
- Kltpzyxm
- Mxyzptlk's name backwards, which sends him homeComics
- Kon-El
- Conner Kent's Kryptonian name, the clone SuperboyPost-Crisis
- Krypto
- Superman's (or, in the DCU, Supergirl's) super-powered dog (1955)All eras
- Krypton
- Superman's home planet, destroyed when he was a babyAll eras
- Kryptonese
- The Kryptonian language; E. Nelson Bridwell made a 118-character alphabetSilver Age
- Kryptonite
- Radioactive pieces of Krypton; colours have different effectsAll eras
L
- Lara (Lor-Van)
- Superman's motherAll eras
- Legion of Super-Heroes
- 30th-century teen heroes inspired by Superboy (1958)Comics
- Lex Luthor
- Superman's arch-enemy: scientist, billionaire, once US PresidentAll eras
- LexCorp
- Luthor's company, from the 1986 rebootPost-Crisis
- Lois Lane
- Star Daily Planet reporter, later Clark's wifeAll eras
M
- Man of Steel
- Superman's nickname; also Byrne's 1986 reboot and the 2013 filmAll eras
- Man of Tomorrow
- A Superman nickname; also the 2027 DCU film titleFilm
- Metallo
- A cyborg with a kryptonite heartComics
- Metropolis
- Superman's cityAll eras
- Mongul
- Warlord of WarworldComics
- Mr. Mxyzptlk
- A fifth-dimensional trickster impComics
- Multiverse
- DC's many parallel Earths
N
- New 52
- DC's 2011 relaunch: younger Superman, no marriageNew 52
O
- Omega Beams
- Darkseid's eye beams that erase or disintegrateComics
P
- Parasite
- A villain who absorbs powers by touchComics
- Pence copy
- A US comic sold in the UK with a pence price or stampUK
- Perry White
- Editor of the Daily Planet; first on radio, 1940All eras
- Phantom Zone
- A ghostly prison dimension for Kryptonian criminals (1961)Silver Age on
- Phantom Zone projector
- The device that sends people into the Zone; kept in the FortressSilver Age on
- Post-Crisis
- Stories from Byrne's 1986 reboot until about 2011Post-Crisis
- Power Girl
- Kara Zor-L, the Earth-Two Supergirl (1976)Comics
- Pre-Crisis
- Everything before Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985–86)Golden Age, Silver Age
R
- Rao
- Krypton's red sun, also worshipped as a god ("Great Rao!")All eras
- Rebirth
- DC's 2016 line refresh that restored Clark and Lois's marriageRebirth
- Red kryptonite
- Causes strange, unpredictable effects (often temporary)Comics
- Red Son
- Mark Millar's 2003 Elseworlds: Superman raised in the Soviet UnionElseworlds
- Red sun
- Removes Kryptonian powers (Superman #141, 1960)All eras
- Reign of the Supermen
- The 1993 story of four Supermen after his deathPost-Crisis
S
- S-shield
- The chest emblem: "S for Superman" originally; modern versions say it's the House of El crest meaning "hope"Varies
- Silver Age
- Comics era from about 1956 to about 1970 (boundaries approximate)Era name
- Smallville
- Clark's Kansas home town; also the 2001–11 TV seriesAll eras
- Solar battery
- His cells store yellow sunlight as powerPost-Crisis on
- Solar flare
- A modern power that empties his reserves, leaving him weak for about a dayNew 52
- Steel
- John Henry Irons, an armoured engineer hero (1993)Post-Crisis
- Sunstone
- A Kryptonian crystal that grows a Fortress (2006)Post-Crisis
- Superboy
- Young Clark (1945); later also Conner Kent and Jon KentAll eras
- Superboy-Prime
- The "real-world" Superboy (1985) who became a villainComics
- Supergirl
- Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El, and other heroes with the nameAll eras
- Superman-Prime
- The far-future Superman of DC One Million (1998). Not Superboy-PrimeComics
- Superwoman
- Lois Lane with powers (from 1943) and other charactersComics
T
- Truth, justice and…
- The motto: "the American way" from 1942 radio; "a better tomorrow" from 2021All eras
U
- Ultraman
- The evil Superman of Earth-Three; a Luthor-made clone in the 2025 filmComics, film
V
- Van Kull
- The prison where Lex starts Man of TomorrowDCU
- Virus X
- "Kryptonian leprosy", a deadly illness (1962)Silver Age
W
- Warsuit
- Lex Luthor's green-and-purple battle armour (1983)Comics, film
- Warworld
- Mongul's planet-sized battle stationComics
X
- X-ray vision
- He can see through anything except leadAll eras
Z
- Zod
- Kryptonian general, often sent to the Phantom ZoneAll eras
Keep exploring.
Terms with their own page are linked. Era labels: Golden Age (to 1955), Silver Age (1956 to 1985), Post-Crisis (from 1986), New 52 (2011), Rebirth (2016).