Superman is by far one of the most iconic and recognizable creations in all of pop culture, yet he’s had a tenuous history recently in the live-action. The inaugural film of the DC Extended Universe, Man of Steel, introduced Henry Cavill as the newest person to play the last son of Krypton.
However, following recent production mishaps and poor reception to several films, it seems like a different Kryptonian will become a prevalent face for the franchise instead, with Sasha Calle set to appear as Supergirl in The Flash. Regardless of how future projects unfolds, there are several characters who could join Superman and/or Supergirl in the DCEU.
Superboy
Of course, the most important supporting character to Superman would be Superboy, his protégé and – depending on who – his successor. Although the character was initially established simply as the younger self of Kal-El/Clark Kent, the moniker was then applied to several younger heroes. There is Kon-El/Connor Kent – best recognized by his leather jacket look – who is actually Superman’s clone and is featured predominantly in Young Justice and Titans.
Alternatively, there is also Superman and Lois Lane's biological son, Jon Kent, who fans might remember came out as bisexual recently, and Chris Kent, General Zod’s son who then uses the title Nightwing as a hero. As more of Superman and Supergirl’s stories get explored in the DCEU, any of the Superboys could be incorporated soon.
Brainiac
In DC comics, Superman has one of the best rogues' galleries, only beat out by Batman’s iconic villains. One of his most formidable and dangerous enemies, Brainiac, has never appeared in a live-action film. Repeatedly he had been considered for future Superman films during each revival, yet they never lasted long enough.
Despite changes to the DCEU and the supposed departure from Zack Snyder’s vision, hopefully fans will be able to see Brainiac’s galactic conquest in a future film. He has an important relationship with Krypton, having shrunk and captured the capital city of Kandor and in some continuities, being responsible for the planet’s destruction. As such, he could still play a role in Supergirl’s unfolding story.
Lana Lang
Some of Superman’s best supporting characters have roots similar to him – minus the alien aspect – such as Lana Lang. She is often depicted as a childhood friend from Smallville and as such, she’s been featured in live-action repeatedly in adaptations like Smallville and Superman & Lois. Although primarily recognized as a civilian, Lana has also spent considerable time as a superhero.
She operated as the Insect Queen for a time, and most recently following the Rebirth event in DC comics, both she and Lois received powers comparable to Superman. They both called themselves Superwoman and operated as fully-fledged superheroes – though it didn’t last forever, as she was seemingly depowered later.
Krypto the Superdog
Superman’s most loyal ally could be no one else than Krypto the Superdog. As he was introduced around the same time as the young Clark Kent iteration of Superboy, Krypto’s origins have been explored repeatedly over the decades. He has also steadily appeared alongside Superman in different media and even helmed a few animated projects on his own, like the upcoming film, DC's League of Super-Pets voiced by Dwayne Johnson.
There is even more of a possibility to see Krypto soon in the DCEU now that Supergirl joining The Flash. Alternatively, the powers that be could choose to introduce Streaky the Supercat instead. Regardless, many audiences would certainly be excited to see Krypto or other super-pets in the DCEU.
Steel
John Henry Irons is just a human who sought to continue Superman’s good work following his death by Doomsday, forging himself into Steel and becoming a powerful member of the Superman Family. He has since become an important and consistent ally to Superman, and his own niece, Natasha Irons, followed in his footsteps for some time too.
John and/or Natasha would certainly fit in as part of the DC Extended Universe and could be introduced in the supposed Supergirl film likely to follow The Flash. In part, they would nicely fill a void among the DCEU’s heroes as people enhanced by their intelligence and technology, rather than being living gods like Superman, Wonder Woman, and even Aquaman.
Lobo
Since Superman is one of the strongest heroes in comics, many of his villains are equally powerful and dangerous, though some are strangely underrated, like Lobo. The interstellar mercenary hails from the planet Czarnia and was first introduced in 1983 as a strict villain, but he gained considerable popularity in the next decade as more of an anti-hero.
He’s since gone on to headline his own series, even joining the Justice League and Young Justice teams for a spell. There have been rumors for years that a Lobo-centric film was in the works as part of the DCEU, though it’s never gained much traction. Nevertheless, his unique characterizations and vocabulary would make for an interesting antagonist or even a protagonist in a Peacemaker-style TV show.
Superman (Val-Zod)
On Earth-2, Clark Kent is not the only person to call themselves Superman, nor was he the only Kryptonian to survive the planet’s destruction. Val-Zod – no known relation to Superman’s iconic archenemy, General Zod – took up the mantle in 2014 following his adoptive brother’s demise. He even joined the Wonder of the World, that universe’s version of the Justice League.
In July 2021, Michael B. Jordan announced that he is developing an HBO Max limited series featuring Val-Zod as Superman, hopefully launching the character to popularity outside the comics. Audiences will likely have to wait for a long while to see this come to fruition due to Jordan’s rightfully busy schedule.
Mon-El
Superman has an important connection to the Legion of Super-Heroes of the 31st Century as one of the earliest members, having been displaced into the future in his youth as Superboy. The team eventually headlined in their own comics without Superboy, though another character came to fill that void, Lar Gand AKA Mon-El. He is most often depicted as a Daxamite, who differ from a Kryptonian in their weakness to lead rather than Kryptonite.
Many fans will recognize Mon-El from CW’s Supergirl, played by Chris Wood, who goes on to join the Legion in the series. It seems rather unlikely that the DCEU will explore the Legion of Super-Heroes and thus Mon-El’s stories anytime soon since there is still so much to establish in the current continuity.
Super-Man (Kong Kenan)
In 2016, a new Superman was introduced in the comics. Kong Kenan is a Chinese teenager who gains the powers of his idol Superman and becomes the Super-Man of China. Although he starts off as a bully, he learns what it means to be a hero. Nevertheless, his juvenile and brash nature often get him into trouble.
He along with other Chinese variations of Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Aquaman form the Justice League of China. Due to Kong’s fresh history in the comics, he has yet to appear in any other medium, but the reception to his story was positive, so he would be a welcome sight in the DCEU.
Power Girl
At this point, it is still unknown as to what version of Supergirl Sasha Calle will be playing in The Flash – though it is logical to assume that she is the commonly known Supergirl of Earth-1 rather than a multiversal variant. Nevertheless, she is still then able to play her Earth-2 counterpart, Power Girl. She tends to behave more maturely than Supergirl, though when fighting she can be more aggressive and ruthless.
Interestingly, footage of there being multiple Flash's in The Flash played by Ezra Miller has led to theories that there too could be a different version of other characters including Supergirl. Hence, audiences could be seeing Power Girl sooner than they thought – only time will tell.