Threaten Those He Loves

Superman is a true hero. As a general rule, he has morals and is a decent guy. He also has a lot of people around him who he cares for and loves – and that can be a weakness for a hero. Therefore, if a character threatens those people, there’s every chance Superman could surrender and admit defeat.

The kind of people we’re talking about include his Earth parents Martha and Jonathan Kent, his longtime love interests Lois Lane and Lana Lang, his Kryptonian family (such as Supergirl, Power Girl and his dog Krypto), his fellow Justice League members and even good old Jimmy Olsen.

Superman would even sacrifice himself for some of those people and that’s an emotional weakness that his enemies know they can exploit.

Characters that have done this kind of thing before include the likes of The Joker, Lex Luthor and Darkseid.