Superman Was Totally Powerless Against One Forgotten Marvel Villain
Despite his many victories over powerful enemies, Superman has had a few losses over his career, one of which was handed to him by a little-known Marvel antagonist, Terminus. In the rare instances where Marvel and DC's paths have intersected, audiences have gotten to see how characters like Captain America and Batman would fare in a canon match-up. These crossovers would also reveal the shocking limits of certain superheroes, even ones as powerful as Superman.
The limited series JLA/Avengers (conversely known as Avengers/JLA) was a crossover co-published by DC and Marvel. The series was first envisioned in 1979, but production issues would prevent the comic from becoming a reality until September 2003. Drawn by George Pérez and written by Kurt Busiek, the miniseries involves the Justice League and the Avengers fighting to save both their worlds after two cosmic figures from each universe meet.
Central to this multiverse-wide conflict is the exiled Guardian Krona who traverses all of creation, searching for truth in the origin of the universe. He finds himself in the Marvel universe and meets Elder of the Universe, Grandmaster and before long, a game between the two cosmic beings begins. In separate dimensions, however, much more explosive confrontations happen as both the Avengers and the Justice League get caught up fighting forces from one another's world. Starro has invaded the Marvel universe, while the DCU has been assaulted by a villain known as Terminus.
While Starro provides his own unique challenge to the Avengers, the heroes of the DC Universe are thrust into absolute chaos at the presence of Terminus. His introduction to the DCU has him sending the Man of Steel flying as the rest of the Justice League struggle to protect their world from the ensuing damage. As Terminus stakes his claim on this new world, Batman deduces the source of Terminus' great power comes from his staff, a fact is proven unfortunately true when Superman takes the full brunt of its force, rendering him completely immobile. As Superman remains stunned, the rest of the Justice League quickly coordinate a counterattack and utilize Plastic Man as a blindfold while Green Lantern reroutes the blasts coming from the staff. Superman is freed and the day is saved, but the battle is merely a small glimpse of the epic struggle to come.
It's hard to determine which comic book characters would beat others in a fight, even within one universe. By having Superman experience a threat so strange and powerful from a faraway universe, the question is raised what else will challenge the Man of Tomorrow and if he'll be able to overcome it? Despite Terminus not being the most well-known or accomplished foe of the Marvel universe, he beat Superman in a fight, something only a few villains can claim.
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