With the success of the recent Superman film, fans around the world are unsurprisingly excited for a sequel. Director, producer, and writer James Gunn recently gave moviegoers an update on the next movie by announcing the script had been written and teasing a reluctant Superman and Lex Luthor team-up.

This makes one wonder what new threat could be heading their way that would make the two of them want to fight side-by-side? Let’s explore a few of the options from the comic books.

Brainiac

Brainiac seems to be the most obvious choice. He’s one of the biggest bads of the DC Universe, and it often takes characters teaming up in order to stop him. He’s more intelligent than Lex Luthor and is extremely powerful, so it would make sense for them to join forces against him. 

I personally prefer him being more of a Justice League villain, but he was originally a Superman antagonist. Plus, his appearance this early in this universe could lead to the appearances of other fun characters like Brainiac 5 and Brainiac Queen. It’s also worth noting that there was a picture of a brian on the script image that James Gunn posted, which might be a hint, but it could mean a lot of things.

Darkseid

Darkseid is more of a villain for the DC Universe as a whole, but he’s certainly someone Superman cannot face alone and would pose a threat to all of humanity, including Lex. Perhaps they aren’t able to fully defeat him in this next movie, which would build him up to battle the Justice League and other heroes. It feels a little odd to use him in a Superman-specific movie, but it would still be entertaining.

Other New Gods

If not Darkseid, other New Gods would be a great choice. The New Gods work alongside or under Darkseid, but are still incredibly powerful. These otherworldly beings, like DeSaad, Granny Goodness, Kalibak, or Steppenwolf, would certainly be huge threats for anyone and everyone living on Earth while providing some buildup for Darkseid to eventually show up. 

Mongul

Mongul feels the least likely on this list, but I can still see it happening. Mongul is another super-powerful alien that could give the Man of Steel a run for his money. He could be searching for the strongest and smartest (Superman and Lex Luthor) that Earth has to offer to duke it out on his Warworld. Lex thinks with his brain, Clark Kent thinks with his heart, and Mongul thinks with his muscle. It could lead to some interesting storytelling.

General Zod

General Zod has huge potential for a threat that Superman would need to team up with Lex to fight. Another powerful Kryptonian with other powerful Kryptonians working for him would be terrifying for Earth. Add on the fact that he is a master strategist and things could get apocalyptic. This could fuel Lex’s xenophobia for Kryptonians but put him in a position in which he needs to work with one. It could be truly interesting. That being said, things would feel different with him given how Jor-El is portrayed in this version.

Mister Oz

Spoilers for 2025’s Superman: In the recent movie, it’s revealed that Jor-El wants his son to destroy humanity to rebuild Krypton. This obviously makes him more of a villain than he’s usually depicted as. In a couple of the comic book storylines, Jor-El takes on a more villainous role named Mister Oz. In those stories, he’s disgusted with humanity and wants Kal-El to have nothing to do with them. This fits what has been set up in this universe already, and getting Bradley Cooper to be the primary antagonist of a movie is definitely a great idea. A powerful Kryptonian threat that would surprise fans would be a great direction to go in.

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