This page lists the characters appearing in the Superman: Earth One line of comic books. All spoilers from the first two books will be unmarked below.
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Protagonists
Superman
Superman / Clark Kent / Kal-El
A child of Krypton sent to Earth as a baby to escape the destruction of his homeworld. He crashlands on Smallville, Kansas, and is adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent. After graduating from high school, Clark leaves Smallville and resolves to find his own destiny.
- The Ace: At the start of the story, he has contract offers from all of the sports teams and laboratories in Metropolis.
- Action Hero: This is a given. His favorite method of taking down the bad guys is straight-up punching.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Superman is a lot somber than previous adaptations. He is very mindful of the consequences his actions have on the world.
- All of the Other Reindeer: He was bullied a lot while growing up.
- Badass Cape: His iconic red cape.
- Beware the Nice Ones: The nicest person you will ever meet, but making him angry is not a good idea. Threaten his adopted homeworld? He will beat you within an inch of your life. Threatening his love interest? He'll leave you stranded in Alaska.
- Boxing Lessons for Superman: He had to defend himself from bullies in high school. It comes in very handy when fighting villains as powerful as him.
- Brought Down to Badass: Even without his powers, he should not be taken lightly. In volume #1, he beats Tyrell in a fistfight. In volume #3, he holds his own against Zod until his powers are replenished.
- Clark Kenting: Trope Namer. For this version of the story, both Superman and Clark are the "real person" wearing different clothes, neither being a disguise. The issue of a disguise persona isn't dealt with until the end of volume #1.
- Classical Anti-Hero: Unlike his primary comic book incarnation, Superman is not an Ideal Hero yet, being more of this instead. From a young age, Clark has to deal with insecurity about being accepted by the world in spite of his powers. Despite this, he has a sense of duty to use his powers for good.
- Deadpan Snarker: One of Superman's most sarcastic incarnations to date.
- The Determinator: Would we recognize Superman any other way?
- Flying Brick: Trope Codifier.
- Friendless Background: He was first isolated by his intelligence and alien nature, and subsequently by his deliberate attempts at becoming a non-entity.
- Genius Bruiser: This version of Superman has Super-Intelligence officially added to his list of superpowers.
- The Hero: He's the main character, after all.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: There is a sizable amount of people who fears and mistrust him. He is blamed for the invasion because Tyrell specifically targeted him, not to mention the billions in property damage the battle caused.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Whenever one of his heroics backfires, Superman is very harsh on himself.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: Of the "heroic and idealistic" variety.
- Kind Hearted Cat Lover: He adopted a cat he saved when he was a child and when she died, he buried her on the moon that she had always loved to look at with him.
- Name From Another Species: Inverted. Clark, a Kryptonian, is adopted by humans and given a human name. His original name is Kal-El.
- Nice Guy: Underneath all that angst and self-criticism, Superman is still a loyal, noble and friendly person.
- The Nondescript: Clark made a deliberate attempt at turning himself into one of these from the tenth grade on out. He got a "C" in every class, participated in no extracurricular activities, and made no friends, effectively becoming a ghost who no-one in his classes remembers.
- Primary-Color Champion: Naturally.
- Related in the Adaptation: Here, General Zod is Jor-El's brother and hence Superman's uncle.
- The Reveal Prompts Romance: With Lisa Lasalle. They already had feelings for each other, but they only start a relationship when she discovers his secret.
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: His relationship with Lisa Lasalle.
- Signature Move: The famous single or double-fisted flying punch, actually called a Superman punch
in real life. - Superhero: Trope Codifier and Trope Namer.
- Superpower Lottery: He wouldn't be Superman without this trope. Thanks to Earth's yellow sun, he possesses superhuman strength, speed and senses. He also has separate abilities, such as the power to fly, see through opaque objects, and project thick beams of heat from his eyes, as well as becoming virtually impenetrable to most weapons.
- Tall, Dark, Handsome And Snarky: He's very handsome and one of the most sarcastic characters in the series.
- This Is Gonna Suck: In volume #3, he reacts with a deadpan "Crap" whenever he comes across a serious inconvenience.
- Upbringing Makes the Hero: It was the sense of morality the Kents instilled on Clark that inspired him to become a superhero.
Lois Lane
Lois Lane
A staff reporter for the Daily Planet. Aside from being Clark's co-worker, she becomes Superman's closest friend.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: She looks a lot like Jennifer Carpenter.
- The Conscience: In volume #3, Superman asks if he can go to her for advice from time to time. Lois agrees.
- Going for the Big Scoop: Played straight in volume #1, averted in the next two volumes.
- Heroic Bystander: She and Jim help Superman when a blast of red sunlight pins him to the ground in the climax of volume #1.
- Intrepid Reporter: She's Lois Lane, after all.
- Muggle Best Friend: To Superman.
- Platonic Life-Partners: With Superman, because Lisa Lasalle is his love interest in this adaptation.
Lisa Lasalle
Lisa Lasalle
Clark's neighbor and love interest.
- Alliterative Name: As is the case with many supporting Superman characters. And as with his Love Interests, both letters are L.
- Badass Bystander: She slams General Zod with a cement truck to help Superman in volume #3.
- Canon Foreigner: She was created for this comic book.
- Dark Secret: She has been working as a prostitute to make ends meet.
- Fiery Redhead: Averted. Aside from being playful and flirtatious, Lisa is pretty sweet.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Her secret job.
- Just Friends: With Clark, before their Relationship Upgrade in volume #3.
- Ms. Fanservice: The artists sure go out of their way to show how big her breasts are and how curvy her body is. In volume #2, she wears skimpy negligee and underwear, while talking to Clark.
- Nice Girl: Underneath her playful banter, Lisa is very sweet and caring. After she starts a relationship with Clark, she goes out of her way to be a good girlfriend to him.
- Relationship Upgrade: With Clark in volume #3.
- The Reveal Prompts Romance: With Clark. They already had feelings for each other, but they only start a relationship when she discovers his secret.
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Her relationship with Clark.
- Satellite Love Interest: Aside from being Clark's love interest, she has no characterization whatsoever. Even when she is revealed to be a prostitue in volume #2, that only comes to the forefront at the book's final pages, after the main story has been completed.
- Secret-Keeper: To Clark, after she finds his Superman uniform in his closet.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She falls in love with Clark after seeing how nice and caring he is.
Supervillains
Tyrell
Tyrell
An alien from the planet Dheron, a planet located in the same star system as Krypton. He is a vicious warlord who has come to Earth to destroy the last Kryptonian.
- Achilles' Heel: Dheronian physiology is similar to Kryptonian physiology, so Tyrell loses his powers when he is exposed to red sunlight.
- Affably Evil: He's remarkably polite for a supervillain out to devastate the Earth just to draw out Superman - though he stops as soon as Superman reveals himself, indicating that he was going to live up to his promise to go as soon as he encountered and killed Clark.
- Big Bad: Of volume #1.
- Brought Down to Normal: He's exposed to the red sunlight emitted by his flagship's fusion reactor, removing his powers. Superman pummels him in the ensuing fistfight.
- Canon Foreigner: He was created for this comic book.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: You'd be forgiven for mistaking Tyrell for Ziggy Stardust.
- Flying Brick: Downplayed. His strength and durability are on par with Superman, but he lacks the latter's more esoteric powers, such as flight and heat vision. Instead, he uses a winged Jet Pack.
- Generic Doomsday Villain: Tyrell doesn't get much in the way of a personality. He shows up, takes the Earth hostage, and exposes Superman to the world, providing a little exposition before dying unceremoniously.
- Jet Pack: He straps a winged variant to his waist before his fight with Superman.
- Killed Off for Real: After Tyrell loses his powers, a sharp piece of falling machinery impales him. Then, his flagship blows up with him still inside.
- Mecha-Mooks: His ground forces.
- Starter Villain: He is the first villain Clark faces after becoming Superman.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: His plan to force the last Kryptonian to reveal himself is to kill millions of humans. Only then will Tyrell know he has done everything possible to provoke a response from his target.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: He thinks himself to be the hero of the story and that Superman is the villain. No one in their right mind would call one who is willing to wipe out innocent people to get to their enemy a hero.
Parasite
Parasite / Raymond Maxwell Jensen
Originally a common criminal, Raymond Maxwell Jensen becomes a supervillain when an scientific accident turns him into an energy-absorbing entity with constant hunger to absorb others' energy.
- Adaptational Badass: The Parasite has never been a joke, but his Earth One incarnation is a colossal threat to Superman and all of humanity. After absorbing Superman's powers, he curbstomps the U.S. Army and survives a missile attack.
- Adaptational Villainy: Although the Parasite has never been portrayed as anything other than a villain, he was usually portrayed as Dumb Muscle. His Earth One incarnation is without a doubt the most terrifying incarnation of the character to date. He was a serial killer before getting his powers, and at one point considers eradicating all life on Earth.
- Ax-Crazy: Oh boy. As a kid, he enjoyed torturing animals and beating up other kids. And when he gets his powers, he briefly considers eradicating all life on Earth.
- Big Bad: Of volume #2.
- Bald of Evil: Lost all of his hair upon gaining his powers.
- Big Brother Instinct: Towards his sister.
- The Bully: As a child. When he grew up, he became a criminal.
- Enfant Terrible: When he was a child, Raymond was a bullying developing psychopath and animal killer.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The one good thing that can be said about him is that he loves his sister Theresa.
- Horror Hunger: He constantly wants energy.
- Interrupted Cooldown Hug: Tragically self-inflicted. His sister tries to calm him down, but he accidentally drains her life force, killing her.
- Moral Myopia: Bullying other children? Nothing wrong with that. Seeing other children hurting his sister? All bets are off.
- Never My Fault: Parasite refuses to accept that his sister's death was his fault, instead choosing to blame Superman for it.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Because it bears repeating, he briefly considers eradicating all life on Earth.
- Power Incontinence: He cannot hug his sister without absorbing her life energy.
- Power Parasite: Like his mainstream counterpart, his powers come with a time limit, so he has to continuously drain a person's power to have it.
- The Sociopath: He's a psychopath who began by torturing small animals, graduating to killing homeless men, and eventually became one of the most prolific serial killers of his time. He's superficially charming and charismatic, short-tempered and prone to mood swings, and otherwise hits all the criteria. He does have a soft spot for his sister, though.
- Vampiric Draining: He can drain the life energy of his victims.
- Villainous Breakdown: What little sanity he had is completely gone when he accidentally kills his sister.
General Zod
General Zod-El
- Adaptation Name Change: In the classic DC Universe, Zod's full name is Dru-Zod. Here, "Zod" is his first name and the last is "El" as he's Superman's uncle.
- Badass Cape: He wears a black cape with red trimming.
- Black Cloak: Complete with red trimming.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Alongside Alexandra Luthor in volume #3.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: At first. He undermines and works against Superman while to his face he pretends to be his Cool Uncle. He drops the façade later.
- Brought Down to Badass: In the final battle, both Superman and Zod briefly loses their powers. Despite this, Zod remains a dangerous opponent.
- Cain and Abel: The Cain to Jor-El's Abel.
- Composite Character: General Zod with Zor-El, given he's Jor-El's brother and hence Superman's uncle.
- Crazy-Prepared: His spacecraft contains a huge fragment of Kryptonite to weaken Superman. He also wears a Kryptonite-Proof Suit to avoid being hurt by the Kryptonite.
- Dark Is Evil: He wears a black and red uniform. Also, his face is always framed in shadow.
- Dark Messiah: He viewed himself as this during Krypton's civil war.
- Deal with the Devil: Makes one with Earth's governments, promising to take down Superman if the humans' armed forces do not intervene. In the epilogue, Superman calls the world's leaders out on it.
- Evil Uncle: He's Superman's uncle in this continuity, and he makes it clear that he does not intend to spare his nephew from the destruction of the Kryptonian race.
- Face Framed in Shadow: His face is mostly half-obscured by shadow, except in flashbacks.
- General Ripper: If starting a civil war to take over Krypton wasn't bad enough, he destroyed the entire planet when his plans failed.
- Genocide from the Inside: He's responsible for the destruction of Krypton and with it the demise of every Kryptonian besides himself and Superman.
- In the Hood: He always wears one.
- Karmic Death: Killed by the vengeful wife of one of his victims.
- Kick the Dog: When he arrives on Earth, he kills a group of soldiers just to test his powers. In the final battle, he plans to kill Martha Kent, purely out of sadism.
- Kryptonite-Proof Suit: His suit is designed with special elements that block Kryptonite radiation. Superman gets around that by blasting Zod with water, causing his suit to malfunction.
- Manipulative Bastard: He takes advantage of the world's fear and distrust of Superman in order to further his vendetta against all Kryptonians.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Not only does he cause Krypton's destruction, he travels across the galaxy to kill any survivors. Even his own nephew.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: He wears a black uniform with red accents.
- Related in the Adaptation: Here, General Zod is Jor-El's brother and hence Superman's uncle.
- Superpower Lottery: Being a Kryptonian, Zod has the same powers as Superman.
- We Have Become Complacent: Zod blames the Science Council for Krypton's social stagnation.
Alexandra Luthor
Alexandra Luthor
A wealthy scientist married to Dr. Lex Luthor. The Luthors are tasked by the U.S. government to find a way to neutralize Superman should he ever become a threat to national security. Alexandra becomes ruthlessly obsessed with killing Superman, a fact that disturbs Lex.
- Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: She kills General Zod.
- Big Bad Ensemble: She and General Zod in volume #3.
- Decomposite Character: Lex Luthor's main traits are divided between Alexandra and her husband. When her husband is killed by Zod, Alexandra is the one who becomes Superman's enemy.
- The Dividual: The pair refer to themselves as Lex Squared Incorporated.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She really loves her husband and his death motivates her to vow revenge against Superman.
- Fantastic Racism: She compares killing Superman to putting down a rabid dog.
- For Science!: Her initial motivation for killing Superman. Later, it becomes Revenge.
- Gender Flip: She is the real Earth One version of Lex Luthor, not her husband.
- Insufferable Genius: A trait she shares with Lex, she enjoys being the smartest person in the room. Alexandra was amused by the military's confusion at the Luthors' explanation about Superman's vulnerability to red sunlight.
- Lady Macbeth: She is cold, manipulative and persuades her husband sexually to work on an anti-Superman weapon.
- Meaningful Rename: After her husband is killed by Zod, she takes on the name "Lex Luthor."
- Never My Fault: She blames her husband's death on Superman, even when Lex risked his life to save Superman, not to mention she was the one who wanted to kill Superman in the first place while Lex attempted to talk her out of it.
- Revenge: What she swears against Superman after Lex's death.
- Unholy Matrimony: Her marriage with Lex plays with this. They clearly love one another, but Lex is uncomfortable with her obsession with killing Superman. When he dies, Alexandra's obsession becomes hatred.
- Walking Spoiler: She is the real Earth One version of Lex Luthor. Her husband was just a Red Herring.
Supporting characters
Jonathan and Martha Kent
Jonathan and Martha Kent
A married couple of Kansas farmers that found baby Kal-El and raised him as their own. Their morality and values inspired Clark to become Superman.- Deadpan Snarker: Both of them. Clark certainly learned their sense of sarcasm.
- Death by Origin Story: Jonathan. By the time the story takes place, he is dead.
- Good Parents: As always.
- Granny Classic: Martha is not a grandmother, but she certainly fits the image and personality; loving and supportive, loves to cook, and designed Clark's costume.
- Happily Married: As one would expect from Jonathan and Martha.
Lex Luthor
Alexander "Lex" Luthor
- Adaptational Heroism: A noble and heroic Lex Luthor, thanks to Decomposite Character. He even dies saving Superman from General Zod.
- Badass Normal: He attacks Zod with a red solar weapon so that Superman can have a chance at defeating him.
- Bald of Evil: Inverted. This Lex Luthor has a full head of hair and is far more heroic then his mainstream counterpart.
- Decomposite Character: Lex Luthor's main traits are divided between Lex and his wife. When Lex is killed by Zod, Alexandra is the one who becomes Superman's enemy.
- The Dividual: The pair refer to themselves as Lex Squared Incorporated.
- Hero Antagonist: Reluctant example when Superman is concerned. Lex has issues with developing a weapon to kill Superman. The "antagonist" part is dropped in the climax when he chooses to help Superman defeat Zod.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Zod kills him when he helps Superman.
- Honest Corporate Executive: Contrasting his wife's morally ambiguous attitude.
- Insufferable Genius: A trait he shares with his wife, he enjoys being the smartest person in the room. Lex was amused by the military's confusion at the Luthors' explanation about Superman's vulnerability to red sunlight.
- Morality Chain: Towards his wife. Zod makes sure to cut that chain at the climax of volume #3.
- No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup: His red solar weapon. Lex is the only one who knows how it works. Not even Alexandra knows how to replicate it. When Lex dies, the secrets of the weapon die with him. Alexandra knows that even with all her resources, it will take years to create another weapon.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Although Lex is aware Superman is a potential threat, he also knows Superman hasn't taken any hostile action against humanity.
- Red Herring: He is not the real Earth One version of Lex Luthor, his wife is.
- Unholy Matrimony: His marriage with Alexandra plays with this. They clearly love one another, but Lex is uncomfortable with her obssesion with killing Superman. When he dies, Alexandra's obsession becomes hatred.
