5 Best Live-Action Kryptonians Ranked by Power, Including Supergirl

With Supergirl arriving in theaters soon, a question arises: where does Milly Alcock’s Kara Zor-El stack up against the live-action Kryptonians who came before her?

The children of Krypton are always dependable gods when it comes to the silver screen. These are characters whose capabilities can defy physics and narrative norms. Something about how they act in this world borders on the theological. These beings do not respond to the laws of physics, which affect us mortals. Everything about them feels grander, even their grief.

This ranking takes into account their physical strength, abilities, and all feats accomplished by these characters on the big screen only. For the sake of consistency, we are only considering modern (21st-century) versions of these characters. Let’s dive into the ranking.

But first, here’s Supergirl (2026) in a nutshell:

Field	Details
Title	Supergirl
Director	Craig Gillespie
Writer	Ana Nogueira
Premise	Kara Zor-El embarks on a cross-galaxy adventure with Krypto to escape Superman’s shadow, joining a young alien girl seeking revenge for her father’s death
Main Cast	Milly Alcock, Jason Momoa, Eve Ridley, Matthias Schoenaerts, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham
Release Date	June 26, 2026

5 Faora-Ul

Faora (Antje Traue) in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel is one of the scariest characters in superhero movies ever. Being a Kryptonian and the lieutenant of General Zod, she is more than a step above earthlings. But more than that, she also makes Superman appear amateur. Before her, Clark never fought somebody who physically matched him. At least at first, he is utterly clueless in front of her, as he has hitherto dealt with soft and squishy humans.

Faora’s warrior training gives her tactical superiority that cannot be achieved by mere physical strength. Unfortunately, the character remains an accessory. She never realizes her full potential until the end. She is ranked the lowest in the list because, despite her strength and training, she is no match for the four Kryptonians above her.

4 Supergirl

Though she is technically older, arriving on Earth with far less time spent absorbing Earth’s yellow solar radiation makes her slightly weaker than Clark. She is also not a female Superman, as she is more hardened and gloomier than her sunnier cousin. And the movie, judging by the trailer, is leaning in that direction.

Sasha Calle made a brief but ferocious appearance in the doomed DCEU movie The Flash. But it proved what this character could do once she was unrestrained. Milly Alcock‘s incoming version in Craig Gillespie‘s movie (written by Ana Nogueira) is based on Tom King’s comics run. And like its source material, it is described as the hardest iteration yet. 

The comics have long established her as a warrior of genuine consequence, capable of going toe-to-toe with threats that would flatten even many of the biggest DC powerhouses. The upcoming movie may well show her stronger than we expect, but her on-screen feats thus far make sure she is not as strong as the top 3.

3 General Zod

General Zod is not stronger than Superman in raw terms. He, after all, did not have the yellow sun exposure that nourished Kal-El and made him the greatest hero Earth ever had. However, Zod has a clarity of purpose and determination that acts as a force multiplier. In Michael Shannon‘s version in Man of Steel, he has a genetic imperative that removes his mental block (unlike Superman, who keeps a tight rein on his powers, lest he accidentally hurt humans). ​

The much-derided, CGI-heavy third act of Man of Steel has two gods battling it out and tearing through concrete buildings as though they were made of cardboard. They do not notice the consequences, and the film was heavily criticized for that. But it is also an honest depiction of what a fight to the death between two Kryptonians would look like. In the comics, Zod is roughly equivalent to Superman, but there is a difference in philosophy. Zod’s power is reactive, and in opposition to Superman, which is his undoing. Zod would be at 2nd position had it not been for Doomsday.

2 Doomsday

The monster who killed Superman. Doomsday is less a character than the answer to the question of what it would take to kill Superman, worked backwards into a body. Jesse Eisenberg‘s Lex Luthor engineers him in Batman v Superman from Zod’s corpse and his own blood, which makes him Kryptonian in material if not in heritage. He is a being of pure destructive escalation with none of the psychology that makes the other entries on this list interesting, and all of the power that makes them dangerous. 

Doomsday from the comics has much more depth. He was created by the inhabitants of prehistoric Krypton and improved in numerous iterations of life and death so that no weakness could affect him. He is the only one who has ever defeated Superman in an honest fight of physical strength, which makes sure he is only a notch below Superman. He remains one of the strongest Superman villains.

1 Superman

The argument for anyone else at the top of this list is always, finally, an argument about edge cases. Clark Kent or Kal-El is the measuring stick by which every other Kryptonian on this list is judged. Henry Cavill‘s Superman in Snyder’s DCEU movies represents an entity that walks a fine line between restraint and annihilation.

In comic books, there has never been a limit on Superman’s powers as such, as he has moved whole planets around, survived through supernova explosions, and fought the literal embodiment of death. However, when looking at the live-action movies, including David Corenswet‘s version in James Gunn‘s Superman (2025), the superhero has never approached this kind of power. Even with their reservations, they present a person who exists on a level higher than all others in the list. Superman takes first place simply due to the fact that he remains the benchmark against which all other Kryptonians are measured.

Here are all five of the strongest live-action Kryptonians, summarized:

Rank	Character	Portrated by	Key Power Traits
5.	Faora-Ul	Antje Traue in Man of Steel	Elite combat training, tactical precision
4.	Supergirl	Melissa Benoist (Supergirl TV series), Sasha Calle (The Flash), Milly Alcock (Supergirl, the 2026 movie)	Full Kryptonian power set, formidable but less solar-charged than Clark
3.	General Zod	Michael in Man of Steel	Superman-level power amplified by military conditioning and single-minded purpose
2.	Doomsday	Robin Atkin Downes in Batman v Superman	Adaptive regeneration, killed Superman outright in comics canon
1.	Superman	Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), Henry Cavill (Man of Steel), David Corenswet (Superman)	The ceiling by which all other Kryptonians are measured

Do you agree with this list? If not, drop your ranking in the comments below.

Supergirl hits theaters in the US on June 26, 2026.