Superman has faced dozens of truly terrifying villains over the years, but none has actively terrorized him as much as the forgotten villain Dominus, who’s just like Batman’s iconic villain Scarecrow. Dominus was a Lord of Order who had full control over time and space — as well as the ability to make Superman’s nightmares real.
Dominus’ dark plot begins in Action Comics #747 by Stuart Immonen and José Marzan Jr. Dominus used to be a priest known as Tuoni, and he deeply loved Ahti. Eventually, Ahti ascended and became Kismet, the protector of the universe. Furious at being left behind, Tuoni tried to steal Ahti’s power, and was nearly destroyed because of it. Taking pity on her former friend, Ahti placed Touni’s soul in the Phantom Zone.
While trapped in the Phantom Zone, Touni met a skilled Kryptonian scientist who built him a physical body. Now a Lord of Chaos and going by the name Dominus, this forgotten Superman villain escaped the Phantom Zone and used his new-found powers to go after the Man of Steel in a plot to take over the world.
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Superman Is Genuinely Challenged by Dominus, His Cosmic Version of Batman’s Scarecrow
Action Comics #747 by Stuart Immonen, José Marzan Jr., Glenn Whitmore, and Albert De Guzman
Dominus has many impressive powers due to being a Lord of Chaos, including super-strength powerful enough to physically harm Superman. He also has remarkable control over reality, able to warp or manipulate any desired aspect of time and space. But his biggest power — and the one that proved most effective against Superman — is his ability to manifest a person’s fear as a real physical thing. This power allows Dominus to use Superman’s greatest fear against him, and it takes Superman using an ancient Kryptonian meditation technique to overcome this manifested fear.
Superman’s unbelievable strength means that most villains try to find the limit of that strength by fighting him physically. Characters like Doomsday, Lobo, Darkseid, and the Chained all push Superman to his physical limits, and while other characters like Lex Luthor may try to fight Superman intellectually, few characters have attacked Superman with his fears. Dominus uses Superman’s fear as a physical weapon against the Man of Steel, and having to overcome that fear before physically taking on Dominus is an unprecedented threat in Superman’s history.
Dominus Shows Superman the Full Extent of His Power
Superman’s Forgotten Cosmic Villain Still Has Potential
Dominus is incredibly powerful, but he still has a few limits on that power. He can’t use his powers to manifest fears from people who are unconscious or actively resisting him. Also, due to losing his body because of Kismet’s interference, he has to rely on Kryptonian machinery simply to exist. Eventually, Superman uses the Kryptonian meditation technique of Torquasm Vo, clearing his mind to not only defeat Dominus, but to conquer his fears as well — something even Batman struggles to do against Scarecrow.
Action Comics #747 is available now from DC Comics!
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