Part of my deep love for superhero comic books, especially the books that have come out of DC is the commitment to oddball ideas and silly, often completely stupid characters and stories. Perhaps no character is a better example of this than Bizarro, a character whose name has entered the public lexicon to become synonymous with anything strange and wacky. With his inverted powers, opposite speak, and dimwittedness Bizarro has remained one of the most consistently entertaining characters in DC’s catalogue since his introduction in 1958.
But Bizarro is a favorite character of mine not just because he’s silly fun, but because I think he’s everything a good supervillain should be. All of the best villains are reflective in some way, offering a mirror image of their heroic nemesis be it through thematic, psychological, or philosophical means. Bizarro is this to a tee, and even with all of the evil Superman doppelgangers that have come in his wake, no one has mirrored the Man of Steel quite so effectively.
What makes Bizarro great isn’t that he’s an evil Superman, but that he’s a flawed Superman. His stories are at their best when they show how Superman’s powers could be used for harm, whether Bizarro is trying to be a hero himself, or is simply wreaking havoc, he always demonstrates the importance of Superman’s self-control, he makes the Man of Steel more heroic by stressing how careful and gentle he has to be at all times. But he’s also a perfect mirror to Superman on an emotional and personal level as Bizarro reflects Superman’s desire to fit in and be accepted on his adoptive planet.
He’s a version of Superman without the love and care of the Kents, without the rugged good looks and veil of normalcy. He’s unloved, rejected and constantly searching for validation and a place to belong. Bizarro at his best is both hilariously silly and achingly tragic and the stories recommended in this article might emphasize the monster and others might lean further into the comedy but all of them demonstrate why he’s such a great character and I hope you find something here that you can hate….I mean enjoy.
The Bread
Escape From Bizarro World
Perhaps the Bizarro story most often recommended is Escape From Bizarro World released in the pages of Action Comics between issues #855 and #857. The story is written by Geoff Johns and Richard Donner (director of the original two Christopher Reeve Superman films) but the real star of the show to me here is the ever-underrated Eric Powell, best known for his combination of morose bleakness and slapstick caricature in The Goon, a style which is put to work wonderfully here.
Escape From Bizarro World has a simple set-up, but one that pretty excellently establishes the character, his world, and his desire to be accepted. Bizarro kidnaps Jonathan Kent and brings him to his cubed planet, prompting an angered Superman to fly to his rescue. The stories of Geoff Johns are often accused of feeling empty and derivative but when at their best they can distill the essence of the character, channeling their appeal into a digestible and easily accessible entry point. That’s true of Escape From Bizarro World, which is as good a place to start as any.
Superman #140
The bulk of Bizarro stories came out in the Silver Age of comics, an era full of fresh ideas, zany sci-fi concepts, and exciting new characters. For Superman comics especially this was the era that established so much of the character’s mythos with things like The Phantom Zone, Krypto, Brainiac, Supergirl, The Legion of Superheroes, and yes Bizarro. It was an era of comedic, one-and-done stories where anything and everything was possible, and any sense of realism was tossed out the window in favor of pure pulp entertainment.
Bizarro’s stories often rank among my favorites of this era as it’s clear that writers like Otto Binder had a ton of fun with the comedic potential of his speech and an entire planet of backward Supermans and Lois’. This story in particular is an absolute riot, as it follows Bizarro and a Bizarro version of Lois Lane as they raise a healthy young boy who of course they view as horribly ugly. The story gets far nuttier from there in ways I don’t want to spoil but if old-school comic book silliness is your bag you can’t go wrong with this issue.
For more Silver Age Bizarro, I highly recommend reading The Tales of Bizarro World, a collection of Bizarro backup stories in Adventure Comics issues #285-299.
Flowers for Bizarro
Flowers for Bizarro is a story that was released in issues #25-27 of Adventures of Superman (sometimes collected into a single issue, #9), a severely underrated book that was released in weekly installments in a landscape format. This arc is inspired by the famous short story, Flowers For Algernon about a lab rat who gains higher intelligence. The same happens here as Bizarro’s mind is repaired and his speech is oriented correctly, in other words, Bizarro becomes “normal.”
It’s a wonderful premise that pretty brilliantly gets to explore Bizarro’s genuine desire to help and be accepted. It’s also a great piece to understand Superman’s relationship with Bizarro as he works to rehabilitate him and teach him how to be a hero. A simple, but incredibly effective little story that manages to explore an old character from a fresh perspective.
The Meat
Trinity
If you want to see Bizarro interact with the wider DC Universe, I think Matt Wagner’s Trinity is a perfect place to start. This incredibly underrated little mini that follows the first team-up of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman as they battle against a trio of their villains in Ras Al Ghul, Artemis, and Bizarro. Bizarro is different from most supervillains in that his intentions are rarely cruel, malicious, or even really motivated by entirely selfish desires, he most often only seeks connection, love, and a place to belong.
Unfortunately, his desires combined with his dim-witted nature means that he’s very easily manipulated by other villains, who employ him as muscle fairly frequently. Trinity is one of the best examples of this as Bizzaro’s newfound “friends” push him into conflict. It’s a great story if you want to understand Bizarro’s relationship with the wider DC Universe as a pawn in other’s games, abused and tormented by heroes and villains alike.
DC Comics Presents #71
One of the most purely fun Bizarro stories I’ve ever read is found in the pages of DC Comics Presents, a team-up book where Superman guest stars with a new character every month. The issue follows Bizarro as he creates a Bizarro version of Amazo, an android who on Earth copies and replicates the powers of the Justice League. In keeping the law of Bizarro Land though, this Amazo is backwards and instead steals powers and gives them to others, an ability that his colleagues and neighbors find incredibly irritating and more than a little disruptive.
Bizarro Amazo eventually heads to Earth, democratizing superpowers by sharing them at random with Metropolis civilians. So Superman and Bizarro have to work together to trick him into returning everything to the way it was. It’s a delightfully stupid story and writer E. Nelson Bridwell is clearly having so much fun with the various ways Bizarro and Superman try to fool him, just a solid, absurdist comedy that leans into the stupidity inherent to Bizarro.
Forever Evil
Much like Matt Wagner’s Trinity, I’m recommending Geoff John’s Forever Evil as another story that places Bizarro within the wider DC Universe. Forever Evil was an event that followed DC’s villains as they had to protect Earth after the Justice League had vanished and were replaced by the Crime Syndicate, a villainous version of the League from a parallel universe. The main arc of the event follows Lex Luthor, Captain Cold, Black Adam, and various other villains as they try to take back their planet when there are no heroes who can.
The story introduces a new version of Bizarro, one that plays into the Frankenstein’s Monster angle more than ever. This Bizarro starts as more of a mindless brute than a wacky inversion, but as the story goes on Lex and Bizarro start to form a genuine connection which reveals the genuine caring soul of Bizarro. He’s the real heart of the entire event and the easy highlight for me, making this an easy recommendation.
The Special Sauce
Action Comics #40
Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder’s run on Action Comics is one of the most underrated collections of stories the character has received, constantly enjoyable and with a real focus on humanizing the character. This issue though, this one’s just a fun time. Superman crash lands on Bizzaro world, and shenanigans ensue, that’s really it. There’s not much to this one but it’s an absolute gem, especially for the drop-dead gorgeous work from the art team. Aaron Kuder’s hyper-expressive art is paired beautifully with Will Quintana’s lush colors, the whole thing looks like kids playing on the playground and the issue captures that anarchic energy incredibly well.
Bizarro Must Think (Adventure Comics 80 Page Giant #1)
For something short, sweet, and under the radar you can’t do much better than Bizzaro Must Think, a short story from Adventure Comics 80 Page Giant #1. This story is written by Tom Peyer with art by Kevin O’Neil, who both give the book a zany, chaotic feel. The set-up is that Bizarro is sick of hearing boring broadcasts into space and decides that he wants to broadcast his own life story, one where he is the leader of Bizarro World.
Out of all the comics here, this feels the most like it came from the brain of Bizarro, it’s nutty and fast-paced with about 6 jokes a panel, gleefully relishing the comedic potential of a backwards opposite world. But what really makes it is the surprising ending which dramatically shifts tones and wonderfully gets to the heart of the character’s inherent loneliness.
Action Comics Annual #8
Action Comics Annual #8 written by David Michelinie with art by Kieron Dwyer is an unconventional story, which is saying something for Bizarro of all people. It stars an alternate universe Bizarro who was created on another planet after his biomaterial was jettisoned into space by Lex Luthor. This Bizarro has grown up on a circus planet, living life as a popular entertainer, completely unaware of his connection to Earth and Superman.
It’s completely removed from the rest of Bizarro’s mythos and iconography, but I think it does a wonderful job of conveying how much of an aspirational figure Superman is to Bizarro. Even when they’ve never met and when Bizarro has lived a completely different life, he still tries to emulate him and do the right thing, even if he’s not the best at it. It’s a pretty zany issue but it really gets to the heart of who Bizarro is at his core, a lonely creature trying his best to find meaning in his life.