Saturday, May 9, 2026

SuperDan Saves the Day in DEATH BATTLE?!?!

                                   

SuperDan, the Superhero of Bad Guy High

Bad Guy High was created by theRedDeath, it can be read on The Duck Webcomics


WARNING

The contents of this webcomic may be offensive to some viewers, as it's a product of its time created during an era when edgy humor was more acceptable. The webcomic contains material that isn't suitable for anyone under 18. This blog will also discuss dark subjects like SA and suicide. Viewer digression is advised.


Welcome back to the blog, and oh boy, this is gonna be a nutty one. I generally avoid covering webcomics I don't enjoy, but the shit that happens in Bad Guy High needs to be seen to be believed. With a character like SUPERDAN being the primary focus of today's blog it's bound to be perplexing. What even is his deal??? That's what I'm here to discuss. I've been aching to go over this mess of a webcomic for months so strap in, shit's about to go down.

Background

“And that is why you will always fall before the firm handshake of justice!”


Bad Guy High… how this place hasn't been under national scrutiny is beyond me. It's literally a high school that's publicly known to teach teens how to become supervillains. In a world where superheroes are the norm it's strange how heroes rarely ever try to thwart those running the school. It's likely thanks to the principal's efforts to remain anonymous, even to the students.

Life at BGH is batshit crazy. I'm not just talking about how students are taught to create doomsday devices or the countless deaths that occur on school grounds. The vice principal is a freaky skeleton man, an evil penguin is a student, Cthulhu and MASTER CHIEF FROM HALO work in the cafeteria!!!

BGH is home to tons of weirdos, and by far the biggest oddity on campus is Daniel R. Mann.

Despite attending a high school for villains, Dan doesn't have a single bad bone in his body. In fact he hails from a family of superheroes, at least his siblings are. All of Dan's siblings gained powers and became superheroes in spite of their parents' worries for their safety. Since Dan is the youngest in the family and still powerless, his parents wanted to make sure he never had a chance to become a superhero. What was their plan? To enroll him in BGH, of course!

Dan doesn't fit in with the student body thanks to his kindhearted nature and geeky interests. He's the kind of guy that would proudly admit he'd rather save kittens from trees than conquer the planet. Dan may be a dorky goody two-shoes, but he managed to make friends at BGH, mainly the mad scientist in the making Evan Ahab.

Dan's life at high school would change forever after attending a comic convention. Out of nowhere, a radioactive Superman from another planet crashes through the building, bites Dan, and fucks off for the rest of the webcomic. This inexplicably gives Dan a variety of superpowers like flight and heat vision. From that day onward he wasn't just Dan… but SuperDan!!!!!

*Note that SuperDan's origin story was retconned in the sequel Generation Bad. He was actually bitten by a superhero named Supreme Justice that was mysteriously driven to insanity. Generation Bad hasn't updated since 2022 so the details aren't complete, plus this one is funnier so let's just roll with that.

Back on topic, Dan decided to become a superhero under a secret identity… a really poor one at that. His costume is literally based on the outfit he wears everyday with a red cape and knockoff Superman logo with his name tacked on. It was painfully obvious to BGH that SuperDan was literally just Dan.

He should be expelled for completely going against the villain school's conduct. Despite that, Dan remains doggedly loyal to BGH and protects it with his life. So long as he attends all his villain classes and doesn't do superhero work on school property most staff lets him off the hook.

Somehow, Evan is the only person who didn't make the connection between his best friend and SuperDan. Evan becomes the Lex Luthor to his Superman, as Dan would frequently foil his world domination schemes like a superhero should. They may be arch-enemies, but Dan still genuinely considers Evan his best friend.

Dan would go on countless misadventures doing superhero work like fighting a Bizarro version of himself, protecting BGH from a student possessed by a necronomicon, and stopping Warner Bros. from pursuing him for infringing on their copyright. He was living the dream, it felt great to have the power to truly help others.

He had a good run, but everything would come crashing down when Evan learned SuperDan's secret identity. With a new armored suit weaponizing Dan's biggest weakness, the essence of clowns called clownonite, he KILLED SuperDan…

Dan left the world too soon, but he continues to haunt the narrative in ways that weigh on Evan's guilty conscience.

This starts when robot duplicates are made of BGH students, including SuperDan, who turns against his creator. After that, a superhero from a parallel universe named Superpowergirl invades this universe. She claims she comes from a dimension where Dan was revered as the greatest hero to ever live. Dan's family even tries to take vengeance for his death.

These occurrences are chaotic, but nothing compares to when Evan was thrust twenty years into the future. There he learned the world was overtaken by… Dan? Who was alive?!

Let's back up a bit to explain what happened.

Dan spent a year in hell after he died, but he made a deal with a demon named Tisiphone to be resurrected at the cost of her occupying his mind at all times. Tisiphone has the potential to overtake Dan’s mind, turning him into a rampaging lunatic. She can only be freed if Dan were to ever fall in love.

When Dan came back to life, he returned to a world overtaken by villains after nearly all superheroes were wiped out. Dan couldn't fight off the evildoers himself, but he found help in a stranger who promised Dan the means to save Earth in exchange for his loyalty.

Dan was forced to commit horrible acts to save the planet, forever warping his moral compass. The only way he could trap Tisiphone out of his body was through… forcing himself onto Evan's girlfriend Gen, whom he eventually turned into his brainwashed concubine. After absorbing the powers of the Purple Flashlight Corps, he had the near-godlike power to dominate the planet.

Now he has created a world free of villainy where everyone is equal. Poverty, crime, and countries have been abolished. Everyone is united, but under his cruel dictatorship. This future is Evan's fault—if he hadn't been inexplicably thwarted into the future, he wouldn't have been around to temper Dan from this dark path.

This romp in the future ended with Evan literally destroying the universe, and being sent back in time to set things right. However, Future-Dan managed to return to the past as well. Going under the name Paradox, he tries influencing events from the shadows to ensure his perfect future remains the same.

By the time Dan's back to life, he's hardened from his time spent in hell. Dan re-enrolls into Bad Guy High, but is outcasted by his peers. Of course this is thanks to Paradox's involvement, trying to keep Dan isolated and separated from Evan so his emo phase worsens. Thankfully they're able to reunite and Dan forgives Evan.

Evan didn’t have the heart to tell Dan what the future held, but he tried his best to steer him right. Dan only learned about his future from Gen, who he gave permission to kill him to stop him from becoming a monster. Even though she didn’t have the guts to slay him for his future crimes, SuperDan swore he’d never hurt her.

In spite of Evan’s efforts, Dan is being nudged into Paradox’s future when the Purple Flashlight approaches him for his assistance. This leads to him absorbing the powers of the Corps and his violent tendencies amplifying. Tisiphone finally got to his head, turning him into the fiendish Devoid who went on a massive killing spree.

Thankfully, Dan’s conscience overrides Tisiphone’s repulsive desires and separates himself from her. He’s back to normal, but he’s disgusted by the person he’s become. Thankfully Evan’s there to remind him he shouldn’t take it out on himself. Paradox is still at large, and only SuperDan can change his future.

Fighting a version of himself that’s better than him in every way is a mountainous task. Paradox tries to make Dan see his perspective, justifying every sin he committed for the greater good. He became a heartless dictator so he’d live long enough for a new age of superheroes to rise and take him down, truly saving the world.

However, all it took for SuperDan to beat Paradox was one simple question: in the future, is he still a man of his word? Paradox’s affirmation was the death of him.

Keeping his word is what kept him from giving in to Devoid. He promised Gen that he'd never hurt her. When he can’t trust his powers, friends, or even himself, he’ll still always keep his word. He gives his word he’ll never become Paradox, so his evil future self finally fades from existence.

With the world saved, Dan left Bad Guy High behind. He murdered millions of people, it's impossible for him to return to the way things were and act like nothing is wrong. In the end, he really was the greatest villain to come out of BGH.

And so… Dan takes off to deal with his demons and travel across the multiverse to find somewhere he truly belongs. Without SuperDan around, Paradox's prophecy became true and villains took the world by storm, leaving few superheroes left. At least Evan graduated with the highest dishonors!

So did Dan ever return to his dimension? He sure did. After many years of dimension hopping, he's an adult, donning the guise of a hero named Paragon X. He doesn't involve himself with heroes often with how things tend to devolve when he's around them. Still, it seems he's back to bring some positive influence in this world run by villains…

Before I move on…


Some of the abilities I'll go over are early superpowers that fizzled out over time as Dan became more accustomed to his body's changes. I'll go over them anyway because they're way too funny to ignore.

SuperDan is also the first character I've researched that plays a notable part in the Crossoverlord canon. The Crossoverlord is a webcomic that connects many webcomics through a shared multiverse, including series like Mindmistress, Dasien, and *sigh* Lightbringer…

I've researched webcomics connected by it before like Gunnerkrigg Court and Blade Kitten, but those amount to cameos. SuperDan on the other hand is majorly involved in Crossoverlord conflicts. These take place between arcs of the main comic, hosted on the Bad Guy High Adventures spinoff site.

The Crossoverlord is canon to Bad Guy High, as the source-wall is directly referenced in the ending. However, considering the vast canon of the project, featuring other absurd crossover-reliant characters like Jenny Everywhere, cross-scaling will not factor into the blog (apologies, no Lightbringer scaling for you). What WILL factor into it are feats SuperDan performs himself in Bad Guy High Adventures and any weapons/powers he possesses.

Experience and Skill


I didn't edit this panel

Dan may be young and inexperienced compared to other superheroes, but his potential can’t be understated. In one future he’s the greatest superhero to have ever lived, and in another he enslaved the whole planet. But what about this timeline’s Dan?


SuperDan had a decent track record fighting bad guys and saving civilians, but it's in the latter half of the webcomic where he truly makes an impact on the world.


On one hand he did a lot of good. He was able to fight off hordes of his classmates and BGH staff after Principal Doom-Face hypnotized everyone. His talents are recognized by the Camaraderie of Heroes and he gains the opportunity to team up with the big leagues.


On the other, Dan threatened the planet as Devoid. He killed superheroes far more experienced than him with a broad range of powers. He weaponized Manhattan, murdering everyone on it. He even beat his brother Captain Perfect. Dan's kill count by the end of the series is, according to him, 20 million.


Dan often comes across as a dopey himbo, as there are many common words he acts like he doesn't know. Regardless, he's much smarter than he lets on. Ever since gaining his powers his intelligence and perception gradually improved. He isn't on Evan's level of evil genius, but he was able to build an advanced life support system he suspended his groomer teacher Pandora inside.


At the time of Generation Bad's release, Dan is now an adult. Once he returns to his dimension it's apparent how the heroes there don't compare to him in power. Factoring in his added experience traveling to other worlds and he's the most threatening super there is to the villain society.


Equipment


Scary Mask

Stop. Stop. I'm sorry, how have I already lost the plot at the FIRST item in the equipment section? Why does Dan have Eustace's spooky mask from Courage the Cowardly Dog on hand??? I mean it's not the same mask but it might as well be!

Sword

It’s a magic sword handed down from father to son in ancient Japan to protect the past by stopping a shape-shifting wizard from taking over the future. That’s the backstory Dan gave it, but it’s just a normal sword he bought.

Cosmic Terraforming Weapon

Bad Guy High Adventures gives SuperDan crazy stuff. Case in point, this weapon designed for cosmic terraforming. It releases enough raw planetary material to cover an entire solar system. He used this to cover a hole in the source-code wall, the barrier between multiverses. Unfortunately the weapon blew up as he sealed it.


Abilities


Flight

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's legally distinct Superman! Flight is his most used power after being bitten.

Heat Vision

Enhanced Durability

SuperDan is tough, easily shrugging off most attacks. He's even bulletproof, so long as the bullets don't contain clownonite.


50% Rage Form

Oh, that's…… that's literally just super saiyan……… This transformation is a byproduct of when he first gained his powers thanks to traces of gamma radiation in his blood. After he burned through the gamma radiation, he lost the ability to go super saiyan. However, there's no way I can just leave THIS out!

Simply, when SuperDan is pushed to his limit, his hair sticks up and turns gold, his body shines a radioactive green, and his strength boosts. If this is only halfway of his transformation, then what does it look like at 100%?

100% Rage Form

The copyright gods are FUMING right now. So yeah, the angrier Dan becomes, the more likely he is to… hulk out. Despite what the appearance suggests, Dan can still think rationally in this form. However, if he thinks too rationally to the point where his rage subsides, he just de-transforms. Since the previously discussed form isn't usable anymore, neither is this.

Self-Sustenance (Type 1)

Sure, I guess he can breathe in space too.

Molecular Manipulation

SuperDan can… spin his molecules so fast that the polarity of projectiles heading his way are reversed, deflecting them? Huh?????

4th Wall Breaking

There have been some instances of the comic lifting up the veil and showing the characters aware of its fictional status, but most appear to just be non-canon joke pages. This showcase of SuperDan moving a panel away, however, isn't treated like a joke. Rather it's just shown as a thing that happens.

Super-Hearing

You can't sneak up on someone with enhanced hearing, y'know?

Regeneration (High-Mid)

SuperDan has a great healing factor, even recovering from clownonite bullets easily (so long as they don't hit a 1-hit kill shot like his head). His regeneration is so potent that he returned to normal after his whole body was blown to bits! However, that's mainly thanks to…

Purple Flashlight Form

SuperDan absorbed the power of the Power Battery, the source of the Purple Flashlight Corps’ power, causing him to ascend and become a Purple Flashlight himself. If you thought this was a Green Lantern knockoff you'd be right on the money, though the design is more so based on Superman Blue. Their rings are powered by imagination. Dan unfortunately lost his Purple Flashlight powers after separating himself from Devoid, but he's still plenty strong without them.

Dan's healing factor is way more potent in this form, which is how he survived being blown to smithereens. Time to go over some powers this transformation offers!

Energy Projection

Those are some stronk vaporizing blasts!

Bubble Manipulation

With his Purple Flashlight powers, he can trap people in bubbles that are difficult to break, and can control where he moves them.

Super-Senses

Just a form of extrasensory perception, able to detect strong energy signals.

Devoid

SuperDan came back from the dead thanks to Tisiphone. She’d been biding her time until he gained another foreign being inside him from the Purple Flashlight. She overtook Dan, turning him into the evil Devoid. Devoid is basically if Dan was bloodlusted. He still acts like Dan spouting one-liners, only they're way edgier.

Tisiphone whispers to him in this state to spur him into committing heinous acts, but he can go against them and fly out of that body. However, this leads to…

Ret-Kahn

When SuperDan separates himself from Devoid, his old body becomes its own separate entity called Ret-Kahn. Ret-Kahn is a threatening monster with the terrifying power to rewrite history. That likely explains some of the changes in continuity in the comic. This creature is so dangerous that the Bobble-Heads of the Universe had to intervene to seal it away.

... Fuck, it's literally named after retconning.

Dimensional Travel

Thanks to Evan's tech, Dan can travel anywhere in the multiverse.


Resistances


Techniques


N/A


Feats


Overall


  • Stopped Evan from holding the world ransom with his doomsday device
  • Ended Peter’s rampage with the Necronomicon
  • Convinced Warner Bros. to let him continue being SuperDan despite infringing on their copyright
  • Defeated Bizarro-Dan
  • Endured a year in hell
  • Solo’d his classmates after they ganged up on him in dodgeball
  • Defeated a bunch of SuperDan clones created by Paradox
  • Beat the Camaraderie of Heroes as Devoid
  • Threw Manhattan into Illinois, causing the deaths of 19,551,600 civilians
  • Beat Paradox by making him realize in the future, he doesn’t keep to his word. With that, Paradox and his timeline faded from existence
  • Sealed the source-code wall, saving the multiverse


Strength



Speed


Durability


Weaknesses

  • Clowns are his biggest weakness, so Evan weaponized the essence of clowns called Clownonite. He can heal from stuff like clownonite bullets in any area besides his head, but being exposed to too much of the substance will kill him.
  • Vulnerable to magic
  • There aren’t really any inherent weaknesses to his Hulk form since he’s able to still think rationally while having immense strength. However, if he thinks too rationally he’ll transform back into his scrawnier normal body
  • Dorky himbo
  • He made a deal with Tisiphone in order to come back to life, but at the cost of her occupying his mind at every moment. The deal is that if he were to ever love or be with anyone, that would release her into this world. He’s terrified of the temptation and the darkness within him 


Matchup Potential



I don't want Bad Guy High anywhere near Death Battle, but man would it be funny. SuperDan is one of the biggest guilty pleasure characters I've encountered in all of media for how off-the-wall he is conceptually. 

He's an apparent self-insert of the author (literally named Dan irl) who was bitten by a radioactive "superman," stole Superman's iconography and slapped his name on it, has referential powers to comics and anime, and has a weakness to the essence of clowns—and yet SuperDan is played seriously after the first 100 pages. Where do you even come up with this?!

On top of that he's actually powerful when it comes to feats. He would unironically mop the floor with most characters I've previously researched, which is hilarious.

The ideal opponent would come from a self-aware parody or another so-bad-it's-good series. I haven't seen anything that fully clicks with me yet. Apparently he's similar to Sentry from Marvel, only way less serious. I was also suggested The Dragonfly from Superhero Movie, which I plan on looking into.

It would be really funny if there was a manga equivalent to SuperDan though. It could be the most scuffed version of Goku vs Superman to ever grace the VS sphere.


NEXT TIME ON WCAB… whenever I feel like it

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SuperDan Saves the Day in DEATH BATTLE?!?!

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