Warning! Contains Spoilers For Action Comics Presents: Doomsday SpecialAt one time or another, Superman has faced off against the most dangerous villains in the DC Universe, but few enemies have been as powerful or as terrifying as Doomsday. Doomsday is the only villain that can't be beaten, regardless of how much physical strength people throw at him – but as it turns out, it isn't Superman's strength that is needed to beat Doomsday, it is Superman's symbol of hope.

Action Comics Presents: Doomsday Special – Dan Watters, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Adriano Lucas, and Dave Sharpe – finds Doomsday in Hell, after having been killed in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, where he proves to still be a major threat, nearly breaking out of Hell to return to reality, only to be stopped by an unexpected force: hope.

Martian Manhunter Uses Hope To Beat Doomsday

In Action Comics Presents: Doomsday Special, readers witness Doomsday absolutely destroying everything in Hell. Doomsday is a being who can regenerate after being killed, regardless of the injury, and even becomes immune to what killed him originally. This is a problem for Hell, since every time they torture him to death, he simply comes back, to the point he even begins overpowering his jailers. Doomsday becomes so powerful that he nearly breaks out of Hell to return to reality, and the only thing that stops him isn't physical might, but hope. Since Hell is a metaphysical place, it runs on belief. If the denizens believe Doomsday is strong enough to escape Hell, then he will be.

Doomsday Is Sealed In Hell By A Wall Of Hopeful Souls

As Doomsday is tearing through Hell, the denizens of Hell begin to believe that Doomsday is strong enough to do whatever he wants. The turning point in the Doomsday Special comes when Martian Manhunter calls out to all the tortured souls of Hell and pleads with them to have hope that Doomsday can be stopped. This hope allows the trapped souls to create a wall, blocking Doomsday from escaping, and preventing him from laying waste and destruction to the people of Earth. While the narration does argue that the people of Hell have no hope, this narration comes from The First of the Fallen, the ruler of Hell, and is therefore fairly biased.

In Sandman, Dream of the Endless once told Lucifer that dreams are needed in Hell to inspire hope, so it should be clear to readers that First of the Fallen is just biased in his claims. Superman's Symbol of Hope is what ultimately manages to protect Metropolis from another Doomsday attack, not his strength. There's no doubt that Superman is strong. He's been portrayed as capable of moving entire planets and has fought literal Gods. Superman once held up all creation with his absurd strength. But despite how absurdly strong Superman is, his physical strength was never enough to truly beat Doomsday.

This is why Doomsday is the only villain Superman fears, because, despite all the Man of Steel's physical strength and power, it isn't enough to beat Doomsday. Every time Superman fights Doomsday, the villain always manages to come back, stronger than ever. However, now it seems that Martian Manhunter and Hell itself have found the way to defeat Doomsday, and they didn't need physical strength to do it. Superman is one of the most powerful characters in comics, but his power comes from more than just strength. It comes from what he stands for. Doomsday thrives on negativity. Hope is Doomsday's biggest weakness because it runs counter to his very nature.

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