Warning! Spoilers for Superman #23!Doomsday for decades, but another one of Clark Kent's enemies has the perfect solution for beating the unbeatable monster. It has always seemed like, no matter what Superman does, he simply can't put this monster down once and for all - so it's genuinely surprising that Lex Luthor managed to defeat Doomsday, and he did it easily.

Lex Luthor deploys his Doomsday trap in Superman #23 by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora. Doomsday had seemingly been contained on Earth thanks to the Black Mercy venom, but this solution was complicated by the appearance of the Aftermath, a group of survivors from Doomsday's rampages, who wanted to take custody of Doomsday to enact their own justice - leading to Lex Luthor's perfect solution to taking down Doomsday.

And so begins an all-out war between Superman, the escaped Doomsday, and the Aftermath. Though the situation spirals more and more out of control, it is surprisingly solved by Lex Luthor, who simply uses Brainiac technology to shrink Doomsday down.

Lex Luthor Came Up with the Perfect Way to Beat Doomsday

Superman #23 by Joshua Williamson, Dan Mora, Alejandro Sánchez, and Ariana Maher

Superman has tried just about everything he can to defeat Doomsday and absolutely nothing has worked. In his very first story, Doomsday was beaten to death by Superman, but Superman also died due to his injuries. Since then, Superman has tried to come up with solutions to defeating Doomsday every time he returns, including by trapping Doomsday in the Phantom Zone, which he broke out of, trapping Doomsday at the end of time, which Brainiac saved him from, and trapping Doomsday in a teleportation loop. But nothing has worked so far.

Superman even tried using the Black Mercy to keep Doomsday trapped in a dream-like state. Unfortunately, this was only a temporary solution, as eventually, Doomsday developed resistance to the venom and become immune. It seemed like there was truly no way to stop him, but, of course, the genius Lex Luthor had a solution. Lex correctly noticed that Brainiac's containers are capable of trapping Kryptonians and Czarnians, two of the most physically powerful beings in the DC Universe. Therefore, there's no reason why they couldn't also hold Doomsday.

Doomsday Might Finally Be Defeated Once and for All

Lex Luthor's Solution Might Be the One Trap He Can't Escape

What makes Doomsday truly dangerous is his ability to evolve. But that evolution only takes place if Doomsday is either killed or if he's poisoned, like with the Black Mercy. When it comes to actual traps, Doomsday needs to punch his way out, or he'll be stuck. Doomsday never evolved to escape the Phantom Zone; he simply punched it hard enough to break out. If Doomsday doesn't have the strength to punch his way out of Brainiac's jars, then that really might be it for the monster.

Superman could have solved his Doomsday problem a lot sooner if he had only asked his archenemy Lex Luthor about how to take care of it.

Plus, even if Doomsday does break out of the jar, he's still tiny now. Lex Luthor uses Brainiac technology to shrink Doomsday down. He's only a few inches tall now, which means he's unlikely to pose any serious threat even if he does escape. Superman has tried a huge variety of methods to defeat Doomsday, and none of them have worked. Superman could have solved his Doomsday problem a lot sooner if he had only asked his archenemy Lex Luthor for help.

Superman #23 is available now from DC Comics!