The Death of Superman in particular.
Given the high level of publicity surrounding the event, however, DC decided they couldn’t just bring Superman back right away and spoil the drama. Instead, they let the storyline extend for months, spotlighting Superman’s funeral, the fallout from his death, and the coming of several successors, some of which claimed to be the real Superman. While this storyline has since been adapted into both live-action and animated films, let’s take a look back at how these events originally played out.
Surprisingly, Superman’s death came not at the hands of a classic enemy like Lex Luthor or Brainiac, but a completely new villain, Doomsday, who came out of nowhere. Later comics would give him an origin that would tie him to Krypton – revealing he was a genetically engineered creature who had been created during Krypton’s prehistoric age.
Intended to become the ultimate killing machine by the scientist Bertron, the creature was placed in Krypton’s harsh environment where it died, only to be cloned again by Bertron over and over again, until the cycle of death and life forced the child to rapidly evolve into an incredibly powerful form, capable of withstanding extreme temperatures, brutal attacks, lack of sustenance, and even air.
After killing its creator, the creature went on a rampage across several planets, even killing Green Lanterns, but was eventually contained in a casket and jettisoned into space. Many years later, the creature who would come to be known as Doomsday showed up in Superman: The Man of Steel #17 in a full-body suit that tied one of his arms behind his back. Apparently mindless, the then-nameless creature rampaged through America’s Midwest until it met up with the Justice League.
Although the League sported some powerful in Maxima, Fire, and Booster Gold, the creature fought them all off with one hand literally tied behind his back. This prompted Booster Gold to name the monster “Doomsday” by the time Superman arrived on the scene. The Man of Steel was able to rally the Justice League into blasting Doomsday with their energy powers, but this only succeeded in freeing Doomsday from his bonds, revealing a grey-skinned behemoth covered with sharp bony protrusions.
Doomsday took down the rest of the Justice League and made his way to Metropolis, but Superman followed even as he rampaged through the city, killing several people. In a titanic struggle that devastated several buildings simply from the shockwaves of their blows, the at the cost of his own life.
In the aftermath, the Justice League attempted to revive Superman but failed. Superman’s death shocked the world who decided to honor him with a hero’s funeral, although tragically, his parents Jonathan and Martha Kent could not attend. Many mourners, including the Justice League, showed their solidarity by wearing black Superman armbands, but few knew how to move on in Superman’s absence. Shortly after Superman’s funeral, the organization Project Cus stole his body and tried to clone it, but it was later recovered.
Despite Superman’s absence from his own books, he did actually make an unexpected appearance. When his father Jonathan suffered a heart attack and fell into a coma, Clark was there to meet him in the afterlife, allowing Jonathan to try to convince his son to come back to life. Jonathan later recovered and was convinced that he’d saved his son. While many didn’t know what to make of his statements, shortly after, Superman’s body disappeared again – and several new heroes appeared on the scene bearing Superman’s symbol.
These included a grim, visor-wearing vigilante who called himself “The Last Son of Krypton.” Based, in part, on how Superman was initially presented in the Golden Age, this Superman had no problem killing people and told Lois that Clark Kent was dead and that only Superman remained. Strangely, this Superman appeared as an energy being in the Fortress of Solitude and later journeyed to Superman’s crypt where he arose in Superman’s body.
Another being became known as the Cyborg Superman. Resembling a half-mechanical Kryptonian with Superman’s face and costume, this Cyborg claimed to have amnesia but could recall the name “Kent” and a farm in Kansas. Tests later confirmed his DNA was Superman’s and that the mechanical parts of his body matched the areas on Superman’s body that were wounded in battle. Since this Superman couldn’t resume a Clark Kent identity, he also became Superman full time.
The other two beings were more successors to Superman than resurrected versions of the Man of Tomorrow. One was the teenage clone Cus had managed to create, apparently from Superman’s DNA, whom the media dubbed “Superboy.” The other was John Henry Irons, a former weapons designer whom Superman had saved long ago, who designed an “Iron Man-type” suit of armor that simulated many of Superman’s powers. While John Henry’s “Man of Steel” concentrated on street-level crime, Superboy became a media celebrity who loved the camera, although he did genuinely try to save people.
Things got even stranger when a fifth Superman emerged from the Fortress of Solitude, alive but largely powerless. Making his way to Metropolis, this Superman learned that the Cyborg Superman was a traitor who was in league with the alien warlord Mongul. The Cyborg apparently killed the “Last Son of Krypton” and later destroyed Green Lantern’s home of Coast City. In retaliation, Superboy, the Man of Steel, and the new Superman went after the Cyborg – but not before the new Superman convinced Lois Lane that he was really Clark Kent.
More revelations came out. It turned out that Cyborg Superman was really a human man named Hank Henshaw who had gained the power to control machines after a doomed space flight that killed the rest of his crew and his wife. Blaming Superman for his condition and his wife’s death, Henshaw used his powers to create a Cyborg Superman body and then strong-armed Mongul into helping him take over the Earth. Wanting to ruin Superman’s good name, he masqueraded as Superman so he would be blamed.
Meanwhile, the “Last Son of Krypton” (who had survived the Cyborg’s attack) was actually an artificial Kryptonian being called the Eradicator who was sworn to protect all Kryptonian life – including Superman’s. Alerted by Superman’s death, the Eradicator went to Superman’s crypt and recovered his body – creating a physical form for himself out of matter from the crypt. The Eradicator also placed Superman in a healing cocoon, but also siphoned energy from him to fuel his own powers and become “Superman.”
How Superman truly recovered is up for debate. The Eradicator told Clark that he actually died and was brought back only by luck and Kryptonian technology. Others stated that Superman had just fallen into a healing coma and could have been revived by sunlight (which he ironically received when Cus stole his body and experimented on it). In certain retellings, Clark had vague memories of Jonathan Kent urging him to come back to life and credited his father for saving his spirit.
Regardless, the Eradicator ed Superman, the Man of Steel, and Superboy in their fight against Hank Henshaw/Cyborg Superman. Even back to full strength, Superman made short work of the Cyborg Superman and returned to his regular duties (albeit sporting a new mullet that he’d somehow grown while dead).
Despite the eventual return to the status quo, the Death of Superman/Funeral for a Friend/Reign of the Supermen storyline created several lasting changes to the Superman mythos. The Cyborg Superman became a major villain for both Superman and the Green Lantern Corps. Superboy became a popular character and gained his own Kryptonian name “Kon-El” and an Earth name, “Conner Kent,” establishing himself as a younger brother to Superman. The Man of Steel (later just “Steel”) became another new hero and an ally of Superman. And Doomsday would also recover and get a rematch with Superman.
For a storyline born partly out of a media frenzy, The Death of Superman is an epic tale, full of plenty of human emotion to balance out the non-stop action. Interest in Superman was on the decline in the 1990s, but his death – and the subsequent power of his later storylines, helped to remind the world why they needed a Superman. Like many things, no one truly appreciated Superman until he was gone.
