The Death and Rebirth of Superman JSTOR. The Death (and Rebirth) of Superman Marc Kipniss The comic book, now almost sixty years old, is one of the most enduring and. . The New Adventures of Superman had started and Warner Bros. had requested that the comic do the wedding. are related to The Death and Return of Superman.
SUPERMAN: THE DEATH OF SUPERMANThe story that drew national media attention when DC Comics killed their greatest hero is collected here. When a hulking monster emerges from an underground resting place and begins a mindless rampage, the Justice League is quickly called in to stop the colossal force of nature. But it soon becomes apparent that only Superman can stand against the monstrosity that has been nicknamed Doomsday. Battling their way throughout America, the two fight to a standstill as they reach the heart of Metropolis.
DC Comics is home to the 'World's Greatest Super Heroes,” including SUPERMAN, BATMAN, WONDER WOMAN. along with it secrets from throughout comic book.
Going punch for punch, Superman finally ends the threat of Doomsday as he throws one last punch and collapses forever.
The Death of Superman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"The Death of Superman" is a 1. DC Comics' Superman titles. The completed multi- issue story arc was given the title The Death and Return of Superman.[1]In the story, Superman engages in battle with a seemingly unstoppable killing machine named Doomsday in the streets of Metropolis.[2] At the fight's conclusion, both combatants apparently die from their wounds in Superman (vol. The crossover depicted the world's reaction to Superman's death in "Funeral for a Friend," the emergence of four individuals believed to be the "new" Superman, and the eventual return of the original Superman in "Reign of the Supermen!". The storyline, devised by editor Mike Carlin and the Superman writing team of Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway, and Karl Kesel, met with enormous success: the Superman titles gained international exposure, reaching to the top of the comics sales charts and selling out overnight. The event was widely covered by national and international news media. The storyline was loosely adapted into a 2.
Synopsis. The Death of Superman is a comic book storyline (culminating in Superman (vol. 2) #75 in 1992) that served as the catalyst for DC Comics' crossover event of. DC Comics is home to the 'World's Greatest Super Heroes,” including SUPERMAN. THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN. U.S. Price: $9.99. Comic Shops Enter Zip Code.
Superman: Doomsday.[3]Origins[edit]The story of The Death of Superman's conception goes back to the 1. Crisis on Infinite Earths. Following that event, DC Comics rebooted their continuity and relaunched the Superman character with the miniseries "The Man of Steel", written by John Byrne. However, due to disputes with DC, Byrne left the Superman books and was replaced by Roger Stern. While the stories continued from Byrne's revamp, sales slowly dropped. In an effort to attract female readers, the Lois Lane/Clark Kent/Superman love triangle, in place since 1.
In a development based on events in Byrne's revamp, Lois was already falling in love with Clark Kent, rather than with Superman. In a story arc titled "Krisis of Krimson Kryptonite", Clark proposes to Lois; she accepts. Although the road was set for the marriage of Lois and Clark, an unforeseen event would change these plans. In 1. 99. 2, the television series based on Superboy concluded after four seasons in syndication. However, producer Alexander Salkind was precluded from doing any further work on the series (he and son Ilya had planned a series of telefilms to bring Superboy to an official end) after Warner Bros., the owner of DC Comics, reclaimed certain intellectual property rights he had been in possession of since 1. Shortly thereafter, Warner Bros.
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, a new series for ABC which was premised upon a romantic relationship between Lois Lane and Clark Kent/Superman. One of the ideas that arose during production was the wedding of Lois Lane and Clark Kent/Superman. Warner Bros. learned that DC Comics was planning a similar plot line in the Superman comic books, and as a result DC, Warner Bros., and the Superman writing staff came together and reached an agreement: the Lois and Clark wedding arc in the comic book would be put on hold, to resume once the Lois & Clark TV show reached its wedding episode. With the original storyline set aside in the comic, an original event was needed to replace it. According to a documentary on Superman: Doomsday, the Superman writing team members were miffed at having a year's worth of story planning put aside, and flustered for ideas. At the end of one meeting, Adventures of Superman writer Jerry Ordway suggested, jokingly, "Let's just kill 'im." The joke became a running gag in story meetings, but eventually gained traction with Superman group editor Mike Carlin. In the documentary film Look, Up in the Sky!
The Amazing Story of Superman Carlin states: "the world was taking Superman for granted, so we literally said 'let's show what the world would be like without Superman'."Storyline[edit]Doomsday![edit]On the last page of several comics prior to Superman: The Man of Steel #1. Doomsday is coming!" In that issue, Superman fights the Underworlders while a hulking figure in a green suit rampages through a pastoral field, deliberately killing a trusting songbird - and later a deer. This marks the first of seven issues in the "Doomsday!" story, which would continue through all four of the Superman books at that time, and one issue of Justice League America, before culminating in Superman (vol.
The Justice League International (Guy Gardner, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Maxima, Fire, Ice, and Bloodwynd) responds to a call from a smashed big- rig outside of Bucyrus, Ohio, and follows the trail of senseless destruction which leads them to a confrontation with the mysterious creature.[2] It systematically takes the team apart, starting by throwing a tree trunk through their aircraft and finishing by punching Booster Gold into the stratosphere. Booster Gold is caught in mid- air by Superman, and declares "It's like Doomsday is here", thus providing the monster with a name.
The Man of Steel arrives on the scene, having cut short a television interview with Cat Grant in Justice League America #6. He and the able- bodied League members follow the threat to the home of a single mother and her two children, where their battle with "Doomsday" destroys the house.
The League attacks Doomsday with all their energy- projection powers; the only discernible effect is that much of his bodysuit is blasted or burned off. Doomsday again defeats the League, causes the house to explode into flames, and then leaps away. Superman follows, after saving the small family. Superman throws Doomsday into the bottom of a lake.
After Doomsday escapes from the lake bed, he and Superman tear up a city street. Maxima then reenters the fray. Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen are sent to cover the battle for television, while Lex Luthor (then masquerading as his non- existent son "Lex Luthor II") dissuades Supergirl from joining the fight. The fight continues at a gas station, where Maxima rips a light post from the ground; the sparks from the wiring ignite the leaking gasoline and the station is destroyed in a huge explosion. Guardian arrives after Doomsday leaves, finding Superman and Maxima, and offers his aid. Superman then follows Doomsday's trail of destruction (compared to that of a major tornado), waiting for an opportunity to attack. With the monster's rampage drawing closer, Lex Jr.
Supergirl that she's needed in Metropolis while Superman is fighting elsewhere. While demolishing an appliance store, Doomsday sees a TV commercial for a wrestling show being held in Metropolis, and after seeing a road sign for Metropolis, heads in that direction. Superman engages him and throws him in the opposite direction, where he lands on the mountain housing Project Cadmus. They brawl throughout Habitat, a living forest connected to Cadmus, bringing most of it down. When the superhero Guardian arrives, Doomsday knocks him down and leaps toward Metropolis.
Doomsday is driven below ground, where he ruptures gas and electrical mains, leveling Newtown, a large section of Metropolis. Supergirl goes to Superman's aid, but a single punch from Doomsday knocks her to the ground, her form destabilized.
Professor Emil Hamilton and Bibbo Bibbowski, Superman's allies, fire a laser cannon at Doomsday, but it does not harm him. The local police open fire on Doomsday, but again, he is not harmed. Superman returns to the fight. Superman and Doomsday lay into each other with everything they have. They strike each other with so much force that the shockwaves from their punches shatter windows. At the struggle's culminating moment in front of the Daily Planet building, each fighter lands a massive blow upon his opponent. The two titans collapse and moments later, in the arms of a frantic Lois Lane, Superman succumbs to his wounds and seemingly dies.[2] Jimmy, Ice, and Bloodwynd are also present at the end.
The climactic event happened in Superman (vol. The issue only contains 2. Adventures of Superman #4.
Action Comics #6. Superman: The Man of Steel #1. The entire story was immediately collected into a trade paperback and titled The Death of Superman. Funeral for a Friend[edit].
DC Comics' casts pays tribute to The Man of Steel. Art by Dan Jurgens.
The funeral that followed featured many of Superman's fellow heroes and friends, including most of the Justice League of America, and a mausoleum was built in Metropolis in honor of the Man of Steel. During this time, every hero in the DC Universe (even Guy Gardner and Green Arrow, neither of whom had ever personally gotten along with him) sported a black arm band featuring the S- Shield logo. Some time later, Project Cadmus stole Superman's body from his mausoleum, which had been ironically provided by his longtime foe Lex Luthor, who said that if he couldn't kill Superman, then he at least wanted to bury him.
It was hypothesized that they were attempting to clone him. The body was recovered by Lois Lane and Supergirl. The stories after the funeral often dealt with the emotions felt by the general public as well as specific characters entwined within Superman's world, including Lois Lane, Clark Kent's parents, and even a number of supervillains.
The contemporary real- life President of the United States and First Lady, Bill and Hillary Clinton, were also included in a scene during the funeral. With Superman gone, crime rises up again and the costumed heroes of Metropolis rise to fill in as protectors. Supergirl, Gangbuster, Thorn, and even Team Luthor, a Lexcorp- sponsored team, all tried but were not sufficient. Meanwhile, Jonathan Kent took the death of his adoptive son the hardest and as a result suffered a heart attack. At this point, all Superman comic titles went on a three- month hiatus. The story (minus the epilogue) was also collected into trade paperback form.
Rather than using the banner title Funeral for a Friend, the title used for the collection was World Without a Superman. Reign of the Supermen![edit]. Promotional images for Reign of the Supermen! Following a three- month hiatus on the Superman titles, all of them were relaunched.