Remembering The Death of Superman

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​I remember growing up, when DC dropped a massive bombshell on all of us; the fact that Superman was going to die. It was something unheard of at the time, and such a big deal that it managed to make the six o’clock news back in the day and for me, it was a huge deal through and through, and The Death of Superman is still big and sweeping enough for me to go back and revisit whenever I have the time.  

For those unfamiliar with the story line, buried on earth was a massive and monstrous creature. Covered in thick skin and jutting bone, a being known as Doomsday emerged from the depths of our world to go on a rampage. A monster of incredible power, Doomsday managed to beat down the ranks of the Justice League before finally meeting its match in Superman. But their battle left Metropolis in ruins and worst of all, the world without its greatest hero. When I first heard that the end was near for Superman, I made it a point to know the entire story, after all, this is the first superhero I had ever known thanks to my dad and it only seemed right to know exactly what force in his world could stop a man of steel.   
 
Needless to say, I made sure to do extra chores, to earn extra allowance so I had enough cash to grab as many issues of this story as possible, and I was able to get my hands on a back issue of the Doomsday storyline every time my family went to the grocery store since a comic book store was right around the corner. But little could prepare my young mind for the horrors that awaited me in Issue #75, since that was the one that featured the Death of Superman.  

As a young boy, this is a story that I look back upon with great fondness simply because of the fact that it completely and utterly captivated me. Doomsday was chilling to see on the pages as the writers and artists slowly revealed the creature's hideous form and the fact that it was simply a force of nature in many ways made the story even more incredible. But of course, the big stunner was that Superman was indeed dead. It really didn't seem possible but there he was, lying still atop the ruins of Metropolis as Lois wept.

It was a powerful image, a powerful comic series and in many ways, it truly ignited my love for comics with its incredible story arc. I know some people are not fans of this particular moment in DC Comics' history, but for me...it was a bold and powerful story that stunned me to no end and I wasn't kidding when I said that there are times I pull out the trade paperback of the entire saga and find myself in awe once again as I relive the moment when Superman died…  

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