Arrowverse Is Secretly Adapting Death Of Superman (Without Killing Clark)

Throughout Superman & Lois season 1, the Arrowverse has secretly been adapting The Death of Superman — without killing off Clark Kent. Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman has been a superhero for years in the Arrowverse continuity, which is a fresh take on the hero. Still, the creators behind the series have offered plenty of Easter eggs and references that pay tribute to past Superman comics — and likely some of them will get payoffs in later seasons. One story in particular that Superman & Lois has set up is The Death of Superman, which is one of the biggest stories from the comics.

The Death of Superman changed the hero’s history forever: the iconic storyline had a huge impact not just on the character, but on how comics in general dealt with the death of a superhero or other traumatic life-changing events. Not only has The Death of Superman been adapted into animated movies, but it was one of the major influences for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Doomsday, the creature that murders Superman, was even featured as a main villain on Smallville and Krypton.

Despite Superman & Lois only being in season 1, the Arrowverse has still managed to find ways to incorporate Easter eggs and characters from The Death of Superman — all without actually killing off the hero. Given the nature of the Arrowverse series, it’s highly unlikely that the titular hero would die (even temporarily), so it makes sense that Superman & Lois has found a workaround to adapt one of Superman’s most important comic stories.

What Happens In The Death of Superman Comic

The Death of Superman became one of the most historical moments in the character’s entire legacy and the comic genre itself. When Superman comics began to struggle, DC developed a story where the Man of Steel met his match and died. Not only did DC want to see the world’s reaction to Superman’s death, but they also wanted to invent something that could hurt him that wasn’t Kryptonite. It led to the creation of Doomsday, a creature that was practically invisible and could take on the entire Justice League. The Death of Superman built up their showdown from the moment Doomsday arrived on Earth to the final issue where he and Superman beat each other to death. The Reign of the Supermen saga following, in which Cyborg Superman, Superboy, Steel, and the Eradicator all tried to replace Superman — until Clark came back from the dead.

While the intention was never to keep Superman dead forever, DC saw firsthand the colossal impact of his passing across the world. The Death of Superman was a phenomenon that the event was even covered on the news and highly discussed. After Superman’s resurrection, his status as a global pop culture icon was bigger than ever. However, many critics and fans have always been divided about the death and return of Superman. Some feel it removed death and stakes in comics forever, while others saw it as an emotional, compelling story for Superman as a character. Regardless if one liked it or not, it doesn’t negate the significance The Death of Superman had and continues to have in the character’s legacy to this day.

Every Death of Superman Character in The Arrowverse

So far, there are a couple of major characters in the Arrowverse that are associated with The Death ofSuperman. Perhaps the most obvious is John Henry Irons, aka Steel, who was first introduced in Superman & Lois as “Captain Luthor.” While his Earth-Prime counterpart died years ago, John came from a world where he was married to Lois before that Earth’s Superman murdered her on live television. In response (and with help from his daughter), John built a special suit and hammer that he could use to fight superman. In The Death of Superman, John is a brilliant engineer whose life Superman saved. After witnessing Doomsday murder Superman, John built a suit of powered armor that replicated Superman’s powers in hopes of filling the void left by his death.

Another relevant The Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen character is the Eradicator, which the Arrowverse introduced on Superman & Lois. Arrowverse’s Eradicator began as an advanced machine that could store Kryptonian minds; however, the technology is now seemingly becoming a character after Morgan Edge’s “transformation” turned him into the Eradicator in episode 13. Finally, Clark and Lois’ son Jordan (or possibly his brother Jonathan) has been set up as Superboy in the Arrowverse. A major story in Superman & Lois season 1 is Jordan discovering his powers. In The Death of Superman, Conner, a clone created by Project Cadmus, takes on the mantle of Superboy; however, this basic story was recently featured in Titans, so the Arrowverse will likely follow the DC Rebirth version of Superboy, who is Clark and Lois’ biological son Jonathan. It’s possible the Arrowverse is tweaking the story by making Jordan Superboy, or his brother Jonathan could develop his own abilities in the future and by the one to follow in their father’s footsteps.

The final core figure from Reign of the Superman was actually introduced in Supergirl’s first two seasons: Hank Henshaw, a.k.a. Cyborg Superman. While Martian Manhunter took on Hank’s form, the real Henshaw became a soldier for Project Cadmus, who dubbed him Cyborg Superman. Henshaw is actually a villain in the comics, who poses as Superman after the hero’s death in order to ruin his reputation. Lastly, the main villain Doomsday has also been introduced by the Arrowverse — although he hasn’t been on-screen. Crisis on Infinite Earths established that Superman defeated Doomsday as part of his original Earth-38 history.

How The Arrowverse Is Adapting Death of Superman

While the basic The Death of Superman storyline isn’t part of  Superman & Lois season 1, the writers are cleverly incorporating those core characters into the Arrowverse as a way to adapt the story without killing Clark Kent. Rather than rush into the tragic Superman storyline, the Arrowverse is doing the groundwork, which includes establishing Steel and Eradicator. By fleshing them out as characters in future seasons, the Eradicator and Steel’s respective roles will feel more organic if the Arrowverse does adapt The Death of Superman story more directly.

Crisis on Infinite Earths name-dropped Doomsday right before the Arrowverse continuity was about to get rebooted, which seemed like convenient timing. Given the scale of The Death of Superman, it seems unlikely that Superman & Lois is skipping that story by including it as part of Clark’s past Superman timeline. It’s probable that the Arrowverse will reveal that Doomsday’s defeat is one of the many elements of Superman’s past that changed post-Crisis. It would be disappointing if Hoechlin’s Superman never gets the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with Doomsday, especially in a post-Crisis world that is now utilizing some of the key characters from The Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen.

The Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen would work as a Superman & Lois arc, but maybe even better as the plot for a future Arrowverse crossover. If the writers take the proper time to lead up to it and make it feel earned, this would be a great storyline to follow Crisis on Infinite Earths. Since the 5-part crossover, the Arrowverse hasn’t really revisited the Justice League that Crisis on Infinite Earths set up. That is why The Death of Superman would be a powerful way to re-introduce that aspect of the Arrowverse as a major crossover requiring multiple heroes to help save the world. Even if The Death of Superman doesn’t happen for several seasons, it has been fun to see the Arrowverse implement some of the characters and aspects throughout Superman & Lois.

About The Author

Andy Behbakht
(1044 Articles Published)

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Andy is a senior writer at Screen Rant as he has covered the world of entertainment journalism since 2010, including superhero/comic book media. In addition to his work as a reporter, Andy co-hosts The Flash Podcast while running and producing the entire DC TV Podcasts network. He is also the founder/editor-in-chief of The Marvel Report since Fall 2015. Andy has previously written for sites such as FanSided, KSiteTV, TV Fanatic, It’s Just Movies, Heroic Hollywood, TV Overmind, and more.

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