Doomsday is well known as the being that killed Superman. Created by Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson and Brett Breeding for the infamous Death of Superman event, Doomsday is one character with whom any fight is a tense affair, especially the rematch between the indestructible behemoth and the Man of Steel.
After Doomsday and Superman killed each other at the shocking end of their first bout, Doomsday’s body was placed in the custody of one of Superman’s four replacements at the time, Cyborg Superman. After the body of Doomsday was strapped to an asteroid and flung into deep space, it was revealed that Doomsday didn’t stay dead for long, something that concerned Superman after his resurrection. The Man of Steel’s fears were realized in the 1994 comic Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey by Doomsday creators Jurgens and Breeding. When a salvage ship headed for Apokolips picks up Doomsday’s body, they unknowingly unleash the unstoppable force back upon the universe.
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Upon arrival to Apokolips, Doomsday begins to wreak a new path of destruction. When the creature comes face to face with the lord of Apokolips, Darkseid, the fight doesn’t go the way the New God imagined. As one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe, Darkseid believes that a single blast from his Omega beams will stop Doomsday, as they do most opponents. But instead, Doomsday simply gets back up and beats Darkseid to within an inch of his life, setting up the ultimate rematch against the Man of Steel.
Superman is alerted to the situation on Apokolips by Darkseid’s right-hand man, Desaad. When he sees Doomsday is alive, Superman is terrified, even more so when he sees Darkseid fall unconscious before him. Waverider reveals the origin of Doomsday: a Kryptonian experiment to create an indestructible being that could adapt to anything. The only way Doomsday’s creators could stop him was to create a being called the Radiant, who was once able to defeat the monster. Desaad sent Doomsday to Calaton, believing that the Radiant could defeat Doomsday, but Waverider reveals that what killed Doomsday once won’t work on him again.
After dealing with Cyborg Superman, who used the ensuing chaos to take over Apokolips, Superman sets his sights on the one fight he’s been avoiding: his inevitable rematch with Doomsday. With the help of a Mother Box, Superman is given armor and weaponry to assist him in taking down his deadliest enemy. He travels to Calaton, where he finds Doomsday has indeed adapted, winning his deadly rematch with the Radiant.
Superman faces down Doomsday, shocked to discover that the creature recognizes him and is also now capable of speech. Learning from their last fight, Superman keeps his distance and blasts him with his heat vision to no avail. Kal-El’s more distanced approach is useless as Doomsday’s boney protrusions shoot out and pierce through the shoulder of the last Kryptonian. Even the weapons provided by Mother Box only work briefly, with Doomsday’s boney protrusions covering his ears in reaction to an ultrasonic attack and his body instantly healing after a cut from a laser sword.
Even with the help of Waverider, Doomsday is hardly affected by Superman’s attacks. Seeing Waverider’s time-traveling gauntlet on the ground, Superman hatches the ultimate plan. Hitting Doomsday with everything he’s got, Superman disorientates the beast long enough to attach the gauntlet. Mother Box activates it and takes the creature to the end of time, which breaks Doomsday’s body down until there’s nothing left.
With Doomsday finally defeated, Waverider returns Superman to Metropolis and Mother Box uses the last of her energy to heal the Kryptonian’s wounds. The Man of Tomorrow may have been unable to beat Doomsday with brute strength, but his quick thinking gave him an edge that allowed him to claim a final victory over his ultimate foe.
While Doomsday eventually found his way out of the end of time and became a semi-regular opponent of Superman, this battle proved that Superman could take down Doomsday without getting himself killed in the process. Beyond that, it saw Superman face his fears and take on one of the few things in the universe that truly firghtened him.
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