10 Most Unkillable DC Superheroes, Ranked

DC Comics has built its universe on the idea that many of its superheroes are like modern-day gods, and no deity is complete without being immune to death. While many superheroes have died and been resurrected through outside sources or universal retcons, some naturally have the power to prevent or undo their own deaths even after sustaining catastrophic injuries. No matter what supervillains may try, these heroes’ physical invincibility, rapid healing, and resurrection abilities ensure they’re unkillable. Some of these superheroes can even survive without a body. With superheroes like these, the DC Universe doesn’t have to worry about potentially losing its protectors.

Death in comic books has always seemed to be a suggestion, not something permanent. Still, these superheroes take their ability to avoid the afterlife to a completely new level.

10) Superman

They don’t call him the Man of Steel for nothing. Despite his well-known list of weaknesses, Superman still stands as one of the most powerful characters in modern fiction and is almost impossible to kill. Superman’s infinite strength, speed, and durability ensure that he can withstand universal and multiversal attacks without suffering any permanent damage. And as if he couldn’t get any more overpowered, Superman has recently developed a gold form that grants him three minutes of immunity to Kryptonite. Many potential futures also depict Superman living for centuries and, in some cases, becoming an omnipotent being. Even though Superman has died in the past, his immense power ensures that only the strongest beings have a chance to take him out – and that only temporarily.

9) Immortal Man

If his name didn’t make it abundantly clear, Klarn Arg, aka Immortal Man, is a man who is unburdened by the fear of death. Originally a caveman, Klarn gained the power of immortality when he was bathed in the radiation of a meteor. He has been the eternal enemy of the similarly-immortal caveman, Vandal Savage. On top of being ageless, Immortal Man can regenerate from any injuries, no matter how severe. Immortal Man’s only weakness is that he can be killed by weapons made from the same type of meteor that initially granted him his powers. Still, like Vandal Savage, Immortal Man is practically eternal.

8) Swamp Thing

Swamp Thing is an elemental force of nature. Despite Swamp Thing’s birth resulting from the death of the human scientist Alec Holland, this walking mass of vegetation is practically unkillable. Swamp Thing is the avatar of the Green: the sentient hivemind that connects all plant life in the multiverse. This connection means that he’s practically immortal and can survive without a body. No matter what damage Swamp Thing suffers, he can instantly transfer his mind to another plant source in any location to grow himself a new body. As long as some form of flora exists in the universe, Swamp Thing will live and continue acting as the defender of the Green.

7) Plastic Man

Although Patrick “Eel” O’Brien, aka Plastic Man, may at first seem like an unserious goofball, in truth, he’s one of the most powerful humans on Earth. Plastic Man is so durable, and his shapeshifting abilities are so potent that not even Batman has a contingency plan on how to kill him. Possessing complete control over his molecular structure, Plastic Man can withstand and reform from immense physical damage. Plastic Man once survived being torn apart at the molecular level and scattered across the Atlantic Ocean before eventually pulling himself back together 3,000 years later, good as new. Even in the miniseries Plastic Man: No More, which is all about him slowly dying as his body breaks down, he still manages to survive.

6) Resurrection Man

Similar to Immortal Man, Mitch Shelley’s moniker of Resurrection Man makes it pretty obvious that he would be capable of avoiding permanent death. After being used as a lab rat, Mitch was injected with experimental nanotechnology that not only resurrects him but also grants him new abilities to adapt to whatever killed him last. It doesn’t matter if he’s torn apart, blown up, vaporized, stabbed, drowned, or worse, the nanites will always put Resurrection Man back together. These nanites also ensure that Resurrection Man doesn’t age, as he’s been shown living well into the 853rd century. Although he may technically die more than any superhero in comic books, there’s no way to keep Resurrection Man in his grave.

5) Lobo

Death is no match for the Main Man himself. One of DC Comics’ most powerful and vicious anti-heroes, Lobo’s Czarnian biology and knack for destruction make him unstoppable. On top of being durable enough to fight Superman, Lobo’s regenerative powers are so potent that he can reform from a single drop of blood. Moreover, every additional drop of blood grows a Lobo clone that’s just as strong and crazy as the original. Even when he died, the amount of chaos and devastation he caused in the afterlife made Heaven and Hell agree in a contract that he would never return. In short, neither Heaven nor Hell wanted to deal with Lobo, so they made him the mortal realm’s problem for all of eternity.

4) Doctor Manhattan

The most powerful being in the Watchmen Universe, Jon Osterman, aka Doctor Manhattan, has an entire origin story that involves him surviving being atomized in a lab accident. Once he restored his body, Doctor Manhattan became an omnipotent being who experienced all aspects of his life simultaneously. In this form, Doctor Manhattan is incapable of feeling pain or experiencing any permanent physical damage. Not even the combined force of almost every DC superhero on Earth could kill him. In the end, Doctor Manhattan erased himself from existence so he could fix the multiverse and transfer his power to a child to bring hope to his world. Otherwise, it’s a complete mystery if anyone can actually kill Doctor Manhattan with their own power.

3) Dkrtzy RRR

To be a Green Lantern is to risk your life for the sake of others. However, the Green Lantern of Space Sector 188 doesn’t have to worry about that risk. Dkrtzy RRR is a sentient math formula that proves that willpower can be formulaically derived. His very existence is beyond the standard definition of life, much less death. As a living abstract concept, Dkrtzy RRR is immune to all forms of injury, as he lacks a physical body. The majority of the universe can’t visually perceive him. As a living mathematical equation, Dkrtzy RRR’s existence is a fundamental part of reality. He stands as the Green Lantern Corps’ most bizarre and indestructible member.

2) Phantom Stranger

The enigmatic Phantom Stranger is an entity who has no known concrete beginning or end. A powerful magical being, the Phantom Stranger is nearly omniscient and omnipresent, as well as possessing a mastery over the most arcane of magic. The Phantom Stranger is basically immune to physical harm, as he can even survive having his heart ripped out. He’s unbound by time and space, and stands as one of the most mysterious and powerful beings in DC. His only true weakness is that he can mostly only act as an observer and can only get directly involved when there’s a universal threat. Still, neither mortals nor gods can truly comprehend the Phantom Stranger’s existence, let alone be able to kill him.

1) Spectre

You can’t get more unkillable than the Spirit of Vengeance and the embodiment of God’s eternal wrath. The Spectre is a fallen angel who has existed for billions of years and possesses omnipotence so that he may carry out his duty to punish the wicked. Although the Spectre needs a mortal host to interact with the physical realm, it takes immense magical power to separate or destroy the host thanks to the Spectre’s protective spells. Even if the host were to die somehow, the Spectre will be unharmed and will move on to inhabit another mortal’s body. No matter what cosmic and mystical beings throw at him, none can slay the personification of divine wrath.

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