7 Powerful DC Heroes Who Sacrificed Themselves

Sacrifice is one of the most selfless things someone can do. Your own life is really the only thing you have and cannot get back, so the concept of giving it up for the sake of someone else, whether it be a single person or everyone, is regarded as one of the most selfless things someone can do. So it only makes sense that superheroes, the embodiment of doing the right thing no matter the odds, are more than willing to give up their lives to save the day. Even though superheroes tend to be some of the most powerful beings in the universe, sometimes even the strongest still need to give up everything to set things right.

The essence of being a hero isn’t any amount of power, but choosing to do the right thing even when they aren’t strong enough. Still, it’s incredibly humbling to think that even the most powerful characters ever conceived can’t stop the villain. To celebrate those heroes, today we’re looking at seven of the strongest DC superheroes who sacrificed themselves to save the day. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

7) Shazam — Kingdom Come #4

This entry is the only one from an Elseworlds story, but it’s so iconic that it’s more than earned a spot on this list. One of the biggest themes in Kingdom Come was asking how regular humans and superhumans could live together without killing each other, and nobody represented that idea better than Billy Batson, Shazam. With the ability to change between his human form and one of the strongest heroes in the world, Billy had a foot in both worlds like nobody else. When the United Nations decided that superheroes needed to go and launched the nukes, Superman tried to sacrifice himself to stop them. Billy, who had spent the entire story mind-controlled by Lex Luthor, transformed and sacrificed himself, saving everyone’s lives.

Kingdom Come spent its entire story pitting heroes against each other as the older generation tried to instill restraint in their younger, brutaler successors. Billy’s sacrifice cut through all the politics and the drama and reminded everyone that being a hero wasn’t about fighting or trying to establish some world order; it was just about helping people who needed it and saving who you could. 

6) Wonder Woman (Artemis) — Wonder Woman (1987) #100

After Hippolyta received a prophecy that Wonder Woman would be killed, she constructed a new tournament for the mantle and ensured Diana would lose. The new Wonder Woman, Artemis, lacked the physical might of the original, but she made up for it with magical artifacts and weapons. However, although she didn’t know it, the prophecy was coming to pass. Artemis faced the monstrous White Magician, but she wasn’t up to the task on her own, no matter how much she tried to prove herself. Diana intervened in an attempt to avert the future, but even she couldn’t beat the monster, as Artemis wanted to fight on her own.

After suffering a mortal wound while trying to help Diana, Artemis realized that she couldn’t stop this villain on her own. As she lay dying, Artemis gave Diana her Gauntlet of Ares, which amplified the Princess’s strength and allowed her to defeat the White Magician once and for all. In the end, Artemis gave up her life and her pride to save Diana and the rest of the world. All she wanted was to prove that she could be Wonder Woman, and she finally did it by showing the title didn’t mean half as much as one of her sisters. What’s a better sign of Wonder Woman than that?

5) Superboy — Infinite Crisis #6

Infinite Crisis was one of the biggest, bloodiest battles that the DC Universe has ever faced. Alexander Luthor and Superboy-Prime warred against the entire world in an attempt to restore the original multiverse, at the cost of New Earth. Superboy-Prime is one of the strongest beings ever put to page, and he easily swatted away entire armies of heroes. However, even if he was outclassed, Conner Kent was never going to let this villain get away with his murderous plan. 

Nightwing, Wonder Girl, and Conner led a mission to destroy Superboy-Prime and Luthor’s power plant in the Arctic, and the two Superboys clashed like no one else ever had. Prime kept taunting Conner, saying that he wasn’t the real Superboy, but Conner refused to give up and beat back his superior opponent. He managed to punch Prime into the tower hard enough to bring the whole thing down, but in the process, he gave up his life. In that moment, Conner proved once and for all that being Superboy wasn’t about strength; it was about heart.

4) Zatara — Swamp Thing (1982) #50

While his daughter is far more famous, DC’s original backwards-casting master magician was Zatara. He debuted all the way back in Action Comics #1, right alongside Superman himself. He traveled the world, put on shows, and stopped criminals wherever he went. Zatara fought crime for years, but eventually decided to leave the game to the younger generations and retired. However, he came out of retirement to join John Constantine’s seance when the universe was threatened by the awakening Great Darkness.

Zatara, Constantine, Zatanna, and several other of DC’s greatest magic users combined their power and gazed into the land beyond, watching the armies of Heaven, Hell, and everything in between come together to try and stop the Great Darkness. Unfortunately, they couldn’t even slow it down, and when the Great Darkness turned its attention to the magicians empowering the army, the energy started to immolate Zatanna. Seeing his daughter in danger, Zatara cast his last spell to take the flames onto himself. He gave his life to save Zatanna, which is the only way that one of DC’s oldest heroes would ever want to go out. Few loves can compare to that of a parent and child.

3) Flash — Crisis on Infinite Earths #8

Although it’s commonplace now, back in the day, the multiverse travel was an uncommon power in comic books. For decades, Barry Allen was the Fastest Man Alive and one of the only heroes who could freely travel between worlds, which made him one of the biggest targets for the Anti-Monitor. The mad Monitor wanted to destroy the entire multiverse, and to keep anyone from rising to stop him, his first move was to imprison everyone with the power to traverse it. He trapped Barry inside his home base, which ironically, was the Anti-Monitor’s biggest mistake.

When the villain launched his Anti-Matter Cannon to destroy everything, Barry had already freed himself and was in the perfect position to stop it. Just before the Anti-Matter Wave spread across the entire multiverse, Barry raced around it faster than he ever had before. His speed managed to turn the wave back in on itself, destroying the cannon. Unfortunately for the Flash, the antimatter wrecked his body, and by the time he saved the multiverse, there was nothing left of him but his suit and dust. This is one of the most disturbing deaths of all, but despite everything, the Flash never lost hope and kept racing towards a better tomorrow. That is the true essence of a hero.

2) Superman — Superman (1987) #75

Superman is the original superhero. He set the standard for what a hero should be, and is to this day one of the most inspiring heroes of all. He’s also one of the most powerful, without question. Superman has always risen to meet every challenge set before him, never backing down when there are lives on the line. However, “The Death of Superman” storyline proved that even the Man of Steel can meet his match. The unstoppable Doomsday arrived on Earth, and only Superman stood a chance against him.

Superman and Doomsday beat each other senseless in the most brutal fight the Man of Steel has ever been in. Blows that could shatter mountains constantly pounded into each other, and it all ended in downtown Metropolis. Superman knew he wouldn’t survive, but wouldn’t let the monster hurt anyone else, and hit Doomsday as hard as he could. Their final blow shattered the windows on the entire street, and Superman passed in Lois’s arms, content that he saved the day. It remains one of the most painful, awe-inspiring moments in all of comics, and even if he came back almost immediately, the image of Superman dying still haunts comic book readers worldwide.

1) Hal Jordan — The Final Night #4

By far, one of the most earned sacrifices in comics was the death of Hal Jordon, then called Parallax. Once one of DC’s greatest heroes, Hal was corrupted by the yellow power of fear and had a villainous turn. He rechristened himself Parallax and became a major villain for several years. However, at his core, Hal longed to return to the time when he was saving the universe and fighting alongside other heroes. His chance finally arrived in The Final Night, when a Sun-Eater engulfed the Earth’s sun and plunged the entire world into endless darkness.

Earth’s heroes and villains teamed up to find a solution, but in the end, the best they found was flying a ship into the Sun-Eater and detonating from within, which would kill whoever piloted it. Superman planned to do it himself, but the Legionnaire Ferro flew the ship himself so the world wouldn’t lose Superman. Fortunately, Parallax arrived. Hal teleported the Legionnaire home, then used his great power to absorb the Sun-Eater, saving the world at the cost of his own life. Although he spent years as a villain trying to reset the universe, Hal died reciting the Green Lantern oath, showing that his heart always belonged to the Corps. He died a hero once again.

So there we have seven of DC’s strongest heroes, who, despite their awesome power, wound up having to give up their own lives to save the world. Which heroic sacrifice hit you the hardest, and which one would you put up on this list?

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