The Iconic Villain That Killed Superman is Officially the DC Universe’s Last Hope

He once killed Superman, but now he’s the last shot the DC Universe has at defeating Darkseid. There isn’t a Superman fan alive who doesn’t know about how the Man of Steel fell in battle against Doomsday. While that event was 30 years ago, it left a huge impact on comics. In addition to the fallout giving us exciting new characters like Steel and Superboy, the death of Superman showed us that the hero we all know and love isn’t invulnerable. Of course, Superman eventually returned, as did the monster responsible for sending him to the grave.

Doomsday has periodically returned, often with upgrades to make him even more of a threat than he already is. But in the DC All In era, fans were treated to a new Doomsday, one who had hyper-evolved and become the latest iteration of the Time Trapper. This version of Doomsday has died and resurrected so much that he’s become one of the most powerful cosmic figures around, just shy of godhood. Thankfully, in the wake of Darkseid’s attack, he’s become an important ally to DC’s heroes. And now it’s looking like he’s the DCU’s last chance at salvation.

Doomsday is the Last Line of Defense Against Darkseid’s Ultimate Victory

In DC K.O. #4 by Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Javi Fernández, Xermánico, Alejandro Sánchez, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, the Final Four fighters of the DC K.O. tournament make their stand. Darkseid has summoned the Absolute Trinity and corrupted their minds to fight for him. Joker almost immediately defects to their side, gaining the powers of a parademon and fighting the remaining participants. Thankfully, Batman shows up and dispatches the Joker, allowing each of the Prime Universe Trinity to take on their counterpart from the Absolute Universe. It’s a hard-fought battle, with everyone practically evenly matched against their opposite.

Thankfully, Superman is able to break Darkseid’s hold over the Absolute heroes by delivering a hit to his (or rather his vessel, Booster Gold) on the jaw. Unfortunately, Darkseid is still in the fight, and he emerges in his true form, eliminating almost everyone with his Omega Beams. Superman and Lex Luthor are the last fighters standing, and Clark encourages a team-up between the two. However, Lex decides to stab Superman in the back and win the tournament for himself. With Superman defeated, Lex is crowned King Omega.

The book ends with a flash-forward to the future, a world conquered by Darkseid, who sets everything he needs to conquer the present day into motion. He has the Absolute heroes kidnapped and brainwashed and possesses Booster Gold. Darkseid decides to reward his most loyal agent, Saturn Girl, by allowing her to peer into his mind and see everything Darkseid has planned and how he will indeed achieve victory in the end. But among all the chaos in the vision, Saturn Girl sees an image of Time Trapper, who is described as “a light that shined”.

Doomsday is Finally Going to Fulfill the Purpose He Was Made For

I know the idea of Doomsday being something that could save the universe sounds wild, but this is actually something DC Comics has been building up for a while now. In the prelude one-shot, Justice League: The Omega Act Special #1, a flashback shows Superman’s mother, Lara, discovering a secret chamber deep in Krypton, where she discovered ancient Kryptonians had designed a weapon they referred to as their ‘Absolute Champion’. This was brought back in Superman, where a simulated Lara told Lois Lane that Doomsday is the alpha to Darkseid’s omega and thus, the only thing that can stop him.

Now I’m not totally certain how Doomsday can stop Darkseid at this point. While the Time Trapper is undoubtedly the most powerful version of Doomsday we’ve ever seen, Darkseid has similarly grown in power. Plus, we already saw the Darkseid-possessed Booster Gold easily dispatch Time Trapper back during the tie-in books to DC Comics’ All-Fight Month. And yet, despite the overwhelming power Darkseid has at his disposal, something deep in his mind still fears Doomsday, enough to think that, as the Time Trapper, he can still undo Darkseid’s victory, even now when all things are lost.

Perhaps as King Omega, Lex Luthor can imbue Doomsday with the Alpha Energy needed to overpower Darkseid? That would effectively nullify Darkseid and, ideally, prevent him from ever conquering the future. While I’m not certain about the specifics, I do feel confident in saying that, when it comes down to it, Doomsday is going to be the one to deliver the final blow to Darkseid. It’s what Doomsday was made for, and the symbolism of a symbol of growth and evolution defeating a symbol of finality is just too perfect not to capitalize on.

Do you think Darkseid is going to be the DC Universe’s ultimate savior? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!

DC K.O.’s Full Reading Order & Checklist Explained