Things have been rather chaotic or Superman over the past few months, but somehow his life just got even more insane in just the past week. You can thank Time Trapper for that, though he is also known as the man who killed Clark previously, Doomsday. This version of Doomsday has travelled throughout time and space, and has arrived at the moment of his old self’s return. While he’s busy giving Superman some cryptic clues a to how to survive this whole thing in Superman #20, he also makes a few major revelation about Superman, including the loss of his eye by an old foe.
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To set the context for all this, Doomsday was designed to be the ultimate destroyer, and he did just that for thousands of years, destroying every world he came in contact with. He would evolve with each death, ensuring that he couldn’t be defeated the same way afterwards, and then he ran into the last son of Krypton in their infamous battle.
After coming back from that death, he would go on to experience many more rebirths and deaths over the course of millions of years, but that all changed after his fight with The Legion of Infinite Worlds. They were able to kill him, and while he did return to the living once again, he hasn’t been able to evolve since that battle. If he dies again, he believes he will be reborn into a true God, and would break the cycle and allow him to role instead of destroy.
That’s brought him to this specific moment in time, though he admits he seems to have arrived earlier than intended. It’s here that he tells Superman, “You still have your right eye…meaning Zod has not returned yet.” It would appear then that Superman is destined to face his old foe once more, and Zod is someone more than capable of lethally injuring Superman. If things proceed like they are supposed to, Superman might be sporting an eye patch sooner than later, though that’s not even the worst thing coming Clark’s way.
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Time Trapper then says “But I remember this moment in history…my old self’s arrival…The horror that comes next. The lives lost. You will be tested in ways you have never been tested before. You will survive, as you always do. The rest of your allies are not so lucky.”
Superman charges at Time Trapper but gets quickly thrown to the side. Time Trapper then issues somewhat of an ultimatum, saying “when we meet again, you will choose to help me, or you will watch everyone you love perish. To show you a better future involves us working together, I offer you a head start on your coming battle against my past self. Remember, time is of the essence.”
If we are dealing with someone like Zod, we could see Superman gravely hurt, though Zod isn’t the one that Time Trapper says would hurt Clark’s friends and family. Unfortunately Clark learns later in the issue who he was referring to, as Parasite is brutally ripped apart by the rampaging Doomsday, and that is only the beginning of a battle that could take more lives before it’s over.
What did you think of the issue, and do you think we’ll see eye patch Superman sometime soon? You can talk all things comics and DC with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb and on Bluesky @knightofoa!
