Has the Death of Superman Already Happened on ‘Krypton?’

While Krypton does not take place in the same universe as either The CW’s shared superhero multiverse or Warner Bros. Pictures’ blockbusters like Justice League and Man of Steel, tonight’s episode seems to imply that Superman has already met his fate at the hands of Doomsday in tonight’s episode, “Civil Wars.”

This is, of course, kind of a weird line: while Krypton itself takes place 200 years in the past, there are at least two characters — Adam Strange (Shaun Sipos) and General Dru-Zod (Colin Salmon) who hail from the present-day DC Universe.

Those characters, then, have a very different perspective on the events of Krypton, since they both know that the world is doomed and that out of it will come Kal-El/Superman, Krypton’s gift to the universe and Earth’s greatest hero.

…But it also seems likely that Superman has died (and likely returned) already before the events that brought the pair back into the past. Why?

Well, because Adam Strange says of Doomsday “I know that name,” and accurately describes the likely scenario that would follow Doomsday’s being freed from captivity.

While Strange just knowing who Doomsday is does not explicitly confirm that the death of Superman story happened, it certainly implies it.

In the comics, Doomsday was buried under the Earth in a catatonic state for years before he awoke and pummelled his way from Ohio to Metropolis, killing scores of people, demolishing the Justice League, and ultimately dying alongside Superman.

Almost every subsequent version of the Doomsday story has the monster appearing and then fighting Superman to the death. It is the story Doomsday is best known for and it is the one that has been adapted into three separate feature films at this point (Superman/Doomsday, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and the forthcoming The Death of Superman).

Given how little we know yet about the present day of Krypton’s DC Universe, the implication that a story as big as “The Death of Superman” has already happened is at a minimum something really interesting to consider.

Bonus conspiracy theory: for the small but vocal group of fans who think Adam Strange may secretly be Booster Gold, the line “I know that name” is an interesting echo of the fact that it was Booster Gold who actually named Doomsday in the comics!

Krypton airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SYFY.