Despite being one of the strongest superheroes ever, Superman has been killed off several times. Here’s a list of all villains who have killed off Superman in the comics, TV, movies, and video games.
Which villains have killed Superman?
Superman has died multiple times across different media at the hands of Doomsday, Lex Luthor, Gog, Denny Swan, Superboy-Prime, and a few others.
The following villains have killed Superman:
Doomsday
Superman’s most iconic death came while battling Doomsday in 1992’s Superman #75, also titled ‘The Death of Superman.’ This death was shown twice in two different animated movies, ‘Superman: Doomsday’ and ‘The Death of Superman.’ But its most memorable depiction came in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Lex Luthor
In the Arrowverse’s Crisis On Infinite Earths, Lex Luthor killed off many Supermen across the multiverse using the Book of Destiny. But in the 1961 comic book issue, Superman #149, Luthor tricked Superman and killed him with Kryptonite rays. But it was just an imaginary tale where Superman didn’t die for real.
Zunial, aka Murder Man
The obscure DC villain killed off Superman in the 1966 issue, Superman #188. He used Kryptonite radio waves to bring down the Man of Steel and became the first individual to technically end his life. Although, Superman was revived by the end of the comic.
Denny Swan
New-52 Superman died after battling The Energy Superman, Denny Swan during the “The Final Day of Superman” arc in Superman #52. Even though Kal-El managed to defeat Swan, his battle led to him getting poisoned by Kryptonite, which led to his steady demise.
Gog
1999’s The Kingdom #1, “Never Ending Slaughter,” saw William Mathews aka Gog become so powerful that he killed Superman on multiple occasions using time travel.
Honorable Mentions
- Toyman almost killed Superman in Justice League the animated series where he was mourned by other Leaguers. But in reality, Superman was transported to the future.
- In one of the alternate endings of the Injustice Gods Among Us game, Darkseid burned Superman’s head with his Omega beams and killed him.
- Kal-El almost died in 2005’s Superman Returns movie while tossing an entire Kryptonite-filled continent out of the planet. But fortunately for him, he healed.
- Superboy-Prime killed off a multiversal variant of Superman, Kal-L in 2006’s Infinite Crisis #7.
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