As DC rebirth kicks off this week, DC is bidding farewell to the New 52, and not everyone is making it out unscathed.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Superman #52 and DC Universe Rebirth #1!
Even if you've been avoiding the leaked spoilers for DC Universe Rebirth #1, it shouldn't come as any great shock that Superman #52 features the death of the Man of Steel. After all, it''s the final chapter in a crossover called "The Final Days of Superman," and the conflict has revolved around Superman trying to put his affairs in order before his dying body finally gives out.
Superman's death in this issue comes as a result of his battle with Denny Swan, a formerly ordinary human who gained both Superman's powers and memories and has been trying to prove himself as the true Man of Steel. Superman flew Denny into space and activated his solar flare power for the final time. That act served to neutralize Denny's powers, but it also pushed Superman's body past the breaking point. He barely had time to say goodbye to his gathered friends (including Lana Lang, Lois Lane, Supergirl, Batman, Wonder Woman, Steel and the pre-Flashpoint Superman) before his body exploded with energy. When the dust settled, all that remained was a crumbling corpse.
Art by Mikel Janin
Superman #52 ends with various allies and enemies reacting to Superman's death. One of these panels ties into a development from Justice League #50. Lex Luthor compelled the slaves of Apokolips to forge him a new battle-suit, one adorned with the colors and crest of Superman himself. Luthor will apparently be the protagonist of Action Comics (which will revert back to its original numbering in June) while the pre-Flashpoint Superman will carry on the legacy in the relaunched Superman comic.
We had the opportunity to chat with writer Pete Tomasi about this development recently. He told us that there was a lot of pressure writing this issue and trying to live up to the previous death of Superman in 1992's Superman #75. Tomasi said, "I must have rewritten that scene I don't know how many times. I spent a lot of time on that dialogue trying to get it perfect. Or at least, in my head perfectly. What anyone else thinks is a whole other thing. It's really trying to make sure it feels natural and right. I'm not ashamed to wear my heart on my sleeve and put emotional stuff out on the page. It was a little daunting. It's been done once before, obviously, in a big way. I wanted to make sure I did the character justice. I hope readers feel that way."
Tomasi also noted that the death of Superman was seen as an effective way to mark the end of the New 52 era and create a significant new status quo leading into the relaunched Superman comics. "It boils down to the fact that Pat [Gleason] and I needed to have a Superman front and center that was going to be the star of the book, and there wasn't going to be two of them. It was definitely a way to take out the New 52 Superman and have the pre-Flashpoint Superman be in the book that Pat and I were doing. In other words, that table was set very deliberately for the book Pat and I were doing."
Be sure to stay tuned to IGN Comics for our full interview with Tomasi and Gleason, where they discuss the challenges of reinventing Superman and what's to come for Clark and his family in DC Rebirth.
Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
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