Superman was DC’s first true success story. He exploded onto the scene in 1938 and literally created the superhero genre around him. Nearly ninety years later, he’s still going strong as the face of everything DC. The entire DC Universe literally revolves around Superman’s endless hope and heroism, to the point where changing the Man of Steel directly affects the rest of reality. Even outside of the comics, Superman has inspired generations of people to be kinder, accepting, and more heroic than ever. Any character that can do that is an inspiration. Now, after so many decades of Superman standing at the top of everything, he might be about to disappear.
2025 was the best time to be a Superman fan in recent memory, perhaps ever. The Superman movie lit up box offices and introduced a brand new version of the Man of Tomorrow that captured his spirit. The comics were even better, however. The Summer of Superman banner ushered in a wave of additional Superman titles, such as Supergirl (2025), Superman Unlimited, and Krypto: Last Dog of Superboy. This goes without even mentioning Joshua Williamson’s incredible Superman (2023) run, Mark Waid’s Action Comics (2016), and the Superman-focused DC K.O., all of which only make it harder to digest that DC is setting up a final goodbye to the man who started it all.
Love Letters to the Man of Tomorrow
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
As the numerous new series have showcased, Superman is a major focus for DC right now. His comics are consistently selling very well, and between his two usual series and the additional Superman-adjacent comics, make up around twenty percent of DC’s ongoing titles. Ever since the Summer of Superman started, these various comics have gone above and beyond to celebrate the Man of Steel. DC K.O. is focused entirely on Superman’s heart. While the entire world is battling to see who can become the next King Omega to stop Darkseid, Superman alone is concerned with how they win. He’s trying to find a way to save everyone the right way, and the series is not alone in that.
Mark Waid’s current run on Action Comics is an extended flashback that focuses on Clark’s earliest days as Superboy. This is the first definitive Superboy origin story that we’ve had in decades, and it’s all about Clark learning to become the hero that he’ll one day be. It continuously showcases how Clark’s spirit sets him apart from others, but also brings them together. He’s a superhero like nobody else, but that’s also going to be what does him in. In Action Comics #1096, releasing in March 2026, Superboy will be traveling to the present time for the “Reign of the Superboys” event, and I stand by the theory that this will only come after Superman disappears.
A World Without a Superman
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
Solicits for the month after DC K.O. finally comes to its climactic conclusion directly confirm that Superman will not be around. Lex Luthor is joining Justice League Unlimited, and the Man of Steel is nowhere to be found. In line with the “Reign of the Superboys” event, Superboys from all generations will take center stage in every Superman-focused comic. Clark will swing in from Action Comics, Thunder Boy and Conner are showing up in Supergirl, Superboy-Prime is taking over as the main Man of Steel in Superman, and Superman Unlimited is even giving us a young Jon Kent and a mysterious future character named Tomorrow Man, who I am betting is a future Jon Kent. Superboy-Prime’s solicit even directly states that Superman is missing.
While it might seem out of nowhere for DC to get rid of Superman when he’s hitting a new height in the comics, it actually makes perfect sense. In fact, his comics have been specifically setting this up for months. Superman has explored how Superman fights for humanity every single day, and his struggles against Darkseid ruling the future. Action Comics’s trip down memory lane would thematically tie Superman’s end with his beginning, closing the circle of his life and hammering home the idea that superhero tales never end, only begin again. Heck, Superman Unlimited literally started its run by having Superman say he outlived his destiny by inspiring the Leagion of Super-Heroes, so every day beyond that was just gravy.
The comics have stated Superman’s importance time and again, on repeat, for the last several months. It’s all been building up to one epic confrontation in DC K.O., where Superman will surely sacrifice himself to save all of reality from Darkseid in the most heroic way possible. Heck, “Reign of the Superboys” is even a reference to “Reign of the Supermen,” a story that happened immediately after The Death of Superman. Superman will either die or disappear for an extended period of time, but either way, Superman is going away. With the Man of Tomorrow having become so important, it’ll be up to everyone to pick up the pieces.
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