DC Revealed Which Hero Can Kill Superman - Then Made The Man Of Steel Even Stronger

Plenty of characters have beaten Superman in a fight, from Darkseid and Doomsday to Muhammad Ali (yes, that happened). There are also plenty of Marvel characters that could probably destroy Supes, and if the Man of Steel ever faced off against Sentry, it's not entirely clear who would come out on top. Indeed, the seemingly unbeatable DC icon has been felled several times, and it just happened again. This time, Captain Atom took out the Man of Steel in "DC K.O. Superman vs. Captain Atom" #1, but his victory is short-lived as Supes comes back for more in a super-charged form.

It's taken a little while, but the "DC K.O." event has finally given us our first big battle, and it's a doozy. Not only does "DC K.O. Superman vs. Captain Atom" give us a heck of a showdown featuring the Man of Steel, it also reveals that Captain Atom is more than up to the challenge of facing down one of DC's most powerful heroes. The nuclear-powered soldier is revealed to be capable of defeating Supes by using his quantum powers to literally drain all of the energy from his opponent's body, reducing him to dust. Luckily for Kal-El, however, there are three rounds to this fight...

The issue kicks off DC's "All Fight Month" which will follow the tournament between Justice League Unlimited members to claim the Omega Energy and become the King Omega. This ultimate hero will then battle Darkseid to save the universe. But first, the last 16 competitors have to face off to determine who will become the sole challenger to Darkseid. There's a major catch, though: The Omega energy is an extremely corrupting force, and whoever subsumes its power is at risk of losing themselves forever.

"Superman vs. Captain Atom" set things off with a bang on December 3, 2025. Written by Joshua Williamson and illustrated by Sean Izaakse, the issue showcased the aftermath of Captain Atom dispatching Supergirl from the competition. Needless to say, Superman isn't exactly thrilled, but he tries to reason with Cap in order to avoid a full-on fight. His pleas are ignored, however, leading to a major clash between the titular heroes that ends in tragedy multiple times across three rounds.

Things start off bad for the Man of Steel. He takes a major hit from Cap before sustaining a one-two punch of Red Sun energy and Kryptonite. Then, it gets worse. Superman has several weaknesses, but fans might not have been aware that he was susceptible to Captain Atom's energy draining move. Despite Clark pleading with his opponent to find another way, Nathaniel Adam isn't messing around and plunges his hand into Superman's chest, draining his power and turning his atoms into "nothingness." An unsettling splash page then shows the Man of Steel disintegrating in silhouette for the battle's first K.O. But that's not the end of the story.

It's a shocking moment not only because the image of Superman withering away will always be a startling image, but because Captain Atom didn't have to struggle all that much to get one over on Kal-El. After a few powerful hits, he simply puts his atom-draining powers to work, and Superman is no more. Sure, Clark isn't exactly fighting back in this early round, but still, it's sort of surprising to see how easily Captain Atom can dispatch one of DC's most powerful heroes.

The rules of the King Omega tournament require three rounds before a winner is named, so Superman's death in the first round is far from the end of the fight. Each round allows the fighters to choose one of their many forms, and in round two of "Superman vs. Captain Atom," the former is regenerated as Superman Prime while Captain Atom takes his Monarch form. The two go at it again, but this time Supes has a plan. He literally freezes the sun to slow down his opponent's atoms in the extreme cold, winning after Monarch becomes completely incapacitated.

After that, it's all Superman. As Captain Atom becomes increasingly corrupted by the Omega power that surges through his body following his round 1 victory, Superman takes advantage of his shortsightedness and eventually absorbs Atom's power, becoming a super-charged version of both heroes. Combining his and Cap's powers levels him up to become even more powerful than normal, and the issue ends with Superman using the same atom-draining move to wipe out his opponent for good. A super-charged version of Supes then wonders what a corrupting force like the Omega power could do to him.

While Superman walks away victorious, this was a close call for the Last Son of Krypton and a heck of a way to kick off the "K.O." battles. It means Captain Atom has always secretly been one of Superman's strongest villains and could have taken out the Man of Steel any time he liked with a quick blow to the chest. No doubt, there'll be similarly shocking revelations as the series goes on.

"DC K.O." continues with Aquaman vs. Hawkman on December 10, 2025.