DC's Cryptic 2026 Plans Point To Superman Dying (Again)

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In 1993's "Superman" #75, the Man of Steel fell in battle against the monstrous Doomsday, a villain created specifically for this story to kill Superman. Of course, Superman didn't die for good, but the story definitely got people paying attention to "Superman" comics.

For good or ill, "The Death of Superman" remains an important storyline in superhero comics. It's been adapted as an animated movie twice, first in 2006 then again in 2018. Superman (Henry Cavill) also died at Doomsday's hands in "Batman v. Superman," the kick-off to the DC Extended Universe. (Some might argue Superman dying so early was the moment that franchise was doomed.)

"The Death of Superman" was a trend-setter; now, Marvel and DC often kill off superheroes for a bit, then bring them back in a grand return. At this point the revolving door of death and resurrections feels less Christ-like, and more in the vein of soap opera. Indeed, DC Comics' previews for 2026 hint that, once more, Superman might meet his "end."

The DC crossover event of 2025 is "DC: K.O." Plotted like a tournament arc in a shonen manga, "K.O." features big name DC characters competing in a battle tournament to attain power from the God of Evil, Darkseid, needed to save the universe. (Also showing up to the competition are some non-DC characters, like Homelander from "The Boys.")

"DC: K.O." is set to wrap with its fifth issue on March 4, 2026. Also releasing that month are "Superman" #36 (by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora), the synopsis of which says Superman is now "missing," and "Justice League Unlimited" #17 (by Mark Waid and Clayton Henry), in which Batman and Wonder Woman are looking for a new leader for the League after "K.O." #5.

With Superman gone, Superboys will have to step up.

According to DC's announcements for its 2026 titles, the Super-family books will follow an overlapping storyline, "Reign of the Superboys." This title references the second act of "The Death of Superman," called "The Reign of Supermen," where four different Superman imitators tried to fill in for the late Man of Steel. This "Reign" will kick-off with these titles:

• "Action Comics" #1096 by Mark Waid and Skylar Patridge will feature several heroes going back in time to Clark Kent's youth in Smallville, Kansas, when he was already helping people as Superboy.
• "Supergirl" #11 by writer/artist Sophie Campbell will see Kara Zor-El journey to the bottled city of Kandor with another Superboy, Conner Kent (a clone with the DNA of both Superman and Lex Luthor). There, they will face many clones of Superman's ex-sidekick, Boy Thunder (who grows up to be the villain Magog in the dark future of Mark Waid and Alex Ross' classic comic, "Kingdom Come.")
• "Superman Unlimited" #11 by Dan Slott and Lucas Meyer will focus on Clark Kent and Lois Lane's son, Jon Kent, facing a new villain: the Tomorrow Man.
• "Superman" #36 will relaunch the title to focus on Superboy-Prime. A metatextual character, Superboy-Prime comes from a world without superheroes, where DC characters are fictional. (Sound familiar?) Pulled into the DC multiverse and given the powers of Superman, he's been historically deadset on keeping DC the way he likes it.

"Reign of the Superboys" begins on March 11, 2026. It's unclear how long it will last, but if you think Superman is truly gone, I'll offer some uncommon advice: you need to read more comic books.