The Death of Superman is definitely a big event that just about everyone knows about. I mean, this was one of the first times where a major character actually “died”! In the modern comics, people die so often that it lacks impact. You could only truly appreciate this in such an old comic. The collection brings a nice chunk of comics, so let’s see how it goes.

The first comics start out with some nice set up. Superman gives a speech about how he fears for his life, while Doomsday goes on the loose. This was Doomsday’s first appearance, which was probably a game changer for the general public. Who would have suspected that Doomsday would become one of the strongest DC characters of all time!? Superman is busy helping people, so the Justice League go to stop him.

Thing is, this roster of the Justice League isn’t quite as powerful as the famous animated versions. We have Guy Gardner, (Not a GL at the moment) Ice, (Better than Hawkgirl I guess) Fire, (I’d take the Flash) Maxima, (Who does a good job of replacing Wonder Woman) Booster Gold, (I guess I can live with him replacing Martian Manhunter) and Blue Beetle. (Batman? Hah!) There’s also a mysterious being who is with the JLA and the limits of his abilities have yet to be seen. He goes by the name of Bloodwyn, but is there something more to this fellow?

The Justice League is effortlessly crushed and you feel bad for the young heroes. They’ve never been so humiliated and not even the combined force of their attacks is enough to put a dent in Doomsday. This is definitely impressive when you think about it. Booster Gold and Guy Gardner are capable of shattering mountains with a fraction of their power. They note that Doomsday is even faster than the Flash and his raw power is on another level. This is when Superman steps in. Superman’s not too happy and this was during the prime of his power. At least, it was during what I would consider his prime.

Superman could fight tirelessly for a whole day and his strength never wavers. Large explosions never seem to keep him down and almost nothing can even pierce him. That’s why Doomsday is so impressive. He was able to pierce Superman and give him a solid fight. I still believe that Superman wouldn’t have had so much trouble if he had just resorted to a massive speedblitz, but Superman doesn’t usually do those things. Maybe it would be unethical. Doomsday is fast, but if Superman went at top speed, I don’t think that he would be able to catch him.

The fight stretches through many pages and they have several bouts. These bouts aren’t made any easier with burning buildings and certain reporters that try to get in Superman’s way. From the Justice League, Maxima is really the only member who actually helps out. Unfortunately, she has to go tend to one of the injured members for the beginning of the fight. Once she gets back, Maxima makes up for this by dealing some solid attacks to Doomsday. Aside from Superman, she’s the only one to launch Doomsday across an entire building and maybe do some damage to him.

I’ve always known about Maxima, but really thanks to the DCAU. She’s in Smallville, but I somehow doubt that she looked this impressive. All I can say, is that the comics have helped me gain respect for the character. Maxima is a tough fighter and it was nice to see someone else stand up to Doomsday. In the end, this was still Superman’s fight, but Maxima did pretty good before she was taken down for the count.

Superman decides to hold the line at Metropolis. This will be his final stand and nothing will get past him! It’s definitely a noble sentiment, but if he wanted to minimize casualties, the best choice would be to fly Doomsday out of there. Of course, there is a huge risk. One wrong move and Doomsday will have a clear shot at the civilians. Superman and Doomsday have a pretty powerful fight and the outcome shook the DC universe. Both of these fighters will never be forgotten. (I’d say that Both fighters are stronger than anyone in the Marvel Universe personally)

This is definitely a solid comic to read and I definitely recommend it to all comic fans. Even if you just want a comic where you get to see a Hero at his best. Superman is definitely the ideal of a Hero and he shows that you can make the tough choices and keep your ideals. He’s a solid improvement from MoS and also the New 52. Now, you may be wondering about the ethical choice of destroying Doomsday? There’s a big difference between destroying the opponent during a fight and Terminating a villain who is unable to really fight back. With Zod there were several alternatives, including flying him away. With Doomsday, Superman merely fired off one last punch to take him down. After the beatings that they both took from the fight, you would think that it wouldn’t have ended him. Superman was counting on that possibility since he knew that he would be dead in a matter of moments and unable to protect the others. I do not think that Superman would have done the same thing to Doomsday as he did with Zod in this comic.

Either way you’ll definitely want to read this comic since it’s one of the greatest comic books of all time. The art is consistently solid for the entire book and the fight scenes are amazing. The JLA appearing was also a nice way to add epicness to the event. We got to see what a huge threat Doomsday was and that helped the comic get even better. It’s also a great way to start reading comics for the first time! This is the perfect start point since Superman (AKA, the greatest comic book character) is the lead protagonist. Well, time to check it out right!?

Overall 9/10