Like Cyborg Superman, the supervillain Doomsday made his debut during the “Death of Superman” story arc. If everyone knows his name, it’s because he is the character who killed Superman! That’s certainly one way to make an impression.
Created by Dan Jurgens, the first appearance of Doomsday is a cameo in Superman: The Man of Steel #17, before making his full appearance in the following issue, Superman: The Man of Steel #18 (December 1992). As Jurgens wrote on his website, “When we first started talking about Doomsday, he didn’t even have a name. We talked about him in terms of “living rage” or “force of nature”. ”
There is no better way to define Doomsday, an unstoppable force of destruction engineered long ago by Kryptonian scientists to be the ultimate weapon. Devoid of emotion and shaped by an unforgiving environment, Doomsday was forged through a brutal cycle of deaths and forced evolution. In the end, he became an unkillable machine filled with primal rage.
After escaping Krypton and embarking on a killing spree across many planets, Doomsday was finally defeated and buried on the primitive planet Earth. But Doomsday always comes back to life, and he returned, once again evolved, more unstoppable than ever, becoming one of Superman’s most iconic foes.
Since his creation, Doomsday has made several appearances on live-action television and in animated series, though his most mainstream incarnation is in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Discover the ultimate Doomsday reading order, guiding you through the essential comics and many epic battles involving The Destroyer!
Doomsday Comics in Order
Want to know the origins of Doomsday in less than a minute? Check out the two pages at the end of Countdown to Final Crisis #15 (2008)!
Doomsday Trilogy: The Introduction of Doomsday in the ’90s
At this point, everyone knows that the idea of Superman’s death began as a joke by Jerry Ordway. As recounted in Larry Tye’s Superman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero, the writer has admitted that while he “tossed it out there,” he “didn’t know how it would work.” But if you were going to kill Superman — really, truly kill him, at least in the ’90s — you needed a supervillain like no other. The Super-Team came up with an “all-new evil predator who was tearing apart Metropolis”. They needed a name, and that name was actually found on editor Mike Carlin’s storyboard, where he had scribbled ‘doomsday for Superman’ in response to the question, ‘What could possibly be so dangerous that it could kill the Man of Steel?’ And just like that Doomsday was born.
- Death and Return of Superman Omnibus
Collects Action Comics #684-692, Adventures of Superman #497-505, Superman #75-83, Superman: The Man of Steel #18-26, Justice League of America #69-70, Action Comics Annual #5, Adventures of Superman Annual #5, Green Lantern #46, Legacy of Superman #1, Supergirl and Team Luthor #1, Superman Annual #5, Superman: The Man of Steel Annual #2, plus excerpts from Action Comics #683, Adventures of Superman #496, Superman #73 and Superman: The Man of Steel #17. See our Death Of Superman reading order for other collected editions.
Not long after the end of this arc, the Doomsday Saga continued in Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey with Doomsday attacking Apokolips with a newly repaired Cyborg Superman and concludes with The Doomsday Wars.
- Action Comics Vol 1 #696
An asteroid with a very alive Doomsday attached to it appeared at the end! - Superman: Doomsday
Collects Doomsday Annual #1, Superman: The Doomsday Wars #1-3, And Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey #1-3
Doomsday Sentience in the ’2000s!
There is no doubt that Doomsday made his name thanks to being part of one of the most famous Superman stories. While he still made some damage here and there, the Destroyer was more of a secondary/background character during the next ten years, with connection to Imperiex, Lex Luthor and Darkseid. At some point, he found himself having to deal with a new range of emotions.
- Adventures of Superman #594
An unexpected team-up for Superman! While events surrounding Doomsday are limited to this issue, the story is incomplete and you’ll need to read the Our Worlds at War event if you want to know more. - Superman Vol. 2 #175
While it’s part of the Joker’s Last Laugh event, you don’t need to read this storyline! This issue is more closely connected to Our Worlds at War and marks the anniversary of the day Doomsday killed Superman (exactly one hundred issues ago) - Superman/Batman #10
Collected in Superman/Batman Omnibus Vol. 1. Supergirl (Kara) has recently been officially reintroduced into the Post-Crisis DC Universe. - Superman Versus Darkseid: Apokolips Now #1
Collected in Superman vs. Darkseid. A follow-up to Superman: The Man of Steel #134. Doomsday makes a short appearance here. - Superman: In the Name of Gog
Collects Action Comics #820-825. This story is a follow-up to Superman: The Wrath of Gog (Doomsday is not present in it and it is not required reading comprehension-wise).
Optional – Doomsday appeared in a few panels in the Infinite Crisis event, first in Villains United: Infinite Crisis Special #1 where he finds himself under the control of Doctor Psycho, then fighting against Supermen during the last part of the event, Infinite Crisis #7. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense if you don’t read the event.
Doomsday is never down for long, and he returned during the New Krypton Saga after the city of Kandor had grown to its normal size and Kryptonians and humans faced a massive clash. Given the type of conflict, it makes sense that Doomsday would make an appearance, even if it’s a really short one.
- Superman: New Krypton Vol. 1
Collects Superman: New Krypton Special #1; Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen Special #1; Superman #681; Action Comics #871; Adventure Comics Special featuring Guardian #1 - Superman: New Krypton Vol. 1
Collects Superman: New Krypton Special #1; Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen Special #1; Superman #681; Action Comics #871; Adventure Comics Special featuring Guardian #1 - Superman: New Krypton Vol. 2
Collects Superman #682-683; Action Comics #872-873; Supergirl (vol. 4) #35-36
Doomsday, the unstoppable force of evil that once killed the Man of Steel, is once again back at Metropolis to cause chaos and death! But his name is on the title of the story, so you know he is the main super villain of the story and he is targeting the other heroes and villains from the original Reign of the Supermen story…
- Superman: Return of Doomsday
Collects Steel #1, Outsiders #37, Justice League of America #55, Superman/Batman Annual #5, Superboy #6 - Superman: Reign of Doomsday
Collects Action Comics #900-904. This is the last Doomsday story before New 52.
Flashpoint is here! For a short time, The DC timeline was altered and nothing was the same. In this reality, Doomsday was found by the United States government and made part of their Project Superman as Subject Six. Mostly, he has to apprehend Booster Gold!
- Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint Featuring Superman
Collects World of Flashpoint #1-3, Booster Gold #44-47, The Canterbury Cricket #1, and Project Superman #1-3
Doomsday in New 52!
An edgier and darker era for DC Comics started in 2011 with New 52, giving us a new take on the character. His origins are modified, with a Doomsday who has fought General Zod and was sent into the Phantom Zone. Naturally, Doomsday always finds his way back to Earth and Superman…
- Batman/Superman #3.1: Doomsday
- Superman/Wonder Woman #1-2
Collected in Superman/Wonder Woman: Power Couple - Superman: Doomed
Collects Superman: Doomed #1–2, Action Comics Vol. 2 #30–35, Superman/Wonder Woman #7–12, Superman Vol. 3 #30, Action Comics Annual Vol. 2 #3, Superman/Wonder Woman Annual #1, Supergirl Vol. 6 #34–35, Batman/Superman #11.
Before turning the pages of New 52, you can check out this little detour to a cubic planet, the world of Bizarro, where Clark has landed and will have to fight Doomsday for a minute:
- Action Comics Vol .2 #40 (optional)
Collected in Superman Action Comics Vol. 7: Under the Skin
Rebirth Doomsday!
When the World of DC Comics was relaunched in 2016, it didn’t take long for the last version of Doomsday to emerge, with Superman having to team up with Lex Luthor to fight him.
DC rebooted its universe again with its Rebirth series, which brought its own version of Doomsday. At the start of this new universe, Superman and his arch nemesis Lex Luthor (who briefly wore a powered super suit and called himself Superman) teamed up with Superman to battle Doomsday.
- Superman: Action Comics Vol. 1: Path of Doom
Collects Action Comics issues #957–962 - Detective Comics Vol 1 965-966
Collected in Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 5: A Lonely Place of Living. Doomsday only appears at the end of issue #965 but read it for a little bit of context! - Action Comics #991
Collected in Superman Action Comics: The Oz Effect. Doomsday is present in one panel if you want to know who captured him recently!
Dark Crisis! The Multiverse is in danger as we come to the end of the Rebirth era. This is the Dark Crisis in which Doomsday appeared as a member of the Dark Army. No need to be a medium to guess how the story ends for the character who pops up here and there in the main event and a few ties-in. This is an optional reading, but check out our Complete Dark Crisis Comics Order if you want to know more.
Doomsday in Infinite Frontier and Beyond
The DC Universe is infinite, but what does it mean for Doomsday? Well, as DC puts it, “King Doomsday now sits on a throne of skulls across a river of blood, holding court over the demons that swarm in the depths of Hell…” How long will it take for him to find his way back to Earth?
- Action Comics Presents: Doomsday Special #1
Collected in Superman: Action Comics Vol. 2: To Hell and Back - Superman Vol .6 #15
Part of Superman: House of Brainiac. Don’t need to read the event as Doomsday only appears at the end, ready to find his way back to Earth!
Coming soon… The Return of Doomsday in Superman Vol. 6 #19-and more!
This reading order has been suggested by our reader, Rodrigo! Don’t hesitate to leave a comment or write to us with some other suggestions!