Superman's Most Iconic Story Was The Result Of A TV Scheduling Conflict

Published Nov 1, 2026, 7:50 PM EST

Kevin Phelan has covered arts and entertainment for over a decade and is currently serving as a Writer and Editor for Screen Rant.

His pre-SR work can be seen in places like USA Today, The Huffington Post, Cracked.com, The A.V. Club, and Looper. He spends way too much time trying to decide who actually wrote Johnny B. Goode if Chuck Berry learned it from Marty McFly after Marty McFly first learned it from Chuck Berry.

When he's not working, Kevin can usually be found telling his dog, Harley Quinn, how good of a girl she is.

Few events in comic book history are as monumental as DC Comics' decision to kill Superman. After more than 50 years as the premier DC superhuman, the 1992-1993 "The Death of Superman" story arc saw Clark Kent officially dead, at least for a while. The event garnered so much media coverage that comics shipped with black armbands to commemorate the Man of Steel’s ultimate sacrifice. "The Death of Superman" was not only a massive, paradigm-shifting event upon release, but its fallout created a ripple effect in DC media that still exists today.

And while the decision to kill Superman was unprecedented, it was one the writers were forced to make in order to coincide with a different DC property. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman aired on ABC from 1993 through 1997, starring Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain in the titular roles. While the series featured plenty of superheroics, it also focused heavily on the romantic relationship between Lois Lane and Clark Kent, all leading up to an eventual wedding.

The comics’ writers, though, had already planned on the couple getting married. Despite the show and the books existing in separate canons, DC executives wanted to ensure some continuity across both media, hamstringing the comic writers and forcing them to develop a different pivotal Superman story.

“We were told we had to come up with something at the last minute,” Superman writer Louise Simonson explained in a Vulture interview. The various Superman writing teams would often joke about killing off the character when they were struggling with ideas, and as the TV show was nearing its debut, the group decided to finally do the unthinkable. According to Simonson, fellow writer Jerry Ordway suggested that killing Superman would allow them to postpone the comic book wedding. “And we said, ‘Great!’”

Of course, Superman would return less than a year later, but that forced synergy would not only be the impetus for additional classic storylines; it also reshaped much of the DC world entirely.

Superman's Death Introduced Enduring Heroes And Villains

The arc immediately following "The Death of Superman" was “Funeral for a Friend,” which spanned multiple DC titles and explored the fallout of Clark’s apparent death, its toll on the rest of DC’s heroes, and the power vacuum Superman’s absence left behind. The next arc, “The Reign of the Supermen,” would see four new figures attempting to take Superman’s place following his losing fight to Doomsday — Superboy, Cyborg Superman, The Eradicator, and Steel — all of whom continue to make appearances in modern comics.

Doomsday himself took on a much more prominent role in the DC world after “The Death of Superman.” While the character had briefly appeared in previous comics, it was this storyline that showcased him as the terrifying powerhouse too strong even for Superman.

Doomsday remains an ominous presence in Superman comics, and if not for the last-minute pivot in the writers’ room, one of Superman’s most formidable foes may never have come to the forefront. But the fallout from the event goes far beyond the comic books.

The storyline has been adapted multiple times as straight-to-video animated films. Superman: Doomsday was released in 2007, and in 2018, The Death of Superman adapted the story a second time, this time retaining the original title. A webcomic accompanied the 2018 film, and Reign of the Supermen would release in 2019 as a direct sequel.

Characters introduced in the story, including Doomsday and all four Supermen, have reappeared in various other cartoons and live-action projects. One of the Supermen even got his own standalone solo movie in 1997’s Steel, starring Shaquille O’Neal as the title hero.

Zack Snyder has never been shy about the influence “The Death of Superman” had on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Although the plots leading up to the climactic battle vary wildly, the movie once again sees Clark seemingly die after a fight with Doomsday.

As in the comics, movie Superman didn’t stay dead for long, but the version of BvS fans saw wouldn’t have existed if not for the inspiration from the books. The fact that reviving Superman plays a major role in both versions of the subsequent Justice League films is further proof of the comics’ lasting impact.

“The Death of Superman” had an undeniable and resounding impact on the world of DC Comics, and the ramifications persist more than three decades later. It was so seminal that its impact continues to bleed out of the pages and into other forms of media to this day, and none of that would have happened if the Superman comic writers hadn't been forced to improvise to better align with the show.