Summary
- Superman has killed in the comics, showing that even heroes can fall when faced with tough decisions.
- Various DC characters have met their end at Superman's hands, including Doctor Light and Darkseid.
- In alternate storylines, Superman has killed fellow heroes like The Flash, Wonder Woman, and even Batman.
There is no superhero quite like DC Comics' Superman. The character is practically the blueprint of a hero and the archetype of what a superhero is capable of. Superman shows audiences that, despite his incredible and ultimate power, it is his human compassion that remains the strongest of all powers.
Despite his great power and his patented heroism and goodness, Superman has been shown to kill a few times in the comics. Whether it was those deserving or not, Superman has killed in the mainline continuity, as well as Elseworlds stories, showing that even the best of humanity's saviors can fall.
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Updated on February 1st, 2025, by Ben Painter: Unlike Batman, Superman does not have a no-kill rule. The Big Blue Boy Scout has taken to doing the unthinkable a few times throughout the comics. Casual fans may know of the time Superman killed General Zod in 2013's Man of Steel to prevent the Kryptonian villain from killing an innocent family. This example makes it clear that Clark will do what it takes to for the right reasons. A lot of the entries on this list discuss different realities and versions of Superman, but a lot of them are indeed the mainstream Superman from the comics. This list adds two new entries of DC characters that Superman has killed in the comics.
21 Parasite
Thrown Into The Sun
- Injustice Gods Among Us Year 5 #3
The Injustice video game gave us an alternate reality in which Superman turned evil and became an evil tyrant. This story was well-received by fans, and it was expanded upon during a comic book series.
There have been a few different iterations of the character but all of them are an enemy of Kal-El and a hulking monster who can absorb massive amounts of energy. Set in the fifth year of Superman's regime, Cyborg and the now Yellow Lantern were struggling to take on the beast, but Superman swooped in and threw him into the sun. Parasite was probably dead before he even realized what was going on. Brutal.
20 Doctor Light
Received A Heat Vision Blast To The Face
- Justice League (Vol. 2) #22
Doctor Light is a long-serving villain in DC Comics, and this issue, also dubbed as 'The Infinity War,' saw the character meet a cold end at the hands of Superman. Well, sort of.
Superman was actually under the influence of Kryptonite placed in his brain by fellow Justice League member Atomica, who, as it turns out, was a secret agent for the Crime Syndicate, an alternate-universe version of the JLA. So essentially, he was used as a weapon, killing Doctor Light with a powerful heat vision blast. But just like almost everyone in comics, the character did not stay dead for long and reemerged as a body of light.
19 Darkseid
Dragged Into The Center Of The Sun
- Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman #2
Darkseid is the arch-enemy of the Justice League and the big bad of the DC Universe. In the mainline universe, the Apokolips tyrant always gets the upper hand and is perhaps too powerful for even Superman to defeat.
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But in this Elseworlds story, Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman, which is set in the distant future at the end of the universe of DC Comics, Superman has one last battle with Darkseid. He arrives on Earth and gets one up on Wonder Woman. The Man of Steel drags Darkseid to the center of the dying sun, killing them both in one final act of heroism and leaving Wonder Woman as the last survivor of Earth as she leaves to travel the galaxy.
18 Kryptonian Dragon
Incinerated In Heat Vision Powered Oil
- Superman (Vol. 3) #13
It is not very often that Superman fights creatures that aren't human or human-like in appearance, but in 2012's Superman #13, he did his best to emulate a knight and slay a dragon.
Not long after quitting his job at the Daily Planet, Clark hears trouble with his super-hearing and responds to the call only to find out a huge alien dragon is attacking the city. After taking the fight all the way to a mining field in Ireland, Superman uses his heat vision to burn oil under the Earth, incinerating the dragon. Not long after, Supergirl appears before her cousin and explains to Kal-El that the dragon was actually a tripedal curosiananium, a species native to Krypton, posing a real question about the true fate of their home planet. Although killing a raging monster will certainly not be frowned upon, Superman still killed this character nonetheless.
17 Crucifer
Took A Stake Through The Chest
- JLA #99
Superman has a somewhat interesting history with Vampires, coming into contact with the spiritual beings many times throughout the comics. One of the most famous Vampires in DC is the vampire lord Crucifer, and in this issue of JLA #99, he managed to drink Superman's blood.
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As the blood is not human, it served no purpose for him, but it did allow him to hypnotize the hero, giving Cruficer his own personal Kryptonian bodyguard. Eventually, Superman broke free of this curse and struck down his former master by driving a cross through his chest, reducing him to a pile of ash. Sometimes, the best thing to do to rid the world of evil is to end it completely, and Superman has shown he will kill when it is necessary.
16 General Zod, Quex-Ul, & Zalora
Used A Green & Gold KyrptoniteKryptonite Combination
- Superman (Vol. 2) #22
Superman is forced to kill three fellow Kryptonians to save countless other lives. When the Time Trapper forces Superman to meet the younger version of himself and other Kryptonians, including General Zod, Quex-Ul, and Zalora. The villainous trio went on a destructive rampage throughout the timeline, leaving Superman no choice but to kill them.
Superman used a combination of gold and green Kryptonite since the meteor rocks had no effect on him because they weren't from his prime universe. The pocket universe he went to was spared thanks to his actions.
15 Imperiex & Brainiac 13
Sent To The Big Bang
-
Action Comics (Vol. 1) #782
This epic crossover event ushered in many new changes for the DC Universe, most notably, the formation of the Superman Revenge Squad. The god-like being Imperiex sought to remake the universe how he saw fit, leading to the deaths of several heroes and uneasy alliances between Superman and some villains.
Brainiac 13 took advantage of the massive battle to absorb Imperiex's abilities for himself. This team-up forced Superman to increase his power and push the duo to a moment right before the Big Bang, killing them both in the process.
14 Mister Mxyzptlk
Made Him Say His Own Name Backward
- Action Comics (Vol. 1) #583
In the final story of the Silver Age Superman, Alan Moore pits the Man of Steel toe to toe with Mister Mxyzptlk. Superman realizes the fifth dimension being is the one who orchestrated a series of attacks that resulted in the deaths of Jimmy Olsen, Lana Lang, and Krypto the Superdog. The comic showcases what happens when Mister Mxyzptlk gets tired of being annoying and tries to be evil.
Mister Mxyzptlk abandons his normal, cartoonish appearance and instead transforms into a frightening creature that attacks and tries to overpower Superman. When Superman tries to subdue him with a Phantom Zone projector, Mister Mxyzptlk says his own name backward, tearing his body in two separate directions and killing him instantly.
13 Joe Chill
Face-Melting Heat Vision
- Superman: Speeding Bullets
While Joe Chill is known as the mugger who killed Bruce Wayne's parents, the Elseworlds comics told one-off stories from a different perspective. In the Speeding Bullets story, the Waynes find baby Kal-El rather than the Kents. This version of Superman is named Bruce and is raised to be compassionate until Joe Chill guns down the pair right in front of their adoptive son.
In this comic, the young Bruce version of Superman loses control of his powers when Chill tries to shoot him as well. In a fit of rage, this version of Superboy melts the killer's face with his heat vision.
12 Doomsday
Both Characters Fought To The Death
- The Death of Superman - "Doomsday!"
As a mindless and rampaging monster, Doomsday is not only a great threat to Earth, but also to Superman himself. This monster knows only destruction and arrives on Earth hell-bent on destroying anything in a blind fury. Luckily for the world, Superman was there to save the day.
Superman and Doomsday had a battle that raged on for what seemed like hours. The destruction left in their wake could be felt across the world. Ultimately, Superman knew that the only way to beat Doomsday was to fight to the death, which resulted in Doomsday and Superman killing each other.