[finchfeeder]

I have been watching some of the Smallville series and they already have the young Superman killing people. I do not recall Superman ever killing anyone. Did he?

[Fandrew]

In the comics, Superman killed a man-made creature, Doomsday. Doomsday of course being the thing that killed Superman as well. Otherwise, I don't ever recall Superman killing.

[Lightknight]

If ever he killed, it would have been an accident or something else that messed with his mind.

[Jeffrey]

Yes. In his earliest appearances he tossed asides gangsters in ways that never explicitly showed death but were clearly a casual violence that would lead to death.

In the comics after the mid-eighties reboot, he's killed not only Doomsday (who, like most comic characters, got better), he also put to death several Kryptonian criminals who had commited planetary genocide.

The Golden Age Superman also in the eighties major crossover killed a multiverse-threatening scientist-turned-monster.

So Superman has never killed innocents, and in modern depictions has only crossed that line in rare, rare instances.

[Fandrew]

Actually, Superman took Doomsday to the end of time, and it was there that he died. I think.

[Jeffrey]

Originally Posted by JayCarrfan

Actually, Superman took Doomsday to the end of time, and it was there that he died. I think.

In the original Death of Superman, Kal-El brought him down with his last ounce of strength - Doomsday died, then Superman. Later, both came back. One of those times, Kal-El took Doomsday to the end of time, but he's back yet again.

And in one alternate future, Doomsday gained intelligence and took up the mantle (but not the name/costume) of Superman as one of Earth's greatest defenders, and later sacrificed his intelligence to reverse the time stream and prevent the death of Superman that led to his alternate time.

[Fandrew]

Yeah, I just got pwn'd by The Jeffrey's knowledge of comic books, nothing to be ashamed of. My comics knowledge is a bit spotty on that period.

[Lightknight]

Eh, it happens, Jeff knows we're all used to it

[Skeeter]

I was going to mention the time that Superman killed several Krypton criminals with Kryptonite but Jeffrey beat me to it.

Both Batman and Superman were notoriously cavalier about how they treated the bad guys in their early Golden Age appearances.

[finchfeeder]

Thank you all!

This has been most interesting and informative!

I knew that you would know!

[Jeffrey]

Originally Posted by JayCarrfan

Yeah, I just got pwn'd by The Jeffrey's knowledge of comic books, nothing to be ashamed of. My comics knowledge is a bit spotty on that period.

Well, you did raise the issue that Superman has attempted final treatment on the same murderous villain more than once.

Doomsday has some convoluted origin involving a poor understanding of the theory of evolution that involved him continually dying and being reborn changed. He's a cool threat, but is a bit played out - they need him to lay fallow.


On the subject of Superman not killing, for a while he was even a vegetarian (maybe vegan?).

[slap_j]

Superboy Prime is the real killer. He's so emo.

[Andrew]

By the way, the killing that Clark is doing in Smallville is criminal "phantoms" from the phantom zone, that were all placed there by Jor-El because of their planetary genocide. I would call that justifiable...

[Fandrew]

Originally Posted by Andrew

By the way, the killing that Clark is doing in Smallville is criminal "phantoms" from the phantom zone, that were all placed there by Jor-El because of their planetary genocide. I would call that justifiable...

I've never watched the show; I wouldn't know.

[Jeffrey]

Originally Posted by slap_j

Superboy Prime is the real killer. He's so emo.

He's a freaking nutcase. And they can't even call him Superboy anything anymore because of a lawsuit. So we'll call him Eyeliner Prime.

I can't wait until Sinestro finds him cutting himself with kryptonite shards.