Warning! This article contains spoilers for Superman & Lois season 3.
Doomsday is one of the most powerful rivals ever against Superman, and the rivalry has played out in various TV shows and films. Doomsday was first created in the comics in 1992. The character’s history meant that he was an ancient sort of Kryptonian. Created by a maniacal inventor who wanted to breed the most powerful creature ever made, he repeatedly sent the young doomsday creature to the planet’s surface, where it would quickly be killed by the dangerous wildlife. Then, after harvesting the remains, they would clone the creature and make it more powerful in order to withstand whatever killed it before.
This was repeated countless times over decades, turning Doomsday into an ever-evolving monster that was bred to hate and kill all forms of life, especially Kryptonians. In comics and other media, Doomsday has been willing to fight Superman several times, and many of those battles have been incredibly dangerous, or even fatal for the Man of Steel. However, they are also some of the most intense and interesting battles of any DC show or movie to date.
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Justice Lord’s against Doomsday
Justice League (2003)
One of the first on-screen appearances for Doomsday was a little over 10 years after the character debuted in comics. Doomsday appeared in the second season of the animated television show, Justice League. During this season, an alternate version of the Justice League is seen living on a different world than the original heroes. The super group is known as the Justice Lords, but as they formulate plans to take over the Justice League’s world, they encounter a new rival who is incredibly dangerous, Doomsday.
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The battle that takes place between the Justice Lord Superman and Doomsday is pretty short, and the reason for this is that the Justice Lord Superman chooses not to hold back his powers. When Doomsday has Superman trapped in a powerful grip, this version of the “hero” decides to shoot his heat-ray vision directly into Doomsday’s brain for a few seconds. When Doomsday delivers a villainous monologue, his speech becomes slurred, and it’s clear that the brutal Superman has just lobotomized Doomsday.
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Doomsday is exiled to the Phantom Zone
Justice League Unlimited (2005)
Justice League Unlimited Serves as a sequel to the original Justice League Show. And a year into the show, the same Doomsday who fought the Justice Lord Superman returns to seek revenge against another version of Superman. The stakes for this fight appear much higher, and the setting in the middle of a volcano makes everything more tense. As they fight, Doomsday talks about losing the previous fight, which Superman clarifies isn’t him, but Doomsday doesn’t care as long as he can fight Superman.
The pair exchange thunderous blows, but just as Superman is about to lose, he delivers the same heat vision shot as his predecessor. However, Doomsday’s ability to evolve and improve means that this is now futile. Instead of giving up, Superman doubled down on his attacks, punishing Doomsday, before throwing him into the belly of the volcano. The action is clearly more exciting than the 2003 version, but there is still room for improvement.
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Superman vs. An Army of Doomsdays
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010)
Next up, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and an army of warriors from Themyscira battle against an unbeatable army of Doomsdays. This takes place in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse When the Big Three are preparing to fight Darkseid. Somehow, Darkseif has figured out how to clone Doomsday countless times, and they present an incredible threat to Superman and company. After a gruesome battle with considerable losses for the Themissirans, Superman manages to deliver a devastating blow.
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With the rest of the heroes retreating, Superman flies into the air, and unleashes a heat beam that envelops the entire Doomsday army, wiping out the clones. Of course, Superman being a hero and an optimist, he mourns briefly after the victory, affected by his own brutal actions. However, Wonder Woman helps lift his spirits and reassures him that they are mindless clones with no blood. Despite any moral quandaries, Superman must continue regardless to stop Darkseid’s evil plans.
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Smallville’s own Clark Kent vs. Doomsday
Smallville, Season 8, Episode 22, “Doomsday” (2009)
Smallville Doomsday Fight was underwhelming in some ways, but earned in 2009, it earns its place as the first live-action brawl between Clark Kent and Doomsday. In the season 8 finale, Clark lives and works in Metropolis, and he already has close ties to other heroes like Oliver Queen’s Green Arrow. However, Clark has yet to adopt the identity of Superman, and he is finding his feet. However, when the powerful monster Doomsday appears, Clark is forced to make a choice.
With messengers from the future, his best friend chloe turns her back on him in favor of​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ another, another guy linked to the Doomsday monster, and Clark is told that his death is imminent, he has a lot on His plate. However, in true Superman fashion, he doesn’t run away from the fight. Clark engages Doomsday in a battle on the streets of Metropolis, and initially looks as if he might lose. However, in the incredibly short fight scene that lasts less than one minute of actual fighting between the pair, Clark is able to gain the upper hand, grab Doomsday and jump with the monster into a huge fire that presumably destroys the creature.
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Superman pays the ultimate price to put down Doomsday
Superman: Doomsday (2007)
The 2007 DC animated film continued the trend of making most new Doomsday entries more exciting and higher stakes than the last. Superman: Doomsday Delivers a harrowing story that features Superman’s death early. When Doomsday is unleashed in the city of Metropolis, he wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. Of course, Superman arrives on the scene to stop the deadly villain, but Doomsday is too powerful for Superman to fight. After giving his all, Doomsday delivers brutal shots to Superman’s stomach, setting off a chain of events that will see the hero die.
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However, with one last heroic push, Superman gathers all his remaining energy to stop Doomsday from injuring a passerby. He catches the evil one, and flies high in the atmosphere with him held in his hands. Then, he flies at full speed to Earth, sending Doomsday like a meteor onto Earth’s surface. Soon after, he leaves. The rest of the movie presents several twists and turns, but the battle was one of the most brutal and intense for Supes, laying down his own life to save the world.
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Superman puts his life on the line for love
The Death of Superman (2018)
In 2018, Superman and Doomsday have their most exciting battle up to that point. In the movie, The Death of Superman, the hero engages in a brutal battle that lasts nearly 15 minutes. The pair exchange blows, destroy buildings and prove why the Kryptonians are some of the most powerful aliens in the galaxy. Besides putting countless people at risk, they almost caused a bridge to collapse that would have cut off vital transport links to the city of Metropolis. However, things turn even darker when Doomsday threatens the life of Lois Lane, Superman’s beloved.
Superman becomes increasingly bloody and scarred as the battle goes on, but in the moments when Lois’ life is at risk, he throws all his weight and power into the fight. Just as Doomsday raises a large sharpened bone to Lois, Superman flies full force into the creature, twisting its head onto its neck. This is enough to finally put the monster down, but Superman is spent after the fight. In his final moments, he lies peacefully in the arms of Lois Lane, as his death is broadcast to the world by Jimmy Olsen’s camera.
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The Big Three pull out all the stops against Doomsday
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)
One of the best Superman and Doomsday battles of all time is the epic fight that takes place in Batman v Superman: Dawn of JusticeThat closes out the movie. When the heroes finally put aside their differences and work together to stop Lex, they are faced with an even greater threat in the form of the genetically engineered monster Lex created with his own DNA mixed with General Zod’s. The beast is Doomsday, and although his origins are different from most other versions of the character, the battle between the heroes and the beast is one of the most thrilling.
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One of the clear differences for this version of Doomsday is his ability to shoot heat rays from his eyes, similar to the other Kryptonians like Zod and Superman. The lethal ray does serious damage, and it takes the powers and skills of Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman to properly repel Doomsday. However, it is Superman who delivers the fatal blow after a fierce five-minute battle. He flies in with a kryptonite spear, causes great pain, and stabs the creature. But weakened, he also takes a fatal blow from Doomsday, as both fall to the ground, dead.
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Smaller budget but bigger ambition with the ultimate Superman vs. Doomsday showdown
Superman and Lois, Season 3, Episode 13, “What Kills You Only Makes You Stronger” (2024)
Superman & Lois Has proven its worth as a Superman story since it first aired in 2021. The show follows an older Superman, who now has a family and moves back to his home in Smallville with his wife and two teenage sons. However, at the end of season 3, the biggest threat to face Smallville or Superman yet appeared in the form of Doomsday. The series may have a smaller budget than a blockbuster movie, but aside from some janky special effects, this battle is easily the best and most compelling Superman vs. Doomsday brawl to ever appear on screen.
Superman uses the full range of his powers to fight Doomsday. The pair throw everything they have at each other, and just when it looks like Superman has won, Doomsday recovers. Things get even more brutal as they fly through tunnels, where Superman takes what appears to be a fatal blow. However, he also recovered. At this point, the battle moves to the moon, and in an epic slow-motion final shot for the season finale, the screen cuts to black. Yes, the fight will carry over into the final season of the show, but the battle is already topping the leaderboard for Superman and Doomsday battles On the big and small screen.
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