50 Greatest Super Villains In Comic Book History

25. Doomsday

(Write-up by Steve Lam, Bam Smack Pow Staff Writer)

Let’s just put this out there: Doomsday was specifically created by DC to kill the greatest and one of the most powerful superheroes in the universe — Superman. How else would such a relatively young super villain climb to #25 on this esteemed list? Originally known as “The Ultimate” on Krypton, the super hero Booster Gold would later give him the moniker Doomsday in regards to the creature’s path of destruction resembling “the arrival of Doomsday.”

Created by Dan Jurgens, Doomsday would make his first appearance in a cameo in Superman: The Man of Steel #17 (November 1992), and his full appearance in Superman: The Man of Steel #18 (December 1992). A creature whose creator “evolved” him to hate all life, Doomsday is the moral antithesis of Superman — a being who holds all life sacred. With the abilities to live without air, absorb solar energy as sustenance, and withstand the harshest of environments and temperatures, Doomsday gave Superman a run for his money.

Even before meeting Superman, Doomsday destroyed Bylan 5 (the planet where Darkseid was to marry a princess), killed hundreds of Green Lanterns, and defeated the Justice League within minutes. You read that correctly: minutes! In the time it takes for John Williams’ Superman March to play, Doomsday had pummeled the whole JL.

So it should be no surprise that in order to stop the ultimate killing machine, you need to make the ultimate sacrifice. In Superman #75 (January 1993), Superman would give his life to kill Doomsday — or so we thought. Later issues would clarify that Superman never really died. Instead, he went into a state of deep Kryptonian hibernation to heal. But still, who gets to say they put the Man of Steel to sleep?

Coming in at #25, it’s poetically fitting that a super villain who enjoys death so much is ranked almost “dead “ center within a list of fifty of his peers.

Next: No. 24: Beware his power