Of all the Superman stories of the last 85 years, The Death of Superman is probably the most famous. It was a story that made international news when it was published in 1993. This makes a lot of sense. Superman was one of the best-known superheroes of the time. A multi-generational character who was, and still is, the template for all superheroes to come. Killing him off was a shocking idea at the time, especially when death in comics was seen to be much more permanent.
While this epic saga details Superman’s death and return, it’s much more than that. It explores the character, looking at what he means as a symbol and how others find inspiration and meaning in him. It’s also a tale with big action, mystery, and the launching pad for some excellent characters.
The Death of Superman is a massive saga that can look intimidating at first glance. Luckily, this extensive guide is here to save the day! It includes the recommended reading order, trade paperback collections, and heaps more to make reading The Death of Superman easy.
Table of contents
- How is The Death of Superman structured?
- Background reading
- The Death of Superman saga reading order
- What to read after The Death of Superman saga
- Trade paperback collections
How is The Death of Superman structured?
The Death of Superman was a mega-crossover event told over dozens of comic book issues. Broken into a three-act structure, it included all four Superman titles of the time (Action Comics, Superman, Superman: The Man of Steel, and Adventures of Superman) and a handful of other supplemental issues.
Each act of The Death of Superman saga shifts the story into a different mode. The first is Doomsday!, retroactively called The Death of Superman in trade paperback collections, which involves Superman’s fight with Doomsday and death. Funeral for a Friend is the second act, focusing on the funeral and the immediate shock of a world without Superman. Finally, it ends in Reign of the Supermen, which sees four new heroes fill the void and the eventual return of our original hero.
Background reading
You can go into The Death of Superman without prior knowledge of Superman comics. The saga isn’t too concerned about recent events, instead focusing on the story at hand.
However, one comic I suggest – more as a curiosity – is Superman (1987 series) #50 – the one where Clark Kent and Lois Lane get engaged. I recommend it for anyone curious about knowing more about the engagement, as it’s mentioned throughout the saga. Alternatively, you can read up about it and its curious backstory.
The Death of Superman saga reading order
Below is the recommended reading order for the The Death of Superman saga. Each act has been broken out into its own section as they operate as their own crossover in a much bigger story. I’ll include notes throughout the reading order where I think they’ll be handy along the way.
Doomsday! (aka The Death of Superman)
As previously mention, Doomsday! is the first act in the Death of Superman saga and involves the Superman’s conflict with the out of control Doomsday.
It’s worth noting that DC Comics released a digital-first series called “Death of Superman, Part 1” in 2018. This is not part of The Death of Superman saga. Instead, it’s a prequel to the animated adaptation.
Superman: The Man of Steel #17 (Prelude)
Note: Superman: The Man of Steel #17 is mostly a tale about Superman fighting the Underworlders. However, it includes the first hints of Doomsday.
Superman (1987 series) #73 (Prelude)
Note: Similar to Superman: The Man of Steel #17, Superman #73 is a prelude that only has hints to the Doomsday! crossover. The trade paperbacks only include one page from this issue. It’s worth noting that the comic was dedicated to the memory of Joe Shuster, who passed away at the time of the comic’s release.
Adventures of Superman #496 (Prelude)
Note: Adventures of Superman #496 is mostly a Mister Mxyzptlk story, with one page acting as a prelude.
Action Comics #683 (Prelude)
Note: Another issue where one issue is a prelude. I swear this is the last one!
Superman: The Man of Steel #18 (Part 1)
Justice League America #69 (Part 2)
Superman (1987 series) #74 (Part 3)
Adventures of Superman #497 (Part 4)
Action Comics #684 (Part 5)
Superman: The Man of Steel #19 (Part 6)
Superman (1987 series) #75 (Part 7)
Newstime: The Life and Death of Superman #1
Note: This is a news magazine that focuses on the events that have just happened. Totally optional.
The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special #1
Note: This is an anthology one-shot that was released for the 30th anniversary of The Death of Superman. It brings bac many of the creators from the original saga to explore different angles of the classic crossover. I think it fits best at the end.
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Funeral for a Friend
Funeral for a Friend picks up directly after Superman’s death, exploring Superman’s supporting cast and the wider DC Universe’s reaction to the death.
Adventures of Superman #498 (Part 1)
Justice League America #70 (Tie-in)
Action Comics #685 (Part 2)
Superman: The Man of Steel #20 (Part 3)
Superman (1987 series) #76 (Part 4)
Adventures of Superman #499 (Part 5)
Action Comics #686 (Part 6)
Superman: Legacy of Superman #1 (Tie-in)
Superman: The Man of Steel #21 (Part 7)
Superman (1987 series) #77 (Part 8)
Supergirl/Team Luthor Special #1 (Tie-in)
Note: Superman (2017 series) #83 is labelled as a Funeral for a Friend epilogue. however, it was published at the end of the entire saga and reads best there.
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Reign of the Supermen
The final part of The Death of Superman saga is huge. This introduces the replacement Supermen, Superman’s return, and an action-packed conclusion.
Adventures of Superman #500 (Part 1)
Action Comics #687 (Part 2)
Superman: The Man of Steel #22 (Part 3)
Superman (1987 series) #78 (Part 4)
Adventures of Superman #501 (Part 5)
Action Comics #688 (Part 6)
Superman: The Man of Steel #23 (Part 7)
Superman (1987 series) #79 (Part 8)
Superman: The Man of Steel Annual #2 [Bloodlines tie-in] (Part 9)
Superman Annual #5 [Bloodlines] (Part 10)
Action Comics Annual #5 [Bloodlines] (Part 11)
Adventures of Superman Annual #5 [Bloodlines] (Part 12)
Note: Superman: The Man of Steel Annual #2, Superman Annual #5, Action Comics Annual #5, and Adventures of Superman Annual #5 are also tie-ins to the Bloodlines event. Bloodlines was a comic book event that ran through DC Comics’ annuals in 1993. The Superman-family of annuals were not immune to Bloodlines, even though they were going through a crossover of their own. Don’t worry if you haven’t read any of Bloodlines, each of these annuals is very episodic in nature and stars one of the replacement Supermen, giving readers a better look at them.
Adventures of Superman #502 (Part 13)
Action Comics #689 (Part 14)
Superman: The Man of Steel #24 (Part 15)
Superman (1987 series) #80 (Part 16)
Adventures of Superman #503 (Part 17)
Action Comics #690 (Part 18)
Superman: The Man of Steel #25 (Part 19)
Superman (1987 series) #81 (Part 20)
Adventures of Superman #504 (Part 21)
Action Comics #691 (Part 22)
Superman: The Man of Steel #26 (Part 23)
Green Lantern (1990 series) #46 (Part 24)
Superman (1987 series) #82 (Part 25)
Adventures of Superman #505 (Part 26)
Action Comics #692 (Part 27)
Superman (1987 series) #83 (Funeral For A Friend epilogue)
Return of Superman 30th Anniversary Special #1 (Optional)
Note: Just like the Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special, this 2023 one-shot brings back creative teams from the original crossover to tell stories about the replacement Supermen from the same time period.
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What to read after The Death of Superman saga
Here are some suggestions if you’ve gotten through the whole saga and want to know what to read next.
Superman: The Man of Steel #27
Superman: The Man of Steel #27 is the next Superman directly after The Death of Superman saga when you factor in the release chronology.
Adventures of Superman #506
Adventures of Superman #506 explores Superboy’s origins more.
Action Comics #693
Action Comics #693 picks up on story threads relating to The Eradicator.
Superman (1987 series) #84
Superman (1987 series) #84 is the next issue of Superman (1987 series) after The Death of Superman saga.
Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight
Emerald Twilight picks-up on the plot threads introduced in the Green Lantern issue involved in Reign of the Superman. This chronicals the downfall of Hal Jordan and introduces Kyle Rayner. Read Green Lantern (1990 series) #48-50 to get the full story. Plot threads for this are later picked-up in Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!.
Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey
This three-part miniseries explores Doomsday’s origins and features a rematch between Superman and Doomsday. It also sees the return of Cyborg Superman.
Steel (1994 series) #1
John Henry Irons got his own series not long after the conclusion of The Death of Superman saga. This would run for 53 issues (#0-52) and two annuals.
Superboy (1994 series) #1
Superboy (Kon-El) would also get an ongoing series at the same time as Steel. It would run for 102 issues (#0-100 and #1,000,000) and four annuals.
Tales from the Dark Multiverse: The Death of Superman
This is a one-shot from 2019 that explores a what-if scenario directly after Superman’s death.
Collected editions
Trade paperback is one of the easiest way to read The Death of Superman saga if you want to read it in print. DC Comics has kept the saga in print for many years, through two different editions. You can find out more about each of them below.
Old trade paperback editions
DC Comics originally published the whole saga in three trade paperbacks.
Superman: The Death of Superman
Collects: Superman: The Man of Steel #18-19, Superman (1987 series) #74-75, Adventures of Superman #497, Action Comics #683-684, Justice League America #69, and material from Superman: The Man of Steel #17, Superman (1987 series) #73, Adventures of Superman #496, Action Comics #682.
This collects the Doomsday! crossover, which was retroactively renamed “The Death of Superman“.
Superman: World Without Superman
Collects: Adventures of Superman #498-500, Action Comics #685-686, Superman: The Man of Steel #20-21, Superman (1987 series) #76-77, and material from Superman: The Legacy of Superman #1.
This collection collects the Funeral for a Friend crossover. It doesn’t include the tie-in issues like Supergirl/Team Luthor Special #1 or every story in Superman: The Legacy of Superman #1.
Superman: The Return of Superman
Collects: Adventures of Superman #500-504, Action Comics #687-691, Superman: The Man of Steel #22-26, Superman (1987 series) #78-82, Green Lantern (1990 series) #46, and material from Action Comics #692 and Adventures of Superman #505
This collection includes the entire Reign of the Supermen crossover.
2016 trade paperback editions
DC Comics reconfigured the trade paperbacks in 2016, making them bigger with extra material and splitting the saga into five collections. See the details below.
Superman: The Death of Superman
Collects: Superman: The Man of Steel #18-19, Superman (1987 series) #74-75, Adventures of Superman #497, Action Comics #683-684, Justice League America #69, Newstime: The Life and Death of Superman, and material from Superman: The Man of Steel #17, Superman (1987 series) #73, Adventures of Superman #496, and Action Comics #682
Superman: Funeral for a Friend
Collects: Adventures of Superman #498-499, Action Comics #685-686, Superman: The Man of Steel #20-21, Superman (1987 series) #76-77, Superman: The Legacy of Superman #1, Supergirl and Team Luthor Special #1, and material from Adventures of Superman #500
Superman: Reign of the Supermen
Collects: Action Comics #687-688, Adventures of Superman #501-502, Superman (1987 series) #78-79, Superman Annual #5, Superman: The Man of Steel #22-23, Superman: The Man of Steel Annual #2, and material from Adventures of Superman #500.
Superman: Return of Superman
Collects: Action Comics #689-692, Action Comics (1938-2011 DC) Annual #5, Adventures of Superman (1939-2006) #503-505, Adventures of Superman Annual #5, Green Lantern (1990 series) #46, Superman (1987 series) #80-83, and Superman The Man of Steel #24-26
Superman: Doomsday
Collects: Superman: The Doomsday Wars #1-3, Superman Doomsday: Hunter Prey #1-3, Doomsday Annual #1, Adventures of Superman #594, and Superman (1987 series) #175
Superman: Doomsday is an optional trade paperback as it’s just a collection of Doomsday stories set after the conclusion of The Death of Superman.
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Deluxe hardcover
Dc Comics also releases a deluxe hardcover edition to celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Death of Superman. It’s presented in larger dimensions and includes a new forward by Dan Jurgens.
Superman: The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Deluxe edition
Collects: Superman: The Man of Steel #17-19, Superman (1987 series) #73-75, Adventures of Superman #496-497, Action Comics #683-684, Justice League America #69, Newstime: The Life and Death of Superman, and Superman: Day of Doom #1-4
Omnibus edition
There’s also an omnibus edition that collects the entire saga!
Death and Return of Superman Omnibus
Collects: Superman: The Man Of Steel #17-26, Superman #73-83, Adventures Of Superman #496-505, Action Comics #683-692, Justice League America #69, Superman: The Legacy Of Superman #1, and Green Lantern #46
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