Superman has been a part of many classic stories in the eighty years since his debut. Grant Morrison and Frank Quiet depicted the Man of Steel grappling with mortality while performing incredible feats. Smallville was also inspired by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, who both served as the direct inspiration for Superman. Now, Clark Kent is fighting for his life in the "Warworld Saga" in Phillip Kennedy Johnson's Action Comics run, which basically boils down to "Superman does John Carter."
The Death of Superman is a familiar tale for comic book readers as well as casual followers. Due to Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman being pushed off the record, many Superman authors were unable to come up with a compelling argument to support their argument. The Man of Tomorrow should be killed, according to many.
The gambit worked: mainstream media outlets discussed the death of Superman on primetime news, and the four issues that constituted the storyline - The Adventures of Superman #500, Action Comics #687, Superman #78, and Superman: The Man of Steel #22 - became bestsellers. Even characters such as Superboy and Steel have gone on to become integral components of the DC Universe, both created and unmade.
The first attempt at Warner Bros' death-superman storyline was with Superman Reborn, which was directed by Jon Peters. The film was attempting to capitalize on Tim Burton's Batman films, but the script gave them pause as Lois Lane became pregnant with Superman's child, which seemed too close to Batman Forever. Later, Kevin Smith met with WB and wrote his own script that included elements from the Death of Superman, named Superman Lives.
Smith's draft of Superman Lives was purchased at my local comic book store, which is quite similar to the comics. He also wears a black and white outfit that pays tribute to the Return of Superman storyline, which turns out to be a giant spider. (I'm not kidding, there is a giant spider in the script). Ultimately, Superman Lives was put on the back burner due to a growing budget and displeasure of WB executives.
The saga of Superman would be recreated in the 2007 film Superman: Doomsday. Together with Lauren Montgomery (Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths) and Brandon Vietti (Young Justice), Timm streamlined the narrative, revealing why Superman is an iconic character who chooses to protect others.
In Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Zack Snyder would reimagine elements from the death of Superman, as well as Zack Snyder's Justice League. Here, a wacky mixture of Kryptonian technology and the dead body of General Zod (Michael Shannon) is introduced. Both are explicit references to Snyder's favorite film, Excalibur.
The most accurate adaptation would be The Death of Superman in 2018 and The Reign of the Supermen in 2019. Jerry O'Connell plays the Man of Steel, who is juggling his newfound fame and his relationship with Lois Lane (Rebecca Romijn). Enter Doomsday, who nearly kills the Justice League and ends up killing the Last Son of Krypton with massive ground-shaking punches of his own.
When it comes to the Man of Steel's cinematic exploits, the film's conclusion explores his sadness. Luthor (Rainn Wilson) even expresses his loss. In Reign of the Superman, other heroes include Steel (Cress Williams) and Superboy (Cameron Monaghan) attempt to fill him's boots.