Doomsday is a wrecking machine or monster-of-sorts. He is an alien being from the planet Krypton, the same as Superman. And, Doomsday could be Superman’s top enemy.
That’s because Doomsday is virtually unbeatable. Even when he dies, Doomsday comes back to life. His powers are immense and he could be immortal.
How is it possible to defeat Doomsday? It takes persistence and energy and perhaps time to beat Doomsday.
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Who is Doomsday?
Doomsday is a Kryptonian monster described as “rampaging, seeingly mindless”, and murderous. In DC Comics, this character escaped from an underground cell and destroyed everything in his path, including Superman.
In the early 1990s, DC Comics writer-artist Dan Jurgens created Doomsday. This character appeared briefly in Superman: The Man of Steel #17 and then more fully in Superman: The Man of Steel #18 as the ultimate nemesis of Superman.
Some of Doomsday’s backstory is that he was a genetically-engineered alien who was left on prehistoric Krypton. Doomsday thereby had all the powers of those from that planet and more since he survived an extremely harsh period of time, dying and resurrecting repeatedly.
Doomsday developed a Reactive Adaptation power that prevented him from being killed by the same means twice. He also had incredible powers that appeared unstoppable.
Doomsday was also in the 2016 movie Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Although here Doomsday’s story is slightly different: Lex Luther combined DNA from General Zod and himself with technology derived from Krypton to create Doomsday.
By this point, it became clear that Doomsday only needed his raw power to destroy anything in his way.
What are Doomsday’s Powers?
Doomsday has such superpowers as strength and speed, and like Superman, Doomsday is virtually indestructible. Usual weapons like missiles or bombs do not work on him.
In a gruesome manner, he beat Superman to death in the comics (although Superman/men returned). Doomsday can be harmed by other Kryponians, but he has the power to quickly heal and regenerate.
Self-Evolution prevents Doomsday from dying from the same cause twice, and he can rapidly heal from any attempt by those previous means. Doomsday can live in space and does not need water or oxygen.
Doomsday can also take energy from things that are around him, or even other lives, to bolster his strength.
Doomsday is one of DC’s most powerful villains, ranking up there with Darkseid, who has legendary strength and is immortal. Both of these characters appear to live on indefinitely.
Is Doomsday Immortal?
Doomsday is so powerful, he may be immortal. It depends on our definition. If he is “exempt from death”, then we could say he is immortal.
However, as one article has pointed out, Doomsday died on a few occasions, so he is not technically immortal. But his regeneration powers make him almost immortal.
If we count how he keeps coming back from death as being immortal, then he qualifies.
Doomsday first died at the hands of his creator from the comics, the scientist Bertron, who repeatedly put “Baby” out into the harsh environment on Krypton to die and then be brought back to life by Bertron–rather twisted, no?
And, Doomsday has died at the hands of others. So, he can be defeated, at least temporarily.
How to Defeat Doomsday?
In Superman: The Man of Steel #18, Doomsday went on a wrecking path that ran straight into the Justice League and Superman. He defeated all of them.
In the Death of Superman story, Doomsday and Superman battled it out until the former won handily and killed Superman. Yet, four additional Supermen came to the scene and chained Doomsday to an asteroid launched into space.
Doomsday was not done, though. He returned and continued to fight Superman and the Justice League.
Besides Bertron, the Guardians of the Universe killed Doomsday with an energy blast. So did the Radiant, an energy-based superhero that used that power to kill Doomsday.
Superman is also on the list for killing and being killed by Doomsday. In this case, the energy that destroyed Doomsday came from the latter being smashed to the ground by Superman.
So, using forms of energy is one way to defeat Doomsday. Another is outsmarting him.
With all his powers, Doomsday lacks intelligence. He is “an unreasoning, unthinking engine of death.” That could be used against him, especially when we think of how smart Superman is.
Superman and other superheroes like Tony Stark/Iron Man have superintelligence and could figure out a way to defeat Doomsday. Doomsday could be put into a trap and possibly sealed out in the depths of the universe.
Energy or smarts could thus wither away Doomsday and perhaps keep him in an unliving state, if not truly dead.
Fans have stated that time and energy can defeat Doomsday. One post commented how Doomsday was put at the end of time where “waves of pure entropy” wiped out his existence.
DC confirms that entropy is the “one thing that Doomsday cannot regenerate from nor form an immunity to.” Sending Doomsday to the end of time where entropy is presumably at its maximum can defeat him. Yet, this explanation does have a lapse in it.
Entropy refers to the amount of thermal energy and degree of molecular disorder in a system, with disorder and randomness increasing by way of the second law of thermodynamics. In our world, we think that entropy naturally increases with time.
Yet, this connection between entropy and time is not correct: entropy is not a function of time. That point is that Doomsday could potentially be defeated by entropy and time, but this explanation needs some clarification.
Then again, this is a fictional universe with scientific liberties.
Defeating Doomsday
Doomsday is one of the most powerful DC villains. He is an almost unbeatable monster that destroys all who cross his path.
Yet, superheroes like the Guardians and Superman have defeated Doomsday by using the power of energy. Doomsday was also dispatched into space and sent to the end of time.
Doomsday may be immortal but he can be defeated–at least for a time.
Todd Wahlstrom is a creative and analytical freelance writer and life-long Star Wars fan who has expanded into writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has written about recent shows such as The Mandalorian and Andor and classic topics like Darth Vader, the Jedi, and Boba Fett. His recent articles include the MCU’s Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Todd is the author of a non-fiction book, holds a Ph.D. in history, and enjoys hiking, running, and reading about science.