After a decades-long courtship Superman would marry his love interest, Lois Lane with
Superman (vol. 2) #75 in November 1992. While DC had published “Mr. & Mrs. Superman” stories during the seventies and into the eighties, these were the adventures of the Golden Age “Earth-Two” counterparts of the characters that were no longer canon after
Crisis on Infinite Earths. DC President Jenette Khan had originally vetoed the idea as she wanted to save the idea for her never-realized television series, but green-lighted it after Warner Bros. changed its plans following the Marvel/LightStorm announcement. However, a great tragedy would occur before the celebration.
“Wedding of Steel” was the epilogue for what would be that year’s big crossover where an unstoppable alien juggernaut named Doomsday would rampage across the DC universe. It began in
Green Lantern (vol. 3) #33 where Doomsday crashes into Coast City and begins slaughtering its inhabitants. He faces off against not only Hal Jordan, but also John Stewart and Guy Gardner in a desperate battle while the Corps evacuates the survivors. Doomsday defeats them and dozens of other Lanterns before moving on, but the city still stands and most of its population spared.
Doomsday would continue next month in
The Flash (vol. 2) #71 where Doomsday arrives in Keystone City. The fastest man alive would desperately employ every speed trick he knew to slow the behemoth down, only to get both legs broken before both the Justice League and Justice League International intervene. The crossover consists of DC’s entire pantheon of heroes making a stand against the creature over the following months, only for them to fall until Doomsday arrives in Metropolis.
What would follow would be what many fans regard as one of the most brutal fights in the history of the medium where Superman and the remnants of the League fight Doomsday to standstill. Ultimately, it is a badly-injured Superman who stands alone against the creature--and betrays his own code to never kill and puts Doomsday down for good, but at a cost. Superman survives the battle, but falls into a coma and later learns that the battle burned his powers out when he emerges from it.
His experience with Doomsday taught him how even fragile his life is and thus continues on with the wedding--doubling his commitment to Lois. Superman announces his retirement to the world and appoints Booster Gold as his replacement in the League as well as Metropolis’s protector [1]. The story ends with Lois and Clark on their honeymoon; Clark playfully asks Lois if she still loves him as much now that he’s not Superman. She unbuttons his shirt to reveal his bare chest and leans towards him to whisper,
“You will always be MY Superman.” before they kiss.
“Doomsday” would have reverberations that would echo throughout the DC Universe. For one, Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner would set aside their differences for the rebuilding of Coast City while John Stewart joins the Corps’ Honour Guard. Wally West’s encounter with Doomsday would leave him terribly shaken, especially when Barry Allen apparently returns from the dead at the end of
The Flash (vol. 2) #73. However, the biggest change will be the expansion of the Superman mythos as several pretenders will appear out of the woodwork.
[1] Likely because Booster Gold is Dan Jurgens’s creation.