Has a physical being killed Superman by beating him to death? Is there any instance in canon where this happened?
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15Wasn't he "killed" by a Doomsday? about 25 years ago? (The Death of Superman comic book. made a big splash even into main stream media. I remember a black cover with the Superman logo.)– NJohnnyCommented Nov 15, 2022 at 20:03
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1Canon probably couldn't provide a "no" answer, since any future issue could simply make it happen. "Has Superman ever been beaten to death?" is more answerable.– chepnerCommented Nov 15, 2022 at 20:05
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@NJohnny I think so, but I thought Doomsday stabbed Superman with an object, rather than beating him.– user159293Commented Nov 15, 2022 at 20:10
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@NJohnny - Not sure if that example qualifies or not, since Superman didn't stay dead, if he was truly dead at all. The original intent of the story seemed to be that he was genuinely dead, in that his soul had departed his body. It was also stated that his resurrection occurred through a combination of events that would not likely be reproduceable in future, meaning that if he died again, he would stay dead. However, DC continuity has been tinkered with more than once since then. I'm not sure if it's still canon that he actually died, as opposed being in something akin to a coma.– LogicDictatesCommented Nov 15, 2022 at 20:10
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1@Brandon - Doomsday did inflict penetration wounds on Superman with the bony protrusions on his knuckles, elbows and knees, however the final blows that ended the fight were basically just punches. Also, if Superman can be killed by being stabbed, it logically follows that it's possible to kill him with blunt force as well, since it proves that he is not immortal or truly invulnerable, and can die from sufficiently severe injuries.– LogicDictatesCommented Nov 15, 2022 at 20:15
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2 Answers
This is essentially how Superman's most prominent canonical death occurred, back in 1993. It's how Doomsday killed Superman—and, simultaneously, how Superman killed Doomsday. They just pounded each other until their bodies gave out. Here they are, delivering the final pummeling blows to each other
A quick Google search identifies that superman was beaten to death at the hands of Superboy-Prime, in the 2006 Infinite Crisis series.
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9To add context this, though, they'd flown through Krypton's red sun just prior to this, so neither character was at full power. Also, there were chunks of Kryptonite lying around, because they'd flown through an asteroid belt of Kryptonite asteroids as well (the remains of Krypton itself). Commented Nov 15, 2022 at 20:05
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4+1 this is a legitimate answer to the OP's question. @LogicDictates brings up good context, but the question did not impose any limits that might exclude this answer. A weakness due to flying through Krypton's sun (etc.) is no different than the weakness of exhaustion.– JBHCommented Nov 16, 2022 at 18:23
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2If i recall correctly, this was Earth-2 Superman and Earth-Prime Superboy, so kryptonite from the universe they were in probably wouldn’t affect either of them. (Power Girl was later shown to be vulnerable only to kryptonite from Earth-2-of-52.) It’s quite a stretch that any of the three Supermen survived going through a red sun, though. i know, I know, the universe was new and was still figuring some things out.– DavislorCommented Nov 17, 2022 at 1:47