Superman: The Doomsday Wars Book One NM-

Superman: The Doomsday Wars Book One (November 1998) is the oversized premiere issue of a high-stakes, three-part prestige miniseries written and illustrated by Dan Jurgens. The series serves as a major rematch between the Man of Steel and the unstoppable monster that originally killed him.

The Present Plot: "Birth"

• The Personal Crisis: The issue opens with an intense personal conflict for Clark Kent. His childhood friends, Lana Lang and Pete Ross, are at a Metropolis hospital facing a medical emergency. Lana has gone into premature labor with their baby boy, Clark Ross, and the infant's life hangs in the balance. Superman promises his friends that he will stay by their side.
• The Global Threat: Simultaneously, an emergency alert shatters his promise. A massive, devastating blizzard hits the United States. Deep within the storm, an incredibly powerful, mysterious force begins decimating the Justice League of America (JLA).
• The Twist: Though Superman initially trapped Doomsday at the End of Time in previous stories, the brute has somehow returned. Even worse, this version isn't just a mindless engine of destruction—the alien villain Brainiac has psychically hijacked Doomsday's unkillable physical body, combining brute cosmic strength with a cold, malevolent intellect.
• The Dilemma: Superman is forced to break his vow to Lana and Pete, leaving the hospital to save the dying Justice League from an enemy he knows is fully capable of murdering him again.

The Smallville Flashback

The issue expertly utilizes a parallel narrative structure. While dealing with the present-day chaos, Superman vividly recalls a traumatic winter from his youth in Smallville.

• As a powerless 15-year-old teenager, Clark, Lana, and Pete drove out into a blinding blizzard to save stranded farm cattle.
• Their car crashed and became wedged tight in the snow. The memories of his sheer helplessness during that freezing night mirror the deep psychological dread he feels facing the upgraded Doomsday in the modern freezing storm.

Creative Team

• Writer / Penciler: Dan Jurgens (the mastermind behind the original Death of Superman storyline).
• Inkers: Norm Rapmund and Brett Breeding.