The End is Nigh!
Cover to “Superman #35” (published February 25th, 2026) written by Joshua Williamson, art by Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferriera and Julio Ferriera and colors by Alejandro Sanchez
Cover art by Dan Mora
With the events of DC K.O nearing their epic conclusion, it falls to the trio of Lois Lane, Superboy-Prime and the Superman Robot to get their findings from the Fortress of Solitude safely to the hands of the Time Trapper Doomsday following the events of the last issue. But with the Dark Legion standing in their way, can they hope to possibly succeed before Darkseid destroys everything? Issue #35 of Superman is our final stop before we get to the finale of DC K.O and I’ll be giving y’all a synopsis and thorough review of the issue as per the usual. Let’s jump right into it!
Warning: The following article contains spoilers for “Superman #35”.
Life Secrets
Valid point, to be honest.
Our issue begins with the Time Trapper Doomsday lamenting how he was unable to get Superman to trust him and for good reason given, well, he killed him and all that jazz. Kind of a big deal, no? Be that as it may, Time Trapper still needs Superman but the Man of Steel is gone fighting in a tournament that may or may not be going badly at the moment (it is). But hope isn’t completely gone as Doomsday remarks that a new breed of Superman may just be the one to turn the tide. Which means, as you may well know, it is once again Prime Time!
Prime is simultaneously a cornball and TERRIFYINGLY powerful.
We cut to Superboy-Prime as he’s taking the fight to the Dark Legion, or as he so eloquently puts it, “Legion Dweebs”. He tells the Superman Robot - carrying important information that is to be delivered to Doomsday - to get out of there, but the Robot stands firm: it must complete its mission. The corrupted Lightning Lad decides to take on Prime head on as the Superman Robot is confronted by Cosmic Boy. Whereas Prime is more than capable of handling Lightning Lad on his lonesome, the Superman Robot is at the mercy of Cosmic Boy’s magnetic manipulation given it is a machine made of metal. As Cosmic Boy gets to work trying to rip the Robot apart, Lois Lane rushes to the scene to stop the madness. She in turn is quickly confronted by the sadistic Saturn Girl who exclaims that this is what Darkseid demands. Lois tries to appeal to the fact that the Legion has historically always been Superman’s friends and allies and while the Dark Legion before her are not them, they could perhaps be *like* them.
The Man of Steel fallen.
Saturn Girl politely declines and explains how she is mentally connected to Darkseid and reveals she knows the events of the tournament. She brags that Superman was so close to winning the tournament, claiming the power of King Omega and usurping Darkseid’s power…only to be betrayed and fall. She claims that Superman is dead as Lois fights back tears, calling her a liar. But Saturn Girl merely presses on, claiming that it is to be expected given he trusted the very same creature who killed him, Doomsday. Hope, she says, is gone. Darkseid has won and it’s because Superman made the mistake of believing.
Saturn Girl’s psychic powers make her a formidable opponent.
This does not sit well with Lois who unleashes a burst of heat vision from her eyes. Saturn Girl easily dodges the attack as she taunts Superman’s wife. She reveals she’s inside Lois’ head in more ways than one, saying she knows her every move before Lois herself does. She’s able to easily counter Lois’ attacks as a result. She backhands Lois and marvels that her skin is still hard as rock as Lois bravely stands to her feet, defiant and unwilling to submit. Saturn Girl taunts Lois, calling her selfish for wanting to spend just one more moment with her husband, plunging deeper into Lois’ mind as the greatest journalist in the DCU baits her to do so.
The two women share their inner most thoughts as a result of Saturn Girl delving into Lois’ mind.
Saturn Girl mockingly explores Lois’ psyche, seeing key moments in her life as it pertains to the love of her life. She doesn’t understand how Lois can think of her husband in the wake of their world ending, but Lois simply responds that even if Darkseid wins, he can never take or have what they have. In a twist, Lois reveals that their psychic connection works both ways as she looks into Saturn Girl’s mind and sees her relationship with Lightning Lad, something the two have tried to keep secret from their peers less it be seen as weakness. Saturn Girl panics as for the first time in years she cannot hear Darkseid’s voice as Lois tries to convince her to turn away from the would-be Final God.
Lol. Lmao, even.
Meanwhile Superboy-Prime is cleaning house as he dispatches Lightning Lad and then casually backhands Cosmic Boy. Prime then grabs Lightning Lad and threatens to snap the necks of each Legionnaire one by one, starting with him. Saturn Girl sees this and in tears, begs Prime to spare him. Prime to his credit does just that, assuring Saturn Girl they’re lucky he isn’t that guy anymore (y’know, the “I’LL KILL YOU TO DEATH!” Prime from years ago). Saturn Girl gives the order to retreat which shocks her teammates, declaring that Darkseid will surely be furious with them. But she simply states that she has hope as she and the other Dark Legion members boom tube away.
Doomsday is going through it, folks.
Doomsday remarks that their victory here matters not and that they should retreat into the distant past and keep running. But Prime isn’t so sure as he approaches with the damaged Superman Robot. His processor is still functionally despite the intense damage the Robot has received and there’s something Doomsday needs to see. Lois agrees as Doomsday remains unconvinced. The Robot then plans the message we’ve spent several issues waiting for Doomsday to hear: a recording of the artificial intelligence of Lara Lor-Van, the biological mother of Superman. She explains to Doomsday that his true purpose is that of representing rebirth and second chances, that his history of resurrection represents more than just death and destruction. He is intended to be the embodiment of life eternal, in opposition to Darkseid himself. The message ends with Lara imploring Doomsday to give Earth the second chance that was denied to Krypton years ago.
The Superman Robot valiantly succeeds in its task.
The Superman Robot collapses, having completed its mission. Superboy-Prime cradles the remains of its body as he asks why it didn’t just run away from Cosmic Boy and his magnetic powers. The Robot responds that it simply did what Superman would have done before powering down in Prime’s arms. Doomsday then declares it is time and opts to take the fight to Darkseid himself, despite the size of his army or power. He teleports away, leaving Prime and Lois behind on the Watchtower.
Lois finds Martha and Jonathan aboard the life raft vessel.
Our comic begins its final stretch as we catch up with Lois and Mercy Graves aboard one of the super ships. Mercy informs Lois, clad in her Superwoman costume, that reality itself is unfolding thanks to the events of the tournament. We see that the Titans managed to get everyone off world and hold off some threats and that Mr. Terrific’s mission was a success. Mercy also informs that Lois’ powers are leaving once again and that without the labs on Earth, it could be a while before she can scan her. But Lois isn’t too concerned, she needs to find some people onboard the ship. Given that the ship is huge, a search could take a long time, but Lois is undeterred as she spots the two people she’s looking for in the form of Ma and Pa Kent. Jonathan is busy playing with children as Martha is sitting with a group of parents and encouraging them in these dark times. Lois races to her in-laws who embrace her, but wind up asking where Clark is. Lois solemnly responds that she does not know but has hope that Clark will return to them as soon as he’s able. But in the meantime, she has someone here who believes needs them as much as she does as she formally introduces Superboy-Prime to the Kents. Our issue then comes to an end as Prime extends a hand towards Pa Kent, asking that they call him Clark.
The Home Stretch of DC K.O
There was no shortage of action in this book!
With the conclusion of DC K.O right around the corner as well as a whole new status quo going forward for the Superman line of books, this issue had its work cut out for it but to little surprise, more than rose to the challenge. Joshua Williamson really brought his A-game to the book and has since the first issue of his run so this really shouldn’t be *that* surprising, but it can always be a challenge to write a compelling story in the pages of an ongoing series that also works as a tie-in to a big blockbuster event without sacrificing quality or clarity.
Cosmic Boy maliciously tortures the Superman Robot.
The overall story here was great and we got fantastic development from the three protagonists who had been leading the arc thus far. Lois Lane, despite being outmatched, manages to hold her own against Saturn Girl and when faced with the realization that all hope seems lost - and so does Clark - manages to hold on to her love for her husband, something that not even a nigh omnipotent Darkseid can take away from her. Her love for Clark is so strong that it even manages to unintentionally impact Saturn Girl herself. Superboy-Prime takes another step towards genuine heroism as he stops himself from executing Lightning Lad in front of Saturn Girl. It would have been all too easy for him to do so, especially considering his past history of maiming and murdering other superheroes, but to stop himself from doing so further cements the fact that Prime’s redemption isn’t a gimmick but rather a legitimate page in his storied history. And finally, the Superman Robot manages to succeed in its mission, giving Doomsday the necessary information he needed to help turn the tide in the King Omega Tournament. Despite being tortured by Cosmic Boy and his magnetic powers, the machine proves itself to be worthy of the Superman name before inevitably shutting down.
Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss.
The other characters involved here were likewise written quite well and satisfying The Dark Legion are believable villains, every bit as powerful as their heroic counterparts but without their moral center. Saturn Girl is especially terrifying as a sadistic psychic, capable of not just reading her opponent’s moves but also peering into their mind. But it was really great to see there was some semblance of humanity there as shown when her mind touched Lois’ and vice versa. Can she escape Darkseid and have a happily ever after with Lightning Lad? We can only hope…which is what she plans to do. Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad play second fiddle to her, but their appearance here and in the rest of the arc were well deserved. The dejected Doomsday Time Trapper is portrayed with such defeat and sorrow you can hardly believe that this is the entity that at one point actually killed Superman. And yet, you feel that sense of weight and hopelessness as well as the resolve once he commits to what it is he has to do. Finally, the inclusion of the Kents at the very end just offers a nice and touching emotional moment that gives us an idea of what’s to come in the pages of Superman next month following the thrilling conclusion of DC K.O.
Superman’s biological mother, Lara, informs Doomsday of his true purpose.
The art here, courtesy of Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, and Julio Ferreira with Alejandro Sanchez on colors gives us a vibrant issue that is packed with not just overt superhero action but also expressive and emotive characters that are able to to fully convey the depth of their feelings even without the dialogue bubbles next to them. Saturn Girl’s glee over watching Lois shed tears for the presumed death of her husband is haunting. Conversely, her shock and horror of having Lois see the recesses of her inner mind and shut her mind off from Darkseid is just as equally masterfully brought to life. The art team also does a great job of showing just how Prime is in comparison to, well, everyone else, as he barrels through the Legion and is casually about to snap Lightning Lad’s neck in front of everyone. His every moment is fluid and powerful, bristling with power the likes of which is, as he said in a previous issue, “a power scaler’s dream”. The use of shadows when it comes to Doomsday is among the best I’ve seen in modern comics as the monstrous figure, despite being totally inhuman, is nevertheless shown as portraying some very human emotions. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to portray Doomsday experiencing any sort of emotion beyond wanton rage and bloodlust, but it is done here and to great effect.
Final Thoughts and Review
Prime will be taking over the Superman ongoing title next month and I don’t think we’re ready.
Issue #35 of Superman neatly wraps up its final DC K.O crossover arc and is preparing to set up a fresh slate beginning with the highly anticipated “Reign of the Superboys”, which (finally) positions Superboy-Prime as the Superman of the DC Universe…at least for now. I’ll always have love for Clark (as in the mainstream Superman, not Superboy-Prime who is also literally named Clark Kent, fyi) and I know he’ll return to his flagship title before terribly long. But I am also excited to see where Prime Time takes us.
Final Review: 9/10
Things I didn’t know I needed until I had it: Superboy-Prime officially meeting Ma and Pa Kent.
The odd couple of Lois Lane and Superboy-Prime deliver a satisfying conclusion to wrap up the Superman title’s DC K.O tie-in issues. Issue #35 of Superman has everything you can want in a Superman comic: thrilling action, dastardly villains, high stakes, and ultimately the hope that everyone can earn a second chance. Despite the Man of Steel not being featured prominently, his presence is everywhere in this title that reminds me what it means to actually be (a) Superman.