Superman is the most iconic superhero of all time. The Man of Steel was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in Action Comics #1 all the way back in 1938. To this day the character has appeared across multiple media formats including movies, TV shows, comics and video games just to name a few. There have been different iterations of the character over the years, each with slightly different attributes and abilities but is Superman immortal? That’s the question we’re going to answer right now.
Superman Immortality
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary the definition of immortal is “exempt from death”. In it’s strictest terms this means death by any cause whether accidental or otherwise.
Superman is not immortal although it is incredibly difficult for him to die. As long as he stays exposed to Earth’s yellow sun he can theoretically live forever. This was evident in Action Comics #1000 when Superman was alive during the destruction of the planet, 5 billion years in the future.
However, Kal-El is vulnerable to Kryptonite and magic, so even if he is able to stay powered up from the sun, he can still be killed through violent means. This makes Superman mortal. This was evident in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice when Superman was killed by Doomsday. This was only possible because Superman was holding a Kryptonite spear at the time of his death, which weakened him just enough for Doomsday to land a killer blow.
So, is Superman immortal then? The simple answer is no because he has died in the past on multiple occasions at the hands of his enemies in the DC Universe. However, if he is able to avoid that pesky Kryptonite he could seemingly live forever. Or at least for 5 billion years but I guess there wouldn’t be too much left to do at that point anyway.
As always, thanks for reading.
