Doomsday, who was originally known as the Ultimate, is one of Superman’s most powerful and deadliest foes who holds an important distinction: he killed the Man of Steel. The DC villain was created by Dan Jurgens, Brett Breeding, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson, and Roger Stern, and made his debut 30 years ago via a cameo in Superman: The Man of Steel #17 (November 1992), then had his first full appearance in the following issue.

A monstrous, genetically engineered figure from Krypton, Doomsday is fueled by hatred and a thirst for destruction. As the Ultimate, he escaped Krypton and went on a rampage and killing spree on multiple planets. On the planet Calaton, he was finally stopped by the royal family, who seemingly killed him, shackled his dead body, and shot him out into space.

Regaining consciousness, he was able to free one arm and escape the vault he was stored in, then went on a rampage in America’s Midwest. The Justice League attempted to stop him, but Doomsday was able to defeat them in minutes – with one arm still tied behind his back. After the fight, Booster Gold commented that the Ultimate’s rampage was like “the arrival of Doomsday” and the fearsome villain was renamed.

Superman and four other members of the JLA tried to stop him again, but incidentally freed his other arm, making Doomsday even more formidable. The battle convinced Superman that Doomsday was getting stronger, and if his path of destruction kept on its course to Metropolis, he could realistically destroy the city. Doomsday could sense that Superman was another Kryptonian and since he’d already proven to be much stronger than his other foes, Doomsday became focused on taking out the Man of Steel.

The two engaged in epic battles over the course of a few issues and Doomsday proved to be a relentless, violent machine who would not stop trying to kill Superman. Eventually, they beat each other to death in front of the Daily Planet building in Superman Vol. 2 #75. In Superman’s absence, a half-man/half-machine being resembling Superman took Doomsday’s body, strapped it to an asteroid, and shot it into deep space. But once again, Doomsday reawakened and the issue ended with the monster laughing as he hurtled through space.