Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey

Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey #1
(back cover)

Alongside the main Superman books in 1994, Superman had a prestige format mini-series in which he had a re-match with the villain who killed him, Doomsday.  While outside of the usual triangle numbering, this series would have an immediate and lasting impact.

Hunter/Prey finally gives us an origin for Doomsday, a villain who had come out of nowhere with no explanation, seemingly just to serve the role of killing the Man of Steel.  Hunter/Prey can also be seen as a test run for DC's new digital color separations process, which would become the look of the Superman books (and eventually DC's entire line of comics) in the next year.  The original front and back covers depicted striking opposing shots of Superman and Doomsday both getting progressively closer each issue until their fists make contact with each other on the final issue.

Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey #1

Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey #1
(front cover)

Superman is having nightmares about Doomsday and wants to make sure that the monster is dead for good.  Coincidentally, Doomsday's body is found in space by a freight ship on its way to Apokolips.  Doomsday awakens and kills the ships crew, then when it arrives on Apokolips the rampaging monster starts to destroy everything in sight.  As if that weren't enough, the Cyborg is revealed to have survived by attaching part of himself to Doomsday.  Darkseid now has to face the mindless destruction of Doomsday and the intelligent Cyborg who plans to turn Apokolips into his new War World.  Darkseid engages Doomsday in physical combat and thinks he has defeated Doomsday with his Omega Beams, but the creature rises from the rubble and strikes the evil god from behind.

Superman tries to enlist the Linear Men to help him find what became of Doomsday, but they're no hope so he turns to the Justice League.  Eventually, Mr. Miracle hooks him up with one of the New Gods' living computers, a Mother Box, which takes him to Apokolips.  But before he can stop the monster, Darkseid's faithful minion Desaad opens a boom tube and sends Doomsday away to an unknown destination.

Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey #2

Superman is grudgingly forced to save Darkseid from death with his Mother Box.  While Darkseid recovers, Waverider of the Linear Men appears and breaks their rules by sharing vital information with the Man of Steel, Doomsday's origin story.

On an unnamed planet, an evil scientist named Bertron conducted an evil genetic experiment that involved endlessly cloning an organism and letting it die repeatedly on an inhospitable world until it eventually evolved into the indestructible killing organism now known as Doomsday.  The monster kills everything on the planet, including its creator, and later makes its way to another planet where it was finally defeated, but then the body was sent into space where it crashed on Earth thousands of years ago.  We learn that Doomsday cannot be permanently killed, and he also cannot be killed the same way twice.

Back in the present, Superman has no choice but to help Darkseid stop the Cyborg from destroying Apokolips like he did Coast City.

Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey #3

Mother Box makes a special suit for Superman, with cliche 90's pouches, straps, and a Jim Lee-esque headpiece.  Fortunately, this very dated costume has only been used in this one battle.  Superman follows the Boom Tube where Desaad has sent Doomsday to the last world that defeated him.  Unfortunately, this civilization discovers that the same tactics won't work on Doomsday again.  Despite the dramatic cover, Superman tries to avoid direct hand-to-hand combat with the monster this time.  But even with his upgrade from Mother Box, nothing seems to be able to stop Doomsday.  Waverider reveals the shocking secret that the planet Doomsday was created on was Krypton, then he finally breaks his oath and intervenes in the fight by taking Doomsday to the End of Time, where there is no universe left for him to return from the dead.  Mother Box restores Superman's costume to normal and takes him back to Metropolis.