This page may contain one or more affiliate links, which means that if you purchase a product through that link, I may receive compensation. The links will be identified with the text "affiliate link". Click to learn more.
In Adventures of Superman 500, Superman returns after being “dead”, killed by Doomsday. Because, ya know, no one knew whether Superman was actually going to stay dead or not. Basically, Superman’s adopted father is also dying I guess, and he pulls Superman back from the dead. Or something. This story is weird.
What is interesting about the death of Superman is that we all knew that Superman returns sooner or later. Notice I didn’t say “Superman will return”, I just jumped to “Superman returns”, because it was beyond inevitable. As I have said before, superheroes in comics never actually die. Examples: Spider-Man, Batman and Supergirl are all characters that died and came back. See what I mean?
They printed a billion issues of Adventures of Superman 500, so you should have no problem finding it. This is good because if you happen to have some leftover change and want to give it a read, the ads are a nice bonus. You see, I love ads, because they tell me what was popular the time the comic was printed. In this issue, there are two ads for movies. One is for Cone Heads, and the other is for Super Mario Bros. Yes, the movie. I remember seeing both of these movies as a kid, and neither was good. Other ads in Adventures of Superman 500 are for video games, such as Megaman 5. You see, Megaman was the bees knees at the time, which meant putting out a new game every year in time for Kwanzaa. If you like to rip open plastic bags, there is also a version of this comic that is sealed in white plastic. Again, there were a million copies of Adventures of Superman 500 printed, so be sure to get one (Affiliate Link), tear it open, read it a couple of times, then use it for an oil rag because you can always buy another one for like a penny.
Now, let’s explore the true silver lining of Superman’s death. We all know that death is a great career move in comics, and Superman’s brief hiatus from the living only served to increase his popularity. Plus, think of all the Halloween costumes that were suddenly relevant again! And let’s not forget the merchandising opportunities – I hear the “I Killed Superman” t-shirts were a big hit.