DC Is Officially Rebooting Superman’s Strongest Villain
Published Sep 13, 2026, 5:18 PM EDT
Jared is a writer, editor, and Communications Studies graduate who loves popular nerd culture (almost anything to do with Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings) and the interactive storytelling medium. Jared's first console was the PS1, wherein he fell for Spider-Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot.
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As more allies join the fray in Dark Knights of Steel II in the form of Dark Knights of Steel: Heir to the Sea’s King Arthur of Atlantis, so too do new enemies come crawling out of the woodwork. In the new 12-issue sequel series, however, it seems as if the number of foes is far eclipsing the number of friendlies, as the machinations of the House of El’s General Amanda Waller have begun to hamstring the League.
Waller crowned herself as Dark Knights of Steel’s main antagonist when it was revealed that she played a role in the White Martians’ assault, as well as when she slew Alfred/J’onn J’onzz, and she became doubly intriguing in Dark Knights of Steel II, following the reveal that Barbara Gordon—gifted with visions of things that have come to pass—is her daughter. By the end of Dark Knights of Steel II #3, Waller could be the least of the League’s worries, as the series is teasing the debut of a classic DC supervillain in this dark-fantasy continuity, namely a genetically engineered monstrosity that famously killed Superman.
Dark Knights Of Steel’s Dr. Arkham Is Conjuring Her Own Doomsday
Waller and Dr. Elizabeth Arkham’s schemes are coming to light in recently released preview pages for Dark Knights of Steel II #3. It isn’t treated with much ceremony at all, but Dr. Arkham is apparently being tasked with taking prisoners from the dungeons of the El palace and attempting to transform them into hideous monsters, particularly a spiky figure resembling the Superman supervillain Doomsday.
These attempts from Dark Knights of Steel’s Dr. Arkham are unsuccessful, resulting in the deaths of these prisoners, with her stating that she requires more time to achieve success. It’s undetermined how soon Dr. Arkham will run out of prisoners who inhabit these dungeons, but perhaps she’ll later try to turn a character who isn’t a nameless guinea pig into Waller’s Doomsday, such as Prince Kal-El.
Nonetheless, it’s obvious that Waller’s ranks are growing by the day, which is especially unnerving while the League has currently lost formidable allies in the Els, who’ve all been afflicted with kryptonite poisoning and become incapacitated, all according to Waller’s plan. And, if Dr. Arkham does succeed in creating a Doomsday, it’s anyone’s guess as to how nightmarish a foe it will be in comparison to Dark Knights of Steel II’s Emperor Black Manta or Darkseid.
Who Knows What Other Horrors Lie In The El Dungeons?
It’s a stroke of genius that Dark Knights of Steel’s League has more or less been separated or turned against one another throughout both limited series thus far. Together, the fully assembled League would be laughably and scarily overpowered, comprised of:
- Princess Jennifer Pierce
- Queen Anissa Pierce
- John Constantine
- Queen Lara-El
- Princess Zala-El
- Prince Kal-El
- illegitimate Prince Bruce Wayne
- Harley Quinn
- Ivy
- Queen Diana
- Lois
- King Arthur
Meanwhile, Dark Knights of Steel II #3 guarantees that Doomsday is only one of many terrors that may be concocted in the Els’ dungeons, as it finally resolves a cliffhanger regarding the King’s Bane from Dark Knights of Steel: Tales from the Three Kingdoms #1. It’s even possible that the El palace’s dungeons could become Dark Knights of Steel’s new medieval equivalent of DC’s traditional Arkham Asylum. The solicitation for Dark Knights of Steel II #3 reads as follows:
With the House of El’s queen, crown prince, and princess bedridden, Lois of Amazonia jailed, the Amazons expelled, and the threat beneath the waves growing with each passing day, Amanda Waller has everything to gain as she assumes emergency control of the Kingdom of El. Harley Quinn, the Els’ advisor, must recruit to her cause a young Barbara Gordon, for the aid of her visions, and Dick Grayson, who’s just about the only person who might stand a chance of finding the missing Prince Bruce. But even as our heroes gather in secret, they’re about to discover that there isn’t much a power-hungry Waller wouldn’t do to cement her reign...
Dark Knights of Steel II #3 is scheduled to be released on September 16, 2026.
Comic Superman (2023)
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