DC Officially Unveils New Superman Replacement

The Man of Steel is about to look a whole lot different.

Superman is the biggest character in comics, the default superhero for many in a world that has thousands upon thousands. The character has appeared in nearly a dozen live-action films, countless more animated projects, and virtually infinite comic books as he works to spread his message of good.

As such, there have also been countless different versions of the Last Son of Krypton from the iconic Superman Blue to Ultraman, Kal-L, Kingdom Come version, and beyond. The latest iteration, however, may be the Man of Steel's most terrifying yet.

DC's latest Superman replacement is outright horrific

The new Superman appears in Next Level: One Shot #1, a new special from writer Gerry Duggan, artist Fernando Blanco, and letterer Buddy Beaudoin. The book follows Deadshot, real name Floyd Lawton, as he uncovers a haunting conspiracy involving genetically engineered copies of the most powerful people in the DC Universe, including Superman himself.

Although he appears alongside cloned versions of Wonder Woman and Batman, Superman is the one that instantly stands out — largely because of just how haunting he really is. As Supes himself explains, this version of the clone had to have his eyes removed because "previous iterations of me with complete bodies were too dangerous."

A page later, readers find out this grotesque imitation of the Man of Steel has a living Starro housed within its body. The creature can deploy the miniature alien onto another person, allowing it to gather biological details that can then be used in the cloning process. Perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that these versions of the Trinity are said to be just three weeks old.

When it comes to Superman, his attachment to the betterment of humanity is what keeps him grounded and a protector of the human race. You remove that part of him, though, and that's when things get realy dicey, real fast. Once you take away Pa and Ma Kent, his upbringing in Smallville, and the humanity Clark developed over his lifetime, what's left is one of the most powerful beings on Earth without a person within responsible for keeping all the power in check.

And unfortunately for the rest of the DC Universe, that's the exact nightmare Next Level: One Shot #1 introduces. Superman has been reinvented countless times over his nearly 90-year history, and evil versions of the character are hardly anything new. What Duggan, Blanco, and DC are cooking up here, however, is starting to feel different.

Next Level: One Shot #1 is now available at your local comic shop.