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Justice League Infinity just revealed that an evil Nazi version of Superman was responsible for the darkest moment of the DC Animated Universe.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Justice League Infinity #2 from DC Comics, on sale now.
Justice League Infinity serves as a continuation of the Justice League Unlimited series, and the heroes of the DC Animated Universe have been thrown into a predicament that might have been too dark for a property based on a children’s cartoon. After Superman and Overman switched universes at the tail end of the last issue, it was revealed that Overman hanged the Lois Lane of his world, cementing him as one of the vilest alternate versions of Superman.
Near the start of Justice League Infinity #2 (by J.M. DeMatteis, James Tucker, Ethen Beavers, Nick Filardi, and Tom Napolitano), Superman was transported to a white supremacist rally. Meanwhile, Overman confronted Lois Lane, who attacked Overman with a Kryptonite gun that seemed to do no damage. Overman prepared to evaporate Lois Lane, but flew off in a rage without harming her. Later, the Martian Manhunter used his powers to read Overman’s mind in a bid to stop his rampage. Inside Overman’s psyche, the Manhunter saw how Vandal Savage found Overman as a baby and molded him to be the “monstrous embodiment” of the “master race” Savage wanted to establish. During his rise to power, Overman fell in love with Lois Lane. Their relationship lasted until he found out she was secretly working with an anti-fascist resistance that wanted to topple Savage’s dictatorship. For her betrayal, Overman hanged her.
Created by Grant Morrison, Doug Mahnke, and Christian Alamy for Final Crisis: Superman Beyond, Overman was originally a version of Superman who landed in Nazi Germany during World War II. His arrival radically changed the outcome of the war for the Axis powers, who used his immense strength to conquer the world. The version of Overman seen in Infinity appears to be a combination of the original and the version of Superman introduced in the “Brave New Metropolis” episode of Superman: The Animated Series. In the episode, Lois was killed by Intergang and Superman teamed up with Lex Luthor to turn Metropolis into an authoritarian police state. This Superman also uses the Sig Rune as his chest symbol instead of the Nazi Swastika used by the original Overman.
While Lois Lane’s hanging was only alluded to with a silhouette of her legs and not directly shown, the fact that it was Overman who did it makes him the darkest versions of Superman ever created. This leads to the question of whether this was too dark for the animated universe. The DCAU isn’t new to characters dying, but it was never this outwardly tragic and dour. The closest it’s ever come to something like this was in the Justice League episode “A Better World” when Luthor killed the Flash and Lord Superman lobotomized most of the world’s villains.
Lois Lane has always been Superman’s moral center and one his closest ties to humanity, so it stands to reason that losing her will always radically change him. In the Injustice Universe, the Joker tricked Superman into killing Lois Lane, which sent him down the spiral that made him the iron-fisted authoritarian leader of Earth.
Overman hanging Lois Lane is arguably the darkest moment in the DCAU. It’s an act made even more tragic because of the fact that Overman stands for every single thing that Superman has opposed since he was first introduced. Considering that this all takes place in a superhero universe originally made for children, this scene may have really taken things a step too far.
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