The Death and Return of Superman is a Beat 'em Up video game based on the homonymous storyline from the Superman comics. It was made by Blizzard Entertainment and Sunsoft for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994, and for the Sega Genesis in 1995.
After quelling a riot by creatures living in the sewers of Metropolis, called the Underworlders, Superman gets news of a more powerful enemy called Doomsday that is coming to wreak havoc on his city of Metropolis. Barely defeating the enemy, Superman dies to his injuries, leaving the way open for four possible successors: a Man of Steel, a Cyborg, a Superboy, and The Last Son of Krypton (a person with a visor). What are their agendas to fill the void left by Superman's death, and what is the secret of the Cyborg Superman?
Both versions are nearly visually identical, so they will be treated here in tandem.
Death and Return of these Super tropes:
- Adaptation Distillation: Despite lacking the more emotional and character-driven elements of the comics storyline, the game focuses on the main events around the death of Superman (Superman fights Doomsday), the appearance of the four mysterious Supermen, and Cyborg Superman's takeover as the main villain for the second half of the game.
- Adaptational Name Change: Cyborg Superman is called The Cyborg here.
- Adapted Out:
- The Justice League of the time was some of the victims that Doomsday curbstomped in his march towards Metropolis. They are not present in the game proper, save for a mention in the interstitial cutscenes.
- Retcons and continuity aside, a version of Supergirl from the early-1990s comics was also a major player for the large comics storyline, but she is not present in the game.
- Coast City's destruction was a major turning point event for Green Lantern Hal Jordan, but he is also absent from the storyline.
- Mongul, Cyborg Superman's co-conspirator in Coast City's destruction, is also absent from the game.
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: Superman is controllable for the first two stages, then the action alternates between four of his "successors": Cyborg Superman, Eradicator, Steel, and Superboy.
- Auto-Scrolling Level: In some of the stages in the game, the player controls the flying Super-person and has to navigate a level that scrolls from left to right.
- Back from the Dead: Superman dies after Stage 2, but comes back to life in-between stages and returns to being the playable character in the final stage.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Doomsday is the main villain that caused Superman's death. After he is dealt with, Cyborg Superman becomes the main villain for the rest of the game beginning with stage 5.
- Compressed Adaptation: The video game adapts a whole year of stories from the comics (1992-1993), but focuses on the parts involving Superman, Doomsday and the actions of the four Superman substitutes, excising side events that happened in the titles.
- Fusion Dance: At the start of the final level, Cyborg Superman shoots a beam at Eradicator and the Superman in black, causing them to become the one and only Superman in red clothes.
- Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: If the Eradicator defeats the Cyborg at the end of Stage 5, the Cyborg manages to win anyway.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- In the cutscene after stage 2, the reporter says Superman "gave his all" to defeat Doomsday, and died for it.
- At the start of the final level, Cyborg Superman shoots a beam at Eradicator and the Superman in black, causing them to become the one and only Superman in red clothes. Eradicator ceases to exist from then on.
- Kid Hero: Superboy is said to be a Superboy (that is, a young Superman), and his introductory stage calls him "The Metropolis Kid".
- Let's You and Him Fight: The Eradicator, a hero, fights The Man of Steel, another hero, who mistook the other for an imposter.
- Life Meter: The player character's life is a red bar on the upper left corner.
- Recurring Boss:
- Doomsday if fought twice in Stage 2, in the first level and as the stage boss.
- Cyborg Superman becomes a recurring boss in the second half of the game, fighting Eradicator and Superboy, then becomes the Final Boss.
- Reused Character Design: Several enemies in the game are actually palette-swapped versions of one another, like the blue and pink goat-horned Rambeaus from Stage 1, and the armored mooks and flying ones from Cadmus in Stage 3 that are reutilized in Coast City ruins (stages 5 and 6) and Engine City (stage 10).
- Special Attack: Each of the playable Supermen has a special attack, represented by a ruby circle under the lifebar.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The Underworlders, the enemies of Stage 1, vanish from the game's storyline after Stage 1.
