Superman, [Adam Baldwin], and Lois Lane, [Anne Heche], are romantically involved, but Lois is unsettled by Clark Kent's secret identity. During a dig at LexCorp, workers uncover the spaceship of Doomsday, a genetically engineered, ruthlessly hostile super-soldier that shows no mercy to any life it encounters. Doomsday massacres the digging crew and launches a rampage toward Metropolis, slaughtering both animals and people as it goes. When Doomsday reaches the city, it decimates the military, and only Superman arrives to confront the monstrous threat. A brutal, city-spanning battle erupts, with Doomsday delivering devastating blows and Superman fighting to stay alive. In the end, Superman succumbs, dying in Lois's arms, and the world mourns the fallen hero.
Lex Luthor, [James Marsters], orders a brutal move to protect his own secrets: he kills his assistant Mercy Graves, [Cree Summer], to ensure no one can tie LexCorp to Doomsday's release. Metropolis slowly grieves as a memorial parade pays tribute to the Man of Steel. Friends of Superman cope in their own ways: Jimmy Olsen, [Adam Wylie], takes a job at a sensational tabloid newspaper The National Voyeur; Perry White, [Ray Wise], slips into alcoholism; and Lois, now certain that Clark was the hero in the cape, seeks counsel from Martha Kent, [Swoosie Kurtz], for strength and guidance. With crime rising in Superman's absence, the city grows more dangerous—andToyman, [John DiMaggio], weaponizes fear by deploying a giant mechanical spider to hold children hostage. Lois steps forward to save them, but Toyman targets her and a young girl, escalating the peril.
From the depths of Krypton, a Robot, [Tom Kenny], from the Fortress of Solitude detects that Superman is still alive and begins the slow process of recovery, pulling his body from death’s grip and coordinating his restoration. The clone that stands in for Superman grows increasingly unstable as he learns of Toyman's killing of a child, and he abducts the villain, killing him in front of the police to stamp his own authority on Metropolis. The populace is furious and unsure whether the clone is truly the real Man of Steel.
Lex berates the clone, urging him to recover Superman's corpse and warning of consequences if he misbehaves again. The clone discerns that a lead-shielded kryptonite pellet is embedded in his brain and removes it, a key step toward autonomy. Lois and Jimmy uncover Lex's plans to grow an army of Supermen, and Lex awakens armed and ready, only to be foiled when the original clone saves Lois and Jimmy, destroying the cloning facility and a batch of sleeping clones. Lex's scheme collapses, and he is left battered and bitter, muttering there may still be a way to destroy Superman.
Superman, revived but not fully restored, suits up in a solar-enhanced outfit and wields a Kryptonite gun to counter the clone’s powers. The two clash in a climactic showdown, with Lois managing to strike the clone with a kryptonite blast. The clone destroys the gun, but a Kryptonite canister clings to his chest, and Superman finally vaporizes it with a final blast of heat vision. As the clone dies, he tells Superman to protect the people, and Lois is left convinced that the real Superman has returned when he shares a kiss with her. The crowd erupts in relief, celebrating the restoration of Metropolis and the truth of Superman’s survival. At LexCorp, Lex lies grievously injured but alive, his smile hints that there might still be a vendetta to be waged against the Man of Steel.
