Yesterday, Marvel Comics announced the death of a fan-favourite character and DC Comics has since countered that by revealing the return of one of their most iconic antagonists.
Yes, the creature that killed Superman, Doomsday, makes his comeback (not for the first time) this August.
In the 48-page one-shot Action Comics Presents: Doomsday Special #1, Supergirl and Martian Manhunter will team up to battle the villain and we're guessing the monster's return will be bad news for the wider DC Universe. Whether Superman will get involved remains to be seen, but it definitely sounds like the stage is being set for something Man of Steel-related.
"It is a creature beyond reason - and the only force in the universe strong enough to kill Superman," reads the official description. "It’s Doomsday, the living embodiment of death, destruction, and evolution!"
"In the wake of Dark Crisis and Lazarus Planet, King Doomsday now sits on a throne of skulls across a river of blood, holding court over the demons that swarm in the depths of Hell...and he may have just found a way back to the land of the living."
"It’s now up to Supergirl and Martian Manhunter to drive the beast back and see that he never again returns to our earthly plane - even if they must die to do it! Plus: the return of Bloodwynd, the debut of the Doomhounds, and a clue to the next big Superman event!"
Action Comics Presents: Doomsday Special #1's creative team is writer Dan Watters and artist Eddy Barrows, while Björn Barends, Puppeteer Lee, Lucio Parrillo, Clayton Crain, and Jon Bogdanove have all been tapped to provide variant covers.
Zack Snyder brought Doomsday to live-action in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, though Smallville beat the filmmaker to it. Neither depiction satisfied fans, so the hope now is that DC Studios will one day take another crack at him.
Take a first look at Doomsday's DC Comics return below.