Justice League: 8 Theories On How Superman Will Return

6. He Was Never Dead

The Theory

There is no need for Superman to come back from the dead, because he never died in the first place. What if his climactic battle with Doomsday simply injured him so badly that he was effectively put in stasis?

And the reason he hasn't returned from his power nap so far is that he doesn't have a direct line to the sun, which would have the power to revive him even from near-death. He's buried after all and died under darkness, so there was no chance for a "recharge".

Likelihood

Superman actually almost died twice in Batman v Superman: his battle with Doomsday initially ended (or round one did) when they both went to space and the US government nuked them. Superman appeared to "die" at that point, turning into what looked like a zombie...

But that wasn't enough to kill him permanently, as the sun simply recharged his Kryptonian cells and he was revived. All Superman needs now is the sun and he can repeat the trick. Because he's not dead, he's just resting his eyes.