10 Times Superman Just Quit
4. Superman Commits Suicide Out Of Guilt - Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?
This story is legendary as one possible ending of Superman's career, told by visionary Alan Moore. It's framed around Lois Lane giving an interview about Superman's disappearance, ten years prior.
In the story, Superman squares off with Mr. Mxyzptlk. He's not the jokester we've sometimes seen, but a dark, terrifying being of unimaginable power who decides it is time to finish things with Superman.
Mxyzptlk arranges for several people close to Superman - Jimmy Olsen, Lana Lang, Lex Luthor, even his dog Krypto - to die. This pushes Superman to use a last-ditch weapon, his Phantom Zone projector. Unfortunately, he zaps Mxyzptlk at the same time the imp says his own name backwards to return home, trapping Mxy in two dimensions and ripping him in half.
Superman is racked with guilt that he has taken a life. No longer feeling like a hero, he deliberately exposes himself to gold kryptonite, permanently erasing his powers. He then wanders into the freezing Antarctic, never to be seen again, Superman no more.
After the interview ends, Lois, whose husband 'Jordan' has sat quietly throughout, says she's glad Jordan prefers his normal life, just before their son Jonathan squeezes a piece of coal into a diamond.
It's a seminal story in Superman history.