Superman Is Dealing With a New Weakness, And the Threat Is None Other Than Himself

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Superman #20!A new weakness has just been discovered in Superman, and it could spell trouble for the entire DC Universe. A shocking moment in the middle of a battle reveals that the Big Blue Boy Scout is fighting something very dangerous from within.

Things have been very intense as of late for Superman. Not only did he nearly lose his entire family in the epic “House of Brainiac” storyline, he nearly lost his life thanks to Amanda Waller in Absolute Power. To make matters worse, his powerful foe Doomsday has returned from the pits of Hell, and it’s pushing Superman to some serious extremes.

Superman’s Repressed Anger is Changing Him for the Worse

A Shocking Death Raises Clark’s ‘Red Levels’

In Superman #20 by Joshua Williamson, Dan Mora, Alejandro Sánchez, and Ariana Maher, Clark speaks with the Time Trapper, revealed to be a future, evolved version of Doomsday. Time Trapper urges Clark to kill him, while also warning Superman of the horrors to come in the near future. Before Superman can stop him, the future Doomsday departs, leaving Clark and Superwoman to deal with the current problem: The Doomsday that Superman knows is still rampaging through downtown Metropolis and engulfing the entire city in hellfire.

Superman and Superwoman take on Doomsday and his Doomhounds while Mercy Graves works to activate something called ‘Project Deadbeat’. Clark and Lois work tirelessly to defeat Doomsday while the rest of the Super-Family evacuates Metropolis. Thankfully, Mercy arrives with armed Supercorp soldiers and their secret weapon, Parasite. Parasite is unleashed on Doomsday and starts to feed off of the monster’s limitless energy. Unfortunately, before Parasite can weaken Doomsday enough, the behemoth rips the reformed villain in half in front of Superman and the heroes of Supercorp.

Fuming from losing Parasite, Superman unleashes his anger on Doomsday, punching him until his fists bleed. As Clark thrashes Doomsday, Lois remarks “Not again” while Lena Luthor observes that Superman’s ‘red levels’ are rising. Mercy implores Superman to stop while Lois tries her best to calm Clark down. Superman’s eyes burn red while crimson veins glow on his neck and face. Even his voice is affected to a degree before the Man of Steel finally goes back to normal after realizing that Doomsday is stopped, and that the day is saved.

Superman’s Anger Has Been Brewing and Everyone Knows It

Stresses are Causing the Man of Steel to Lose Control

Clark has had his fair share of stressful events, but the last year or so has really tested him. Superman took a gamble working with Lex Luthor, who claimed he was turning over a new leaf. But while the two former enemies became working allies, threats from Lex’s past emerged, like the enigmatic Dr. Pharm and Mr. Graft. This pair of mad scientists did a lot of research into kryptonite and even synthesized the red variant to make Superman feel intense rage.

Pharm and Graft got exactly what they wanted as the exposure to the synthetic red kryptonite caused Superman to go on a rampage that no one was safe from. Fortunately, Lex was able to counteract the red kryptonite’s effects with the standard green variant. Superman’s life was saved, but something changed in him internally. It wasn’t long after Superman’s last encounter with Pharm and Graft that Brainiac came to Metropolis and kidnapped every metahuman in the city save for Superman, who’s intense anger began to return.

Superman was able to hold his rage back and see his rescue mission through, but his new attitude was picked up on by Lobo, who noted that Superman’s rage was palpable. To make matters worse, Clark didn’t even get a chance to celebrate the return of his family after “House of Brainiac” thanks to Amanda Waller launching her attack on metahumans in Absolute Power. And Superman’s fury burned brighter than ever once he discovered that Waller had transformed his son, Jon, into a living weapon.

What Do Superman’s Red Levels Mean for Him and His Future?

Clark’s Anger is Putting Everyone in Danger

Given all the things Superman has been through, it’s expected that he’d be angry. But the exposure to Pharm’s synthesized red kryptonite has deeply affected him to the point that he’s become a danger to himself and others. Judging by the fact that Supercorp is observing Superman’s physical stats and Lois’ remark of “Not again”, it’s likely that Superman has been struggling with his anger getting the best of him. Especially since there were a few weeks between Absolute Power and the start of DC All In where anything could have happened.

Of course, the idea of a Superman losing himself to anger is a scary one. But it doesn’t just seem like an emotional problem for Clark as much as it is a physical one. While rage is at the center of it, whenever Clark starts getting angry, his body actually changes. His eyes glow (and not just because of his heat vision) as well as his skin, not to mention something is going on with Superman’s voice, given how his word bubbles even look red.

So what’s going to happen when Clark’s ‘red levels’ get too high? The most obvious answer is that Superman gets so angry that he can’t shake it, endangering everyone who so much as looks at him wrong. But since this problem all goes back to the synthetic red kryptonite Graft used, anything could be on the table. Red kryptonite is unpredictable and could lead to mutations, new powers or even death. Essentially, whenever Superman gets too angry, he runs the risk of experiencing the effects of the most dangerous kryptonite around.

What Can Save Superman From This New Weakness?

Keep Calm and Superman On?

Unfortunately, meditation and mindfulness aren’t going to stop the stress Superman experiences from supervillain attacks and Clark doesn’t have the luxury of quitting the superhero business. The only way Clark has at overcoming this weakness is by consulting the greatest experts on kryptonite. Normally, that would mean Lex Luthor, but he’s still dealing with a severe bout of amnesia. Thankfully, there are a lot of scientists in the DC Universe that know about kryptonite, and they can certainly help Superman before his rage takes him to a dark place he can’t return from.

Superman #20 is available now from DC Comics.