Superman / Doomsday: Hunter / Prey #1 (1994)

Superman dreams of a childhood in which he was scared of the unknown, things in the dark that he could not explain. His mother was there in the dream to comfort him. When he tries to face his fear, Doomsday appears in his dream, and he is battling for his life. In his fight, he feels like a little child, scared and vulnerable. He awakens from his dream, pondering its meaning. He wonders about what happened to Doomsday's body, and how the Cyborg might have been involved. Meanwhile, on a space freighter bound for Apokolips, the crew notes an asteroid floating free in deep space. Captain Slaven, always on the lookout for a new way to turn a profit on Apokolips, orders the asteroid scanned and brought on-board. The scan reveals no organic life forms, and the tractor beam brings the asteroid in; crew on the ship are shocked to discover Doomsday tied to the rock. They attempt to reverse the tractor beam and remove him from the ship but it's too late; Doomsday awakens. He makes quick work of those on board. Superman muses on the dreams. He tells Lois that he feels Doomsday must somehow be involved, and he feels drawn to find Doomsday's body. Lois protests, reminding Clark of how hard it was for her when she thought him dead. She doesn't understand why he would want to leave, to chase down something that should not be even possible. Superman kisses her and tells her that it is something he must do. The freighter lands on Apokolips, apparently on autopilot. The hold opens, and Doomsday bursts out, wreaking havoc on all those around the area. DeSaad tells Darkseid that his army is being defeated, and asks for directions. From Doomsday's shoulder, a minuscule Cyborg Superman orders his pawn into battle. He notes that the armor of the Apokoliptian fighters is excellent, and he transfers his intelligence to a suit of exo-armor. He feels that Doomsday can now be his tool to soften up Apokolips, and then he will take over, making Apokolips into a new War World. With his new armor, he joins the fight. DeSaad comes back to Darkseid, reporting the appearance of another powerful player in the chaos, and asks for permission to appeal for help from L.E.G.I.O.N. or the Darkstars. Darkseid rejects those ideas out of hand. Superman, looking for information on where Doomsday's body might have gone, decides to ask the Linear Men, and flies to the house of young Matt Ryder. Adult Matt Ryder and Waverider, members of the Linear Men, appear and tell Superman that they knew that he would come at this place and time. They refuse to tell him anything outright, to Superman's great frustration, but drop a clue about a coming "Apocolypse." Superman accuses them of not thinking of the big picture, and snidely orders Matt's father to make sure that he teaches young Matt to do what's right while he still has time. Back on Apokolips, Darkseid decides to attack Doomsday personally, unleashing his Omega Beams, but to no avail. Doomsday laughs them off, and after a fierce battle, even a bleeding Darkseid acknowledges that Doomsday is "beyond death" as the legends say. Superman flies to the JLA to try to get some tracking information on Doomsday's asteroid. Maxima, at first annoyed that he has refused to join the JLA, decides that she likes his true warrior spirit when she realizes that he is asking about Doomsday. As she is about to help him, suddenly DeSaad's face appears on the screen, asking for help. With that new knowledge, Superman realizes the "Apocalypse" clue from Matt Rider was in reference to Apokolips. He travels to the planet with one of the JLA's Mother Boxes, to find it in chaos and fire. Superman encounters the Cyborg and accuses him of working with Darkseid. Henshaw, however, reveals his plan and shows Doomsday. Superman is momentarily overwhelmed by memories of his own death while Cyborg cackles that Superman is to be his own kill. DeSaad, unobserved, opens up a Boom tube, sucking Doomsday into its maw. Superman speeds after him, trying to enter the Boom tube too, but fails to reach it in time. Superman is dejected, and wonders to himself if perhaps some part of him didn't want to reach Doomsday in time.