"The Death and Return of Superman" on SNES is that side-scrolling beat-'em-up where your fists do the talking and the cape snaps in time with the 16-bit soundtrack. In the wild, it went by all sorts of names—"The Death and Return of Superman," "Return of the Man of Steel," or just "that Superman brawler"—but the idea stays the same: distilled DC comic-book drama served as an arcade slugfest. Metropolis is drowning in chaos, Doomsday storms the streets, and first you hold the line as Kal-El himself, then take up the S-shield across the Reign of the Supermen roster—Steel, Superboy, the Eradicator, and Cyborg Superman. Comic-book panels, chunky pixel art, snappy uppercuts, over-the-shoulder throws, a crowd-clearing special—together they nail that feeling of snapping a cart into the Super Nintendo, the TV humming, and the evening promising a fair, rhythmic scrap. It’s one of those games where you feel the weight behind every hit: quick jab, a grab, a tight crowd-splitting combo, and that satisfied exhale as the boss health bar finally dips.

This whole tale sprang from DC’s early-’90s mega-event—the Death of Superman and the follow-up Reign of the Supermen. The game cleanly runs through the key beats: Metropolis street hellscapes, the fatal throwdown with Doomsday, skyline flights with heat vision and shooter-style sections, then a manhunt for would-be heirs. You get classic alleyway beat-’em-up action and airborne stages—a rare mix that somehow feels seamless. For many, it was a first taste of how a superhero license can really sing on a home console: arcade tempo, fair bosses, signature moves, and that gloriously heavy 16-bit sound. For how it all came together, who shipped it, and why the cartridge held its own on the shelf, check out the detailed release history, and refresh the cast and story arcs via the Wikipedia article.

The Death and Return of Superman plays with a confident beat-'em-up rhythm: you roll into Metropolis like a block you grew up on—step, uppercut, grab, hurl through a shop window—and keep marching. This side-scroller makes hits land with meaty thuds, the cape cuts across the frame, and the flying bits deliver that signature Superman freedom: square your shoulders, scorch the street with heat vision, and sweep a wave of drones. The Death and Return of Superman doesn’t dawdle, and it doesn’t coddle: whiff and you’re surrounded, panic-pop a special and pay for it on the power bar. Crates and rebar litter the ground, S-shield pickups patch up your health, and the villains feel ripped straight from DC panels. We’d often call it just “the Superman game” or “Return of Superman,” and that’s the vibe: you against street gangs, cyber goons, and monsters—every punch needs character.

The best bit is swapping heroes in the Reign of the Supermen arc: Steel brings the hammer with a booming clang, quickstep Superboy dives into grapples, the Eradicator burns from range, and Cyborg Superman dismantles with machine-cold precision. Each chapter shifts the tempo: a deliberate alley cleanup, a jittery neon sprint, then flight lanes where it leans into an arcade shooter. Bosses like Doomsday force you to play the timing—sidestep, clinch, toss—and the room freezes for a split second. It’s a game where frames have weight and misses have a cost, and victory sounds like metal crunching under your fist. Jump to more on the gameplay and you can almost smell the cartridge and hear the block at dusk: the groove hooks like a great song and doesn't let go. It’s the kind of brawler you’ll keep coming back to, again and again.