DC Introduces Huge New Superman Weakness Today

Published Oct 28, 2026, 12:22 PM EDT Ambrose Tardive is an editor on ScreenRant's Comics team. Over the past two years, he has developed into the internet's foremost authority on The Far Side. Outside of his work for ScreenRant, Ambrose works as an Adjunct English Instructor. It is a kind of superhero shell game. DC Comics has to keep finding new, inventive ways to make the normally invulnerable Superman vulnerable, so that his stories feel like they have real dramatic stakes. There have to be dramatic stakes, so that the hero can triumph in the face of adversity. Superman has to have his vulnerabilities exposed, so that he can overcome them to become the invulnerable Man of Steel once more by the story's end. It is a formula that has worked, to varying degrees, for almost a century. The remarkable thing is how DC continues to find novel new weaknesses for Superman, even if they tend to be temporary. The latest example is a landmark moment in Superman lore, because it just did more than just take away the hero's strength, or cut him off from its source. Superman's latest problem is that his strength has literally become his weakness. Superman's powers stem from the effect of Earth's yellow sun on his Kryptonian biology. The sun makes Superman strong, and also nigh-indestructible. Normally. Now, though, DC has flipped the script, with catastrophic results for Clark Kent. Because now exposure to direct sunlight is also killing him. Warning! Spoilers ahead for Superman's current "Night Shift" arc! The Sun Is Now Deadly To Superman, In DC's Latest Major Twist On The Man Of Steel's Powers Superman #43, By Joshua Williamson & Xermánico "Now every time I'm in the sunlight," Superman says to Lois Lane, stepping out of the shadow of the Daily Planet building, "it burns." It is a gruesome reveal to end Superman #43, and to send the new "Night Shift" arc in an unexpected direction. Superman looks like he's suffering from beyond-fourth degree burns, the skin on the left side of his face, down his neck, and his exposed left hand covered in red boils, steaming as the light hits it again. Superman explains that he "got hit with some kind of energy converter." That's the short version. The longer version is that there is a Black Lantern ring in Metropolis, and it wants Superman to wear it. Which might turn out to be the only way to save himself now that he is having what amounts to a vampiric reaction to Earth's yellow sun. A Historic New Weakness Puts Superman In A Tough Position As "Night Shift" Escalates Superman #44, Out November 25, 2026 From DC Comics The big reveal of Superman's historic new weakness is the cliffhanger hook at the end of Superman #43. The synopsis for the following issue, coming at the end of November, doesn't give away what "Night Shift" has in store for Superman next, though the early art for Superman #44 does show the hero wearing the Black Lantern ring. Superman's sunburn problem won't be a long-term thing. That's just not the nature of Superman stories. Still, the idea deserves praise for its spin on one of the things that is most taken for granted in DC lore: Superman's connection to the sun. DC writers, and their proxies, DC villains, have found various ways to cut Superman off from the sun over the years. Put him on a planet with a red sun, as just one example. Yet the sun has never actually been weaponized against him as effectively as the big twist in "Night Shift" does. So, DC Comics has effectively made Superman vulnerable, and given his latest arc suitable dramatic stakes, so that when he comes out on top, his moment of victory will feel earned, and feel memorable. Superman #43 is available now from DC Comics. Movie(s) Superman, Superman II, Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Superman Returns, Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Superman, Man of Tomorrow TV Show(s) Adventures of Superman, Superman, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Smallville, Superman: The Animated Series, My Adventures With Superman Comic Superman (2023) First Film Superman Genres Superhero, Action Cast Christopher Reeve, David Corenswet, Brandon Routh, Henry Cavill, Tom Welling, Tyler Hoechlin, Margot Kidder, Rachel Brosnahan, Kate Bosworth, Amy Adams, Gene Hackman, Nicholas Hoult, Kevin Spacey, Jesse Eisenberg