The Death of the Kents
- The first hint of what happened to the Kents in the New 52: as the public grows increasingly against him, Clark somberly apologizes to a photo of them as he decides to quit being Superman, which would break his promise to do good to Jonathan.
- The death of the Kents. It's particularly tragic because they died in a car crash, a very mundane and common cause of death that could've been easily prevented by Superman. No wonder Clark would eventually try to be an omniscient as possible when he's Superman.Clark: I can jump half a mile. I can lift a truck. I can start a fire with my stare. Pa. I wasn't there for you—I'm so sorry.
- Martha dies almost without saying goodbye to Jonathan. Luckily, Saturn Woman is there to relay her dying message of love to her husband before she passes away.
- The cyclical nature of the Fifth Dimension means that the same tragedy is going to play out over and over again. Mxyzptlk wins the heart of the King-Thing's daughter Gsptlsnz after Vyndktvx kills Gsptlsnz's father trying to kill Mxyzptlk. While Mr. Mxyzptlk gets to become the new king of the 5th Dimension, his marriage to Gsptlsnz ends in tragedy when his wife dies giving birth to his children. Eventually, Mxy grows old and becomes the King-Thing with his daughter the only one of his children by his side, who is then courted by his younger self. And, what's worse, Mxy seems to be aware of it.
- The look on Jor-El's face when he has to tell his wife, with their infant son in the room, that their world is about to end.
