You can pickup your copy of DCeased #6 now where all good comics are sold.
Synopsis
Humanity is on the brink of extinction, and only a few remaining members of the Justice League stand between life and annihilation. As the remnants of humanity make their last gamble for survival, will there even be a planet left to call home when all is said and done? The senses-shattering conclusion to the year’s surprise blockbuster is here!
Review
We’ve reached the end Super Friends. The end of DCeased, the end of Superman, the end of… the world?
There’s no easy way to start this review other than saying Tom Taylor has crafted a flawless final issue to the mini-series. It took twists that I had no expected and was still able to close out the story on a hopeful note.
Coming in from the previous issue (reviewed here) we were in a serious “all hope is lost” situation and that continues for much of this issue. The way in which the loss of Superman momentarily breaks the resolve of the remaining heroes perfectly mirrors the way I felt reading this story. Superman is the embodiment of hope so what is left when he is gone?
The sentiment echoes throughout this book as Taylor rapidly ties up loose ends and brings the story to an unexpected conclusion.
Nothing in the first act of DCeased #6 is unexpected, the heroes rally together to form a plan. The long-dead Bruce is the one to load the gun by leaving Damian his exit strategy for each of the major players. Though learning this does bring about a hilarious scene with Green Arrow proving there’s still humour to be had even in an apocalypse.
As the story continues to move at breakneck speed there’s little time to even focus on Lois and Jon losing Clark. Though it does appear later in the book first up we have to get survivors off world.
With Superman turned the remaining heroes focus their plans in two ways. One team, featuring Wonder Woman, will forge a weapon to take down Superman whilst the rest will gather survivors on to the two arcs and head in to space.
This kind of “Season finale” storytelling lights a fire under an already intense, fast paced story and gave me butterflies reading it. I could feel myself edging towards the end of my seat waiting for the conclusion.
The first gut punch of DCeased #6 is quite a literal one as Superman takes down Wonder Woman with a piercing punch in the stomach. At this point the Trinity is lost and though a new Batman and a Superboy still exist it feels like the DC Universe has lost it’s core.
Taylor is effortlessly pushing the reader down to rock bottom in readiness for what is to come. Just when I thought we were looking at an endgame akin to a blank page saying everyone was lost, the Green Lantern Corps arrive!
It’s the first real glimmer of hope that DCeased has given us in a long while. Their arrival slices through all of the dramatic tension in the best way possible and gives that final burst of energy to head in to the third act.
We’re going to get real spoiler-y on the ending now so look away if you don’t want it to be ruined.
Two very unexpected things happen in the closing pages of this book. Both of which I applaud Taylor for writing in. Firstly the reveal that everyone was curable and needn’t have died.
Wow. You sick, twisted, amazing, brilliant man. You went there. Using the lasso of truth on a zombie was utter genius which I had never even contemplated before. The scene between Cyborg and Wonder Woman is utterly futile. There’s barely anything he can do and he’s left with the knowledge that he started a virus that he could also have stopped.
It messes with the audience in the best possible way. All of those heroes dead for no reason. Earth abandoned. A delightfully evil twist.
Then to close out the series, Taylor bring in a note of hope. One which I had not expected but was longing for. The final splash page see’s Earth’s survivors arriving at a new home. A new Earth-2 as it were.
As the sight of the new planet reflects on the window of the arc we can see Lois, Jon and the survivors finally breathe a sigh of relief. The end has arrived and for us as a readers we can happily imagine the next chapter.
It’s a brief moment but bookends the series excellently allowing room for either a sequel following those left on Earth (Harley and Ivy) or those breaking new ground on this new Earth.
If we never revisit this universe again then DCeased will stand as a flawless epic. A true visionary horror landscape in the world of DC.
Verdict
This is an easy one… flawless!
10/10
DCeased #6 is written by Tom Taylor with pencils by Trevor Hairsine, inks by Stefano Guadiano and colours by Rainier Beredo.
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