DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods has had some big moments but the first half of this final series is the DCeased trilogy has been more about the set-up. Now that we are in the second half of the story it’s time for our heroes to be more active than just talking about the latest Anti-Life Equation Virus crisis sweeping through the DC Universe. Though it does not look like the Justice League will be getting the Guardians of the Universe’s help in saving the DCU. What will happen next? Let’s find out with DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods #5.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Trevor Hairsine and Neil Edwards
Inker: Andy Lanning and Neil Edwards
Colorist: Rain Beredo
Letterer: Saida Temofonte
SYNOPSIS
On Earth-2 Big Barda and Mister Miracle use the Boom Tube to look for Superman but only find Lois Lane.
Over on OA the two Superman (Clark Kent and Jon Kent) stop Mister Mxyzptlk and Ares from fighting. When the threat of Erebos is brought up the Guardians of the Universe order the Green Lantern Corps to stay on OA and the Power Battery.
When Batman (Damian Wayne) asks at least for help where the main fight is going on the Guardians of the Universe reveal all planets are being attacked by the Undead Gods. The planet Anti-Living Darkseid is leading the charge on turns out to be Bolovax Vik, which makes Kilowog immediately take off to save his home planet.
Clark tells Jon to stay with the Justice League to protect the other planets. Mister Mxyzptlk, Superman, and the Green Lantern Corp then follow Kilowog to back him up, ignoring the Guardians of the Universe’s orders.
As they are saving the people of Bolovax Vik the Anti-Living Supergirl attacks Superman (who in this continuity they never met as Kara landed on New Genesis rather than Earth in DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods #1).
Yellow Lantern Darkseid then arrives and immediately infects Mister Mxyzptlk with the Anti-Life Equation Virus. The Anti-Living Mister Mxyzptlk kills John Stewart and Kilowog before taking off to Oa.
Once he arrives on Oa Mister Mxyzptlk destroys the Power Battery.
As that happens Spectre breaks away from the Quintessence in order to save the DC Universe from disappearing.
Spectre immediately repairs the Power Battery, saving the Green Lantern Corps from dying. Spectre then faces off against the Anti-Living Mister Mxyzptlk. End of issue.
REVIEW
Now that all the set-up is out of the way we get into the war that was promised in DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods title. The focus on how our heroes respond with their attempt to save Kilowog’s home planet gives a great idea of what we should expect from this final part in the DCeased trilogy.
The meaningful action made the way we saw DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods #5 open work better. Because, in a follow-up to the previous issue, we see how no matter the universe or continuity the Guardians of the Universe are the biggest hypocrites in the DC Universe. That shined through with how as soon as they hear Erebos is a threat the Guardians of the Universe are only concerned about protecting Oa and the Power Battery.
The way the Guardians of the Universe are so self-involved made the way the Green Lantern Corps broke away to support Kilowog in saving his home planet a fantastic moment. Unlike the Guardians of the Universe, the Green Lantern Corps are actual heroes who are looking to protect their friends and the DC Universe as a whole. It was a memorable moment that you felt the bond the Green Lantern Corps have with each other is more than just a group of individuals who work together.
As nice as this moment was Taylor, Hairsine, and Edwards bring us back to the reality of what DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods is with all the chaos Darkseid and his Anti-Living army bring. Their impact in DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods #5 is felt more because we have so many familiar faces facing off against Darkseid’s forces. Now we are seeing how even more overwhelming the Anti-Living is as Superman and the Green Lantern Corps struggle.
That struggle is made even more concerning for our heroes with Mister Mxyzptlk being turned into an Anti-Living by Darkseid in DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods #5. We’ve had so many game-changing moments already with how many powerful characters are on Darkseid’s side. Mister Mxyzptlk as an Anti-Living is presented as the biggest wild card as he utterly decimates the Green Lantern Corps by killing Kilowog and John Stewart with very little effort and then destroying the Power Battery. The ease of all this does make you wonder if the DC Universe can really survive this crisis.
It made the moment with Spectre breaking away from the Quintessence, who were already believing this version of the DC Universe is destined to fall, a bigger moment. Spectre’s own heroic side as Jim Corrigan coming through. This sets up a massive battle of DCU titans with Spectre vs Mister Mxyzptlk.
In the middle of all these big moments DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods #5 has some great character moments. The Kilowog and John Stewart talk is an example of that. The other standout was the talk between Clark Kent and Jon Kent. The emotions of living years of thinking his father was dead are still in Jon, creating his greatest fear of losing his dad again. Clark does a great job in giving Jon the speech he needs to hear as both of them as Superman is needed to overcome this crisis. It is yet another example of how in this DCeased trilogy both Supermen are the heart of this story.
Now it will be interesting to see how Taylor plans on using Kara Zor-El now that Clark has learned of her existence and that she has already been turned into an Anti-Living. How this could possibly turn things for Clark’s role in the story could be very interesting. Hopefully, that is something that is explored since we know that this is the first time Clark and Kara have met.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods #5 raises the bar with the scale of this latest series. From the Guardians to Superman to Kilowog there are a lot of great character moments in this issue that enhance the stakes of the crisis Darkseid and his Anti-Living army have created. How the ending sets up a clash between two titans of the DC Universe there is genuine interest in how things will turn out when all is said and done in DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
