With spooky season upon us, what better time to revisit the world of "DCeased"? In this version of the DC universe gone off the rails, Earth has been ravaged by a corrupted Anti-Life Equation, creating an army of the undead known as the Anti-Living with some of the world's greatest heroes succumbing to its effects. The end of the first series saw Earth being quarantined by the Green Lantern Corps as an arc full of survivors approaches a new planet to settle on. With one world lost and a new one being built on a foundation of hope, where do the returning creative team of writer Tom Taylor and artist Trevor Hairsine take us next for the direct sequel? Let's dig in to "DCeased: Dead Planet" and find out. (If you hadn't read the first series, I'd suggest reading my review of it before proceeding any further here.)
Like the previous series, we have narration from a character reflecting on the events that transpired; for "Dead Planet", it's the sorceress Zatanna. Issue one begins with Zatanna recapping the events of the first series and how much the world lost; page one is a damn good splash page reflecting that loss by showing the New 52 founding line-up of the Justice League as each member (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern) succumbing to the Anti-Life Equation, or in Cyborg's case, being decapitated. Five years pass as Cyborg's head and body remain in the same spot they were left in after Wonder Woman's brutal attack. Despite that though, Cyborg is still alive (which must have been a living hell considering the circumstance) and he's finally found the tracker planted in his system by Batman. Cyborg uses the tracker to send out a morse code message, hoping to reach the refugees on the newly designated Earth-2.
We then cut across the stars to the orbit of Earth-2 as the Justice League is fending off an attacking alien ship. Jon Kent, now the new Superman, directs Green Lantern Dinah Lance and new Wonder Woman Cassie Sandsmark to disable the ship's weapons and engines without harming anyone inside. Batman (Damian Wayne) has infiltrated the ship with the intention of reaching the royal control room. In classic Super Sons fashion though, Damian is ignoring Jon's intentions of peaceful resolution by fighting off any aliens who get in his way. It's here where Tom Taylor once again shines on the character dialogue.
JON: We want peace. That will be more difficult if you take out the king's spleen and show it to him.
DAMIAN: These aliens have spleens?
JON: How should I know?
DAMIAN: You want me to find out?
As the ever arrogant Damian reaches the throne room and about to look into the spleen question on the alien king, Jon speeds in and is able to defuse the situation, promising to take him to the president of Earth-2, Lois Lane. Since the aliens are from a planet in the same solar system as Earth-2, Lois understands their concerns and alleviates the king's uneasiness. Damian is then contacted by Alfred alerting him that the briefcase left to him by Bruce is beeping. At the Hall of Justice, Damian informs the League it's Cyborg's tracker beeping "J" and "L", calling the team back to Earth. Green Arrow/Oliver Queen is uneasy and feels it could be a trap, saying the team should vote on it. It's unanimous in going to Earth but Ollie later admits to Dinah in feeling pressured with the younger heroes like Jon, Damian, and Cassie voting 'yes'.
Before the team head to Earth, we get a couple good personal moments. The first is between Jon and Lois. While Lois thinks it could be a risk, Jon boils the situation down to a friend calling for help. Lois tells him to come straight back and refers to Jon as Superman. "I'm really not comfortable with that name, mom" Jon says, to which Lois replies "Then stop earning it." It really shows Jon still doesn't feel worthy of his father's mantle yet, and when you look back at the battle in space from earlier, you notice each member of the League only refer to him as Jon. The second is between Ollie and Dinah. Dinah feels Ollie should stay behind, partly because of his own concerns but also because they've already lost enough friends. The two agree to go together and come back together.
We cut to the Justice League's ship (with Jon, Cassie, and Dinah flying outside it) arriving at the edge of the Green Lantern quarantine of Earth. They're met by Kilowag, who is on guard duty of both the Earth and the sun, which is still being absorbed by the Anti-Living Superman. Suddenly, something speeds up from the Earth and crashes through the Lantern construct shield; it's the Krypto the Superdog, who goes straight to Jon, making for what Damian calls a "good puppy reunion." While it's good to see Krypto was able to survive after all that time, I do wonder on the how and what he had to do.
The team gets down to Earth and find Cyborg's head and body. Cassie puts the lasso of truth around his head hoping it can help him speak; it works somewhat, though it's understandably hard for him to speak up since he's been a head on the ground for five years and definitely must be dehydrated. Up above, Hawkgirl spots a horde of Anti-Living approaching them. As the team prepare to move out to Poison Ivy's jungle sanctuary, Cyborg warns "Shs. Hre."
Suddenly, something blasts through the spaceship with some of the League still inside (also including Black Lightning, Thunder, Red Tornado, Firestorm and Mera). Jon is able to reach the bridge and land everyone to safety, but in the confusion, Green Arrow is attacked by the Anti-Living Wonder Woman. Despite Dinah pushing her back with a Canary Cry, Oliver quickly succumbs to the Anti-Life Equation. After receiving a mace to the face from Hawkgirl and a smackdown from a giant green hand ring construct, a rageful Dinah goes in for the kill on Wonder Woman with the Kryptonite laced sword from the last series. Cyborg tries to speak up about there being a cure, which only Jon is able to pick up thanks to his super hearing. The first issue ends as Jon tries to stop Dinah from killing Wonder Woman, only for the blade to pierce through his shoulder (which also goes through Wonder Woman's throat) as he weakly declares that there's a cure. What I like about this ending is that there's a sense of both hope and dread, with the characters learning there's a cure to the Anti-Life equation but Jon being injured takes out their best gun for the situation at hand.
Issue two begins in Chicago with Roy Harper/Arsenal on the roof of a safehouse warning the people he's protecting to get inside to the bunker when he spots a horde of Anti-Living approaching. Unfortunately though, among the Anti-Living is the superheroine Fire, who blasts Roy, burning him to death. So it seems whether it's having his daughter killed in the destruction of a city or being accidentally killed by your good friend due to bad writing, Roy Harper gets screwed in every timeline.
With the Anti-Living approaching the people Roy had been protecting, a portal opens as the team called Shadowpact arrives to help; the team is made up of leader Detective Chimp (real name Bobo), Blue Devil, Ragman, Ravager/Rose Wilson, Red Hood/Jason Todd, Zatanna, and new member John Constantine. Zatanna is able to take down Fire by using her magic to depower her midflight, causing her to splat into the side of a building. As the team fight off the zombies, Swamp Thing appears behind Constantine, wanting to talk to him about a garden. Since John is obviously busy, Swamp Thing summons vines to impale all the Anti-Living present, ending the battle with Constantine saying he should have lead with that. While Constantine assumes Swamp Thing is talking about Ivy's stronghold in Gotham, Swamp Thing reveals there is another garden in Australia. As Constantine goes into smartass mode about not wanting to go to a place that was already dangerous without zombies, Swamp Thing tells him "SHUT THE @#$% UP!" This surprises everyone present, because you know it's serious when an elemental being starts dropping F bombs. With full attention, Swamp Thing explains that while he can sense the garden in Australia and that it's in pain, he can't connect with it. John, Zatanna, Bobo, Ragman, and Blue Devil decide to go with Swamp Thing while Red Hood and Ravager take the survivors to Ivy's stronghold.
We cut to said stronghold, where it's revealed that it's been augmented with magic thanks to the Tower of Fate being transported there, giving it another layer of protection. Ivy senses something from outside approaching from above and sends Mary Marvel and Doctor Fate to intercept; the two are met by Cassie carrying the wounded Jon pleading for help. Jon is taken to get medical attention while the rest of the League arrive. This leads to a touching reunion between Damian, Jason and Cassandra Cain/Batgirl (and I really have to give props to DC for finally letting Cass be Batgirl again not just in this universe, but also sharing the role with Barbara Gordon and Stephanie Brown in the main DCU). The two are unphased by Damian being the new Batman, saying that while Bruce made a lot of mistakes, this wasn't one of them.
Dinah has brought the infected Oliver with her, encasing him in a bubble construct, which angers Ivy; she forces Dinah to taker him and herself outside, not wanting to risk everyone else's lives. While Ivy believes she's foolish for not letting him go, it's here where everyone learns that there's a cure to the Anti-Life Equation. After the initial shock realizing that everyone they had to kill, including friends and family, could have been saved, Damian and Fate stay steadfast and ensure that they will develop the cure; there's just the question of how to find it in Cyborg. Damian notices Cassie stepping away from everyone and follows her. Cassie is devastated after seeing the Anti-Living Wonder Woman being killed, feeling like she lost her mentor twice. Damian comforts her and the two share a kiss, indicating their relationship. What I like about these scenes in the sanctuary is that it shows that despite everyone's hardships, they haven't been desensitized by them. They still hold on to the positive things in life like love, family, and hope, as well as still feel regret over those lost; five years into the apocalypse hasn't even dulled Harley Quinn's sense of humor like when she initially asks if Cyborg's head was a puppet.
We then cut to a large bunker in Australia surrounded by a moat of blood and a ring of fire, which is able to keep back the legions of Anti-Living (though this doesn't stop many from trying and burning). The members of Shadowpact arrive and survey the situation. Zatanna levitates everyone to avoid the danger when Ragman notices the blood moat moving in a most peculiar way, which leads to probably the most horrific surprise between both series: the blood moat is actually the Anti-Living Plastic Man. When it comes to a zombie with stretching powers, Tom Taylor really went to a whole new level in making that idea scary; Marvel Zombies Reed Richards, eat your hear out (which he could probably actually do).
The team is attacked with Ragman and Blue Devil being impaled as the issue ends with Constantine, Zatanna, Bobo and Swamp Thing falling into Plastic Man's giant razor sharp teeth filled mouth as three figures in shadow watch through a window from the bunker.
Issue three begins showing Swamp Thing has been able to surround the group in a giant plant ball (like what Groot used to protect the other Guardians in the first movie) big enough to keep Plastic Man from eating them. After Zatanna gets her bearings, she exits the ball and casts Plastic Man into the ring of fire, burning the once comedic hero like he was the Thing (the horror movie creature, not the Marvel hero). As the fire focuses more on Plastic Man, this gives an opening for the Anti-Living surrounding the bunker to push forward to Shadowpact. Guns start firing from the bunker at the zombies with someone over the speaker telling the team this is their chance if they want to come in. It turns out the three figures at the end of issue two were Penguin, Simon Stagg, and Maxwell Lord. Zatanna's narration points out this was her realization that the bunker was "a refuge full or rich bastards". Insert your own "1%" comments here.
Back at Ivy's sanctuary, we have another touching reunion as Damian encounters Jim Gordon, and the usually closed off Damian catches the former commissioner off guard by giving him a hug; this is followed by jokes about how Bruce's true greatest fear was intimacy (which isn't exactly untrue). Doctor Fate then arrives to let Damian know that Jon has been healed; Jon is shown being looked after by Mary, the two making an instant connection.
Back at the Australian bunker, we learn more details like how the soldiers employed by the rich also reside there with families who do the cooking and cleaning, with Constantine pointing out they "found a way to keep the class system in place through an apocalypse." Again, the "1%" jokes write themselves. Constantine is then pulled aside by Jason Blood, who while one of the rich, is also the vessel to the demon Etrigan. After transforming, Etrigan informs Constantine that Trigon is preparing to lay waste to the entire Earth, as Hell has been unable to collect souls because they're trapped within the bodies of the Anti-Living (which again shows the Anti-Life Equation corrupts a person instead of outright kills). This conversation is cut short by gunfire as Swamp Thing has discovered that the bunker has been using an imprisoned Floronic Man (a plant based villain) to produce their vegetation, which is the source of pain within the green. Swamp Thing is relentless in his efforts and even pops off Maxwell Lord's head (that guy just can't keep his head on straight). However, Shadowpact has to retreat when Professor Ivo activates a number of Amazos, adaptive androids that can copy superpowers. Once the heroes are gone, it's revealed the bunker has a whole army of Amazos, which Penguin states will be used to "take the world back."
A day later, all our heroes are gathered at Ivy's sanctuary with Zatanna's narration stating that it was good to have the Justice League back on Earth after five years and that Jon as Superman instilled a real sense of hope. While Cyborg (now fully repaired) apparently has a cure to the Anti-Life equation inside him, they don't know how to get it. Between Damian and Bobo, the two detectives believe that an Anti-Life Equation implies the existence of a Life Equation and that they will need knowledge from the New Gods. This gives Constantine an idea. While it's unclear how much time passes, Constantine has Bobo use his skills to locate Scott Free (also known as Mr. Miracle). Scott has been living in isolation in a cabin in the woods after his wife Barda had been infected, and as cliche dictates from losing a loved one, he has also given up on personal hygiene. Constantine tells Scott they can save the world and Barda with his help, but Scott is unwilling to listen given Constantine's penchant for lying. Scott comes around though Constantine reveals he's been holding the lasso of truth (which he borrowed from Cassie) the whole time. Issue three ends with Constantine telling Scott to shower up and to get ready to steal "the throne of a god", implying they'll need Metron.
I would say this ends the first act of the story as all the major players have been revealed, along with the goals and antagonists in the way of achieving them. And while curing the Anti-Living is the main objective, the threats of both Trigon and the Amazo army show that evil can adapt even once judgment day has come and gone.
I'm kind of going to be speeding through issue four since while there is progression to the story, it's partly because it honestly feels a little drawn out and I'm not as familiar with the New Gods lore compared to other DC characters.
Constantine and Bobo arrive back to Ivy's sanctuary with a cleaned up Scott in tow. The heroes devise a plan to find the New God Metron so they could use his Mobius Chair to discover how to access the cure in Cyborg's body. As Metron prizes knowledge, they need to lure him with something he'd be interested in; Constantine presents Madame Xanadu's crystal ball that can see into the future, which Zatanna rightly guesses was stolen. With the ball, Scott plans to head to New Genesis alongside Cyborg, with Jon, Cassie and Mary offering to go along. Jon is also able to convince Dinah to come as well after easing her guilt over Oliver being infected and promising Fate would keep an eye on him.
Before the group head off to New Genesis via Boom Tube, there is a nice moment with Damian making Jon and Cassie promise to come back, saying he wouldn't do well without them; seeing Damian being more open than Bruce would have been in this situation kind of adds more creedence to the "fear of intimacy" joke from last issue. Cassie and Damian kiss for what appears to be a long time, which leads to a funny exchange between Kid Flash and Fate who are present.
KID FLASH: They know the fate of the world is just on hold while they're making out, right?
DR. FATE: What do you expect? When I was their age, I barely came up for air.
And so the group head to New Genesis where Scott meets up with his father...Highfather, asking him to summon Metron. Before doing so, Highfather shows Scott, Jacob, his and Barda's son; Jacob was sent to New Genesis to keep him safe, but after losing Barda, Scott felt he was unable to be the father he needed. Highfather pleads with Scott that whatever happens to come back for his son.
Scott meets up with Metron in the scattered ruins of Apokolips. After an initial skirmish between him and the other heroes, Mary is able to convince Metron to let them use the Mobius Chair on the premise that if the Anti-Life Equation spread to the rest of the universe, it would be the end of new knowledge. Cyborg uses the chair to learn that they need to recode his blood to synthesize the Life Equation. Metron, after using Xanadu's ball to see into the future, takes the chair back and speeds off in a panic; Dinah sums this up as "He just took one look at the future and ran the @#$% away." Considering Cyborg's time in the Mobius Chair also shows him "the war against existence to come", I feel this was somewhat of a tie-in to the "Dark Nights: Death Metal" event in the main DCU that was being published concurrently; and trust me, that story being about a war over existence itself is a literal description.
After the heroes Boom Tube back to Earth, we see that within a chunk of Apokolips debris, the Anti-Living Darkseid has broken free. Issue four ends with Darkseid touching down on New Genesis...and despite this being a pants crapping moment, we don't revisit this for the rest of the series.
Issue five takes place concurrently with the mission to find Metron. Constantine and Swamp Thing have a secret meeting with Etrigan, who updates them that Trigon is coming in three days. With the more righteous heroes away, Constantine asks Damian (who just had his own "good puppy reunion" with his dog Titus) to put together a team of the less than righteous ones for a plan. Damian only does so after Constantine confides in him his ultimate plan (which isn't revealed to the reader just yet). Damian basically puts together a Bat-family reunion with Red Hood, Batgirl, and Ravager, revealing that she and Jason are married. Damian congratulates the two, saying Rose fits right in with her own father issues being the daughter of Deathstroke and all.
Along with Swamp Thing, the group portal to the hidden city of Nanda Parbat to acquire the Spear of Destiny. The city has been able to keep out the Anti-Living outside it, which then turn their attention to the group of heroes. With the prospect of a cure, that means they can't just kill them. Rose asks "Can we break their bones? And put holes in them?", to which Damian replies "Oh, of course." Given that was basically Bruce's modus operandi, Rose really does fit in with the Bat-family.
The group fight their way to the main door where they are met by Deadman (who they're able to see given the magical properties of the city) and the army of monks who exit to assist. Constantine sneaks away to find the Spear of Destiny when he is confronted by Rama Kushna, the goddess who watches over Nanda Parbat and gave Deadman his power of possession. While Rama welcomes Constantine to be there, she can't allow him to take the Spear. Constantine responds by wounding her with the spear. Deadman tries to attack back only for Constantine to suck in the spirit with Ragman's cloak, which Constantine took off his body back in Australia.
While everyone in the group except Damian are shocked by Constantine's actions, there's not enough time to take it in as Constantine opens a portal to their next destination, the Rock of Eternity. It's here where they seek to acquire the staff of the wizard Shazam. As they proceed in the temple, Rose, who can sometimes have visions of the future, starts to panic and begs Constantine to get them out of there. The group are attacked by Anti-Living versions of the wizard and Freddy Freeman in his superhero form. Freddy slams Jason against the wall with enough force that it nearly breaks Jason in two. Zatanna's narration points out that while Rose can see the future, it doesn't mean she can prevent it, meaning she had to watch her husband die twice; now that's pretty a heavy thing to deal with.
While Rose throws her sword into the wizard's head, Batgirl is able to find the staff, cry out "SHAZAM!" and use her new powers to finish off Freddy. Considering Cassandra was trained since birth to be an assassin and that she retains the Shazam powers for the rest of the series, this makes "Batzam" a force to be reckoned with (I know, not a catchy name, so I'll only use that one time).
Rose cradles Jason, saying that he's not afraid of dying again, being thankful he had a second chance at life and that he had Rose in it. The two share one last kiss as Jason passes. The group portal back to Ivy's sanctuary, with everyone pissed at Constantine for how things went down; Damian even gives Constantine a punch before walking off. Issue five ends with Constantine being confronted by the Spectre, concerned that Constantine could use the magical items he's collecting could be used to end him. Constantine asks Spectre to really think about what he's planning with the items; after a moment, the two bid farewell to each other. Not exactly a necessary scene to have, but showing the spirit of vengeance giving Constantine a pass a sign he's on the right path of sorts.
While also essentially ending act two, issue five basically raises the question of if doing whatever it takes to win is worth the cost. The fallout of the mission is shown to weigh heavy on everyone except Constantine, who was willing to betray allies and has seen enough death even before the apocalypse. To reiterate a point from issue two, it shows that by comparison, many of our heroes still hold on to their ethics despite the circumstances.
Issue six begins back in Australia with Professor Ivo still finetuning the Amazo army to only target the Anti-Living, threatening to turn them on an impatient Penguin if he doesn't watch his tone with him. We quickly cut back to Ivy's sanctuary. While Cyborg has succeeded in recoding his blood, he doesn't know how to turn it into a cure. This leads to probably the best example of teamwork in the story as a telepathic link thanks to Dr. Fate is created between the best minds at hand for their expertise in respective fields: Swamp Thing for biochemistry, Poison Ivy for toxicology, Cyborg for being infused with technology of two worlds, Harley Quinn for psychology and medicine, Mary Marvel who possesses the wisdom of Solomon, Kid Flash for being the fastest mind on the planet, Detective Chimp for being the world's greatest problem solver, and Damian for, and I'm not kidding here...
(Just replace "I'm" with "he's".)
And so the cure is made but needs to be tested first, so Scott suggests using it on Barda since her New God physiology makes her the ideal candidate. Scott, along with Jon and Dinah, Boom Tube to a habitable moon near Alpha Centauri where he kept her contained. Unfortunately, Barda has broken her shackles and attacks Scott. Jon quickly injects Barda with the cure. After a slight delay, she reverts to normal and has a tearful reunion with Scott, having no memory as a zombie (which is undoubtedly a good thing for everyone infected).
Back on Earth, Zatanna confronts Constantine for the magical items he's collecting and asks what he's up to. Constantine refuses, knowing she'd just try to stop him if she knew. He only revealing he's seen the future in Xanadu's crystal ball and wants to avoid a messy fight. Phantom Stranger then arrives and much like the Spectre, tries to turn Constantine from the path he's on. The exchange gets heated, somewhat literally when Etrigan arrives and transforms into Jason Blood, who informs Constantine both of Trigon's impending arrival and the Amazo army beginning their decimation of the Anti-Living. Constantine relays the message to the heroes, meaning it's a race against time; the Anti-Living will be truly dead if they can't get the cure to them. It's a battle on two fronts, fighting off the Amazos and curing the Anti-Living. To help on the latter, Kid Flash uses his speed to read everything he can find on production and uses the knowledge to help Cybrorg manufacture the cure, with the first batch enough to cure three billion people.
But things take another turn for the worse as Trigon bursts from the ground in Paris, scorching the city in just fifteen minutes, an act sensed by the magical heroes. As we near the end of issue six, Dr. Fate is confronted by Constantine, Etrigan, and Phantom Stranger, asking for him to hand over his helmet and amulet. The Stranger wounds Fate with the Spear of Destiny, having come around to Constantine's side after seeing the future and knows what needs to be prevented. Through a combination of Ragman's cloak and the Wizard's staff, Constantine is able take what he needs from Fate. Zatanna walks in and Constantine admits "This is EXACTLY as bad as it looks." Zatanna asks Constantine if he's coming back from this, but he's coy about it as he flies off decked out with the magical items he's going to need to save the world; and I hereby coin the term "Uber-Constantine".
The seventh and final issue begins in Brisbane, Australia as the main swarm of Amazos is shown wiping out the Anti-Living. A Boom Tube opens in the sky as Cassie, Batgirl, Hawkgirl, Mary, Dinah, Barda and Scott arrive and give the Amazos a formidable challenge; despite Scott being there, I'd say this would be comparable to the 'girl power' moment in "Avengers: Endgame".
Elsewhere, Jon and Damian are approaching the bunker where the Amazos came from, hoping to take them out at the source. They are attacked by one of the androids but are able to defeat it with teamwork. The two burst into the bunker demanding Ivo. Penguin orders the guards to fire at them, but they have enough integrity not to shoot Superman. Before an angry Penguin can even get two words out, he, Stagg, and all the other rich residents of the bunker begin choking and keeling over. Above the facility, we see Constantine using Ragman's cloak to suck up all the corrupt souls there, giving him an additional power boost before facing Trigon. Constantine explains the Trigon situation to Jon, who then offers to help out, but Constantine reveals that he's seen the future and Jon wouldn't survive the encounter.
CONSTANTINE: So don't worry about it. I'll save the world. You save everyone on it.
JON: You're a good man, John Constantine.
CONSTANTINE: I'm really not. But I'm not gonna lie, it's nice to hear Superman say that.
Back in the bunker, Jon and Damian discover Ivo had been killed by Penguin after the Amazos were launched. Taking the head of the Amazo they defeated before, Damian says they'll need Cyborg's help to shut the rest down. Before leaving though, Jon thanks the guards; "It takes a hero to say no to people in power when they're wrong." The two get back to the production plant and meet up with Cyborg and Kid Flash. Damian and Cyborg work to develop a virus to take down the Amazos while Jon and Kid Flash race around the world to cure the Anti-Living.
In Paris, Trigon easily does away with Phantom Stranger and Zatanna, who had arrived before Constantine did, not knowing about his side trip to Australia. Constantine finally arrives, giving Zatanna the Spear of Destiny before going to confront Trigon. While Trigon is initially unimpressed with Constantine's confidence, it's not entirely unfounded as he's able to give Trigon a considerable whooping thanks to all the magical items at his disposal. However, Constantine's luck only goes so far as Trigon is eventually able punch him down into the ground.
As Constantine dies by Zatanna's side, it seems the tides are turning against our heroes on all fronts. The team in Brisbane begin to be overwhelmed by the Amazos with Hawkgirl having her wings ripped off and Barda getting blasted by two sets of heat vision; thankfully it's shown later she's just wounded because it would really suck she'd survive five years being a zombie only to die hours after being cured. On top of that, Kid Flash looks over another gathering of Anti-Living being wiped out by Amazos, realizing he won't be fast enough to save everyone. However, the tides turn again as Cyborg is able to send a virus through the Amazo head to all the other androids, shutting them down all over the world; Zatanna's narration points out how poetic it is that humanity was saved by both a cure and an infection.
There is still Trigon to deal with though as Jon appears before the demon, telling him to stop.
TRIGON: I have just killed a being connected to the most powerful magics in the universe. YOU are a SPECK.
JON: And this speck said STOP.
Jon then delivers a powerful blow to Trigon, surprising both him and Zatanna, believing that Superman was stronger than any destiny Constantine had seen for the son of Kal-El. Constantine, or rather his ghost, then appears next to Zatanna using the powers he stole from Deadman when he sucked him into Ragman's cloak. It turns out this had been part of Constantine's plan, as dying while being connected to all the magical items amplifies Deadman's possession powers enough to where he could take control of Trigon's body. After shrinking Trigon down to human size and taking the Spear of Destiny from Zatanna, Constantine makes the ultimate sacrifice by stabbing himself, ending the demon and his own existence.
As the issue begins to wrap up at an oddly quick pace, Kid Flash is given a reprieve by Mary, Dinah, Cassie, and Batgirl, who help disperse the rest of the cure across the Earth. We are then shown reunions, including Mera and Garth/Tempest in Atlantis, Cassie and Queen Hippolyta on Themyscira, and Jon and his grandfather back on the Kent farm in Smallville. Dinah and a cured Oliver bring the series to a close as they kiss with the sun shining brightly on the Earth for the first time in years.
In many respects, "Dead Planet" is a competent sequel to the original "DCeased" story. Tom Taylor's writing once again brings a story that sucks you in with great character moments and interactions (as my examples of the dialogue have shown) while Trevor Hairsine's art has its same highs and lows. I do think the first story is still better though for a couple reasons. For one, "Dead Planet" seems a bit stretched out compared to how to the point the original was. And while I initially thought the threats of both the Amazos and Trigon seemed to be packing too much in, I realized that the sense of urgency to quickly cure the Anti-Living would have been lost without one or the other. The second reason strangely though is that, despite that first point, is how we're not able to appreciate the victory at the end of the story. Those last moments after Trigon's defeat of the curing and reunions only take up three pages. I have many questions about the future of mankind. Is Jon able to reach his father and cure him, stopping the sun from being absorbed in the process? Does everyone on Earth-2 return to the original or does everyone just move to the new planet? Will humans just reside on both Earths and travel between them?
The way story was written seems to imply intentions for another follow-up. At the time of this writing, no sequel to "Dead Planet" has been announced. If anything, we are getting a spiritual successor from writers Matthew Rosenberg and James Tynion IV in "DC vs. Vampires" beginning next month. I do hope however that we return to the DCeased universe as there's still so much potential in it. For one, Darkseid is still on the board with the Anti-Life Equation possibly using him as an avatar to spread itself on New Genesis and possibly beyond. Hell, zombies don't even have to play a factor in revisiting this universe as the landscape of the remaining superhero community would be enough to bring me back; this is particularly because of the new generation stepping up for their fallen mentors, not just in the new trinity of Jon, Damian, and Cassie, but possible new Justice League recruits in Kid Flash and Tempest.
On that note, I have to say that Jon Kent as Superman is the true MVP of the story. Though he feels unworthy of the title in issue one, his actions throughout the story show someone his father couldn't be more proud of. He never loses his resolve to save people and just his presence on the ravaged Earth is enough to light a spark of hope the remaining living haven't had in so long.
Overall, "DCeased: Dead Planet" is still a decent story and worth a back-to-back reading with the first story.
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