DCeased

DCeased
Cover of issue #1
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Limited series
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	May – October 2019
No. of issues	6 (1 spin-off)
Main character(s)	Lois Lane Superman Cyborg Dinah Drake Wonder Woman Justice League
Creative team
Created by	Tom Taylor
Written by	Tom Taylor
Artist(s)	Greg Capullo FCO Plascencia
Penciller(s)	Trevor Hairsine
Inker(s)	Stefano Gaudiano James Harren
Letterer(s)	Ken Lopez
Colorist(s)	Rain Beredo
Editor(s)	Ben Abernathy
Collected editions
Hardcover	ISBN 9781401294403

DCeased is a six-issue comic book miniseries published by DC Comics from May to October 2019. It was created by writer Tom Taylor and the artistic team including penciler Trevor Hairsine and inker Stefano Guadiano. The story takes place in an alternative Earth, where a corrupted version of the Anti-Life Equation has infected most of Earth's inhabitants with a zombie-like virus. Lois Lane acts as the series' narrator, detailing how the events took place over the course of a few weeks.

Publication history

A routinely strong performer, the first issue was released in May 2019, and was ranked #1 in the comic book sales for that period. Issue Two also sold strongly, coming in at #2 for the month of June 2019 at 152,407 units. Sales dipped slightly for Issue Three, coming in at #3 in July 2019 at 132,072 units, with a further decrease in August for Issue Four (down to roughly 120,000 units).

Expanded material

• DCeased: A Good Day to Die #1
• DCeased: Unkillables #1-3
• DCeased: Hope at world's End #1-14
• DCeased: Dead Planet —

Plot

DCeased

In the aftermath of a battle between the Justice League and the forces of Apokolips Darkseid leaves Earth and Batman discovers that Cyborg, is being held on Apokolips. He is being tortured by DeSaad, who reveals that the Anti-Life Equation has been living in his cybernetic body. In order for Cyborg to survive the extraction, the Black Racer is summoned. However, this causes the Equation to become corrupted, and Cyborg is sent back to Earth in order to prevent the virus from spreading. This action comes too late, however, as Darkseid is driven mad by the corruption and throws himself into Apokolips' core, destroying himself and the planet in the process. Cyborg is sent to Metropolis, where the virus latches onto the internet and begins to infect people with a techno-organic viral version of the Equation. This causes people to suffer violent transformations, turning them into a zombie-like state. Superman is reunited with Lois Lane, his son Jonathan and a visiting Damian Wayne, destroying all the screens in their apartment to prevent infection. In the Batcave, the Batcomputer's firewall prevents Bruce from becoming infected, but is too late to stop the infection of both Nightwing and Red Robin who fight Batman while he tells Alfred Pennyworth to run.

In the Atlantic Ocean, Aquaman is swarmed by a mob and infected. In Metropolis, Lois Lane creates a safe haven on the Daily Planet's rooftop. While in Gotham, Harley Quinn unknowingly confronts an infected Joker. In the middle of a camping trip, Hal Jordan is infected by the virus after looking at his phone, leaving Oliver Queen and Dinah Drake to fend him off. After being killed via Drake's Canary Cry, she is chosen to become the new Green Lantern before Superman brings them both to the Daily Planet. Damian makes contact with his father, who has killed both of his former sidekicks and become infected. Using one of Mr. Freeze's suits to slow down the transformation, he tells his friends everything he has found out. He begins to turn, and is killed by Alfred.

Alfred pilots the Batplane into Gotham City and shoots at the infected below. Harley Quinn, while fleeing, kills the Joker. Before escaping, she is confronted by the infected Birds of Prey. In Atlantis, Mera and Tempest are interrupted by the infected Aquaman and his army of sea creatures. While Mera escapes, Tempest is infected. In Metropolis, Superman saves most of the Daily Planet staff, before leaving Green Arrow and Dinah to protect his family. Arriving back in Smallville, he finds that Martha is safe and flies her back to Metropolis, but is forced to leave his infected father behind.

In Washington D.C., Captain Atom has begun to purge the infected from the streets, on orders from Amanda Waller but is unaware that an infected Ray Palmer is inside his body. In Gotham, Poison Ivy kills the Birds of Prey before they can infect Quinn. In Metropolis, Superman and Dinah take to the streets to find other survivors, while Lois begins to broadcast a message via analog forms of communication. An infected Giganta has laid siege to the Daily Planet, only to be knocked down by Superman. Wonder Woman arrives and argues with Superman whether or not to kill the infected. Before they can agree, Giganta's head is blasted open by Cyborg. Back on the rooftop, Alfred arrives giving Damian a Batsuit. Cyborg then reveals the true nature of the infected, they are merely an extension of the Anti-Life Equation. Suddenly, Hawkgirl plummets from the sky. She informs Superman that Captain Atom is about to self-implode. Clark and Wonder Woman grab Atom, and proceed to fly him into the upper atmosphere but they are too late and he explodes, wiping out a number of major cities including Metropolis with the only survivors saved by Dinah's Ring shield. Superman and Wonder Woman have also survived and are approached by Lex Luthor, offering a truce with the heroes.

A week later, Gotham has become a jungle ruled by Ivy and Quinn. Within a few more weeks the internet is disabled across the world, and safe havens are set up in Gotham, Themyscira and the Fortress of Solitude. While Luthor and Cyborg insist that the planet be abandoned using the newly built Arks, Superman is adamant about not leaving. The heroes are blindsided by the infected Martian Manhunter, who kills Luthor and infects The Flash. Superman faces the infected Flash head on while he runs, he kills the Flash but becomes infected. Leaving for space to kill himself, before he can deprive himself of oxygen he begins to transform.

As the infected Superman rampages, the evacuation to the Arks begins. Wonder Woman crafts a sword embedded with Kryptonite, and leaves with Cyborg and Dinah to kill Superman. While most of the safe havens are evacuated, Quinn and Ivy stay behind to look after the remaining survivors. During the evacuation of Themyscira, Aquaman re-emerges from the ocean with a Kraken and his infected army, only to be killed by Green Arrow. Wonder Woman, Dinah and Cyborg face off against Superman. While they seem to get the upper hand, Superman mortally wounds Diana before flying into space to destroy the Arks. Jonathan faces off against his father and collides with him, knocking himself out. In the following moments, the Green Lantern Corps appear to provide backup. Realizing he is outmatched, Superman decides to destroy the solar system by feeding on the energy from the Sun. On Earth, Cyborg uses the Lasso of Truth to interrogate a now infected Wonder Woman about the cure. The Equation speaks through her, claiming that Cyborg himself is the cure. While he is distracted with finding the Arks, Wonder Woman decapitates him. The story ends with Lois, safe on the Ark with a newly awakened Jonathan, claiming that the monsters are now behind them and that it is time for a new start.

Spin-offs

A Good Day to Die

Mister Miracle and Big Barda survey the destruction of Apokolips before Boom Tubing back to earth. Meanwhile Mister Terrific examines an infected Captain Boomerang and realises he needs to trace the origin of the virus. He journeys to Mister Miracles apartment for help in visiting Apokolips, only to be informed of its annihilation. Seeking another solution Terrific, Miracle and Big Barda track down Blue Beetle and Booster Gold for transportation to England. In Liverpool, John Constantine escapes from a mob of infected only to find his long time companion Chas has turned. Using his magic, he makes Chas combust before escaping the mob and crashing. He is woken by Mister Terrific and his group who seek Constantine's help in finding a magical solution to the infection. Constantine says there is no cure and refuses to help the heroes, teleporting himself away.

With technological and magical options expired, Mister Terrific theorises that the only hope for humanity is for Booster Gold to use his time machine. Journeying to Malibu they are attacked by an infected Fire and Ice. Mister Miracle and Big Barda battle the duo to give the other heroes time to find the machine, but they succumb to the mobs of infected. Booster Gold and Blue Beetle locate the time machine, but are stopped from using it by Waverider. In the Oblivion Bar, John Constantine laments the current situation to Detective Chimp before deciding it's time to be a hero. He teleports to the time machine where he headbutts Waverider. Before the heroes can use the machine, an infected Big Barda breaks in and tears Mister Terrific in half. While the heroes try and get Booster Gold to the time machine, Booster feels strange and blinks out of existence leaving Big Barda to attack Blue Beetle. Constantine argues with Waverider for choosing this to be the timeline to save. Annoyed by his meddling, Constantine binds himself to Waverider stopping him from re-entering the time stream and leading to his death by the now infected Blue Beetle. As Constantine readies for his own death, Dr. Fate and Zatanna arrive and rescue him.

Unkillables

Deathstroke encounters infected neo-nazis during a job in Kentucky, soon becoming one of the infected after attempting to contact his client with his phone, however a day later his healing factor purges the equation from his system and returns him to normal. Deathstroke's daughter Rose Wilson is trapped in her apartment, unwilling to leave as all her visions of her trying end in her death. Deathstoke arrives with a Helicopter to extract Rose from the roof only for it to be destroyed by an infected Man-Bat, however they're soon found by Mirror Master who takes them to Vandal Savage at Ball's Pyramid. Savage reveals that he's also retrieved Bane, Captain Cold, Cheetah, Creeper, Deadshot, Lady Shiva and Solomon Grundy to create a team of Unkillables (nicknamed Tree Lobster's by Creeper due to an analogy Savage used) in order to inherit whatever is left of the Earth.

Jason Todd arrives at the Batcave after Alfred has already left, finding Ace the Bat-Hound and to his surprise the corpses of Batman, Nightwing and Red Robin. After burying them Jason and Ace leave in the Batmobile and rescue the last two living members of the Bat Family still in Gotham, Cassandra Cain and Jim Gordon, after doing so and confirming the death of Barbara Gordon to a devastated Jim they leave Gotham. The Bat Family arrive in Bludhaven the following day, discovering a walled Orphanage containing surviving orphans they choose to stay there and protect them.

Hope at World's End

A anthology series featuring stories of various heroes. Jimmy Olsen saves some of his co-workers in the initial outbreak of the virus and documents the heroes actions throughout the DCeased event. A time-jump foreshadows the coming of an Anti-Life Army. In Kahndaq Black Adam stops the initial spread of the virus by killing any infected citizens. Martian Manhunter recruits Superman and Wonder Woman to ask Black Adam to open Khandaq's borders but he refuses. Adam tours Kahndaq but is attacked by an infected boy. As he tries to shout Shazam! the boy claws at his face, and he transforms back into a turned Black Adam. In Keystone City, Wally West, Max Mercury, Impulse and Jesse Quick evacuate the uninfected residents to an alternate Earth. While they succeed Max becomes infected. Before he can turn Wally runs with him so he can join the Speed Force.

Collected editions

The first collection of DCeased was a limited edition Hardcover of 1,400 copies released for Local Comics Book Day 2019 featuring a cover with an infected Joker. The mass market hardcover collection was released on November 26th, 2019 with Batman on the cover while a Barnes & Noble Exclusive Variant featured a Superman Cover and a bonus cover gallery. Each edition collects the six issue original DCeased mini-series and DCeased: A Good Day to Die oneshot.

Critical reception

The series has received critical acclaim, with critics praising the art, the plot, and the tone of the comic. According to Comic Book Roundup, the series has a score of 8.6/10.

See also

• Marvel Zombies - a similar storyline published by Marvel Comics.