DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #3 – Tom Taylor, Writer; Trevor Hairsine, Penciller; Andy Lanning, Inker; Rain Beredo, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The scale of the threat has been building and building ever since this series returned, and it finally explodes here as we see just how far the Anti-Life Equation has spread. Much like our short introduction to Supergirl in the first issue, this issue doesn’t take place too heavily on Earth, instead beginning with a brutally ironic Adam Strange segment that has him desperately trying to save his wife and daughter from a different threat—only to be teleported to Earth at the worst possible time, just in time to be attacked by a zombie and returning to his family horribly changed. But not everyone in space is doomed—another segment shows us that Lobo’s favorite bar comes under attack, only for Lobo to turn out to be immune to the plague (similar as he was to the Black Lantern plague), which gives the resistance a bit of hope—and Lobo an opportunity to extract payment out of the people who want him to save the universe.
Back on Earth, the heroes are still blissfully unaware of just how bad things are. Instead, they’re still mourning their losses, including a funeral for Wonder Woman on Themyscira. But the Amazons and their allies get an unwelcome party crasher in the form of Ares, the villainous God who has been Diana’s arch-nemesis for decades. But he’s not here as a villain this time. He’s actually here to help the heroes arm up for the coming war—not because he wants them to win, but because he knows they’ll lose, and he wants the coming war to be as entertaining as possible for him. This is an intriguing take on Ares, a master manipulator who knows much more about the past of the universe than he’s letting on. We get our first glimpse of the ultimate villain of the series, and the tension is just raised through the roof as we head for the final cliffhanger. Taylor always manages to surprise in his Elseworlds series.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
