DCeased

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 alternate 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.

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
Main character(s)	Lois Lane Superman Cyborg Dinah Lance Wonder Woman Justice League Damian Wayne Jon Kent Harley Quinn Poison Ivy Green Arrow John Constantine
Creative team
Written by	Tom Taylor
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

It was followed by several sequels and spinoffs each narrated by a different character.

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 at 152,407 units. Sales dipped slightly for issue three, coming in at #3 in July at 132,072 units, with a further decrease in August for issue four (down to roughly 120,000 units).

Expanded material

Spin-offs

• DCeased: A Good Day to Die #1 (2019)
• DCeased: Unkillables #1–3 (2019)
• DCeased: Hope at World's End #1–15 (2020)

Sequels

• DCeased: Dead Planet #1–7 (2020–2021)
• DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #1–8 (2022–2023)

Plot

DCeased

While fighting the Justice League, Darkseid kidnaps Cyborg and attempts to extract half of the Anti-Life Equation from within his body. In the process, the Equation is corrupted and becomes a techno-organic virus that transforms those infected by it into zombie-like monsters known as the Anti-Living. The virus infects Darkseid, causing him to destroy Apokolips. DeSaad returns Cyborg to Earth, where the virus spreads to the internet, infecting hundreds of millions of people instantly. Superman flies to his apartment and rescues his wife Lois Lane, his son Jonathan Samuel Kent, and Damian Wayne from being infected. In his Batcave, Batman is observing the chaos consuming Gotham through backup analog systems. The Batcomputer informs him that 600 million people have been infected, and that it would only take the virus a few days to corrupt every device connected to the Internet. After discovering that Wayne Manor is still connected to the Internet, Batman activates an emergency EMP before locating Alfred Pennyworth, Nightwing, and Tim Drake, discovering that the latter two have been infected. Batman holds the two off so Alfred can escape, but is infected in the process.

Elsewhere, Aquaman is overwhelmed by a swarm of infected and both the Joker and Green Lantern are infected from viewing corrupted screens. They are respectively killed by Harley Quinn and Black Canary, with the latter receiving Jordan's power ring, later taking the name Green Canary. Back in Metropolis, Superman takes Lois, Superboy, and Robin to the roof of the Daily Planet and realizes that everyone inside is infected. Amidst this, Batman fully transforms and is killed by Alfred.

Alfred boards the Batplane heading towards Metropolis. Superman secures the Daily Planet by removing all the infected from the building and blocking the exits. He proceeds to head for Smallville, where he discovers that his father Jonathan Kent has been infected and locked in his farm's basement. Meanwhile, Mera is training Garth when the latter is infected after ingesting the blood of Atlantean guards, forcing the former to flee.

In a Project Cadmus lab under Washington, D.C., Amanda Waller and Captain Atom await the return of Atom, who has entered an Anti-Living corpse to find a cure. However, they learn that the Atom has been infected and entered Captain Atom's body to infect his heart. Meanwhile, Lois Lane broadcasts a message instructing survivors to gather in Metropolis and Superman and Green Canary go to Keystone City to locate the Flash and Kid Flash.

In Gotham City, Harley Quinn is saved by Poison Ivy, who kills the infected Birds of Prey. In Metropolis, an infected Giganta attacks the Daily Planet before being killed by Cyborg. At that moment, an injured Hawkgirl arrives and explains that Captain Atom is about to explode in Washington, D.C. Superman and Wonder Woman attempt to fly him into the upper atmosphere to safely explode, but he detonates in an explosion that destroys Washington, D.C., and several other major cities.

Superman and Wonder Woman both survive the explosion. It is revealed that Green Canary also saved the group at the Daily Planet in a green energy shield bubble. Lex Luthor, saddened by the destruction of Metropolis, arrives and offers to join forces with Superman. Over the next few weeks the heroes disable the Internet to stop the Equation's spread. Wonder Woman convinces her mother to allow survivors on Themyscira. Meanwhile, Damian (Now operating as Batman), Green Arrow, and Green Canary meet with Poison Ivy to create a sanctuary in Gotham, and Luthor and Cyborg work together to build two space arks to leave Earth. However, an infected Martian Manhunter attacks the fortress, kills Luthor, and infects the Flash before being killed by Firestorm. Superman manages to kill the Flash, but is infected in the process.

As the anti-living Superman begins his attack in New York, Cyborg declares they must evacuate the planet, but Lois says Superman will destroy the arks and must be stopped first. Damian reveals that he possesses a shard of kryptonite, which he gives to Cyborg. Wonder Woman states that it will not be enough and attempts to kill Superman with a kryptonite-infused magic sword, but fails and is infected.

On one of the arks, Superboy asks Batman to take care of his mother before battling Superman to buy the arks time to escape. The Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe arrive to stop Superman. Realizing that they are too powerful to take on alone, Superman retreats into the Sun and begins absorbing its energy. Ganthet states the Corps cannot stop him, and escorts the survivors to a new world to settle on.

On Earth, Cyborg interrogates an anti-living Wonder Woman with the Lasso of Truth to find out if there is a cure, learning that the virus is sentient and controls its victims as a hive mind, and that the cure lies within his body. He then attempts to message the arks before being decapitated by Wonder Woman.

Spin-offs

A Good Day to Die

Mister Miracle and Big Barda survey the destruction of Apokolips before returning 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 Miracle's apartment to seek their aid 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 and rescue John Constantine from a horde of infected in Liverpool.

With technological and magical options expired, Mister Terrific theorises that the only hope for humanity is for Booster to use his time machine. Journeying to Malibu, they are attacked by an infected Fire and Ice, who seemingly kill Miracle and infect Barda. Booster and Blue Beetle locate the time machine, but Waverider appears and stops them from using it. Amidst this, Barda kills Terrific and infects Blue Beetle, and Booster fades from existence due to the timeline being altered. Constantine then attempts to sacrifices himself to stop Waverider before being rescued by Doctor Fate and Zatanna.

Unkillables

Deathstroke encounters infected neo-nazis and is infected, but his healing factor purges the virus and returns him to normal. He retrieves his daughter Rose Wilson and meets with Mirror Master and Vandal Savage, who has assembled a team consisting of Deadshot, Bane, Lady Shiva, Cheetah, Captain Cold, Solomon Grundy, and Creeper at the island of Ball's pyramid.

Jason Todd goes to the Batcave, discovers the bodies of Nightwing, Batman, and Tim Drake, and buries them before taking Batman's dog, Ace, with him in the Batmobile. He rescues Cassandra Cain and Commissioner James Gordon from an infected horde, informs Gordon of the civilian identities of the Bat family, and tells them of their deaths, including his daughter, Barbara Gordon. The trio arrive at a Bludhaven orphanage with only children left.

At the island, Savage attempts to vivisect Deathstroke and Creeper to discover how they manage to overcome the infection and to create a vaccine but is attacked and killed by Wonder Woman. The survivors escape to the orphanage, thanks to mirror master, who is infected when he returns to the island for Mr. Freeze.

Deathstroke and Jason realize that the Anti-Living have been accumulating outside the orphanage walls and prepare to face them, training the children to assist them. Amidst this, Bane is infected by Mirror Master and breaks down the orphanage's walls, and Deadshot sacrifices himself to save one of the children, Zaid.

The survivors regroup and travel to Gotham to get help from Poison Ivy, during which Wonder Woman kills Cheetah, Creeper, Grundy, and Deathstroke. Mary Marvel reveals herself as on of the orphans and saves the remaining survivors before taking them into the sanctuary, where they are greeted by Ivy, Harley Quinn, Doctor Fate, John Constantine, and Zatanna. Fate explains that they are truly safe as the sanctuary has been magically shielded and the Anti-Living cannot breach its walls.

Hope at World's End

A loosely connected 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 infected citizens before being infected himself.

In Keystone City, Wally West, Max Mercury, Impulse and Jesse Quick evacuate the uninfected residents to an alternate Earth. Although they succeed, Max becomes infected. Before he can turn, Wally runs with him so he can join the Speed Force.

Bob, the detective chimp, Ace and Krypto join up to rescue a girl from Bludhaven's orphanage reached Poison Ivy's refuge.

The anti-life army from Kahndaq travels through the shadowland towards Gotham's safe zone thanks to the powers of one of its members. In Gotham, Lex Luther arranges for the army to be trapped in the shadow realm, while the other heroes manage to subdue Black Adam. Wonder woman's lasso of truth forces Black Adam to speak his magic word; after he changes to his mortal form, Superman severs Black Adam's vocal cords to prevent him from ever regaining his powers.

Sequels

Dead Planet

Set five years after the original mini-series, Dead Planet follows the New Justice League as they return to an Earth, now overrun with the anti-living, in search of Cyborg, who survived Wonder Woman's decapitating him and activated a distress signal. As the heroes return to Earth to respond to the signal, they are attacked by Wonder Woman, who infects Green Arrow. Learning from Cyborg that there is a cure for the infection, Jon rushes to stop an enraged Green Canary from killing Wonder Woman but is too late and is injured by a kryptonite sword.

While guarding Chicago, Roy Harper is killed by Beatriz da Costa while the group of civilians he was protecting are saved by Shadowpact. Wonder Girl takes Jon to Poison Ivy's jungle sanctuary for medical attention and reunites with the survivors there, including Mary Marvel, Doctor Fate and Cassandra Cain. Meanwhile, Swamp Thing appears and convinces Shadowpact to travel with him to Australia after he reveals a disturbance in the Green and tells them there is a bunker of human survivors holed up there. They arrive at the bunker but are attacked by an infected Plastic Man, who kills Ragman.

Blue Devil sacrifices himself to rescue Zatanna, and Swamp Thing protects the group long enough for Zatanna to kill Plastic Man. Inside the bunker, Shadowpact are attacked by Penguin, Maxwell Lord and Professor Ivo. Jason Blood informs Constantine that Trigon is coming to destroy the Earth since the Anti-Life is preventing people from dying. Swamp Thing is angered that the villains are torturing Floronic Man and forcing him to produce food for them, but he and Shadowpact are forced to flee when Penguin reveals his plan to use an army of Amazos to take back the Earth. Meanwhile, Constantine goes to Mister Miracle to obtain a Mother Box and extract the cure from Cyborg.

Miracle and a group of heroes travel to New Genesis to access Metron's Mobius Chair, believing that the knowledge stored within it will allow Cyborg to access the cure. Jon finds Green Canary, who had fled with the infected Green Arrow and convinces her to help them. The group make a deal with Metron, giving him access to Madame Xanadu's crystal ball in exchange for allowing Cyborg to use the Mobius Chair. Cyborg learns to recode his blood to produce the cure, and everyone returns to Earth as an undead Darkseid returns and attacks the New Gods.

Etrigan warns that Trigon will arrive in three days, so Constantine, Red Hood, Damian, Ravager, Cassandra Cain and Swamp Thing travel to Nanda Parbat to retrieve the Spear of Destiny from Deadman. They then go to the Rock of Eternity, where an infected Captain Marvel Jr. kills Red Hood before being killed by Cassandra with Shazam's staff.

Swamp Thing links Damian, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Wally West, Detective Chimp, Mary Marvel, and Cyborg to the Green to create the cure, with Barda being the first one cured. Zatanna and the Phantom Stranger confront Constantine on his actions but, following another message from Etrigan, Constantine tells everyone that the villains are about to unleash their Amazo army to destroy the Anti-Living. Using his super-speed, Wally mass-produces the cure and he and Jon deliver it to as many people as possible.

Constantine attacks Doctor Fate and takes his helmet, combining it with the Spear of Destiny, Ragman's cloak, Xanadu's crystal ball, and the staff of Shazam to become the most powerful magical entity on Earth. He uses the cloak to absorb the souls of Penguin, Maxwell Lord and others from the bunker so that Jon and Damian can enter and shut down the Amazo army. Constantine arrives in Paris to battle Trigon alongside Zatanna and the Stranger. Jon arrives and distracts Trigon long enough for Constantine to take control of his mind, forcing Trigon to stab himself with the Spear of Destiny, killing Trigon once and for all. Constantine's spirit says goodbye to Zatanna, accepting that his actions have also destroyed his own soul. With Trigon and the Amazo army defeated, the heroes celebrate the curing of the world. Jon reuniting with his grandfather and Green Canary reunites with Green Arrow.

War of the Undead Gods

After Brainiac destroys Krypton, Supergirl is sent to live on New Genesis, only to be attacked by infected New Gods. On Earth, Jon, Cyborg, Wonder Girl, Green Canary, Mary Marvel and Shazam (Cassandra Cain) travel to the Sun and battle an infected Superman. On Earth-2, Lois Lane sends John Stewart and Guy Gardener to investigate why their neighboring planets have not been responding to their communication requests as Jon and Damien arrive through a Boom Tube with a cured Superman and Jonathan Kent. The Superman family tearfully reunites while Damian breaks the news to Alfred that the Anti-Living could be cured, meaning Alfred killed Bruce, Dick and Tim unnecessarily. Big Barda and Mr. Miracle depart for New Genesis to reunite with their son, Jacob. The next day, Brainiac probes approach Earth-2 but are dispatched by Superman, Jon and Jessica Cruz. The two Supermen enter the ship and find a decimated Brainiac, who warns them that the infected New Gods are coming.

Big Barda and Mr. Miracle return to New Genesis to find that Darkseid has destroyed it. Barda attempts to enter a corrupted Boom Tube but is stopped by Black Racer, who reveals that all Mother Boxes have been corrupted by the Anti-Life and can only be used by the Anti-Living. Darkseid and his army of infected New Gods lay siege to Sinestro's home planet Korugar. Despite Guy's reservations, Superman and Lois decide to work with Brainiac to stop the New Gods. The Yellow Lanterns attempt to fire on Korugar but are intercepted by Soranik Natu and her husband Kyle Rayner. Sinestro attempts to explain that they are trying to save the planet but an infected Supergirl attacks them, injuring Kyle and infecting Warworld with the Anti-Life virus. Darkseid then arrives, decapitates Sinestro, and acquires his ring, becoming a Yellow Lantern as Kyle and Soranik flee to the Guardians of the Universe and warn them to gather the Green Lanterns. Adam Strange, pulled from the Rann–Thanagar War, arrives on Earth two months before the cure is found and is infected by Wonder Woman. When he returns home, he kills his family and infects the Thanagarian army, gaining the attention of Lobo, who kills a platoon of soldiers. During Wonder Woman's funeral, Ares arrives and warns the heroes that the Anti-Living will destroy the universe.

Alfred, now living with Leslie Thompkins, struggles with guilt and begs to join Damian in the fight against the Anti-Living. On Almerac, Maxima orders her people to evacuate their homeworld while she stays behind to fight the undead. Manipulated by Ares, the Green Lantern Corps fight the other heroes after the Guardians announce that the best course of action is to destroy the Anti-Living rather than try to cure them. Mister Mxyzptlk appears and joins Superman and the Lanterns, but is infected, kills Stewart and Kilowog, and destroys the Green Lantern power battery. Despite the other cosmic beings deciding to sacrifice the universe and move on to another, Spectre refuses, repairs the battery, and battles Mxyzptlk. Superman and the Spectre manage to defeat Mxyzptlk, but he kills the latter's human host Jim Corrigan before dying. Subsequently, Alfred becomes the Spectre's host and kills Highfather. However, Damian gets infected and urges Alfred to save everyone as Mr. Miracle gets infected by his son Jacob.

Darkseid invades Earth-2 with his army and infects Brainiac. Brainiac returns to his ship to destroy all the stolen cities but is interrupted by Cyborg who manages to hack into Brainiac and free the inhabitants of Kandor who join the fight against the Anti-Living. Jon flees the fight against Darkseid to absorb a blast aimed at destroying Earth-2. Alfred, as the Spectre, leaves and returns with the cure to heal both heroes and villains alike. Mr. Miracle and Big Barda reunite with their son Jacob while Supergirl reunites with her parents. Damian then meets with Black Racer alone, asking his opinion on a plan and he then meets Cyborg to discuss his plan. Cyborg reveals to the heroes and villains that Erebos is the source of Anti-Living and only the dead can reach him using a Doom Tube. Before the mission, Jon presents Damian with a white Batsuit.

Cyborg creates a machine that stops everyone's heart for a minute, temporary killing them and therefore allowing them to enter the Doom Tube. On the other side, Clark, Jon, Mary, Dinah and Darkseid unleash their rays on Erebos, creating a breach that Lobo is able to further extend. Damian and Cyborg enter the breach with the Warworld. Damian reveals to Cyborg that Bruce hacked into his system years ago and how Damian was in control of it. Damian found the Life Equation in Cyborg and transferred it to himself, intending to detonate the Life force within Erebos. He ejects Cyborg from Erebos. Urged by Alfred, Jon enters Erebos to say goodbye and leaves just as the Life and anti-life equations detonate, creating a new universe. The heroes mourn Damian's death. Alfred is shown visiting the cosmos Damian made and viewing a bat shaped constellation, there.

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 26, 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 one-shot.

A hardcover collection of DCeased: Unkillables was released on August 25, 2020.

A hardcover collection of DCeased: Dead Planet was released on April 27, 2021.

A hardcover collection of DCeased: Hope at World's End was released on June 15, 2021.

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.

The sequel also received critical acclaim with critics praising the art, plot, and the optimistic finale. According to Comic Book Roundup, the series has a score of 8.7 out of 10.

See also

• Blackest Night - a similar crossover storyline published by DC Comics
• DC vs. Vampires, a similar DC Comics storyline about vampires
• Marvel Zombies – a similar storyline published by Marvel Comics