The finale of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths is in comic shops now, closing the book on seven issues, multiple tie-ins, and more than a year's worth of lead-up. And though the battle with the Dark Army is over, there are already threats on the horizon for the heroes of the DCU. In fact, one of those threats makes itself known even before Dark Crisis #7 wraps.
What that threat might be, we’ll get into in a moment. But first, something to consider; the following is going to be spoiling some very specific plot points and featuring some panels from the end of the book. So if you don’t want to have the epilogue to Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths revealed to you here, head to your local comic shop and pick up a copy before you continue reading.
The epilogue of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 is written by Joshua Williamson, drawn by Rafa Sandoval, colored by Matt Herms, and lettered by Tom Napolitano. It takes place sometime after the events of the Dark Crisis finale, though how much time isn’t specified. Actually, not much is specified at all – we’re in a mysterious, featureless room, giant screens our only light.
"Our world is in great danger of catastrophe," says a silhouetted (by white light) figure "These heroes have defeated aliens, monsters [...] it appears they have beaten DEATH [...] Something must be done to ensure humanity's survival now before it is too late." The beings on the screens, referred to as The Council of Light, concur with the speaker, who turns out to be none other than…
Amanda Waller.
Suicide Squad/Task Force X's Amanda Waller.
But she’s not alone. Surrounding her is a group of characters we haven't noticed are in the room yet. Whatever Waller’s plan is, they seem to be involved. But just who are these literally shady figures? Let’s start with who we know.
On Waller's right is a figure familiar to anyone that watched the biggest streaming show of the summer. Peacemaker, the hyper-violent breakout Suicide Squad star, somehow features in Waller's plan, but his isn't the only shiny, domed helmet in the room. Next to Peacemaker is a woman dressed in his exact uniform and, thanks to Williamson himself, we know this character's name.
"[...] her name is Peacewrecker," said Williamson in an exclusive reveal to Newsarama readers. "That's the most I can tell you about her now [...]"
Ironically, the reveal of her name really only brings up more questions. If Peacemaker inspired this new character, why is her superhero/villain name the antithesis of his? If their names mean opposite things, what brings them together, especially considering Peacemaker’s fanatic adherence to his cause? It may be a while before we know.
Moving on; there’s another visually striking character standing to Waller's left. And though we don't know this character's name, backstory, or purpose, their visual design gives us a pretty strong hint at who they are. But before we tell you what we think, let's rewind for a moment and go to a different DC series, Batman/Superman: World's Finest, all the way back to issue #4.
Leading up to the issue's release, DC dropped a panel by series artist Dan Mora that introduced a mysterious (and very well-received) hybrid of Batman and Superman. Upon the issue's release, readers learned the character wasn't just Batman and Superman fused but contained elements of Green Lantern; the galactic protector's power ring being the reason for the fusion.
Back to the present, we see the character to Waller's left as a villainous inversion of those three characters' fusion. Elements of Joker, Bizarro, and Sinestro all appear in the mystery character's design, especially as they visually negate their heroic counterpart – a reverse "S" is part of the character's symbol, yellow energy crackles from their hand, etc.
Whoever this unnamed villain is, we'd bet they have an origin story similar to World's Finest #4. But in what way? Are they an amalgamation of DC villains like Bizarro and Joker, fused by a yellow power ring? Are they a twisted version of the Batman/Superman/Lantern fusion from another multiverse? Most importantly: will they appear in an upcoming issue of World's Finest?
The final character that appears on this page, towering behind Waller and the rest of the squad, is a certified mystery. In fact, we can only see about a quarter of their costume. Since we're speculating here, we can hazard a guess that the character's half-skull helmet links them to Suicide Squad member Bloodsport, but what that connection might be is beyond us.
Of course, there's a larger question looming than the simple identities of these characters. That is; what purpose do they serve? We know that Waller specializes in recruiting villains to do her bidding, and we can guess that's what’s going on here. But what bidding is that? Specifics are obviously unknown, but thanks to the Council of Light, at least we know what their end goal is.
"You have our full permission," says the Council's spokesperson, "to utilize every resource to fully eradicate metahumans from our world."
And in a chilling page, there are three panels of the core superheroes in what looks to be internment camps, and the Trinity of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman are locked up in heavy chains, including by the neck. And in Superman's case. the chains seem made of Kryptonite.
Bear in mind, the Council didn’t just say "heroes," but "metahumans." In case you don't know, that means anyone with abilities beyond a normal human's. And in a universe full of superheroes and supervillains, that’s, well, a lot of people. Surely, though, Amanda Waller's plans couldn’t wipe out every powered being in the main DC universe.
Right?
Now that they’re on track to grapple with every superpowered character in the DCU, you should probably check out the oral history of Amanda Waller and her aptly named Suicide Squad.
