Note: Some spoilers for published DCeased storylines below.

In 2019, Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, and Stefano Guadiano provided a horrific vision of the DC Universe with their bestselling miniseries DCeased, with this version of the DCU fallen prey to a mutated Anti-Life Equation that turned those infected into ravenous zombies. No hero or villain was safe as the death of Darkseid unleashed this nightmarish contagion, nearly consuming the whole world in a matter of weeks.

The story of the post-apocalyptic DCU introduced in DCeased was expanded upon and continued in a set of specials and sequel miniseries, culminating in the third and final miniseries DCeased: War of the Undead Gods.

The virulent Anti-Life Equation has spread to the cosmic corners of the DCU, with even omnipotent characters like the New Gods and Mister Mxyzptlk vulnerable to its terrifying symptoms. More than just the expected death of major characters, War of the Undead Gods brought back several characters in surprising ways, including versions of characters that had seemingly perished in prior DCeased stories. Among these revivals was Darkseid himself, now commanding the Sinestro Corps and personally leading the fear-fueled Lantern Corps into battle, furious that he had been manipulated by a cosmic entity known as Erebos.

In an exclusive unlettered preview of DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #8, closing out the miniseries and the DCeased saga for the foreseeable future, the heroes are afforded a rare chance at happy reunions ahead of the final battle. However, this tender moment is cut short when the Black Racer, the personification of death in the DCU, arrives on the scene and faces Batman as the survivors mourn their recent losses.

With Darkseid now on the heroes’ side and hungry for revenge, the odds against the uninfected aren’t quite as dire as they initially seemed, but the epic showdown to determine the fate of the universe is sure to be a particularly harrowing one as DCeased reaches its cataclysmic conclusion.

DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #8 goes on sale April 18 from DC Comics. The issue is written by Tom Taylor, penciled by Trevor Hairsine and Lucas Meyer, inked by Andy Lanning, colored by Rain Beredo, and lettered by Saida Temofonte.

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