The action makes a giant leap forward in the second half of DCeased: War of the Undead Gods. Tom Taylor still finds ways to shock you and make you regret seeing different characters enter the struggle. In the last issue, we had quite a showdown between a god and an imp – while impressive, it’s also scary as now they can become potential threats. Those threats are terrifying, with art provided by Trevor Hairsine, Neil Edwards, Andy Lanning, and Rain Beredo. Get ready for the beginning of the end with this issue.
This issue has an interesting addition to the art as Neil Edwards pulls double duty as an artist and inker. Neil does a fantastic job of keeping the art continuous to what Trevor Hairsine has established. The two and inker Andy Lanning perfectly blend so that you will not notice any changes unless you look at the credits. It would be great to get a breakdown of who worked on what pages so I could compare their art on scenes and characters. As I said earlier, this issue moves the action forward, and the art team takes this carnage to space with a ridiculous character making the damage happen. If it weren’t so deadly, you would want to laugh.
That ridiculous character is a nice callback to how dangerous Mister Mxyzptlk can be. With him showing up in the last issue, it felt like he would be more of a gag character, especially with the issue doing homage to the famous “One-Punch” with Superman to an Oan Guardian. Yet Tom Taylor plays Mxyzptlk as such a powerful character that even a Guardian and Ares stop questioning the character. I like that Mxyzptlk reminds Guardian to add his title of Mister correctly. The way that this creative team will play out Mister Mxyzptlk’s actions here will add to his feats and be right up there with his appearance in “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?”
The plot advances so that the heroes share their worry about the Anti-Life Equation, but Cassie Sandsmark and Dinah Lance add that Erebos is also part of this terror. I can’t wait to learn more about why the Guardians are stepping away from Erebos by calling off the Green Lantern Corps. Yet that won’t stop them, as Kilowog’s home planet is the next in line for slaughter. A very touching scene with John Stewart and Kilowog reminds us of how emotional Tom Taylor can make his stories. Moments like this and the last issue’s scene with Alfred make me think that Taylor could write a series with just supporting characters, which would be amazing.
To complement Tom Taylor’s writing, we finally get Supergirl meeting Superman. In this scene, the art department takes the ball and runs far with it. While the battle is brief with their first exchange, it plays to the power of Superman’s presence. The narration reminds the reader of how impactful Superman’s logo can be and how it can inspire people in hardship, yet here it is tested as Supergirl is a force of disaster. Now that fear has taken the stage, we get a Sinestro ring-wielding, Anti-Life infected Darkseid approaching who turns the tide in favor of destruction. One hero leaves their spot on the Quintessence to help save, but honestly, I would be worried if they get taken by the Equation.
DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #5 is a high-octane issue as Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, and the rest of the team take a ridiculous character and have him destroy worlds! If you thought undead Plastic Man was gross and scary, you haven’t seen anything like this terrifying trickster. Stay safe as we approach the end!
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