Dceased brings back a favored DC team, but in a world filled with the never ending threat of the blighted ones no one is guaranteed to survive.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for DCeased: Dead Planet #2 by Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, Gigi Baldassini, Rain Beredo, and Saida Temofonte, on sale now.
DCeased: Dead Planet continues the story of a post-apocalyptic future wherein the DC Universe has been overrun by an infestation of zombie-like Blighted Ones, made so by the power of Darkseid’s Anti-Life Equation. The latest issue features the return of the Shadowpact, a fan favorite team that hasn’t been seen in over a decade.
The Shadowpact first appeared in Day of Vengeance #1, as a team hastily formed to combat the Spectre. Consisting of a number of characters normally associated with the magical aspects of the DC Universe (Blue Devil, Detective Chimp, Enchantress, Nightmaster, Nightshade, and Ragman), the team elected to remain together to handle mystical threats. The Shadowpact received its own series that ran for 25 issues and is the spiritual predecessor of the current Justice League Dark series.
Over the course of its run, the team’s roster underwent through a few changes, adding Warlock’s Daughter, Acheron, Midnight Rider, and Zauriel to the roster. Unfortunately, the team wasn’t seen again since the final issue of Shadowpact in 2008.
This all changed in DCeased: Dead Planet #2, when the Shadowpact literally appears out of thin air to save a group of survivors. The team has undergone a bit of a face lift as well in their current incarnation, with veteran members Detective Chimp, Ragman, and Blue Devil working alongside Justice League Dark members Zatanna and Constantine as well as odd selections Ravager and Jason Todd, the Red Hood.
Dead Planet offers a quick summary as to what the Shadowpact has been up to for the past five years, explaining that the team has being using its magic to find survivors and relocate them to safety. The team takes a quick breather before mounting up for another mission as the Swamp Thing elicits their help in searching for another group of survivors believed to be Australia.
Unfortunately, the Shadowpact’s reappearance is cut tragically short. On their new mission, the majority of the team falls victim to an infected Plastic Man who leaves very few members of the team alive to tell the tale, leaving a grim reminder of the brave new world that has been created in the pages of Dceased.
