WARNING: The following contains spoilers for DCeased: Hope at World's End #7 by Tom Taylor, Renato Guedes, Rex Lokus and Saida Temofonte, on sale now.
DCeased: Hope at World's End has been slowly building towards the DC superheroes' war against the Anti-Life army. The confrontation began to boil in Qurac, at the fortified fortress known as Jotunheim. Thousands of survivors and a few super-powered individuals held the fort there, but that all changed when Black Adam appeared on the horizon, followed by a literal army of Blighted Ones.
In issue #6 of the digital-first series, Black Adam began his attack, but he was teleported into the mountain Jotunheim is built on. Unfortunately, that didn't stop the infected supervillain, who instead broke the mountain -- and Jotunheim itself -- apart. Thankfully, reinforcements arrived in the form of Wonder Woman.
But, as we find out in Hope at World's End #7, Wonder Woman didn't come alone -- she also brought some of her Justice League friends along with her. And this, unfortunately, leads to the loss of Hawkman, another key member of the DC Universe's greatest super-team.
As Hope at World's End #7 begins, Wonder Woman is right where she was at the end of the previous issue: in mid-air, holding the broken pieces of Jotunheim with all of her strength to stop the broken fortress from falling to the ground. Exposed and unable to defend herself, she makes a prime target for the infected Black Adam, who flies directly towards her. However, he is stopped by the Justice League, who have come to help the people of Qurac.
Martian Manhunter, Green Canary, Cyborg and Superman all join in on the fight, and they aren't the only ones. Hawkman and Hawkgirl also join Wonder Woman's side to help rescue the people inside the fortress. There, the three superheroes fight off more of the Blighted Ones, who are able to attack from inside Jotunheim thanks to the infected Nightshade's portal. Wonder Woman, Hawkman and Hawkgirl join forces to push every infected monster back inside Nightshade's dark world.
However, Hawkman and Hawkgirl celebrate a moment too soon. Before the portal is fully closed, Carter Hall is pulled into Nightshade's dark dimension by the infected, leaving him all alone to face a legion of Blighted Ones.
And, unfortunately, Hawkman doesn't make it out of the darkness unscathed.
The next time we see him, Hawkman is now out in the desert, with claw marks all across his face and blood splattered on his person. He's clearly become infected himself and joins Black Adam as a powerful member of the Anti-Life army. Carter could essentially be seen as a lieutenant in this vast army, and his presence is bound to make this mass of Blighted Ones all the more dangerous -- even with its already vast numbers.
It's one thing for the heroes to face an army of dead villains, but it's another for them to be attacked by one of their own. Hawkman is bound to make an impact in this battle, in one form or another. Given his brutal nature and his flight abilities, he makes for a dangerous opponent. Worse still, his death is sure to weigh heavily on his other half, Kendra Saunders. If anything, the promised Anti-Life war may see these two face each other on the battlefield, and this fight is sure to ruffle more than a few feathers.