WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Justice League Incarnate #5, on sale now from DC Comics.
DC's legendary heroes are about to meet their doom in "The Death of the Justice League" story arc, and the villains responsible for their demise have been revealed by writer Joshua Williamson and artist Rafa Sandoval.
Artwork shared by both creators on Twitter shows scenes from Justice League #75, which kicks off the story and shows the League duking it out against a team composed of heavy-hitters like Ares, Darkseid, Doomsday, Eclipso, Neron and Nekron. Williamson called this group "Pariah's Dark Army," and a colored version of the art reveals that each villain has a series of black chains wrapped around them -- potentially indicating that they are being manipulated by a higher power.
First revealed in Justice League Incarnate #5, Pariah's Dark Army appears to be controlled by the Great Darkness, the source of primordial evil in the multiverse. Sandoval's artwork shows the main Justice League of Prime Earth confronting this legion alongside their multiverse-protecting comrades, the Justice League Incarnate, but two leagues may not be enough to stem the tide of villainy.
Justice League Incarnate #5 also revealed that Pariah, once a hero who first appeared in DC's 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot, had allied himself with the Great Darkness. Originally a multiversal traveler whose world was destroyed by the malevolent cosmic entity known as the Anti-Monitor, Pariah's descent into darkness makes him fall in line with Alexander Luthor and Superboy-Prime, two other heroes from Crisis on Infinite Earths who became villains in the 2005-06 event Infinite Crisis.Â
Originally revealed in January, "The Death of the Justice League" will see Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Black Canary and Zatanna fighting the Dark Army, with only one returning to tell the tale. In recent interviews, Williams said that the saga is intended to evoke the shock of the famous "Death of Superman" story of 1992-93. "I remember the experience of reading the build-up to 'The Death of Superman' and then waiting in the rain for my copy of issue #75," Williamson said. "I think one reason that story was so powerful was that after the 'Funeral for a Friend' story, there were no Superman comics for three months. That's part of what led us to make the decision that this is the last issue of Justice League. But then three months later, there's still not gonna be a Justice League comic. It's gonna be a while, and that's gonna be a major part of what the DCU looks like after this story: There is no Justice League."
Justice League #75 goes on sale on April 19.