WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Justice League Odyssey #15 by Dan Abnett, Will Conrad, Rain Beredo, Pete Pantazis and Andworld Design, on sale now.
Justice League Odyssey has changed the life of Darkseid in a big way. With Lex Luthor and Perpetua rebooting the Multiverse, Darkseid has created his own realm known as Sepulkore, which can remain hidden from all of the drama. This reality will allow him to once more become a lord in the wake of Apokolips' destruction and continue to build an army for galactic conquest.
However, after killing Jessica Cruz, the Green Lantern was reborn from Darkseid's Omega Energy, which we initially thought made her the ultimate weapon against the despot. Issue #15 reveals this isn't the case because as powerful as Jessica is, her team now has a Black Box in the vein of a Father Box that's even deadlier against the tyrant.
Right now, things are pretty brutal on the Astrorunner space vessel beyond the edge of the DC Universe. The Eskaton, creatures meant to devour New Gods, are attacking Jessica, the Malthusian scientist known as Hax, Blackfire, Dex-Starr (the Red Lantern Cat) and last but not least, Orion (following his unmasking as Okkult). Orion reveals he had to hide so the Eskaton couldn't eat him alive but now that he's out in the open, he's all but dead.
Given he has the power to kill his father, Jessica's team wants to keep Orion alive, but she's unaccustomed to her Omega abilities. Jessica realizes she can now fly with them, building on her being able to channel cosmic energy the same way Darkseid does from his eyes, but she isn't able to control or harness the power properly as she did her Green Lantern abilities. This means the Eskaton (who combined to form one giant eater of New Gods) has the upper hand. However, the Super Eskaton's rampage is stopped by Dex, who begins haggling for their survival.
The cunning cat brokers a truce, indicating the Eskaton's best meal right now would be Darkseid, not the appetizer in Orion. He tells the Eskaton they'll help him acquire Darkseid for the main course and then Orion -- after being used as a means to an end, and possibly as bait -- can be feasted upon. The Super Eskaton realizes he can't track Darkseid down and he needs their help, and so, he agrees to the deal, turning into a Black Box or an Eskaton Box to be deployed when they find the target. Orion's relieved but still pessimistic as he knows he's now living on borrowed time as no one, not even Jessica, can dent the Eskaton.
Blackfire and Jessica, who've struck up a surprising bond, reveal they need a back-up plan in case things go wrong, especially now that the Lantern knows Cyborg, To make matters worse, Azrael and Starfire are brainwashed disciples of Darkseid. It's still unclear if Dex can be trusted, not to mention Orion could be formulating his own plan in the interest of self-preservation. In other words, it's a powder keg waiting to explode, and Jessica admits their backs are up against the wall as she can't see them as a well-oiled machine.
Nonetheless, everyone has Dex to thank for their lives at the moment because if not for his bravery and wiles, they'd be Eskaton food. Just don't call him a "good boy" as Blackfire finds out, and he won't lash out at you. But as the issue ends, even he knows he'll need a Hail Mary if he's to save the cosmos and return to duty as a Red Lantern terrorist because they've finally met someone or something worse than Darkseid in the dark recess of outer space.
Justice League Odyssey #16 goes on sale Dec. 11.