WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Red Hood: Outlaw #44, by Scott Lobdell, Paolo Pantalena, Arif Prianto and ALW's Troy Peteri, on sale now.
In DCeased, one of the worlds of the DC Multiverse has fallen to the corruption of the Anti-Life Equation, which has turned heroes and villains from all corners of the galaxy into zombie-like individuals. Devastated by an infection that's strikingly similar to The Walking Dead, the few survivors of this outbreak are still trying to figure their way through a fallen world that's been overrun by the undead.
And in Red Hood: Outlaw #44, Red Hood brings a Walking Dead-esque crisis threat to main DC Universe, and Jason Todd might be the only person who can stop it.
Jason's been trying to find unique obelisks after he, Artemis and Bizarro encountered relics on the Terror Train in Germany. He killed an infected being there, realizing the Untitled were back. The Untitled are demonic beings who sit in humans and turn them into zombie-esque pawns when they mature, spreading terror and rage everywhere. Jason was actually trained by the All-Caste for this job, being one of a select few in history who could wield the All-Blades to kill them. Ducra mentored Jason right after he was resurrected from the dead, and he fell in love with her daughter, Essence, but soon Jason quickly fell out and parted on very bad terms.
Jason's worried now, though, since he doesn't have the vision to spot these beings inside their hosts anymore. When they get to Qurac on an undercover mission, Artemis is focused on this job, which is protecting protesting students from the army and government that want to oppress them and prevent free elections. As she's posing as an undercover mercenary, Jason and Bizarro step in to help before a riot breaks out. Then, Jason sees how deadly the threat of the Untitled is, as his unique sight to spot them locks in to reveal the Untitled's demons are hiding inside students and other innocent protestors. The shocking twist is while in the past the infectious demons festered in people filled with rage and hate, now they occupy bodies filled with hope.
This means a very large population of the world is ripe for the picking, especially vulnerable kids and other young people with dreams for the future. Jason has no clue how this happened, but it seems the Untitled want war to break out. By possessing the hopeful early on, the world could only be left with killers who are ripe for the picking.
Since he has the sight beyond sight, the Red Hood understands this threat, and he realizes that he made need to make a deadly alliance with Ducra if humanity has any chance of survival. However, she's less merciful and will be willing to murder innocent hosts, which could put Jason in a serious conundrum. Even with the help of Bizarro, Artemis and the General Glory and the U.S. government, the ex-Robin might have to bring in his young charges, but all of these hopeful allies could be at risk as the Untitled's virus gets ready to spread like wildfire.