DC’s Year of the Villain will culminate this December with Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen, a mini-series from writer James Tynion IV and artist Steve Epting.
DC unveiled the book today, and it’s essentially a collision of the Doom War storyline currently taking place in Justice League and the events in the newly-launched Batman Superman comic, which involves a dark version of Batman (The Batman Who Laughs) secretly jokerizing a half dozen heroes. The art for this new book seemingly confirms that Shazam!, Supergirl, Donna Troy, Blue Beetle, Hawkman, and Jim Gordon (seen here in a mask that says please hurt me I’ve been bad) are those corrupted heroes.
Tynion took to Twitter earlier to spread Screen Rant’s exclusive announcement for the comic, noting as well that this is his “first ever DC Comics event book.”
In a broader sense, this story is part of an over-arching epic being told by Tynion and fellow writers Scott Snyder and Josh Williamson. It kicked-off in 2016 with Dark Knights Metal, continued through No Justice and into a current slate of Justice League titles, and has appeared in other tangential series such as the aforementioned Batman Superman title as well as the recently-concluded Batman Who Laughs mini-series. It’s also popped up in almost all of the publisher’s other ongoing superhero comics, as an alien-enhanced Lex Luthor has made his way through the DCU Johnny Apple-seeding power boosters to various villains.
This new story will see Luthor and the villains he’s rallied to his side taking on The Batman Who Laughs and his crew. Still looming is yet another villain (it’s like the freaking year of these things!) named Perpetua, who is mother to The Monitor and Anti-Monitor. In an interview elsewhere, Tynion described Luthor in his story as “the Silver Surfer to Perpetua’s Galactus.”
It seems likely that this book will lead into AN EVEN BIGGER EVENT (crisis?) that involves Perpetua, The Batman Who Laughs, the Dark Multiverse, Nth Metal, Apex Lex Luthor, and the usual cadre of multiple earth shenanigans.
The cover and preview info for Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #1 can be found below:
YEAR OF THE VILLAIN: HELL ARISEN #1
Release date: December 18th, 2019
Written by JAMES TYNION IV
Art and Cover by STEVE EPTING
DC’s “Year of the Villain” begins its sinister conclusion! Lex Luthor has brought Perpetua back from her cosmic grave and restored her power! Now, the Multiverse lives in fear that she might wipe out all existence. The only thing that could stop her are the forces of the Dark Multiverse— which means it’s Luthor’s mission to defeat the Batman Who Laughs! But if Batman and Superman couldn’t stop him, what chance does Luthor stand? Spinning out of the end of the “Justice/ Doom War” in Justice League #38 and the conclusion of the epic “Infected” arc from Batman/Superman #5, DC’s two top villains face off in a battle royal—and the fate of all reality hangs in the balance!
So many events…
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