DCeased #2 features the apparent death of Aquaman, who's attacked by a swarm of undead while responding to a ship's distress signal. It's also revealed that the Joker has joined the ranks of the infected, putting Harley Quinn in serious danger.Even Green Lanterns aren't immune to this plague. Hal Jordan becomes infected after retreating into the solace of his smartphone while on a camping trip with Green Arrow and Black Canary. The only thing that saves Hal's friends is the fact that his ring resists the call to employ lethal force.However, it's not these big deaths that serve as the most surprising moments in issue #2, but the unexpected transformations they spark. Dinah Lance finds herself inheriting Hal's ring and becoming the newest Earthling inductee into the Green Lantern Corps.In another unexpected twist, Batman is revealed to still be alive after being attacked by his zombified sidekicks. Batman has managed to slow the course of infection by wearing one of Mister Freeze's suits and altering his body's metabolism. Unfortunately, this only buys Batman enough time to relay the information he's gathered about the plague to his allies. Finally succumbing to Anti-Life, Batman has Alfred carry out one final order - shoot his Master Bruce dead.
The one piece of good news is that this twisted DC Universe may still have a Batman. Bruce leaves a parting gift to his son Damian, passing the Batman mantle from father to son.Between Superman, the Lantern-ified Black Canary and the new Batman, Earth still has heroes to defend it from Darkseid's final weapon. But given how quickly the Justice League has fallen, is there any hope of these heroes saving the day before humanity is extinguished?
For more major Batman developments in this week's new comics, find out the full story behind Bane's master plan to destroy Batman. Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.