Underworld Unleashed
Underworld Unleashed | |
---|---|
Cover of Underworld Unleashed #1 (November 1995) featuring Neron (top), Doctor Polaris I, Lex Luthor, the Joker, Circe I and Abra Kadabra (bottom, left to right), art by Howard Porter. | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
Format | Miniseries |
Genre | Superhero Crossover |
Publication date | November 1995 – late December 1995 |
No. of issues | 3, plus several tie-in issues and four one-shot issues |
Main character(s) | Justice League America Neron the Trickster I |
Creative team as of November 1995 | |
Created by | Mark Waid Howard Porter |
Written by | Mark Waid |
Artist(s) | Howard Porter Dan Green Chris Eliopoulos Dennis Janke John Nyberg Rick Taylor Heroic Age (a.k.a. Pat Garrahy) |
Penciller(s) | Howard Porter |
Inker(s) | Dan Green (issues #1–2) Dennis Janke (issue #3) John Nyberg (issue #3) |
Letterer(s) | Chris Eliopoulos |
Colorist(s) | Rick Taylor (colorist) Heroic Age (a.k.a. Pat Garrahy; color separator) |
Editor(s) | Brian Augustyn (editor) Stephen Wacker (assistant editor) |
Underworld Unleashed was a multi-title American comic book crossover event released by DC Comics in 1995.
The main theme of Underworld Unleashed involved the new ruler of Hell, a demon-lord named Neron, offering first many of the DC Universe supervillains and then a number of the DC Universe superheroes various deals in exchange for their souls.[1]
Plot
Neron dupes five of the Rogues who typically battle the Flash: Captain Boomerang I, Captain Cold, Heat Wave I, the Mirror Master II, and the Weather Wizard. He promises them a chance to go down in history as five of the greatest villains if they each engage in a specific destructive act. He does not tell them that it will cost them their lives and unleash him onto the Earth. Lex Luthor, the Joker, Circe I, Doctor Polaris I and Abra Kadabra become his Inner Council.
Neron sends magical candles to many supervillains. When they are all lit, they transport the villains to Neron's underworld realm. Many villains accept his offer, but some do not. The newly empowered villains are sent back to Earth to wreak havoc while Neron turns his attention to the superheroes. Along the way, the Trickster I comes to Neron, but does not make a deal with him. Instead, he helps Neron betray his Inner Council.
When the heroes come to Neron's realm looking to defeat him, they are corrupted by the influences of that realm. Trickster works out how Neron can be stopped, and instructs Captain Marvel to beat Neron at his own game by offering the demon his soul for purely selfless reasons. Unable to even touch the offer, Neron's work is reversed: breaking that one deal also broke all his others.
Collected editions
- The three-issue miniseries Underworld Unleashed, together with the one-shot issue Underworld Unleashed: Abyss - Hell's Sentinel #1, was collected as a trade paperback called Underworld Unleashed (DC Comics, March 1998, 158 pages, ISBN 1-56389-447-5).
- In 2020, a new hardcover graphic novel, Underworld Unleashed: The 25th Anniversary Edition, was published, containing the three-issue miniseries plus the four one-shot issues Underworld Unleashed: Abyss - Hell's Sentinel #1, Underworld Unleashed: Apokolips - Dark Uprising #1, Underworld Unleashed: Batman - Devil's Asylum #1 and Underworld Unleashed: Patterns of Fear #1 (DC Comics, November 2020, 304 pp., ISBN 978-1779505781)).
References
- ^ Underworld Unleashed trade paperback (DC Comics, March 1998 (ISBN 1-56389-447-5) and hardcover 25th Anniversary Edition (DC Comics, November 2020 (ISBN 978-1779505781))
External links
- Underworld Unleashed at DC wikia
- Underworld Unleashed at DCU Guide
- v
- t
- e
- "Crisis on Infinite Earths" (April 1985)
- "Legends" (November 1986)
- "Millennium" (January 1988)
- "Invasion!" (January 1989)
- "The Janus Directive" (May 1989)
- "Armageddon 2001" (May 1991)
- "War of the Gods" (September 1991)
- "Eclipso: The Darkness Within" (July 1992)
- "The Death of Superman" (October 1992)
- "Bloodlines" (1993)
- "The Children's Crusade" (December 1993)
- "Worlds Collide" (July 1994)
- "End of an Era" (August 1994)
- "Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!" (September 1994)
- "Underworld Unleashed" (November 1995)
- "DC vs. Marvel" (April 1996)
- "The Final Night" (November 1996)
- "Genesis" (October 1997)
- "DC One Million" (November 1998)
- "Day of Judgment" (November 1999)
- "JLApe: Gorilla Warfare!" (1999)
- "Our Worlds at War" (August 2001)
- "Joker: Last Laugh" (December 2001)
- "Identity Crisis" (June 2004)
- "Infinite Crisis" (December 2005)
- "Amazons Attack!" (March 2007)
- "Sinestro Corps War" (August 2007)
- "Final Crisis" (July 2008)
- "Blackest Night" (June 2009)
- "Brightest Day" (May 2010)
- "Reign of Doomsday" (January 2011)
- "Flashpoint" (May 2011)
- "The Culling" (November 2011)
- "Batman: Night of the Owls" (April 2012)
- "Death of the Family" (October 2012)
- "H'El on Earth" (October 2012)
- "Throne of Atlantis" (November 2012)
- "Wrath of the First Lantern" (February 2013)
- "Batman: Zero Year" (June 2013)
- "Trinity War" (July 2013)
- "Forever Evil" (September 2013)
- "Forever Evil: Blight" (October 2013)
- "The New 52: Futures End" (September 2014)
- "Convergence" (April 2015)
- "Darkseid War" (June 2015)
- "The Button" (April 2017)
- "Dark Nights: Metal" (June 2017)
- "The Lazarus Contract" (July 2017)
- "Doomsday Clock" (November 2017)
- "Milk Wars" (March 2018)
- "Heroes in Crisis" (September 2018)
- "The Terminus Agenda" (March 2019)
- "Year of the Villain" (May 2019)
- "Dark Nights: Death Metal" (June 2020)
- "Joker War" (September 2020)
- "Generations" (September 2020)
- "Endless Winter" (December 2020)
- "Future State" (January 2021)
- "Infinite Frontier" (June 2021)
- "Fear State" (August 2021)
- "War for Earth-3" (March 2022)
- "Shadow War" (April 2022)
- "Dark Crisis" (May 2022)
- "The New Golden Age" (November 2022)
- "Lazarus Planet" (January 2023)
- "Worlds Collide" (February 2023)
- "Knight Terrors" (July 2023)
- "Gotham War" (August 2023)
- "Titans: Beast World" (November 2023)
- "House of Brainiac" (April 2024)
- "Absolute Power" (July 2024)