Spoilers for Infinite Frontier #0 ahead!
The recent return of Darkseid might be risking DC's best happy ending. The conclusion of the Mister Miracle series left the fate of its protagonist up to interpretation - was he stuck in the afterlife? Or a parallel universe? Regardless of where he was, he and his family were now safe from Darkseid, the tyrannical lord of Apokolips. However, Mister Miracle’s peace may be shattered after the events of Infinite Frontier #0, which saw the debut of Darkseid’s ultimate form.
Mister Miracle, by writer Tom King and artist Mitch Gerards, was one of the most critically acclaimed books of the 2010s. It took Jack Kirby's classic Fourth World saga and reframed it as an exploration of themes of family and mental illness. Like all Fourth World sagas, Darkseid, Mister Miracle’s adopted father, was the antagonist, seeking to take Miracle’s son Jack for his own ends. The series has inspired intense debate among fans and critics, most of it focusing on Mister Miracle’s whereabouts at the end. Some believed he was in the afterlife, others speculated he was in an alternate reality; however, the threat of Darkseid was banished from his life, and he was free to live out his life with Barda and Jack. Or so he thought
In an epilogue for Infinite Frontier #0 written by Joshua Willamson with art by John Romita Jr and Klaus Janson, the Quintessence, a group consisting of some of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe, are attacked by a new version of Darkseid. As he effortlessly slaughters the likes of the Spectre and Ganthet, he tells them he is “reconstituted from my lesser forms,” meaning this new Darkseid is the sum of every version that has come before, now reborn into this ultimate form, one capable of slaying gods; this Darkseid may be powerful enough to take on the whole Omniverse.
This Darkseid remembers his past selves, and this leads to a horrifying ramification, particularly for Mister Miracle: Darkseid knows where he is now, and he remembers how Mister Miracle was able to defeat him. Darkseid will be able to draw on the knowledge of that past self as well as his others; if Darkseid decides to come after Mister Miracle, wherever he may be, Miracle may not have much of a chance of stopping him - effectively shattering his happy ending.
Infinite Frontier #0 set a new course for the DC Universe, establishing a new status quo not only for all its major heroes but the whole Multiverse as well. Out of all the characters changed by the event, Darkseid’s transformation may be the most shocking. The heroes of the Multiverse, Mister Miracle among them, will have to face down this new threat to existence. Infinite Frontier is written and drawn by an all-star team of writers and artists and is available in stores now as well as on all digital comics platforms.