The newest hero team from DC Comics is living up to its name, with half of the heroes making up The Unexpected apparently dead... by the second issue.

The group was launched as part of DC's New Age of Heroes, spinning out of the cataclysmic events of the Dark Nights: Metal event. On the broad scale, it has meant the walls between the world's of DC's superheroes and the cosmic, otherworldly forces even they never hear about have come down. Bringing villains of dreams and nightmares into the fold. The kind of threats that heroes like The Unexpected were assumed to be responsible for handling.

But as our preview for Issue #2 confirms, the teams first villain encounter has left half their number dead... thanks to their de facto leader. You have to hand it to DC - that definitely is "unexpected."

Related: DC's METAL Just Gave The Multiverse a New Origin

Even if fans haven't added the book to their pull lists, it's possible glimpses of these heroes and their coming mission slipped by without noticing (like Viking Judge making her debut in Supergirl, ahead of joining the rest of her Unexpected teammates). But before we could get to know the massive, blue warrior "Ascendant," or their blind sorcerer leader "Neon," the first villain to face them downed the entire group with a single strike.

So what better time to finally learn how Neon became his current form, before he failed to saved either Ascendant OR Judge? Take a look at the preview pages below:

As cautious as we are to accept these deaths on the surface, it's clear that Steve Orlando's magical story is grappling with some intentionally mysterious forces. The latest being the "Fires of Creation," directly tied to Hawkman's imprisonment at the World Forge, the true birthplace of DC's entire Multiverse. Not to mention a set of powers that make almost anything possible for Neon the Unknown.

Normally we would be suspicious of any death that took place in a story where a hero can manipulate lost souls like all other forms of matter. Considering that Firebrand (the only other cover hero besides Neon left alive) has a Conflict Engine instead of a heart in her chest, needing to be fueled by fighting before long, this battle is far from over. Who will still fight it though, is now harder to guess.

Check out a full synopsis for the issue below:

THE UNEXPECTED (2018) #2

Published: July 4, 2018

Writer: Steve Orlando

Art: Cary Nord

Cover Artist: Cary Nord

Ruthless Thanagarian dictator Onimarr Synn arrives on Earth with his army to pick the planet apart in search of the vibro-active Nth Metal. The Unexpected will have to collect themselves after the cataclysmic events of the first issue, discover their true connection to the Dark Multiverse and travel across the DC Universe to stop Synn’s rampage.

MORE: How DC's Metal Just Changed The Comic Universe

The Unexpected #2 will be available from DC Comics on July 4th, 2018.