In a devastating turn of events, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War ended the DC Animated Movie Universe in the bloodiest way, killing off every single character and creating yet another Flashpoint that resets the timeline. Apokolips War wraps up the DCAU continuity that started in 2014 with The Flashpoint Paradox. The film divided fans due to its audacious decision to slaughter the DC heroes explicitly.
Superman (Jerry O'Connell) leads the Justice League in a decisive attack on Apokolips, home of Darkseid (Tony Todd). However, Darkseid is ahead of their plans and receives them with an endless horde of Paradooms - hybrids between Parademons and Doomsday. These monsters mangle the heroes to pieces before they have a chance to react. Some of the characters that manage to survive are Superman, who has liquid Kryptonite injected into his body; Batman (Jason O'Mara), who gets brainwashed by Darkseid into being his slave, and Raven (Taissa Farmiga), who's about to lose control and let her father Trigon (John DiMaggio) loose from her mental prison. Two years later, Superman attempts to save Earth once again, but dozens of new deaths indicate that the only way to fix everything is through another Flashpoint.
32 DC characters die brutal onscreen deaths in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War before the last image of the DC Trinity and the remaining heroes fade to white in a cataclysmic event. Here's a breakdown of all the explicit casualties.
Brutal Justice League Deaths In Apokolips War
Hal Jordan: The most iconic Green Lantern and one of the main founding members of the Justice League is the first victim of the battle in Apokolips. When Superman retells the tragedy to John Constantine (Matt Ryan) two years later, a flashback shows Hal Jordan getting subdued by five Paradooms with blood splattering from his mouth.
Aquaman: Despite having such an important role in the inception of the DCAU, the King of Atlantis is the second fatal victim of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, only appearing in the scene where Superman plans the raid on Apokolips and later in the flashback to his death without any line of dialogue. He's cut in half by Darkseid's Omega Beams.
Zatanna: At the beginning of Apokolips War, Zatanna (Camilla Luddington) and Constantine officially join the Justice League. However, the Mistress of Magic doesn't last long in the battle against the Paradooms and gets eaten alive by four of them, prompting Constantine to run away in fear and spend the next two years submerged in a deep alcohol addiction.
John Constantine: The occult sorcerer plays a big part in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War - he serves as the audience's point of view throughout the entirety of the movie. During the final battle with Darkseid, Superman is possessed by Trigon and breaks Constantine's neck after the sorcerer unleashes him from Raven's mind. However, he meets Zatanna in Heaven and she brings him back to life with a kiss.
John Stewart: The last human Green Lantern remaining. When Darkseid decides to take Oa, Stewart crawls toward the main battery to recharge his ring, but he barely recites his oath when Darkseid orders Batman to send part of Earth's magma through a Boom Tube so he can build another base. His body is instantly carbonized. The corpses of Guy Gardner and the Guardians are also seen scattered around the battleground.
Shazam: Captain Marvel suffers a longer torture in Apokolips War. While all his teammates are being gored, a group of Paradooms tears his right leg off. He barely escapes, but he's overwhelmed by another group of Paradooms near the Great Wall of China two years later while trying to destroy one of Darkseid's Reaper machines. He yells "Shazam!" for the last time and the resulting explosion kills him offscreen.
Swamp Thing: The anthropomorphic force of nature remains distant from the war. It's only after Constantine talks him into defending Earth that he realizes that nature is also at stake. He attacks the Reaper machine in Congo with all his power, taking it down by himself while being attacked by hordes of Paradooms. Despite his unparalleled performance, he dies in action.
Cyborg: Victor Stone (Shemar Moore) helps Shazam escape in the first battle against Darkseid, but the villain tears his arms off and turns him into a living battery for his base in Apokolips. After his mind is freed from Darkseid's control, Cyborg creates a black hole and sacrifices himself to kill him, taking Trigon along with them.
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Brutal Teen Titans Deaths In Apokolips War
Kid Flash: Justice League Dark: Apokolips War marks the first appearance for Wallace West, although he's only present in Superman's briefing before the attack and already dead in Damian Wayne's (Stuart Allan) flashback of the Teen Titans' massacre. Lying on debris, blood drips from his nose and mouth and his eyes remain open, suggesting death by blunt trauma.
Bumblebee: In the same flashback scene, Karen Beecher lies on the ground behind Kid Flash and near Starfire (who's ripped in half but is later turned into a cyborg by Darkseid). Bumblebee first appeared in Teen Titans: The Judas Contract as one of the founding members of the Teen Titans.
Blue Beetle: He withstands the attack a little longer than most of his teammates, but he's thrown on the ground and his head is stomped mercilessly by one of the monsters. Damian, Raven, and Nightwing continue to fight and the corpses of Beast Boy and Red Arrow are briefly seen lying nearby.
Superboy: Superboy survives the Teen Titans massacre and joins Shazam and Steel in the raid on Darkseid's Reaper machine near the Great Wall. He fights a big group of Paradooms until one of them reaches him from behind and snaps his neck.
Damian Wayne: Batman's son Damian Wayne becomes one of the strongest-willed heroes after witnessing the tragedy at Titans Tower. He plays a crucial role in the remaining heroes' quest to defeat Darkseid. Batman almost kills him when they arrive at Apokolips, but regains his consciousness and gets saved from Darkseid's Omega Beams by Damian, who gets completely charred. However, Raven's tears bring him back to life.
Brutal Suicide Squad Deaths In Apokolips War
Cheetah: Wonder Woman's lifelong enemy reaches the first floor of LexCorp with Damian, Superman, and the Suicide Squad, but she's then riddled with bullets after witnessing Lady Shiva (Sachie Alessio) get assassinated.
Bane: The "man who broke the bat" has no problem killing Paradooms through brute force alongside King Shark (John DiMaggio), but he's unable to fend off a group of them at the top of LexCorp, where he's finally eaten alive.
Black Manta: Aquaman's archenemy stays behind with the Suicide Squad after teleporting Superman, Damian, Raven, and Constantine to Apokolips. He tries to prevent more Paradooms from getting close to the Boom Tube but is torn in half by a Paradoom right after Bane's death.
Captain Boomerang: The Flash's sleazy foe manages to arrive at the top of the LexCorp tower without a scratch. Before the explosion detonated by Lois Lane (Rebecca Romijn), Captain Boomerang (Liam McIntyre) learns that King Shark can actually speak.
King Shark: This original member of the Suicide Squad has the most brutal kills in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. He munches on several soldiers and Paradooms and reaches the Boom Tube with Captain Boomerang and Harley Quinn (Hyden Walch), where he dies in the explosion at LexCorp. The movie previously suggests King Shark had a relationship with Constantine.
Harley Quinn: Joker's former puddin' is the character that enjoys Justice League Dark: Apokolips War the most. She seems to have the time of her life even after the offscreen deaths of Joker and Amanda Waller, but her adventure comes to an end when the LexCorp explosion obliterates Lois Lane and the Suicide Squad.
Other DC Characters Deaths In Apokolips War
Lady Shiva: After secluding herself with Damian Wayne in their temple, she's persuaded into joining Superman and his new team to get to LexCorp and use the Boom Tube. Lady Shiva is the first casualty in the shootout against the military with a bullet through her head. Damian takes a few seconds to pay tribute to her before carrying on.
Steel: He attacks the Reaper near the Great Wall alongside Superboy and Shazam, but he's the first casualty after getting struck by a laser beam and falling from a great height.
Black Orchid: The physical manifestation of the House of Mystery from Justice League: Dark participates in the attack on the Reaper in the North Sea. She throws the House against the machine and easily slays several Paradooms, but she can't escape one of their laser beams and is instantly obliterated.
Batwing: Luke Fox is the first casualty in the North Sea. He attempts to escape a flying Paradoom and land on the Reaper to help Batwoman and Batgirl, but his wings are shot by its laser beams before he achieves it.
Batwoman: Also part of the North Sea team, Batwoman fights alongside Batgirl on top of the Reaper. She accomplishes a solid killstreak with only two handguns but gets struck by a Paradoom flying at full speed.
Batgirl: Barbara Gordon is the member of the North Sea Team who wards off the most Paradooms with only her staff and gadgets, but one of them grabs her by the neck and slams her on the ground. Two more jump on top of her and eat her alive.
Galius Zed, Barreer Wot, and Procanon Kaa: The three last Green Lanterns besides John Stewart and Kilowog. They fly desperately towards Darkseid, who kills them with his Omega Beams without breaking a sweat. Barreer Wot's death is particularly harsh - the beams pierce through his skull for several seconds before he drops to the ground.
Kilowog: Darkseid strangles the Lantern while he orders Batman to send Earth's magma to Oa. When Darkseid is done talking, he breaks Kilowog's neck.
Etrigan: Constantine's demon friend and drinking buddy. Etrigan (Ray Chase) is one of the most powerful heroes in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, defeating Paradooms and Damian's ninjas with ease. He almost defeats cyborg Wonder Woman in a sword fight before she stabs him with his own sword and throws him onto a fire.
Lex Luthor: After the League's first utter failure, the evil mastermind is recruited by Darkseid and placed under Batman's command. He executes their plans on Earth but slips crucial information to Lois Lane's resistance. Luthor (Rainn Wilson) teleports Superman and company to Apokolips through LexCorp's Boom Tube and stays behind with the Suicide Squad, but he's later shown motionless on the ground with a Paradoom claw through his chest.
Lois Lane: Superman's romantic partner is toughened up two years after the tragedy in Apokolips. She brawls with Harley Quinn in an underground fight and later leads the team on their way to LexCorp. However, she can't hold the Paradooms back from the Boom Tube and detonates the tower.
Although there are many more gory attacks in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, many of the victims manage to survive, only to be reconstructed as cyborgs by Darkseid: In the first battle, two Paradooms rip Hawkman's wings off. Martian Manhunter is burnt alive. Mera's face is split apart. Wonder Woman (Rosario Dawson) has her left arm ripped off. When Raven remembers the massacre at Titans Tower, one of the bodies that lie on the ground belongs to Starfire, whose innards are spilled outside the two halves of her body. Meanwhile, Nightwing tries to protect Damian, but he's stabbed by a Paradoom. It's later revealed that Damian submerges his corpse in the Lazarus Pit in order to bring him back to life, but it doesn't work out - Dick Grayson comes back insane. At the very end, Starfire holds him in her lap, strapped in a straitjacket. Their existence is a brief and painful one until the last moments of the DCAU.