Warning: This article contains spoilers for Legion of Super-Heroes # 11!
Between multiversal threats like Darkseid, the Anti-Monitor, and the Batman Who Laughs, it seems like the DC multiverse teeters on the edge of destruction almost every other month. Yet with every threat, there are always hundreds of heroes to oppose it. Even Superman, strong as he is, needs the entire DC universe's support to take down villains powerful enough to destroy the multiverse. Despite this, one hero is destined to save the multiverse all by himself, and he has to do it with no powers. Legion of Super-Heroes # 11 reveals that the obscure character Kamandi will save the DC multiverse.
Despite being one of DC's lesser known heroes, Kamandi has a storied history. Debuting in 1972's Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, the character was created by Jack Kirby as a take on the - then quite popular - Planet of the Apes franchise. Kamandi is the last remaining human in a post-apocalyptic Earth dominated by hyper-intelligent animals. Much like most of Kirby's DC creations during this period, Kamandi only had an ambiguous connection to the DC Universe at first. The only direct reference to the main DC continuity comes late in the initial run when Kamandi stumbles across a group of sentient, talking apes who worship Superman's costume. They claim Superman tried to stop the disaster that ruined the world, but the truth of this legend is left entirely up to the reader.
Kamandi's most recent shout out comes courtesy of Spider-Man writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Ryan Sook. The issue sees a far-future class of aliens learning about Earth's history. Their teacher tells the students that the multiverse was saved by three acts of the legendary hero Kamandi. The lesson is interrupted by the Legion of Super-Heroes member Triplicate Girl before readers can learn anything more specific about Kamandi and what he did to save the multiverse. This plot point seems to be entirely new, as Kamandi never dealt with any sort of multiversal threats in his debut run.
Despite the lack of a universe ending monster, that initial series by Jack Kirby ran for an impressive six years. Though the character mostly faded into obscurity, the writers and artists of DC Comics love referencing the character as they do all of Jack Kirby's influential creations. The character has been referenced in big event comics such as Countdown, Final Crisis, and Multiversity. There have even been a number of attempts at reviving the character. Kamandi saw a brief reemergence in the 90's with Kamandi: At Earth's End, though that was poorly received and failed to find an audience.
More recently, Kamandi received his own series with 2017's ambitious The Kamandi Challenge. The premise of that book was that each issue featured a unique writer who would end their story on a cliffhanger for the next writer to resolve. While that series had its fans, most admit that the finished product doesn't quite hold up as a cohesive story. It doesn't appear as though the recent appearances were a reference to anything in this series either.
What remains to be seen is whether this really is just a reference to one of Jack Kirby's creations, or if The Legion of Super-Heroes is setting up a plot point. Kamandi did briefly appear in a prologue to the new Legion of Super-Heroes series, so there is a strong possibility DC has plans for the last boy. DC seems to have its eye on the future as of late, with the return of the Legion of Super-Heroes as well as DC's next event Future State. What role Kamandi will play in that future remains to be seen.