8 Superheroes Who Saw The End Of The World
Punisher, Wonder Woman and Hulk are just a few of the heroes to have seen the apocalypse...
Post-apocalyptic scenarios are meat and drink for superhero fiction. Many a great story has been derived from the premise of beaming a given character into a future where everything is decidedly not okay, or even just by flashing forward to showcase a hypothetical timeline.
Both Marvel and DC have engaged with the trope on numerous occasions, with the X-Men in particular dealing with the brunt of these terrifying potential futures. Like... a lot. Probably too much, if anything. (Hasn't poor Wolverine been through enough already?)
Either way, these terrifying future scenarios serve as a solid reminder of just how dark the genre can get, but they also weirdly tend to exemplify the innate hopefulness that accompanies superhero fiction.
There's a certain joy to be derived from seeing your favourite heroes overcome these crushing settings - and especially so, when it involves the Princess of the Amazons wielding their old friend's spinal column like the most metal chain flail ever - although of course not all of them manage to do so.
There's been a wide array of ways heroes have responded to the apocalypse, and while not all have triumphed, that doesn't make the act of reading them persevere any less engaging.
8. Wonder Woman - Dead Earth
Wonder Woman: Dead Earth is one of the best Wonder Woman comics ever.
Written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson with colours from Michael Spicer, Dead Earth picks up with Diana emerging from a hibernation tube hundreds of years in the future after a nuclear holocaust had ravaged the globe. Only a few humans remain, and they're plagued by mutated Haedra monsters.
After awakening, Diana encounters a band of human survivors and vows to lead them to Themyscira, a land she hopes went untouched by humanity's nukes. All is not as it seems however, and as Diana continues her journey, she discovers a devastating revelation that forces her to choose between Man's World, and that of the Amazons'.
Dead Earth is a phenomenal read that's about as bleak as it is oddly uplifting. It typifies Wonder Woman's most inspiring qualities and does it all with some seriously kick-ass visuals. Definitely do not miss out.