Abandon All Hope Teaser

Click here for the link of the larger Last Judgement image.

FIRST IMPRESSION
Despite the jumble of characters in the center, all the attention with the slanted lines are drawn to the biggest (literally) characters on the image: Swamp Thing, Frankenstein, and Etrigan the Demon. The bright orange colored snake around Constantine also draws a lot of attention next. You then might shape the rest of the image with Zatanna's isolated pose, Aquaman's reaching hand, and the half of Phantom Stranger in the back. Then one would probably try identifying the rest of the characters drawn in the mix. Deanpool believes that each of the specific characters mentioned will likely play the larger roles in the story that the teaser hints to. The story for this teaser is probably going to take after Forever Evil, are the characters on the boat the members of the Justice League Dark in the fallout of Forever Evil? "Abandon All Hope... And Enter Into The Dark" Hopefully this means that this story will mainly involve the dark and mystical side of DC comics. It mainly features the dark characters, minus Aquaman's hand. Sounds like a pretty big evil will emerge in this story line and will affect all the DC dark titles. Exciting to see a crossover like this to spur the stagnant readership for many of the dark titles. Many of the characters featured have had their own series at one point until they were cancelled. From the ones pictured, the only characters with solo series are Constantine, Swamp Thing, Trinity of Sin (Pandora, Phantom Stranger, The Question), and that's about it. The others were either cancelled or have been in and out of the Justice League Dark rotation.

THE BIG IDEAS

The teaser image has that Renaissance fresco vibe to it. Deanpool actually found that it was based off Michelangelo's The Last Judgement from the Sistine Chapel. This painting was meant to depict the final and eternal judgement of humanity. In the lower righthand corner, the damned are ferried into Hell and greeted by demons and judge of the underworld. Yeah, Deanpool is a bit of an art history fan so this will be a pretty detailed analysis of the image rather than the character's backgrounds. It's important to note which characters are placed in the positions of the demons and the humans. Zatanna, Pandora, Swamp Thing, and Constantine (and the two behind Constantine) look to be in the demon positions, while the rest can be considered the humans. Back to the teaser image, it looks like it can be divided into 3 separate planes: the sky background, the boat, and the foreground. These may also be metaphorical planes: sky could be considered Heaven, boat could be the normal plane, foreground could be the underworld.

Couple this with the famous quote from Dante’s Divine Comedy, “Abandon all hope- Ye Who Enter Here.” Keep in mind this quote was from the “Gate of Hell” verse. All Hell might actually break loose in whatever story arc this alludes to. And with the characters involved, it’s a very combustible group. Some have even theorized that Lucifer may be the big villain for this story arc, after having last appeared in the final issue of I, Vampire. Regardless, the quote reinforces Deanpool's belief that the separate planes in the teaser image are symbolic of Heaven, Earth, and Hell. But what did Pandora, Swamp Thing, and Constantine do to end up in the underworld?

With the big story arc post-“Forever Evil” being “Seven Seas,” it’s clear that Justice League will be featuring another Aquaman-heavy story. A little more than a year ago was “Throne of Atlantis.” If the crossover event reaches DC’s Dark titles as well, it’s going to make a lot of the Dark fans unhappy. Fans and Deanpool alike are hoping that this teaser alludes to the dark character's own crossover event, separate from the Justice League titles. But that still leaves people wondering where Aquaman's involvement comes in. 

Let’s look at the characters in the image:

In the background (behind the boat):

-Phantom Stranger looks like he’s wiped out… there are consequences for defying Heaven. Another member of the Trinity of Sin. As interesting as this character is, it seems to be in his nature to be in and out of the comic universe sporadically. Another theory is the metaphor that the Stranger is commonly found torn between his life as the Phantom Stranger and his life with his family.

-Spectre is also lurking in the back, likely the one seeking judgment against Phantom Stranger. He is the physical embodiment of God's vengeance on Earth. What if Phantom Stranger's actions are the one that leads to the opening of the gates of Hell? Or it could tie-in to Spectre placing some blame on the Phantom Stranger for becoming the Spectre entity.

On the boat (L to R):

-Zatanna is distanced on one end of the boat. Her involvement in the Justice League Dark has been sparse as of late, it is likely that she’ll continue to keep her distance from the team and possibly act more as a liaison between Justice League and Justice League Dark. In a more symbolic sense, she is the one with the oar. Could mean she’ll have a bigger role in “steering” the JLD team, perhaps even hinting at more of a leadership role. Or if you tie it in to the original painting, perhaps her leadership leads to the team's damnation.

-Socks the cat. Yes that cat like thing is an actual character from the Animal Man series. Can't offer much more insight on this character, but he does look like one of the only characters who seems interested in what's going on with Aquaman's hand.

-Deadman is next, but doesn’t look too close to where all the action is and is looks quite stressed on the side. Deanpool wonders if he’ll ever find his way out of the Sea King’s body, as revealed in the Justice League Dark issue that Deanpool picked up in Weekly Pick-Ups. Don’t think the hand in the water is Sea King, since he usually wears the purple suit, not the orange one like Aquaman. Nonetheless, it’s hard to guess how Deadman ever gets back to his proper body.

-Capucine. A deadly warrior and worshipper of the Green who seeks the sanctuary of Swamp Thing. Interesting to see an ally of Swamp Thing on the boat, but not on the foreground with him. Also just being nitpicky, who would her counterpart be in The Last Judgement painting? To Deanpool, it seems like it should be the one holding Frankenstein's leg, helping him stay on the boat... taking another look at her pose, she looks like she may have either given Frankenstein a good shove off or she's in a running stance away from the action but keeping her focus on the all the activity. Just speculation to tie-in with her connection to Swamp Thing.

-Nightmare Nurse. Likely to carry over onto Justice League Dark from her multiple appearances in the Blight story arc. She's been a cool character since she's popped up in the New 52. As far as the teaser image, Deanpool thinks there may be some symbolism as she is half in the boat, half off. She's only been around for a couple months, first appearing in Phantom Stranger #8 back in May 2013. She was first called in by Zatanna to help save Phantom Stranger and it is even revealed later that she is compelled to help when she is asked for help. She has aligned herself with Constantine and Swamp Thing to take on Blight, but her attitude and personality (plus a history with Constantine), doesn't necessarily mean she's willing to be apart of the team. Maybe the post-Blight story takes on whether or not Nightmare Nurse decides to stay with the team or perhaps put her alliance elsewhere. Or will it be a case of a larger problem causing her to help the JLD once again against her will? Deanpool points out she's another one of the few characters whose attention appears to be on Aquaman's hand.

-Frankenstein falling off the boat or getting off the boat. Could be something out of his control that may force Frankenstein off the team. Or because of something, Frankenstein is “jumping ship.” We mentioned above, maybe he's getting forced off. His character has, for the most part, been loyal to the team since he joined. 

-Etrigan (the one with the wings) is back with a new color scheme. Nice to see this character back. Deanpool hopes he gets a big role in the upcoming story. He never gave Demon Knights a read, but has been intrigued by this character since seeing the Flashpoint Paradox animated movie. With all the connections stated above with the quote relating to the gates of Hell and the image being based off a Renaissance painting that features humans and demons alike, Etrigan's placement and involvement stirs a lot of interest. If all Hell breaks loose, where will Etrigan the Demon's alliance fall? Will Jason Blood (his human host)/Etrigan's love interest, Madame Xanadu, play a part in his involvement as well? Some even believe that he is holding Frankenstein's leg, perhaps helping him from falling out of the boat. Seems like Etrigan has a lot of potential to take a large part in this upcoming story arc if writers go in this direction.

-The Question, part of the Trinity of Sin. It'd be nice to see more from this character, who has been the most mysterious out of the three Trinity of Sin. Art savvy Deanpool points out that each member of the Trinity can be found in different planes of the image. For The Question, he's seen on the boat with rest of the JLD and the other Dark comic characters. Could be a hint to where his allegiance will be in this story. From his character on, it becomes more difficult to judge who their counterpart is in the original painting.

-Madame Xanadu directly behind Question. Her character is key to the DC's Dark comic community. She is the one responsible for forming the Justice League Dark. Her pose resembles the character in the light blue from the painting. She looks shocked and scared at what's happening in front of her rather than in a position to really take charge of the situation. The evil in this upcoming story may be too sinister than even this sorceress can comprehend.

-Amethyst. A character that had her own New 52 series for a short run (9 issues + a Zero issue). A powerful magic user, who looks like she won't be getting off the boat easily with her sword in hand and ready. 

-Black Orchid. A new Black Orchid who is an ex-Army private that was given plant based powers after having both arms amputated. Another loyal member of JLD. Her alliance with the team actually makes sense since she was an A.R.G.U.S. agent under Steve Trevor and A.R.G.U.S. approved of JLD to take on the supernatural encounters that other heroes aren't able to face. She's clearly on the boat that so far has been synonymous with being a stable part of the team. Her pose can viewed either be a defensive stance or an offensive one. Either way, she's ready to fight for the team.

Foreground:

-On the right, we see good ol’ Constantine wrapped up in his usual troubles. But why is it an orange snake? It looks like the work of an Orange Lantern, and where there’s an Orange Lantern there’s likely Larfleeze. The cross of a cosmic figure like Larfleeze making a statement in this picture that features mainly DC’s darker characters makes this picture more intriguing. Wouldn’t put it past Constantine to steal an Orange Lantern ring, after all the orange one does mean avarice (greed). Now, Constantine and an orange power ring sound like a perfect match. His counterpart can be seen in the larger image of The Last Judgement if you zoom in on the bottom right corner. You'll see a character with donkey ears wrapped by a snake. For some art history background, Michelangelo was criticized for putting nude characters in a sacred setting. Michelangelo portrayed his largest critic as Minos, the judge of the underworld with donkey ears for foolishness and a snake wrapping him to cover his nudity. Constantine as a judge of the underworld? Not as likely, but something to still keep in mind.

-Can’t really tell who the two behind Constantine are. Supposedly the one on the right is Tannarak, a powerful sorcerer who has been appearing in the recent issues of Constantine. That's about all Deanpool got. But it looks like Constantine's troubles may be catching up with him, though this will likely take place more on his own series. It seems like the action in his section of the image is a more isolated one compared to the main one between the boat and Swamp Thing.

-Well the girl on the left of him is Sargon the Sorceress. Another villain frequently appearing in Constantine. Poor Constantine. Wonder if he gets any help from the other members of the JLD. Or Larfleeze. The Cult of the Cold Flame may finally capture Constantine.

-Swamp Thing with Aquaman’s trident. Is he pushing the boat away? Or is he trying to help it dock? And how did he get a hold of the trident? If they were on the same side, wouldn’t Swamp Thing try to help Aquaman? However, his involvement in the recent Justice League Dark issues already seemed to hint that Swamp Thing may be more affiliated with JLD. He's good friends with Constantine and even wished Constantine had told him about the team. But based off what's seen in the image, he has the same pose as the demons in the original painting. Could be something that happens in the fallout of Forever Evil that places Swamp Thing (and maybe Pandora and Constantine too) at odds with the JLD. First impressions make it seem like he will play a very pivotal role in the story that this image teases.

-Pandora. Third character of the Trinity of Sin. Can’t tell if she’s trying to help Aquaman in some way. Regardless, she seems to be doing her own thing rather than worrying about what’s going on behind her. Her counterpart looks like he's crying in the painting, she looks like she's in a more active role. Her back facing Aquaman's reach for help may also be a hint to where her alliance may be.

-Aquaman’s arm reaches for help. Aquaman can live underwater; he’s the King of Atlantis. It’s not probable that he would be drowning. Now being forced to be underwater by Swamp Thing… that sounds more plausible than Aquaman struggling on his home turf. But why would the two be fighting? It's not exactly clear that the vines are coming directly from Swamp Thing. Especially with all the green plants that surround this reaching arm. The even bigger question is how did Aquaman get tied into a story full of DC's darker characters. Aquaman is knowledgeable about his fair share of magic, his kingdom being an underwater, legendary island. Deanpool is hoping it doesn't tie in with the upcoming "Seven Seas" story arc so that these characters can get their own spotlight rather than being crossed over with the Justice League title again. With the way that the boat is tipped, did Aquaman fall off? Was he originally helping the JLD team but then got mixed up in all their personal business? We've seen The Flash help the JLD before, so there have been times when Justice League members have helped the Dark team.

There's so many intertwining ideas of judgement and all Hell breaking loose. Whatever DC has lined up for these characters seems to be on a pretty large scale, but Deanpool hopes it is contained to the DC Dark titles. Hope you enjoyed this analysis and keep in mind all of it is speculation. Deanpool doesn't follow any of the Dark titles very closely, if anything he's only familiar with Justice League Dark. But he loves working through these teasers and theorizing what may happen next. Could be all of these, more likely to be none of these. But it's all for good fun. Deanpool doesn't think this teaser had as many easter eggs as the Batsgiving one, but there's still some intriguing theories that can be inferred from this teaser.

Did you notice anything that Deanpool might have missed?

Steampunk Constantine, Zatanna, and Deadman.