Final Night
Encyclopedia
"The Final Night" was a 1996 comic book
crossover
storyline that ran through a self titled limited series
and most of the comics published by DC Comics
with a cover date of November 1996. It featured the main heroes of the DC Universe. At the end of each issue is an in-story text piece written by S.T.A.R. Labs
, giving advice and support.
being, known as the Sun-Eater
, is heading our way. Dusk is a member of an unknown alien race, and does not speak or understand a word of English, so Saturn Girl
uses her telepathic powers to translate and teach her the language. Dusk has attempted to warn hundreds of worlds, prior to Earth, about the Sun-Eater. Each planet had tried, in its own way, to stop the Sun-Eater, but every attempt was as unsuccessful as the last one. This has convinced Dusk that the Sun-Eater is indestructible.
Despite her warnings, the Justice League
still try to stop the Sun-Eater. For their first attempt, Mr. Miracle tries using his boom tube
to send it into another dimension. This proves unsuccessful, since they discover that the Sun-Eater is not entirely in our dimension. As a last resort, Superman and several other "heat-producing" heroes combine their energies to create a second sun and try to lure the Sun-Eater away from Sol
. The Sun-Eater
quickly consumes that sun before moving on to Sol.
As Sol is extinguished, Earth falls into chaos, and the planet starts to freeze. Powerless to do anything to stop the freeze, the League tries to help control the chaos and to keep hope alive. Many people freeze to death. Wildcat
is badly injured. Etrigan the Demon offers the entire world heat at the cost of their souls; the world rejects him, primarily because his plan was to shift Earth to the dimension of Hell. Lex Luthor
teams up with the League to try to reignite the Sun
.
The events of this series cross over into other books as well. Superman encounters Ferro Lad
, who would later make an abortive attempt to destroy the Sun-Eater. The Ray devotes his attentions to a small Mexican town. Tommy Monaghan (Hitman
) holes up in his favorite bar, Noonan's.
Seeing Earth as just another failure (and after being attacked by an angry mob who had accused her of bringing the Sun-Eater to Earth), Dusk decides its time for her to move on. As she prepares for take-off, she encounters a stranger
, and is shocked that he understands her language. The stranger takes Dusk on a quick trip around the world and shows her the League's efforts to keep hope alive. Dusk doubts that there's any hope left for the world. Eventually, the stranger disappears and Dusk is left alone in an alleyway. She is found by a small group of people and, thinking they are going to attack her again, prepares to defend herself. To her surprise, the group offer to take her to a shelter where she will be safe. This act of kindness gives her hope for the planet.
The assembled heroes construct a technological means of destroying the Sun-Eater. Lex Luthor angrily bows out of piloting the ship needed, revealing that he was in it simply to save his own skin. Ferro Lad steals the ship, only to be shunted back to earth by Hal Jordan
, the former Green Lantern
then known as Parallax
. Parallax sacrifices his life to reignite the Sun, simultaneously using his powers to safely restore it to its original form without causing any side-effects such as the mass flooding that would have resulted if the sun had been restored purely by Luthor's plan.
The League watches in astonishment, and Dusk says she no longer believes anything is impossible.
). Queen's resurrection was not revealed until years later in his own comic series, where he was found living homeless in an alley, having been resurrected by Parallax—using the near-microscopic remnants of Queen's body that remained on Superman's costume after he was atmosied by an explosion—before the final fight with the Sun-Eater. The Final Night also established the seven core members of the Justice League. On a smaller scale, the sun's temporary 'demise' allowed the powerful being known as Traitor
(an old foe of Abin Sur
and Hal Jordan) to escape the sun's orbit and regain his old power, before Kyle Rayner managed to defeat him once again.
The seed is also planted for Hal Jordan's future resurrection and return as a Green Lantern on this story, as the remaining energy Jordan took from the Central Power Battery preserved his body inside the sun. In Green Lantern: Rebirth
, Kyle Rayner traveled to the center of the sun to retrieve Jordan's body and has a new insight in the true nature of Parallax
. Jordan returns to the living as a hero once more, and his villainous actions have been retconned as being under the influence of the fear entity Parallax and Sinestro
, who was revealed to be alive and orchestrated Jordan's downfall.
, with Hal luring Parallax
—here a completely independent entity created when a Guardian was exposed to the yellow fear energy—into the sun's gravitational pull, allowing Parallax to be incinerated while Hal's smaller size allowed him to escape; when confronting Parallax as it approaches the sun, Hal assumes a pose similar to the stance he used when absorbing the Sun-Eater.
Fan Awards for Favorite Comic-Book Story and Favorite Limited Series for 1997.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
storyline that ran through a self titled limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
and most of the comics published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
with a cover date of November 1996. It featured the main heroes of the DC Universe. At the end of each issue is an in-story text piece written by S.T.A.R. Labs
S.T.A.R. Labs
S.T.A.R. Labs, is a fictional research facility, and comic book organization appearing in titles published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Superman vol. 1 #246 , and was created by Cary Bates and Rich Buckler.-Publication history:...
, giving advice and support.
Plot
The story begins as a young alien woman named Dusk arrives on Earth to warn the population that a giant extraterrestrialExtraterrestrial life in popular culture
In popular cultures, "extraterrestrials" are life forms — especially intelligent life forms— that are of extraterrestrial origin .-Historical ideas:-Pre-modern:...
being, known as the Sun-Eater
Sun-Eater
A Sun-Eater is a fictional, artificially created living weapon in the DC Comics universe. It has played an important role in various storylines.-History:...
, is heading our way. Dusk is a member of an unknown alien race, and does not speak or understand a word of English, so Saturn Girl
Saturn Girl
Saturn Girl is a fictional character appearing in DC comic books. A talented telepath from the 30th century, Imra first appeared in Adventure Comics #247 as a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes...
uses her telepathic powers to translate and teach her the language. Dusk has attempted to warn hundreds of worlds, prior to Earth, about the Sun-Eater. Each planet had tried, in its own way, to stop the Sun-Eater, but every attempt was as unsuccessful as the last one. This has convinced Dusk that the Sun-Eater is indestructible.
Despite her warnings, the Justice League
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
still try to stop the Sun-Eater. For their first attempt, Mr. Miracle tries using his boom tube
Boom tube
A boom tube is a slang expression for a fictional extra-dimensional point-to-point travel portal opened by a Mother Box used primarily by residents of New Genesis and Apokolips in DC Comics...
to send it into another dimension. This proves unsuccessful, since they discover that the Sun-Eater is not entirely in our dimension. As a last resort, Superman and several other "heat-producing" heroes combine their energies to create a second sun and try to lure the Sun-Eater away from Sol
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
. The Sun-Eater
Sun-Eater
A Sun-Eater is a fictional, artificially created living weapon in the DC Comics universe. It has played an important role in various storylines.-History:...
quickly consumes that sun before moving on to Sol.
As Sol is extinguished, Earth falls into chaos, and the planet starts to freeze. Powerless to do anything to stop the freeze, the League tries to help control the chaos and to keep hope alive. Many people freeze to death. Wildcat
Wildcat (comics)
Wildcat is the name of several fictional characters, all DC Comics superheroes. The first and most famous of these is Ted Grant, a long-time member of the Justice Society of America...
is badly injured. Etrigan the Demon offers the entire world heat at the cost of their souls; the world rejects him, primarily because his plan was to shift Earth to the dimension of Hell. Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
teams up with the League to try to reignite the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
.
The events of this series cross over into other books as well. Superman encounters Ferro Lad
Ferro Lad
Ferro Lad is a fictional character, a comic book superhero and member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th century of the . He is Andrew Nolan of Earth...
, who would later make an abortive attempt to destroy the Sun-Eater. The Ray devotes his attentions to a small Mexican town. Tommy Monaghan (Hitman
Hitman (comics)
Hitman is a fictional character, a superpowered hitman in the DC Comics Universe. The character was created by Garth Ennis and John McCrea and first appeared in The Demon Annual #2 and then received his own series by Ennis and McCrea lasting 61 issues.-Background:Hitman chronicles the exploits of...
) holes up in his favorite bar, Noonan's.
Seeing Earth as just another failure (and after being attacked by an angry mob who had accused her of bringing the Sun-Eater to Earth), Dusk decides its time for her to move on. As she prepares for take-off, she encounters a stranger
Phantom Stranger
The Phantom Stranger is a fictional character of unspecified paranormal origins who battles mysterious and occult forces in various titles published by DC Comics, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint.-Publication history:...
, and is shocked that he understands her language. The stranger takes Dusk on a quick trip around the world and shows her the League's efforts to keep hope alive. Dusk doubts that there's any hope left for the world. Eventually, the stranger disappears and Dusk is left alone in an alleyway. She is found by a small group of people and, thinking they are going to attack her again, prepares to defend herself. To her surprise, the group offer to take her to a shelter where she will be safe. This act of kindness gives her hope for the planet.
The assembled heroes construct a technological means of destroying the Sun-Eater. Lex Luthor angrily bows out of piloting the ship needed, revealing that he was in it simply to save his own skin. Ferro Lad steals the ship, only to be shunted back to earth by Hal Jordan
Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan is a DC Comics superhero known as Green Lantern, the first human shown to join the Green Lantern Corps and a founding member of the Justice League of America. Jordan is the second DC Comics character to adopt the Green Lantern moniker...
, the former Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
then known as Parallax
Parallax (comics)
Parallax is a fictional comic book supervillain in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks for Green Lantern vol...
. Parallax sacrifices his life to reignite the Sun, simultaneously using his powers to safely restore it to its original form without causing any side-effects such as the mass flooding that would have resulted if the sun had been restored purely by Luthor's plan.
The League watches in astonishment, and Dusk says she no longer believes anything is impossible.
Impact
One lasting effect of Final Night is the resurrection of Oliver Queen (otherwise known as Green ArrowGreen Arrow
Green Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
). Queen's resurrection was not revealed until years later in his own comic series, where he was found living homeless in an alley, having been resurrected by Parallax—using the near-microscopic remnants of Queen's body that remained on Superman's costume after he was atmosied by an explosion—before the final fight with the Sun-Eater. The Final Night also established the seven core members of the Justice League. On a smaller scale, the sun's temporary 'demise' allowed the powerful being known as Traitor
Traitor (comics)
Traitor is a DC Comics supervillain to the Green Lantern Corps.-Fictional character biography:Traitor's true name is Devlos Ungol, and he was originally a warrior of great ferocity on his home world. He was eventually upgraded, merged with an armor that fed on the energy of dying stars and could...
(an old foe of Abin Sur
Abin Sur
Abin Sur is a fictional character and a superhero from the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Showcase #22 : "SOS Green Lantern". He was a member of the Green Lantern Corps and is best known as the predecessor of Green Lantern Hal Jordan, whom Abin Sur's power ring chose as his replacement...
and Hal Jordan) to escape the sun's orbit and regain his old power, before Kyle Rayner managed to defeat him once again.
The seed is also planted for Hal Jordan's future resurrection and return as a Green Lantern on this story, as the remaining energy Jordan took from the Central Power Battery preserved his body inside the sun. In Green Lantern: Rebirth
Green Lantern: Rebirth
Green Lantern: Rebirth was a six-issue monthly American comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Ethan Van Sciver...
, Kyle Rayner traveled to the center of the sun to retrieve Jordan's body and has a new insight in the true nature of Parallax
Parallax (comics)
Parallax is a fictional comic book supervillain in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks for Green Lantern vol...
. Jordan returns to the living as a hero once more, and his villainous actions have been retconned as being under the influence of the fear entity Parallax and Sinestro
Sinestro
Thaal Sinestro is a fictional character, an alien supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. Created by John Broome and Gil Kane, Sinestro is the former mentor of Hal Jordan and the arch-nemesis of the entire Green Lantern Corps. Sinestro first appears in Green Lantern #7 . In 2009, Sinestro was...
, who was revealed to be alive and orchestrated Jordan's downfall.
Other Media
An indirect homage is paid to Hal's defeat of the Sun-Eater in the recent Green Lantern filmGreen Lantern (film)
Green Lantern is a 2011 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett and Tim Robbins, with Martin Campbell directing a script by Greg Berlanti and comic book writers Michael Green and Marc...
, with Hal luring Parallax
Parallax (comics)
Parallax is a fictional comic book supervillain in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks for Green Lantern vol...
—here a completely independent entity created when a Guardian was exposed to the yellow fear energy—into the sun's gravitational pull, allowing Parallax to be incinerated while Hal's smaller size allowed him to escape; when confronting Parallax as it approaches the sun, Hal assumes a pose similar to the stance he used when absorbing the Sun-Eater.
Awards
The story earned the most votes for the Comics Buyer's GuideComics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
Fan Awards for Favorite Comic-Book Story and Favorite Limited Series for 1997.