“The Final Night” is the DC Universe’s Disaster Movie | DC (2025)

Each Friday, we'll be letting a different DC.com writer share what they'll be reading over the weekend and why you might want to check it out. Here's this week's suggestion for a perfect Weekend Escape!

Winter is here, filling our days with chilly weather. Some of us enjoy the coldest season, embracing the frigid conditions and marveling at the snow. Others bundle up and count the days until spring arrives. But what would the world be like if spring never came? What if our planet was stuck in an eternal winter?

The Final Night is a 1996 crossover storyline where the heroes of the DC Universe must save the sun. It’s all the action and drama of a big budget disaster movie, with a unique superhero twist.

THE PREMISE:

An alien entity known as the Sun-Eater has traveled through the cosmos, feeding off the stars. Now it’s set its sights on Earth’s sun. The massive creature blankets the sun, sending Earth into an eternal night. Temperatures drop and snowstorms begin to ravage the planet. Fearing that the end is near, humanity begins to panic, causing rioting and destruction in the streets.

This is one problem the superheroes can’t punch their way out of. They’re up against a ticking clock and the stakes couldn’t be bigger because once the Sun-Eater finishes his feast, there won’t be a planet left to protect. Can the heroes and villains of Earth come together to save the sun, or has the planet entered its final night?

LET’S TALK TALENT:

The Final Night is written by Karl Kesel, one of the most prominent DC writers in the 1990s. Kesel was one of the architects of the Death and Return of Superman saga, where he co-created the Conner Kent version of Superboy. The Final Night is Kesel at the peak of his game, telling an epic story that doesn’t overlook the human element. Kesel also writes some of the best dialogue for Lex Luthor I’ve ever read and gives Hal Jordan a dramatic moment that will send chills down your spine.

Stuart Immonen pencils the story, giving the readers plenty of exciting action sequences and striking splash pages. Throughout the storyline, Immonen flawlessly switches between cosmic adventure scenes and street-level human drama without missing a beat. His pencils give The Final Night a sense of drama, as he illustrates humanity preparing for its final moments.

A FEW REASONS TO READ:

• If you love disaster movies, then The Final Night will be your vibe. The heroes and villains of the DCU spend most of the story doing damage control, as they struggle to keep a chaotic world under control when the sun goes out.
  
• The Final Night is an important turning point in Hal Jordan’s life. I won’t give away everything here, but Jordan’s confrontation with the Sun-Eater is one of the most epic moments the character has ever had.

• This story is a fun snapshot of the ‘90s-era DC Universe. We have Superman with his long hair, Superboy with his jacket and characters like Starman in their glorious ’90s costumes.
  
• This storyline had major ramifications for the DC Universe. The loss of the sun causes Superman to lose his powers, a problem that would follow him for the next few years. New Tamaran is destroyed, making Starfire one of the galaxy’s last Tamaraneans. The storyline also marked a major turning point for characters like Kyle Rayner and Lex Luthor.
  
• One of the highlights of the story is Satan offering Earth’s population a permanent place in Hell. After all, there is never a cold day in Hell. In one of the most amusing moments of the storyline, humanity collectively tells Satan to get stuffed.
  

WHY IT’S WORTH YOUR TIME:

The Final Night is an overlooked DC Universe storyline that has aged remarkably well. With humanity on the verge of extinction, the heroes and villains of the world are forced to put aside their differences and come together. Redemption is a heavy theme of the story, as some of DC’s villains come forward to help save the planet, including one heroic sacrifice that will tug at your heartstrings.

Winter may seem cold, but The Final Night shows us that things could always be worse. As the weather keeps you indoors this winter, let The Final Night entertain you as you pass the time by the fireplace or curled up under a warm blanket.

The Final Night by Karl Kesel, Stuart Immonen and José Marzán Jr. is available as a graphic novel collection in bookstores, comic shops, libraries and digital retailers. It can also be read in full on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE.

Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, "Gotham Gazette." Follow him on X at @TBUJosh.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.