Release: February 2026 | Writer: Mark Waid | Artist: Dan Mora & Sean Izaakse | Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
*Justice League Unlimited #16 SPOILERS ahead!*
Read my previous reviews of Justice League Unlimited ISSUE 13, ISSUE 14 and ISSUE 15 before reading this big finale!
The final part of The Terrific Ten is upon us. How will Mr. Terrific escape Neron? Will the heroes on Earth be able to evacuate the population before Darkseid's arrival?
CLOSE TO DEFEAT
Air Wave is getting BEATEN DOWN. Blue Beetle is trying to get this team together but it's to no success. Everything they do is matched by all the overpowered villains. He just hopes to God that Mr. Terrific can stop Neron in hell so that they can finish their job on Earth.
But it isn't the case right now. Due to Owlwoman turning on Mr. Terrific and making a deal with Neron, Neron steps on the defeated Terrific's chest. He toys with Mr. Terrific, trying to dissect what his plan was for this mission before sticking his hand through his chest. Pulling out a detonator, Neron realizes that Terrific was willing to risk his life for this mission.
Owlwoman questions him as to why he would do that before he quickly reminds her that SHE made a literal deal with the devil and lied to him. She begs him to listen to her. In exchange for spying on the Justice League, Neron would grant her safety. When Terrific told the team that this mission was basically a suicide mission, she got scared. She didn't want to die. She didn't know what to do, but when Neron gave her the chance to live, she took it. She weighed the positives and negatives of the situation. Seeing as saving her own life for spying on a team she didn't know. But as the mission has progressed, she's grown feelings for the team. With the deaths impacting her just as much, leaving her in a situation now that she feels regretful about.
Terrific has none of it, he insults her and tells her that she made the wrong decision. And any Justice League member who would make a deal with the devil, isn't worth having the title of a member of the Justice League. Neron taunts Terrific saying that he's being quite judgmental before sending him to the abyss.
Back in Oklahoma City, Neron watches through his orb as the heroes begin to be defeated. But Neron isn't sure they can secure a victory, so he sends his new toy Owlwoman to them to assist the villains. But as she watches on, she sees what horrors are occurring.
The heroes are literally BEGGING the villains to come with them. Being in the phantom zone is a much safer place than being with Neron in literal Hell. When this reality is presented to the villains, they start to second guess their actions. Their decision is made for them by an unexpected person.
Owlwoman takes it into her own hands to right her wrongs. Destroying the collection of souls that the villains were collecting for Neron. She asks for a portal to be opened to hell as she jumps in head first, grabbing Terrific as he's falling into the abyss, throwing him through a portal to Earth and safety, while she sacrifices herself for him. Martian Manhunter finally begins filing all the other heroes, villains and remaining civilians into the Phantom Zone to ensure their safety in a quick manner.
They begin questioning Mr. Terrific about what happened in Hell. Wondering where the rest of his team was. After explaining that they didn't make it, he makes it a point to tell them that they all died a true heroes' death with a beautiful image of all the heroes we lost on this journey.
CONCLUSION
And that appears to be a wrap on the Terrific Ten.
Where to begin? Well, let's start with the team. Casting a group of all-star characters and giving them one last heroic death, I think was a lot of fun. It gave the readers a chance to get one more moment with electric Superman, or hook hand Aquaman where they could die a heroes death during an important fight to save the world from Neron. The last page was a great ending and showed proper respect to the heroes lost along this journey.
And on to Neron himself, there's a lot of comics where the motivations of a villain could be muddy. There could be a lot of.holes poked through them or they could be very unbelievable. But for Neron's motivation of collecting souls for "safety" for these z-list villains was a very believable concept. Any villain will gladly take power on a level they haven't seen before while being guaranteed safety from an apocalyptic event on Earth. And with these villains being scaled up, it actually gave a sense of the heroes being in danger, making you want to see what happens the next month. This book wasn't on my pull list to begin with, but ended up being a story I looked forward to reading and reviewing.
Very minor complaints about this issue and this arc as a whole.