Casualties of War

The final month of Our Worlds at War was branded as "Casualties of War", although most of the major deaths occurred last month.  The heroes mourn the fallen, although the dead are already starting to return this month and will continue to rise within the next year.  Queen Hippolyta would stay dead until 2007's Amazons Attack, but otherwise there wouldn't be much lasting impact from this event.

Superman #173

Lex Luthor sends Superman into space with Strange Visitor to stop Imperiex.  Superman tells Strange Visitor that he would like to help her train when they get back, maybe even for the Justice League.  She thinks that was sweet of him, but she already knows she not coming back.  Knocking the Man of Steel unconscious, she takes over his body and sacrifices herself to destroy Imperiex.  Strange Visitor's death would be the only one that would last from this event.

Superman is missing in action after the blast, but before the heroes can claim victory, Warworld decloaks in Earth's orbit.  Brainiac 13 absorb's Imperiex's energy and fires a blast from Lex Tower to Apokokips.  Darkseid interprets this as an act of war from Earth's heroes and declares retaliation.

This issue is accompanied by John F. Kennedy's inaugural address as narration.  Bill Sienkiewicz fills in a 2-page spread in this issue and another page in the next week's tie-in as only he can do.

Young Justice is on a mission on Apokolips when Lobo is killed by Parademons in Young Justice #36.

Adventures of Superman #595

Apokolip's forces invade Earth and Superman bursts into Darkseid's chamber to confront the evil god.  Darkseid's son Grayven reveals he's been working with Brainiac 13 all along, and his father banishes him with a Boom Tube.

At the White House, Lena Luthor reveals her betrayal to her father and says goodbye as Brainiac 13 gains control and the Earth goes dark.  In the midst of the worldwide blackout, Luthor bargains with Ignition for help from General Zod.  Luthor promises to make the General a world power when the war is over.

Like the last issue, this series feels eerily quiet without the accompanying narration like in the other books.  There aren't even any of the usual sound effects.

As death claims heroes around the world, the Flash outruns the cosmic representation of death, the Black Racer, in Flash: Our Worlds at War #1.

Stranded on Apokolips with Young Justice, Impulse is struck by the blast from Earth and goes into shock in Impulse #77.

Superman: The Man of Steel #117

Zod's forces team up with Luthor on Earth as Superman joins the heroes in space while Maxima leads a suicide assault on Warworld.  Maxima sacrifices herself, Massacre, and her crew by ramming her ship into Brainiac, but it barely has any effect.  The Amazons hurl Paradise Island at Brainiac, but that also has little effect.

In the chaos of the battle, Steel emerges alive and wearing the Entropy Aegis armor.  Steel's death would be the first to be undone, but more resurrections would follow in the coming months.  Superman tells Steel and the other heroes to fall back and prepare for the worst, and then he plunges into the heart of the sun. 

Like last issue, this story has a fictitious narrator, this time from the memoirs of Perry White.  

Harley Quinn saves Jimmy Olsen and the two take a road trip through a war zone in an old Joker-mobile in Harley Quinn: Our Worlds at War #1.

Superboy, the Guarian, and Krypto have separate concurrent adventures in Superboy #91, where Superboy thinks his friend Impulse may have been killed.

The Fates spin a story worthy of Crisis on Infinite Earths in Wonder Woman #173, where the Amazons literally throw everything they've got at Brainiac 13.

Action Comics #782

Superman emerges from the sun with god-like powers to take on Brainiac 13.  He discovers that Imperiex has survived his apparent destruction, and he sends both of them through a temporal Boom Tube to the beginning of time, where Imperiex can become part of the wave of creation he was trying to initiate in the present day, and where Brainiac will be spread across the universe.  After the Big Bang, Superman goes to President Luthor bringing the baby Lena Luthor he had promised to bring back since Y2K.  Darkseid comments that victory comes at a price, and Apokolips leaves Earth's orbit in a giant Boom Tube.

Supergirl meets an alien refugee left over from the war in Supergirl #61, as does Batman in Batman #594.

Earth's heroes mourn their loss in World's Finest: Our Worlds at War #1, a special with writing and art from practically everybody who was involved in the crossover.  A hole in the ocean remains where Aquaman vanished, and the JLA erects a holographic memorial as a beacon for Aquaman or anyone lost from Atlantis to find their way home.  The former Aqualad, Tempest, takes the Titans to the lighthouse where Aquaman grew up.  The original members of the JSA say goodbye to their Wonder Woman, Queen Hippolyta.  Sergeant Rock has lonely grave visited by John Constantine, although he'll turn out to still be alive in the Suicide Squad series spinning out of this event.  Mongal takes over the dispersed Almerac Empire after the death of Maxima.  Strange Visitor's boyfriend is angry that only Superman and Wonder Woman show up to her memorial.  Young Justice makes it back to Earth from Apokolips and are reunited with the Red Tornado.  Major Sam Lane gets a military funeral with President Lex presenting the flag to Lois, a flyover by the Blackhawks, and even a salute from Superman.  After the funeral, Superman and Lois fly to the remains of the Kent farm in Smallville where Superman questions if they actually won the war.