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"Unto Man Shall Come... A Great Disaster." Ominous words, indeed. And words with several layers of meaning. Especially to people obsessed with the intricacies and inner-workings of the greater DC Universe. People like myself.

You may or may not know that "Great Disaster" is more than simply a reference to a general calamitous event. Just as "Crisis" has certain connotations in the DCU, "Great Disaster" has a specific meaning. Specifically Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth.

In the early 1970's the great Jack Kirby created a number of new properties for DC Comics. Most famous of those are, of course, the New Gods. But he also created a possible apocalyptic future for the DCU. A world were mutated animals ruled ruthlessly over the few remaining humans. In this timeline, the event that led to this nightmare world was referred to as the Great Disaster.

Kamandi was the star of Last Boy on Earth (even though he wasn't really the last boy on Earth). Kamandi's name came from fallout shelter-like bunker where he was raised. That bunker was inscribed with the words "Command-D." (hence, "Kamandi.")

It was later revealed that a group known as the Atomic Knights had a part in the events leading up to the Great Disaster. As you may be aware, the Atomic Knights recently played a major role in the Battle for Bludhaven miniseries. After the destruction of the city they were seen entering their base: a bunker labeled Command-D.

None of these things are a coincidence. Nor is it a coincidence that both Kamandi and Darkseid were created by Jack Kirby. After all, it was never revealed what -- or who -- was responsible for the Great Disaster...

A Great Disaster, indeed...