The following contains spoilers for Shadow War: Omega #1, on sale now from DC Comics.
DC's upcoming event Dark Crisis is set to reach every corner of the DC Universe, no matter how small. Seemingly unrelated elements of lore are being drawn into the latest cosmic conflict, in which the next generation of heroes must rally together to stop the Great Darkness from wiping out their universe.
A number of characters have seen this coming and tried to stop it, but one of them just switched sides. At the end of Shadow War: Omega #1 (by Joshua Williamson, Steven Segovia, Mike Henderson, Howard Porter, Hi-Fi and Troy Peteri) the Secret Society of Supervillains brought the recently deceased Deathstroke, killed in his fight with Talia al Ghul to the Lazarus Pit. After they submerged him, things went a little weird -- in a dark way.
The Lazarus Pit turned from its usual glowing green color to a pool of dark sludge. Slade Wilson emerged from the pit resurrected as expected, but, his body wasn't entirely healed, his eye was still missing. On top of all that, when he came out, he had changed his mind about stopping the next crisis. Now he wants to make it happen by killing everyone.
Although this is shocking for Slade, it's just as shocking for the Lazarus Pit. The infamous life-giving pit has been a major topic in the DC Universe, primarily in the ongoing Robin series starring Damian Wayne. The Lazarus Pit and its ability to resurrect the dead was the main focus of the Lazarus Tournament run by Ra's al Ghul's mother, Mother Soul.
The Lazarus Tournament arc ended with the revelation that the competition was invented for the sole purpose of resurrecting a mythical demon that would destroy all life on Earth. Although such events are commonplace in comics, this redefined what the Lazarus Pit is. Originally, it was a resource that Ra's al Ghul found and exploited. Now, it has become the center of a mysterious demonic force, one that lives inside all the al Ghuls who have used the pits and Robin.
This changed the definition of what the pits really are. What happened when Deathstroke used one could expand on that too. By establishing that the pits are a dark force, it gives them a mystical connection. That's something that the Great Darkness can easily exploit. It explains why Deathstroke went from wanting to prevent the next Crisis to becoming a dark, murderous psychopath.
Recently, there has been a couple of other strange mysteries surrounding the Lazarus Pits. One of the biggest is the new Lazarus Resin that has been popping up all over the DCU. It's the main focus of Task Force Z and has appeared in other side stories, too. Like Azrael's most recent tale in Batman: Urban Legends and Batman Annual 2022 #1. It was soon revealed that the Resin came from Lazarus Island. Exactly why Mother Soul wanted the Resin out in the world is unclear, however, given its connection to demons and the Great Darkness itself, it's most likely related to that conspiracy.
Even after the revelation of the Resin's source, there is still one final mystery about the Lazarus Pits set up in recent comics that is shrouded in secrecy. Mother Soul revealed in Robin #12 that Ra's al Ghul could no longer use the pits. It was suggested that this was due to the demon rising in the Lazarus Tournament. However, why that would stop Ra's from using the pits again remains a mystery.
It appears that the Lazarus Pits are evolving into something more and it seems that the Great Darkness is possibly linked to that evolution. Mother Soul named the demon in her prophecy the Devil Nezha, who is the current villain of Batman/Superman: World's Finest, which takes place in the early years. So far, there's been no connection between Nezha and the Great Darkness -- but that could change.
What happened to Deathstroke in Shadow War: Omega suggests that the Great Darkness is behind all these changes. This cosmic force works in mysterious ways and can manipulate established elements in the DCU to do what it wants, like not healing Deathstroke's eye. Nezha could be a similar case, influenced but not created by it. The Lazarus Pits' mystical new origins may not be controlled by the Great Darkness, but they are influenced by it.
