- The world outside ended, NOT with a bang or a whimper...but with a SNARL made by throats never intended to MAKE such noises. Now the planet begins its LONG NUCLEAR HIBERNATION. I won't live to see it wake, but I'll make DAMN sure nothing hurts the BOY before I go. It will be a TERRIBLE, CRUEL thing, to abandon him to a world that will be so DIFFERENT from the one he knew... I can only hope that ONE day, he'll FORGIVE me...for making him the LAST boy on Earth.
Countdown to Final Crisis #5 is an issue of the series Countdown (Volume 1) with a cover date of March, 2008.
Synopsis for "End Times"
In a chaos filled Metropolis, Buddy Blank and Una make their way to Buddy's family's apartment building while hiding and avoiding from crazed and changed mobs.
From around the world Earth's heroes tries to save human lives, but unfortunately dying or devolving into animal people, including the villains or any other superpowered beings. As for the heroes from New Earth, they couldn't do anything but watch.
Having arrived at his daughter's apartment, Buddy and Una reaches the apartment room and finds it ransacked. The two find Buddy's grandson hiding in the kitchen cupboard and learns from him of his mother being infected and had tried to kill him. Suddenly, the three realized of Buddy's grandson having a pet dog... Buddy quickly dives away from his changed grandson's bulldog wielding-carving knife. Una immediately subdues the dog. With his grandson greatly sadden of his dog that he raised, Buddy is told by Una to get themselves to leave. However, Buddy hears the scrabbling sound of rats. Immediately a swarm of mutant rats attack and swarm over Una. Seeing that the rats are coming from the bottom of the building, the three make their way to the rooftop as Una tries to protect Buddy and his grandson from the rats. As Buddy and his grandson reach the roof, they find his grandson's mother, changed into an animal hybrid, and she immediately attacks Buddy, her father. Una, covered in rats, fights the animal woman off of Buddy. As the rats swarm over both Una and Buddy's daughter, Una gives her Legion Flight Ring telling him to use it to save himself and his grandson. Seeing Una and his daughter die in front of him from the hoards of rats, Buddy takes his grandson and flies away.
The two travel to an unused government bunker, Command D. Provided with the bunker's essential needs for their survival, Buddy reactivates Brother Eye to "watch the end of the world."
From what he is seeing, the few remaining uninfected politicians and military leaders of their respective nations blame each other for causing the virus outbreaks and take action by unleashing their nuclear armaments upon each other, turning the world into a nuclear wasteland. Buddy then observes the Adirondacks Cadmus lab and finds the New Earth heroes waiting for the "news." Atom finally makes it back to them and informing of the world's condition. The group decide to leave, with Jimmy Olsen using his power to create a Boom Tube to their universe.
Though alone as the world they know is gone, Buddy has hope for having his grandson to watch over. As Buddy reminiscences the future for his grandson, he hopes for his grandson to forgive him for "making him the last boy on Earth."
Appearing in "End Times"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Animal People
Other Characters:
- Superman (Earth-51)
- Martian Manhunter (Earth-51)
- The Flash (Earth-51)
- Batman (Earth-51)
- Wonder Woman (Earth-51)
- Teen Titans (Earth-51)
- Blue Beetle (Earth-51)
- Red Devil (Earth-51)
- Robin (Earth-51)
- Wonder Girl (Earth-51)
- The Joker (Earth-51)
- Challengers from Beyond
- Atom
- Firestorm
- Mary Marvel
- Holly Robinson
- Harley Quinn
- Jimmy Olsen
- Forager
- Red Robin (Jason Todd)
- Doctor Light (Earth-51)
- Lex Luthor (Earth-51)
Locations:
- Earth-51
- Metropolis
- Command D
- Cadmus Labs
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Countdown to Final Crisis Vol. 4.
- Like the previous issue, this is also a silent comic narrated by Buddy Blank's notes.
See Also