Warning! Spoilers ahead for Challengers of the Uknown #3!The very thing that the terrifying Darkseid has been after all this time is actually the key to saving the DC Universe. The Anti-Life Equation, a force that would allow Apokolips' ruler complete and utter control of the DCU, is actually one half of the cosmos' ultimate salvation.

Ever since Darkseid died, the DC Universe has been through a number of changes. Aside from the development Challengers of the Unknown dig into these anomalies, one hero is discovering the key to saving the DC Universe.

Darkseid's Anti-Life Equation Can Help Create DC's Ultimate Savior

Life Plus Anti-Life Equals the Optimum

In Challengers of the Unknown #3 by Christopher Cantwell, Sean Izaakse, Amancay Nahuelpan, Romula Fajardo, Jr., and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, tensions are running high among the Challengers, who are being isolated after investigating Darkseid anomalies under Mister Terrific's order. Despite the tension, Challenger Walter 'Prof' Haley s the Atoms to investigate yet another strange phenomenon. An outbreak of super-intelligence has occurred on Dinosaur Island, and the trio heads out to investigate it. There, they discover Cro-Magnon heroes Anthro and Embra, whose IQs have increased dramatically.

...Haley’s greatest success: Uniting the Life and Anti-Life Equations into one formula.

Atoms Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi investigate the technology Anthro and Embra bear, which are some of the most advanced pieces of tech either hero has ever seen. And Prof confirms that Anthro is at least 65 IQ points higher than him. But the humble Anthro its that his intelligence is merely a gift given to him by a being known as the Optimum. As if on cue, the Optimum, a powerful, cosmic being appears to Prof and temporarily stops time to talk with him, revealing that the Optimum is actually a future version of Prof.

The Optimum tells Prof that he’s a result of Haley’s greatest success: Uniting the Life and Anti-Life Equations into one formula. The Optimum tells him that though Prof will eventually merge the two equations and be endowed with unimaginable power, it may be too late as the DC Universe is rapidly approaching its end. The only way Prof can prevent that future and unite Darkeseid’s Anti-Life Equation with the Life Equation earlier is by using whatever it is the Choi and Palmer are working on in the Atom Project.

How Darkseid's Most Coveted Desire Can Lead to Universal Harmony

Two Opposing Cosmic Forces Merged into a Powerful, Godlike Being

Since he first debuted, Darkseid has long been in pursuit of the Anti-Life Equation, a mathematical formula that, when spoken, fundamentally proves that free will, hope, and life itself are pointless. Darkseid learned of the formula eons ago after discovering the Martians based their way of life on something called the Life Equation, and theorized that there must be a natural opposite. After years of searching, Darkseid eventually found and used the Anti-Life Equation, enslaving the entirety of humanity, arguably his greatest success in DC history.

Darkseid used the Anti-Life Equation to subjugate the Earth in Final Crisis!

Other continuities have explored the full power of the Anti-Life Equation, such as DCeased, which revealed that the formula was actually connected with a powerful entity known as Erebos. Erebos was a primordial deity who desired to eradicate all life in the universe and nearly succeeded with his wave of zombiism that nearly destroyed all life in the DC Universe. While that was another continuity, it showed just how powerful the Anti-Life Equation really was. But how could something that destructive ultimately save the DC Universe as the Optimum said?

If the Optimum is genuine, then the more destructive parts of the Anti-Life Equation are balanced out with the more positive Life Equation. Granted, there are not as many examples of the latter in action, but as Darkseid once said, its a powerful polar opposite of the Anti-Life Equation. Both formulas are incredibly powerful and impact all living things in the DC Universe. Prof managing to crack both and bring them into one amalgamated form could indeed create the most powerful thing the DC Universe has ever seen.

Will the DC Universe's Salvation Come to ?

Or Is This All a Trick By Something Darker?

It's hard to tell what's going on in a cosmic sense ever since Darkseid died. But the Optimum is right, things are getting bad in the DC Universe and chances are, they're only about to get worse. Uniting the Anti-Life and Life Equations does pose a risk, but at the hands of an intelligent person like Prof Haley, he could become someone who could actually turn things around in the DCU. Darkseid may be gone, but this most desired force could be the key to saving the universe.

Challengers of the Unknown #3 is available now from DC Comics.