The Strain The Night Eternal ends with a bang!

The Master vampire is blown up with nuclear bomb in The Strain: The Night Eternal #12 by writer Guillermo del Toro and artist Mike Huddleston. Dr. Ephraim “Eph” Goodweather uses an acient text known as the Occido Lumen to locate the Master’s origin site. The first vampire was originally Ozryel, the angel of death sent to punish Sodom and Gomorrah, but he was overcome by the evil in man’s blood and fed on them. The angels cut his body was into seven pieces and scatter them across the Earth. The head was hidden on an island off New York. His ancient brethren willing sacrifice themself to stop the greater evil. Eph takes their ashes and a small nuke to vaporize the origin site thus killing the Master and consqequently all his progeny. Eph’s vampire ally Quinlan tells him that he will trigger the device as he’ll die anyway. Quinlan has dedicated his life to killing the Master, who turned him in utero then killed his family as revealed in the Born’s origin story.

The Master is able to follow them across the water with aid of Eph’s brainwashed son, Zack. Quinlan tries to buy Eph time but he doesn’t last long. The Master decapitates Quinlan with his whip-like tongue. The Master orders Zack to kill his father with the late Professor Setrakian’s cane sword, which would have been better used against the Master. The cane originally belonged to his former host Jusef Sardu before being modified by Setrakian. Having it play a role in hs demise would have brought it full circle and given revengence for both Sardu and Setrakian.

Zack he breaks free of the Master’s thrall when Eph tells his son that he loves him. They embrace one last time before Eph triggers the device. It’s a touching moment that makes their deaths somewhat more bearable.

The explosion creates a large mushroom cloud witnessed by two angels presumably Michael and Gabriel, who were with Ozryel at Sodom and Gomorrah. They ascend to the heavens in yellow streaks of light along with a red streak that represents the Master. While the evil being may live on in some form, he likely won’t return… at least not in our lifetimes. The rest of the story is narrated by Nora, who moves to Vermont with Vasiliy. They have two children named Ephraim and Mariela after her mother. Years later as she looks at her grandchild she fondly remembers her mother’s words parting words.

“Looking back on one’s life, you see that love was the answer to everything.”

Well, love and a nuke.