Recaps

He-El inspected the Monitoring Station and studied Mandrak’s records on the Parallel Universes under his jurisdiction. He left the Monitors to continue their work and headed to the Source Universe, while the New Krypton Universe remained under close watch by higher-level Overseers.

• He-El temporarily left the millions of Level One Cleansers, Transporters, and Collectors without assigned work at the Monitoring Station.
• A Level Two middle manager told He-El that the Level Four Chief Overseer had restricted observation of the New Krypton Universe to Level Three Source Universe Overseers and above.
• He-El learned that the Monitoring Station could not monitor his Source Universe because Mandrak had not built a base station there.
• He-El copied Mandrak’s research records into Zero’s Shapeshifting Ship and concluded that Parallel Universes ultimately traced back to the Source Universe.
• He-El told the Monitors to continue working as before, then left the Monitoring Station for the Source Universe.

He-El secretly arrived on Earth and examined the Source Universe, concluding that he needed to integrate into it to discover its cosmic operating logic. After criticizing the Justice League’s public-facing heroism, he teleported from the Hall of Justice to the Watchtower, where Batman detected an unauthorized activation.

• He-El covertly entered the Source Universe through a one-use blood vessel and surveyed the Hall of Justice and Earth.
• He-El sensed that the Source Universe was bound to the DC Universe Omniverse and guessed he must integrate into it to learn its cosmic operating logic.
• He-El toured the Hall of Justice with visitors and judged the superheroes’ refusal to reshape human society as meaningless.
• He-El secretly reached the Hall of Justice’s underground level and used its teleportation point to travel to the Watchtower.
• Batman noticed the Hall of Justice teleportation system had activated without warning and realized someone had hacked it.

Batman confronted an undetectable intruder who claimed to be Superman’s elder, while He-El used their encounter to confirm that ties to the Source Universe’s heroes could reveal its cosmic logic. He-El left the Watchtower, but Batman remained unsure whether the intruder was truly gone.

• Batman saw a humanoid silhouette appear on the Watchtower’s teleportation device, but his scans and repulsion field detected nothing.
• He-El told Batman that he was Superman’s elder and explained that he needed to become part of the Source Universe to study its operational logic.
• Batman suspected He-El was a Kryptonian and challenged him to reveal himself and leave the Watchtower.
• He-El realized that the Source Universe’s operational logic connected him to Batman and the other superheroes.
• He-El stepped onto the teleportation device and returned to the Hall of Justice, leaving Batman uneasy about whether he had truly departed.

He-El concluded that the DC Source Universe operated through the stories and characters within it, then traveled to the remains of Krypton to enter its plot. He appeared aboard a battered Kryptonian ship bound for Earth and met its scarred occupant.

• After speaking with Batman, He-El realized that superheroes and villains formed part of the Source Universe’s operational logic.
• He-El asked Zero to open a Space Bridge to Krypton and left the Solar System.
• Batman saw the Space Bridge vanish and resolved to develop equipment to defend against Kryptonians.
• He-El arrived at Krypton’s destruction site and boarded a battered saucer-shaped ship preparing to jump to Earth.
• He-El ordered Zero to take control of the ship, and its scarred occupant demanded to know who he was.

He-El met the stranded He-El of the Source Universe and shared memories of their different lives on Krypton. When the Source Universe's He-El refused to accept a new Krypton and attacked, He-El froze him in place and prepared to take his existence.

• He-El introduced himself as a version from another universe and offered to share his memories with the Source Universe's He-El.
• The two He-Els connected through Telepathy and experienced each other's histories, including their efforts on Krypton and the Source Universe He-El's return to its ruins.
• He-El revealed that he intended to take the Source Universe He-El's place and offered to fulfill a final wish.
• The Source Universe's He-El asked whether He-El could restore Krypton, then rejected the offer to build a New Krypton and attacked.
• He-El locked the Source Universe's He-El in space and time and declared that he would take his existence.

He-El restrained the Source Universe's He-El and showed him the history of building New Krypton, convincing him to abandon his attempt to restore the old Krypton. The Source Universe's He-El accepted his death so He-El could make Krypton glorious again, but Zero interrupted He-El before he could act.

• He-El froze the Source Universe's He-El in space and time, rendering his powers—including Time Movement—useless.
• He-El touched the Source Universe's He-El's brow and shared his experiences conquering the universe and founding New Krypton.
• After He-El released him, the Source Universe's He-El broke down in tears and asked whether Krypton would flourish again.
• He-El vowed to make the Source Universe the New Krypton Universe, and the Source Universe's He-El willingly offered his life.
• Zero reminded He-El about the bodies of the Monitors as He-El prepared to kill the Source Universe's He-El.

He-El abandoned Kolon Novo’s Monitor body and took over the Source Universe’s He-El, becoming his counterpart without a gap. He left Zero to cut off the Monitor Domain’s access while he continued toward Earth, preparing for the New Krypton Universe’s eventual merger.

• Zero reminded He-El that becoming the Source Universe’s He-El required abandoning Kolon Novo’s Monitor body.
• He-El killed the Source Universe’s He-El, transformed the Monitors’ Completion Gene, and merged with his dead counterpart to take his place.
• He-El ordered Zero to seal the passage to the Source Universe and tell the Overseers that Kolon Novo had begun secluded cultivation.
• Zero sent the cover story to the Monitor Domain and began cutting off the passage to keep other Overseers away.
• He-El put away Kolon Novo’s corpse for Ciri to study and left the Source Universe He-El’s body unchanged.
• He-El ordered the ship to jump toward Earth.

Batman told The Flash he was preparing weapons and upgrading the Watchtower’s defenses to capture Superman’s invisible Kryptonian elder before he could threaten Earth. The Flash agreed to provide Speed Force energy, but a saucer-shaped spacecraft emerged from a space jump and triggered the Watchtower’s alarm.

• The Flash asked Batman about his anxious behavior and offered the Justice League’s help.
• Batman explained that a Kryptonian had infiltrated the Watchtower undetected, so he was upgrading its radar and developing weapons to capture him.
• Batman asked The Flash for Speed Force energy to help his anti-Kryptonian weapons strike their target.
• The Flash agreed to prepare Speed Force energy and warned Batman that it was dangerous and difficult to store.
• A saucer-shaped spacecraft emerged from a jump in space, setting off the Watchtower’s alarm.

The Justice League detected a patched-together Kryptonian spaceship near Jupiter, prompting fears that another Kryptonian threat had arrived. The League’s members began responding to the emergency, and Superman reached the Watchtower to learn what had happened.

• The Watchtower detected a battered Kryptonian spaceship near Jupiter, and Batman identified its Kryptonian technology and family crests.
• The Flash feared the ship could bring another invasion, and Batman ordered him to send an emergency alert.
• Clark Kent left Lois Lane at the Daily Planet after sensing the emergency, while Diana Prince departed the Louvre.
• Steel Bone flew toward the Hall of Justice after receiving the alert, and Hal Jordan left Oa Star after Sinestro struck him.
• Superman arrived at the Watchtower and asked Batman and the Flash why they had sent an urgent notification.

Superman and the Justice League detected an unresponsive Kryptonian ship approaching Earth and prepared to stop it from reaching orbit. Batman ordered a warning and readied the Watchtower’s weapons, while Superman and Green Lantern went to investigate the vessel.

• The Flash told Superman that Batman had identified an approaching saucer as a pieced-together Kryptonian spaceship bearing the House of El crest.
• Superman urged the League to prepare to protect Earth, uncertain whether the Kryptonians aboard would come peacefully.
• Steel Bone failed to contact the ship, and Wonder Woman, Batman, and Aquaman argued that it should be intercepted before it reached Earth.
• Green Lantern arrived at the Watchtower, and Batman assigned him and Superman to investigate the ship while the League prepared defenses.
• Superman took Green Lantern from the Watchtower and flew toward the saucer.

Superman and Green Lantern tried to stop a massive Kryptonian spaceship gliding toward Earth, but its momentum overwhelmed their combined force. They entered the ship to stop it from within, where a red Heat Vision beam suddenly targeted Superman.

• Green Lantern joined Superman on the way to intercept the spaceship and agreed with Batman's plan to handle it themselves.
• Green Lantern opened a wormhole to get ahead of the ship, and Superman and Green Lantern tried to halt it with Superman's bioelectric field and the Green Lantern Ring.
• The ship's momentum overwhelmed them, so Green Lantern told Superman to stop trying to hold it back and enter the vessel.
• Superman crashed through the hull and became disoriented, while Green Lantern followed him inside and helped him recover.
• As Superman stood up in the corridor, a pair of red Heat Vision beams shot toward his chest.

He-El defeated Superman and Green Lantern aboard his ship, then brought them inside as he continued toward Earth. At the Watchtower, the Justice League watched in shock as both heroes fell in a single encounter.

• He-El struck Superman with Heat Vision, and Green Lantern tried to shield him before both were blasted out of the ship.
• Superman pulled Green Lantern clear, but He-El appeared before them and revealed that he had been a friend and colleague of Jor-El.
• He-El immobilized Green Lantern with a molecular cage and crushed his barrier, leaving him badly injured.
• Superman demanded that He-El release Green Lantern and attacked, but He-El flicked him unconscious with a blow to the brow.
• He-El drew Superman and Green Lantern into his ship and continued toward Earth as the Justice League watched from the Watchtower.

The Justice League watched as He-El swiftly defeated and captured Superman and Green Lantern aboard a Kryptonian spacecraft. As the League prepared to intervene, Batman urged them to try communicating with the ship, and Steel Bone connected the call.

• The Watchtower members saw a Kryptonian emerge from the spacecraft, defeat Superman and Green Lantern in one exchange, and drag them aboard.
• Batman ordered Steel Bone to enlarge the image of He-El, while the League reacted with alarm and questioned whether he was the Kryptonian who had previously entered the Watchtower.
• Wonder Woman called for a Boom Tube mission to rescue Superman and Green Lantern and stop the spacecraft from reaching Earth.
• Batman stopped the League from rushing in and suggested they first try to contact the spacecraft.
• Steel Bone sent a communication request, and the Kryptonian spacecraft connected the call.

He-El told the Justice League that he intended to settle on Earth and challenged them to defeat him. The League launched a rescue mission aboard He-El’s ship, breaching its hull and entering to find Superman and Green Lantern.

• He-El identified himself as Kal-El’s elder and said he had come to Earth to live there.
• Batman offered to help He-El find an uninhabited planet, but He-El refused and challenged the League to stop him.
• Batman ordered the League to board He-El’s ship, rescue Superman and Green Lantern, and take control of the vessel.
• Steel Bone opened a Boom Tube, and Batman piloted the League’s ship through it toward He-El’s saucer-shaped ship.
• Batman’s ship blasted a breach in the saucer and crashed inside, after which the Justice League members emerged.

The Justice League boarded He-El’s ship to rescue Superman and Green Lantern, but He-El’s defenses and direct attacks defeated them. The Flash was captured by The Jail, leaving the entire Justice League defeated.

• Batman ordered Wonder Woman and Aquaman to clear a path, The Flash to find Superman and Green Lantern, and Steel Bone to connect to the ship.
• Grid was transformed into an intelligent life program serving He-El, and it took control of Steel Bone’s body.
• Steel Bone attacked Batman with the White Noise Wave Cannon, forcing him to flee through the ship.
• He-El burst through a wall and grievously injured Wonder Woman, then froze Aquaman with his breath.
• The Flash found Superman and Green Lantern in The Jail, but its repulsion field absorbed the Speed Force and trapped him.

NASA detected an unidentified object heading toward Earth, and A.R.G.U.S. confirmed it was a spacecraft. Amanda Waller tried to alert the Justice League, but every member was out of contact.

• Frederick Marshall reported NASA's detection of a fast-moving object near Jupiter that might strike Earth.
• Director Morgan dismissed the threat as something the Justice League could handle and ordered Frederick Marshall to send the data to A.R.G.U.S.
• Amanda Waller received NASA's images and ordered A.R.G.U.S. to use a satellite to identify the object.
• An A.R.G.U.S. employee captured a clearer image and told Amanda Waller the object was a spacecraft.
• Amanda Waller ordered the Justice League to be notified, but A.R.G.U.S. could not reach any of its members.

Amanda Waller learned that the Justice League had vanished while a mysterious alien ship approached Earth, so she mobilized A.R.G.U.S. and contacted the government and other superheroes. She identified the ship as Kryptonian, leaving Earth facing a looming threat without the Justice League.

• Amanda Waller failed to reach any Justice League members and ordered A.R.G.U.S. agents to search for them.
• Amanda Waller told a government contact that an alien ship was approaching Earth from Jupiter and would arrive in about seven hours.
• The government contact ordered Amanda Waller to recruit every superhero she could reach as potential assault troops.
• Amanda Waller directed A.R.G.U.S. to contact registered superheroes and prepare to defend Earth.
• An A.R.G.U.S. staff member showed Amanda Waller a clearer satellite photo, and she recognized the ship's S-shield and Kryptonian Science Institute emblem as signs of a Kryptonian vessel.

Earth's leaders and civilians watched in horror as an alien saucer arrived and dropped the defeated Justice League into Washington, D.C. Batman caught The Flash and Green Lantern as they fell, landing beside the unconscious heroes at the shattered Hall of Justice.

• Earth's governments prepared for an alien attack while keeping the saucer's arrival secret from most civilians.
• The saucer hovered in orbit and launched Superman, who crashed into the Hall of Justice unconscious.
• Wonder Woman and Aquaman were thrown down next, crashing into the Hall of Justice as civilians watched in fear.
• Steel Bone, The Flash, and Green Lantern were cast from the saucer, leaving the Justice League defeated and unconscious.
• Batman leaped from the saucer and caught The Flash and Green Lantern before landing beside the ruined Hall of Justice.

He-El confronted Batman at the ruined Hall of Justice, while governments debated launching nuclear missiles and the president ordered them not to. As He-El held Batman with telekinesis, more heroes arrived to challenge him, leaving the Hall of Justice surrounded by reinforcements.

• Batman remained conscious among the ruins, and civilians and officials took heart at seeing him.
• He-El appeared and used telekinesis to bind and lift Batman as pressure from his presence crushed the gathered onlookers.
• Governments called for nuclear strikes, but the president opposed launching missiles and ordered the country’s weapons aimed at any nation that attacked Washington, D.C.
• Batman asked He-El what he wanted from Earth, and He-El prepared to answer.
• Zatanna Zatara, Green Arrow, Shazam, Doctor Fate, and Captain Atom arrived, while armed police and military personnel surrounded the Hall of Justice.

He-El overwhelmed the Justice League and their reinforcements at the Hall of Justice, defeating or scattering them while Zatanna Zatara struggled to stop him. As He-El prepared to attack Zatanna, a red-and-blue figure arrived at the battlefield.

• Zatanna Zatara teleported He-El into the sky, where Green Arrow, Shazam, Captain Atom, Doctor Fate, and fighter squadrons attacked him.
• He-El survived the bombardment, cut down fighter jets with Heat Vision, and knocked Doctor Fate out of the fight by removing his helmet.
• He-El controlled Shazam into saying his transformation word, then put Billy Batson to sleep after he reverted to a child.
• He-El sent Captain Atom two light-years into space and blew Green Arrow and his helicopter away with an icy gust.
• Zatanna Zatara's spells failed against He-El, and she destroyed his astral projection after it attacked her.
• He-El prepared to move against Zatanna Zatara as a red-and-blue figure flew toward them.

Kara-El urged He-El not to rebuild Krypton at Earth’s expense, and he agreed to abandon his conquest of the planet. He claimed Australia as the territory of New Krypton, leaving its leaders stunned.

• Kara-El arrived and recognized He-El, who explained that cosmic radiation had changed his appearance after his spacecraft experiment failed.
• He-El learned from Kara-El that General Zod’s attempt to rebuild Krypton had failed and that Superman had stopped him.
• Kara-El told He-El she would rather leave Krypton gone than cause Earth’s people the same suffering.
• He-El abandoned his plan to conquer Earth but declared Australia the territory of New Krypton.

He-El established the New Krypton Empire on occupied Australia and ordered its residents to leave within thirty days or become citizens. Floating assistant machines killed people who attacked them or caused unrest, leaving the continent subdued.

• He-El renamed Australia the New Krypton Continent and announced the creation of the New Krypton Empire, giving its human residents thirty days to leave or accept citizenship.
• Former Australian residents attacked a floating assistant machine, and it killed them after warning that such attacks were punishable by death.
• The floating assistant machines announced that crimes and disorder would be punished by death as unrest spread through Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, and Canberra.
• The machines killed looters, rioters, and other troublemakers across the cities, bringing the New Krypton Continent to silence.
• Former Australian leaders, officials, and wealthy people quietly fled the continent.

As Melbourne residents fled after He-El’s forces took control of Australia, assistant robots killed people who caused chaos and announced a thirty-day deadline to leave or become New Krypton citizens. Robert and Olivia reconsidered fleeing after their daughter Annie called the alien a good person, and Olivia went to question an assistant robot.

• Assistant robots announced that humans had thirty days to leave Australia or become New Krypton citizens and warned that anyone causing chaos would be killed.
• Robert told Olivia that he wanted their family to flee Australia because he feared how the aliens would treat those who stayed.
• Annie comforted Olivia by saying Alien Uncle was a good person because he had stopped a man from taking their car.
• Robert and Olivia realized the aliens had given people time to evacuate and had intervened to maintain order, making them uncertain about leaving.
• Olivia decided she did not want to leave and got out of the car to speak to the hovering assistant robot.

Olivia asked a hovering assistant machine what would happen if her family stayed in Australia and became citizens of New Krypton. As she found reassurance in the prospect of ordinary life, Robert recognized a chance to improve their future and asked how to secure it.

• Olivia approached the hovering assistant machine and asked what would happen if her family remained in Australia after the thirty-day deadline.
• The machine explained that they would become ordinary citizens of New Krypton, outlined the empire’s laws and plans, and said citizens could choose how to live as long as they obeyed the law.
• Olivia asked whether New Krypton would conduct human experiments and whether her daughter could continue going to school; the machine said humans held no genetic secrets for the empire and that ordinary life remained an option.
• Olivia felt reassured that her family might stay, while Robert realized that becoming a New Krypton citizen could be a turning point for them.
• Robert left Annie in the car, approached Olivia, and asked the machine how they could secure a very good future as citizens of New Krypton.

Robert chose to become a civilian of the New Krypton Empire after learning that citizens could earn genetic enhancements and longer lifespans through service. He began working as a road clearance officer, and the Empire’s protection of its civilians was demonstrated when a magnetic bead killed a man who attacked him.

• Robert considered whether to leave Australia or remain in the New Krypton Empire, and the floating assistant robot described how contributions could earn genetic adjustments and medicine granting a three-hundred-year lifespan.
• Despite the surrounding humans’ doubts, Robert declared that he was willing to become a civilian of New Krypton and chose to work.
• The floating assistant robot activated Robert’s civilian records and benefits, assigned him to clear roads and help people reach ships and airports, and attached magnetic beads to his body.
• A man called Robert a traitor and threw a bottle at him, but a magnetic bead pierced the attacker’s brow and killed him.
• The floating assistant robot announced that anyone who attacked a civilian of the New Krypton Empire would be sentenced to death.