Chapter Summaries

Ben Parker met Clark Kent in Antarctica, revealed his origins and the Omnitrix, and scanned Clark’s Kryptonian genes, gaining a version of Clark’s powers. Ben identified the nearby ship as a Kryptonian colonization vessel and helped Clark activate it, leaving Clark facing a mysterious figure aboard the ship.

• Ben introduced himself to Clark as a visitor from another universe and demonstrated several Omnitrix transformations.
• Ben scanned Clark’s genes and transformed into a powerful Kryptonian form that could fly.
• Ben told Clark that he was Kryptonian and that the ship could be used to turn Earth into a new home for Kryptonians.
• Ben and Clark used Clark’s pendant to activate the ship, which calmed its security robots.
• Clark spotted a silent figure appear and disappear aboard the ship, and Ben suggested it was a projection or artificial intelligence.

Clark and Ben explored the Kryptonian ship, where Clark rescued Lois and Ben took control of the vessel. Ben moved the ship above another glacier and gave Jor-El partial control so he could explain Krypton’s history to Kal-El.

• Clark and Ben followed a ghostly projection through the ship and found sealed Hibernation Pods containing mummified Kryptonians.
• A defense machine pierced Lois’s abdomen, but Clark crushed it while Ben transformed into Upgrade and repaired it.
• Ben injected Lois with healing medicine and a sedative, then Clark carried her off the ship.
• Ben took control of the Kryptonian ship, freed it from the ice, and moved it above another glacier.
• Jor-El asked Ben to return some control so he could tell Kal-El the truth, and Ben granted him partial authority.

Ben learned that Krypton's signal had reached Zod and his exiled forces, who were heading for Earth, and resolved to build a New Krypton with the Omnitrix. The chapter ended with Ben beginning to train Clark, who successfully flew for the first time.

• Jor-El explained that Krypton's programmed society had made it impossible for him and Lara to abandon their planet, and Clark accepted that he had been sent to Earth to survive Krypton's destruction.
• Ben revealed that someone had answered the ship's signal and was approaching Earth; Jor-El identified Zod and his forces as a threat to humanity and Clark.
• Ben proposed creating a New Krypton, explaining that the Omnitrix had already recorded the Codex, while Jor-El offered the Codex's help.
• Ben decided to defeat Zod and train Clark, sparing the exiles only if they agreed to cooperate.
• Ben taught Clark to use his field to fly, and Clark launched himself into the air with a sonic boom.

Ben trained with Clark and helped him accept that he was both Kryptonian and an Earthling, then took him toward Zod. Zod found the outpost signal and planned to seize Kal-El and the Codex, but Ben boarded his ship and confronted him.

• Ben fought Clark in the sky, then showed him how sunlight strengthened his cells.
• Clark hesitated over whether he belonged to Krypton or Earth, and Ben told him he was both; Clark agreed to keep any fight with Zod away from Earth.
• Zod’s group detected an activated Kryptonian outpost and concluded that Kal-El had found it.
• Zod ordered his forces to find Kal-El and obtain the Codex, planning to make him cooperate if necessary.
• Ben attached himself to Zod’s ship, took control of it, and demanded that Zod either talk or be beaten first.

Clark and Ben confronted Zod aboard his ship, where Zod revealed his plan to terraform Earth and exterminate humanity to rebuild Krypton. When Clark and Ben refused to help, Zod attacked, but Ben transformed into Solarstorm and overwhelmed him, leaving Zod badly wounded in space.

• Clark arrived aboard Zod's ship and recognized Zod, who welcomed him as a potential leader for Krypton's survivors.
• Zod asked Clark to hand over the Codex so they could terraform Earth, but Clark objected to sacrificing humanity and repeating Krypton's mistakes.
• Ben challenged Zod's plan, and Zod ordered his warriors to attack Clark and Ben.
• Ben transformed into Solarstorm and stopped Faora's attack, while Clark fought off another Kryptonian warrior.
• After a scan identified Ben as a Kryptonian with genes superior to Clark's, Ben hurled Faora into Zod and followed them into space.
• Ben blasted Zod with heat vision, leaving him severely wounded and drifting through space.

Ben defeated Zod and his Kryptonian allies, then helped Clark plan to imprison them in a recreated Phantom Zone. While examining the Zone, Ben discovered that it was connected to a god's consciousness, and Jor-El revealed that Krypton had wizards.

• Ben overwhelmed Zod and Faora, shattered their armor, and joined Clark in capturing the remaining Kryptonians.
• Ben failed to persuade Zod to accept Clark's vision for a new Krypton, so Clark asked to imprison the captives instead of killing them.
• Ben used Upgrade and Grey Matter to combine the ships, design a new Phantom Zone, and give Clark glasses that could disguise his identity.
• Jor-El explained that he had discovered the Phantom Zone, where conscious prisoners could neither age nor interact physically with the universe.
• Ben sensed that the Phantom Zone manifested a god's consciousness, and Jor-El surprised him by suggesting that Krypton had wizards.

Ben imprisoned Zod in the Phantom Zone and prepared to rebuild New Krypton while gathering information about the Mother Boxes and studying Kryptonian technology. Clark returned to Earth, considering how humanity would view him, and remembered Ben telling him he did not need to wait for the world to be ready.

• Jor-El persuaded Zod to send Faora and the other two Kryptonians to witness New Krypton's creation, while Zod accepted imprisonment in the Phantom Zone.
• Ben demonstrated his portable Phantom Zone Projector, and Jor-El sent Zod through its stable passage.
• Ben told Faora that rebuilding New Krypton would have to wait, then decided to seek humanity's and Atlantis's Mother Boxes.
• Ben returned to Earth, had the Kryptonians strengthen themselves under the sun, and studied how Kryptonian armor used fields to boost its wearer's power.
• Ben considered adapting Kryptonian armor for the Plumbers, while Clark returned to Earth to visit Martha.
• Clark remembered Ben telling him not to wait for humanity to be ready and that he could use his power however he wanted.

Ben advised Clark on the burden of choosing whom to save and encouraged him to form a superhero team. Clark named the group the Galactic Plumbers, became its first Security Officer in the DC Universe, and returned home before Ben discovered Ripjaws in Fishermen Country.

• Ben told Clark that he could choose whom to save and suggested preventing disasters by gathering a superhero team and eliminating threats.
• Clark chose the name Galactic Plumbers, and Ben explained its rules and ranks to him.
• Clark became the first Security Officer of the DC Universe and returned to the Kent farm, where Martha welcomed him home.
• In Fishermen Country beneath the sea, a king in golden armor greeted Ripjaws, and Ben delightedly embraced his apparent connection to the Fishermen Kingdom.

Ben stole a Mother Box and traveled to the undersea kingdoms, where Fishermen Kingdom mistook his Ripjaws form for a lost tribesman and tried to arrange his marriage to the princess. Meanwhile, Orm prepared to unite several kingdoms for war against the land-dwellers, dismissing Vulko’s warnings about Clark.

• Ben used Big Chill to steal a Mother Box from Stardust Laboratory, then transformed into Ripjaws and headed underwater to seek another one.
• Ben accidentally entered Fishermen Kingdom, where its king welcomed him as a lost tribesman and proposed that he marry the princess.
• Ben refused the marriage proposal and received a diplomatic travel permit to use the Underwater Bridge.
• Orm rejected Vulko’s plea to honor the ancient covenant and blamed humanity for the conflict between land and sea.
• Orm said he had secured King Nereus’s support by agreeing to marry Mera, and he ordered Vulko to bring her to Atlantis ahead of schedule.
• Vulko warned Orm about Clark Kent’s power, but Orm dismissed the threat and vowed to restore Atlantis’s former glory.

Mera traveled to Atlantis to marry King Orm for the sake of relations between Xebel and Atlantis. Meanwhile, Ben fused Fishermen Kingdom genes into Ripjaws and then visited the Brine Kingdom, where he acquired Orishan genes and recognized his next transformation as Waterhazard.

• Nereus sent Mera to Atlantis to marry Orm, and she accepted her duty despite her misgivings.
• Ben recorded a Fishermen Kingdom citizen's genes and fused them with Ripjaws's, greatly enhancing his strength and swimming abilities.
• Ben tested his improved Ripjaws form in the ocean and headed for the Brine Kingdom to strengthen his underwater powers.
• Ben entered the Brine Kingdom using his diplomatic credentials, obtained its people's genes, and returned to the surface.
• Ben's watch identified the acquired genes as Orishan, and he recognized the transformation as Waterhazard.

Ben tested Waterhazard’s ability to control water, then traveled to Atlantis Kingdom as Ripjaws while the kingdom prepared for Princess Mera’s arrival. Mera spotted Ben at the border checkpoint and found his appearance unusual, though neither knew who the other was.

• Ben transformed into Waterhazard and demonstrated his power by blasting a reef and controlling the surrounding ocean currents.
• Ben tested controlling water inside living creatures, bursting a fish apart and slowly draining all the water from a shark.
• Ben fused Brine Kingdom genes with Waterhazard, strengthening his body and armor, and found that the genes did little to improve Ripjaws.
• Ben learned Atlantis Kingdom had increased its patrols because Princess Mera of Xebel Kingdom was arriving to become King Orm’s fiancée.
• Ben entered Atlantis Kingdom in Ripjaws form, and Mera saw him at the checkpoint and remarked that he looked unusual.

Ben warned Mera that Orm's bracelet contained a tracking device, then revealed his ability to transform into different aquatic beings and overwhelmed her. Mera mistook him for the prophesied ruler who could unite the Seven Seas, but Ben rejected the idea and remained focused on finding the Mother Box.

• Vulko worried that Orm's ambition and hatred of surface dwellers would lead Atlantis into war, while Orm reported that Brine Kingdom had rejected his alliance proposal.
• Orm gave Mera a jeweled bracelet, and Ben appeared in her room to warn her that it contained a Positioning Device.
• Mera attacked Ben with water blades, but he dodged them and transformed into Waterhazard, blasting her aside.
• Mera tried to control the water Ben had released, but her power failed against his, and Ben transformed again into Ripjaws and seized her.
• Mera concluded that Ben possessed the abilities of all seven tribes and asked if he had come to unite the Seven Seas, but Ben denied it.

Ben left Atlantis with Mera, who believed he was destined to rule the Seven Seas, and set out to retrieve the Mother Box. As they neared its location, Ben suggested that Mera could become Atlantis's ruler herself, but she showed no interest.

• Mera broke Orm's bracelet, declared she would leave with Ben, and offered to guide him to the Mother Box.
• Ben chose the Mother Box over the Poseidon Trident, and Mera explained that it was guarded in ancient ruins outside the Seven Kingdoms.
• Ben transformed into Super-Kill and wrapped himself around Mera so she could sneak past the guards; Vulko briefly encountered them without discovering their secret.
• Mera took Ben through Atlantis's security and traveled with him in an underwater submarine toward the Mother Box.
• Mera urged Ben to seek the Poseidon Trident afterward and become king, but Ben asked why she would not rule Atlantis herself; she declined.
• Mera announced that they had reached the area where the Mother Box was stored.

Ben and Mera infiltrated an underwater Atlantean ruin to seize its Mother Box, but Ben openly fought the guards and overwhelmed them. He retrieved the Mother Box and left with Mera, while the guards lay unconscious or injured.

• Mera parked the submarine near the ruins, and Ben transformed into Ripjaws before charging ahead despite her plan to sneak in.
• Ben destroyed the Cruiser Ships and dodged their energy beams, then demanded that the guards hand over the Mother Box.
• The guards recognized Mera, accused her of betraying them, and attacked Ben after she demanded the Mother Box on behalf of the future Aquaman.
• Ben redirected plasma beams with ocean currents, broke the guards’ weapons, and knocked out the remaining warriors with a powerful vortex.
• Ben found the Mother Box inside the ruins, took it with a black trident, and returned to Mera as she treated the injured guards.

Ben and Mera headed for the Dark Sea to find the Poseidon Trident while Orm mobilized Atlantis to pursue them and exploit Mera’s disappearance to gain support for war. As their submarine entered the Trench Kingdom, they switched off its lights to evade the monsters and plunged into the darkness.

• Ben told Mera that the Poseidon Trident was in the Dark Sea, and she reluctantly agreed to go with him despite fearing the Trench Kingdom.
• Orm learned that Mera had escaped and ordered Atlantis to find her quietly, then used the report of her theft of the Mother Box as an excuse to confront the Fishermen Kingdom.
• Arthur visited Thomas Curry, who urged him to join Clark’s Galactic Plumbers, but Arthur doubted Clark’s plans and warned that governments might attack him.
• Ben and Mera spotted Atlantis Cruiser Ships pursuing them and realized the submarine could be tracked because it was registered in Atlantis.
• Mera warned Ben that Trench monsters were drawn to weak light, so they switched off the submarine’s lights and drove into the Dark Sea.

Ben and Mera entered the Dark Sea, where Ben transformed into Heatblast and destroyed the Trench monsters that attacked them. They continued toward the Seabed Whirlpool, and Ben transformed into the giant Sucker Punch to face its force.

• Mera and Ben plunged into the Dark Sea while the pursuing Cruiser Ships turned back and reported to King Orm.
• The Trench monsters overwhelmed their submarine, so Ben transformed into Ripjaws, broke out with Mera, and fought through the attackers.
• Ben changed into Heatblast and used his flames to wipe out the Trench army as Mera watched from behind his protective heat barrier.
• After returning to Ripjaws, Ben and Mera headed for the Seabed Whirlpool, whose powerful current resisted their attempts to control it.
• Ben transformed into Sucker Punch and activated its Super Evolution form, becoming a massive deep-sea creature to confront the whirlpool.

Ben used Sucker Punch’s strength to penetrate the enormous Seabed Whirlpool while protecting Mera, and the pair emerged to find Atlanna. The chapter left Atlanna asking how her sons Orm and Arthur were doing.

• Ben decided to use Little Broken Watch’s random transformation mode and entered the whirlpool as Sucker Punch, shielding Mera inside his tentacles.
• Ben carved through the whirlpool with his Hard Vortex Water Blade and fought the currents as he pushed toward its center.
• Atlanna saw the Trench corpses and surging sea awaken Karathen, then hid as the giant sea monster fed on the bodies.
• Ben and Mera emerged near Atlanna, who pulled Mera away from Ben’s tentacle before learning that it belonged to Ben.
• Atlanna and Mera discussed their political engagements to Orm, and Atlanna asked about Orm and Arthur.

Ben entered Karathen’s cavern with Mera and Atlanna, lifted Poseidon Trident by sheer strength, and gained Karathen’s affection before collecting the Atlantis King’s genes. Outside the Dark Sea, Orm blamed Ben for abducting Mera and persuaded King Xebel to join the pursuit, though Xebel had seen footage showing Mera had gone willingly.

• Atlanna urged Mera to stop Orm’s plans, but Mera refused and Ben chose to retrieve Poseidon Trident instead.
• Ben entered the cavern and pulled Poseidon Trident free along with the Atlantis King’s arm, proving he could lift it through strength alone.
• Karathen confronted Ben, then danced to court him; Mera objected, and Ben collected the Atlantis King’s genes before transforming into Ripjaws and wielding the trident easily.
• Orm surrounded the Dark Sea with his fleet and told King Xebel that Mera had been abducted by a Fishermen Kingdom criminal.
• King Xebel recognized from the footage that Mera had left willingly with Ben, but grew furious that the blond punk had lured away his daughter.

Ben emerged from the Dark Sea with Mera and Atlanna, carrying the Poseidon Trident, and defeated Orm. Nereus recognized Ben as the rightful ruler of the seven kingdoms, while Orm surrendered and was stunned to see his supposedly dead mother alive.

• Nereus and Orm saw thousands of burned Trench corpses drift from the Dark Sea and realized Mera might still be alive.
• Ben appeared with Mera and Atlanna, and Nereus changed his opinion of him after recognizing his strength.
• Orm charged Ben, but Ripjaws stopped his trident with his armor and threw him aside.
• Mera revealed that Ben had the Poseidon Trident, prompting Nereus to turn against Orm and declare Ben the shared king of the seven kingdoms.
• Ben broke Orm's trident, defeated him, and spared him, then revealed Atlanna to his astonished brother.

Ben appointed Orm king of Atlantis and gave him Poseidon Trident, then began rebuilding a Kryptonian scout ship into a device that could cross universes. As Clark’s power became clear after he survived a global nuclear barrage, Bruce decided to approach the Galactic Plumbers, while Barry eagerly looked forward to joining them.

• Ben spared Orm, named him Atlantis’s ruler, and gave him Poseidon Trident as Atlantis joined the Galactic Plumbers.
• Ben showed Mera and Nereus that he could replicate the trident, then returned to the Kryptonian scout ship with Mera and Atlantis’s technological records.
• Ben began modifying the scout ship into a Time and Space Wheel, while Faora waited for him to fulfill his promise to rebuild Krypton.
• Orm reunited Atlantis under his rule, and Atlanna asked Arthur to represent Atlantis as an ambassador to the Galactic Plumbers.
• Clark endured dozens of nuclear weapons in outer space without injury, convincing Bruce that humanity could not defeat him and prompting Bruce to approach him.
• Barry became excited at the prospect of joining the Galactic Plumbers.