Chapter Summaries

Dane Davis was transported to the Rock of Eternity and forcibly made the new Wizard, gaining Shazam’s powers. After the Wizard died, Dane rejected the Seven Deadly Sins, claimed control of the Rock, and began securing it against intruders.

• Dane Davis’s empty subway train carried him to the Rock of Eternity, where Wizard Jebediah named him as his successor.
• Jebediah forced Dane to say “Shazam,” transforming him and granting him the powers of the gods before crumbling away.
• The Seven Deadly Sins tried to tempt Dane, but he struck their Magic Eye with lightning and made them suffer.
• Dane took the Wizard Staff and gained control of the Rock of Eternity.
• Dane dispelled the summoning magic on the cuneiform to prevent Doctor Sivana from reaching the Rock.

Dane secured The Rock of Eternity and traveled to an offshore oil platform, where he helped Clark Kent save the survivors. He brought Clark to his home, revealed that he was a demigod, and told him Krypton had been destroyed.

• Dane sealed the magical entrances to The Rock of Eternity, restricted access, and added safeguards to his Shazam transformation.
• Dane used Solomon's magic to locate Clark Kent and flew to an offshore drilling platform engulfed in flames.
• Dane helped Clark hold up the collapsing platform so the rescue helicopter could evacuate the survivors.
• Dane flew Clark to The Rock of Eternity, gave him clothes and coffee, and introduced himself as Shazam and a demigod.
• Dane identified Clark's birthplace as Krypton and told him that the planet had been destroyed.

Dane warned Clark that Krypton’s destruction and Zod’s coming invasion threatened Earth, then sparred with him in a remote valley to test their strength. Their fight continued as Clark discovered he could fly, and Dane left them both anticipating a difficult battle against Zod’s group.

• Dane told Clark that Krypton had died from resource depletion and warned him that Zod would come to Earth seeking the Codex.
• Dane urged Clark to strengthen his abilities and proposed a sparring match, which Clark accepted.
• Dane led Clark through a portal to an empty valley, where they fought with superhuman strength, speed, heat vision, and divine lightning.
• Clark instinctively learned to fly during the fight, and Dane coached him by charging forward and punching him through the air.
• Clark struck Dane into a crater, then attacked again, but Dane sensed the blow and dodged it.

Dane tested his abilities against Clark, then offered to take him to a hidden Kryptonian ship so he could meet his biological father’s digital consciousness. After meeting Martha Kent, Dane warned Clark to block the ship’s signal before they activated it, while Clark wondered what Dane planned to do next.

• Dane ended his sparring match with Clark after discovering that Zeus’s lightning could hurt him, and he concluded they were roughly evenly matched.
• Dane told Clark that his key held his father’s digital consciousness and that another Kryptonian ship was hidden on Earth; Clark agreed to visit it and invited Dane to his home in Smallville.
• Dane met Martha Kent, introduced himself as Clark’s friend, and used lightning to charge her phone, impressing her.
• Martha left to buy ingredients for a meal, and Dane told Clark to have the ship’s AI block its signal as soon as they inserted the key.
• Clark asked whether Dane planned to keep hiding forever, and Dane nodded before shaking his head.

Dane and Clark planned to form a team of heroes before Earth faced a global disaster, then traveled to the Arctic and discovered Clark’s Kryptonian ship. Jor-El appeared aboard and began teaching Clark about Krypton, leaving Dane and Clark learning about the planet’s history and the World Engine.

• Dane proposed gathering heroes to face disasters together, and Clark agreed to join and help recruit Diana while postponing younger candidates and Batman.
• Dane and Clark flew to Canada and used Clark’s X-Ray Vision and Dane’s Tracking Spell to locate the Kryptonian ship beneath the ice.
• Dane destroyed a hovering mechanical device, and Clark used the key to activate the ship while ordering it to maintain radio silence.
• Clark and Dane followed a projection to the cockpit, where Jor-El identified himself as the consciousness of Clark’s father.
• Jor-El began explaining Krypton’s history and showed Clark a model of the World Engine.

Dane gained permission to study Kryptonian archives while Clark set out for Gotham to contact Batman. After entering the rainy city, Clark stopped at a diner, where a local police officer named Owens approached him.

• Jor-El explained Krypton's civil conflict, population controls, and impending destruction to Clark, then gave him the House of El suit and told him its crest meant hope.
• Dane asked to study the ship's technological archives, and Jor-El authorized the ship's AI to help him access its knowledge.
• Dane invited Clark to join the Justice League and suggested he visit Gotham to meet Batman; Clark agreed to go.
• Dane entered the archives to study while Clark traveled to Gotham and stopped at Pauli's Diner for food.
• Owens, a local police officer, approached Clark and asked whether he was from Gotham.

Clark followed Jason to Joker’s warehouse and rescued him and his mother from the gang, but Joker’s Laughing Gas and bombs left them injured and laughing uncontrollably. Unable to help them, Clark called Dane for assistance.

• Clark overheard Joker threaten Jason’s mother and followed Jason to a heavily guarded warehouse near Arkham.
• Joker revealed that Jason’s mother had exposed his identity, then beat Jason with a crowbar while she begged him to run.
• Clark burst into the warehouse, withstood the gang’s gunfire, protected Jason and his mother, and disabled the gang’s weapons.
• Joker released Laughing Gas and detonated bombs; Clark escaped with Jason and his mother, leaving the rest of the warehouse behind.
• Clark breathed fresh air until he stopped laughing, then called Dane because Jason and his mother were still laughing and their injuries were worsening.

Dane and Clark rescued Jason Todd and his mother from the Joker’s attack, and Cortana treated their injuries aboard the spacecraft. Batman captured the Joker after nearly beating him to death, while Jason woke and learned that Superman and Shazam had saved him.

• Dane sent a spacecraft to Gotham, where Clark brought Jason and his mother aboard for treatment.
• Dane used a spell to remove the Laughing Gas, and Cortana began surgery as he realized the injured boy was Jason Todd.
• Batman pursued the Joker in the Batmobile, wrecked the Joker’s car, and beat him until Commissioner Gordon and the officers intervened.
• After the Joker was taken away, Batman left the scene, and Jason woke in the Medical Pod to find his mother safe.
• Dane introduced Clark as Superman and himself as Shazam to Jason.

After Joker escaped death again, Jason decided he could no longer work with Batman and wanted to go solo. Dane and Clark sheltered him aboard the spaceship, and Dane turned to other plans while Jason recovered.

• Jason learned that Joker had escaped, then watched Batman capture him only for the police to take him away alive.
• Jason concluded that Batman’s no-killing rule would keep letting Joker harm people and decided to become a solo hero.
• Dane and Clark explained their identities and abilities to Jason, who asked Dane to keep Batman from learning he was alive.
• Dane told Jason to recover aboard the spaceship, then left with Clark to discuss their next plans.
• Dane rejected Clark’s suggestion to approach Batman for now, warning that Batman was in a bad mood.

Dane built Pioneer Technology into a major company through Kuaidou, used its success to fund Umbrella, and helped Clark become wealthy while preparing support for the Justice League. Jason, after fighting increasingly dangerous assassins sent after Dane, left to seek training from the League of Assassins and grow stronger.

• Dane launched Kuaidou through Pioneer Technology, exposed companies that hired killers, and used their falling stock prices to expand his business.
• Dane became a billionaire, Clark gained a fortune through his shares, and Dane invested in Umbrella to develop technology and support people harmed by superheroes.
• Dane told Clark that Jason had gone searching for the League of Assassins to pursue greater strength.
• Jason had protected Dane from assassins, including Deadshot, whose bullet struck Dane but failed to injure him.
• Deathstroke defeated Jason in a fight, but Dane rescued Jason and sent Deathstroke flying away.
• Jason realized how far he was from the strength he needed and chose to train toward Batman's level of human ability.

Dane and Clark invited Diana Prince to join the Justice League and met with her at The Rock of Eternity. After Dane revealed the truth about Shazam’s power and the dangers facing Earth, Diana questioned him about the future disasters he described.

• Dane told Clark that preparations for the Justice League’s gathering place were complete and proposed inviting Wonder Woman, who had returned to Washington.
• Dane sent Diana an invitation along with a World War I photograph, and she agreed to meet them at the Smithsonian Museum.
• Diana entered The Rock of Eternity through a magical doorway and recognized Dane as the president of Pioneer Technology.
• Dane explained that Shazam’s power came from a contract with six gods and that he was bound to defend magic and guard humanity.
• Diana tested Dane with the Lasso of Truth and asked whether the disasters he described would really threaten Earth; Dane confirmed they would be severe.

Diana joined Dane and Clark’s team after learning of threats that could endanger Earth, then challenged them to spar. Clark’s match with Diana ended in frustration, and Dane began fighting her instead.

• Dane warned Diana that Parallax, General Zod, and Steppenwolf could threaten Earth and draw Darkseid’s attention, so she joined his team.
• Diana asked to spar, and Dane transformed the surroundings into a colosseum where Clark faced her first.
• Diana’s sword nearly cut Clark, but he knocked her into the stands; they continued sparring until she complained that he was not really fighting.
• Dane mocked Clark, who hurled a boulder at him, and Diana challenged Dane to demonstrate the Justice League’s strength.
• Dane moved Clark to the stands and fought Diana, who welcomed his sudden lightning attack and engaged him in a fierce battle.

Dane and Diana ended their destructive spar, and Dane tried to spur Diana to train harder by warning that Zod might be stronger. Dane, Clark, and Diana then visited Wayne Manor and found Bruce Wayne in the basement, passed out among liquor bottles.

• Diana adapted to Dane's fighting style, but he overpowered her with the Lasso of Truth and a headbutt before they agreed to stop sparring.
• Dane told Diana that Zod was probably stronger and offered to have Umbrella prepare training equipment for her.
• Dane, Clark, and Diana arrived at a neglected Wayne Manor and learned that Bruce was alone inside.
• Clark found Bruce in the basement among empty liquor bottles and lifted him, waking him enough to curse at the visitors.

Dane, Clark, and Diana found Bruce Wayne drowning in drink and tried to recruit him into the Justice League, challenging his methods as Batman. A Scarecrow attack revealed that Gotham’s apparent peace had ended, and the chapter left the city in panic as the police struggled to respond.

• Bruce pretended to be drunk but revealed he had been awake since the Justice League entered his manor.
• Dane exposed how Gotham residents could identify Bruce as Batman and urged him to join the Justice League.
• Dane challenged Bruce’s no-kill rule and blamed him for the harm done to his young partners, while Bruce insisted heroes needed limits.
• A Batcave alarm led Bruce and the others underground, where they watched Scarecrow threaten Gotham after a toxin-induced massacre at Pauli’s Diner.
• Gotham citizens demanded action from the police, but Commissioner Gordon’s department remained compromised and had made no progress finding Scarecrow.

As Gotham collapsed under Scarecrow’s threat, Dane kept the Justice League from intervening while Bruce pursued the matter, then arranged for Jason to return with Damian. Batman answered Gordon’s signal and learned the gangs had united to attack the Coast Guard, leaving Gotham on the brink of ruin.

• Gotham’s decent residents fled as criminals looted the city, while Clark and Wonder Woman watched its order collapse.
• Bruce tracked Scarecrow with Oracle’s help, and Barbara refused to leave Gotham despite her father’s warning.
• Dane told Clark he had contacted Jason, who was returning with Damian, Bruce’s son, and Dane offered to prepare equipment for both.
• Batman left Wayne Manor to answer Gordon’s Bat-Signal, while Dane stayed behind with Clark and Diana.
• Gordon told Batman that nearly half of Gotham’s residents had evacuated and that gangs had wiped out a Coast Guard unit at the harbor.
• Batman asked Gordon how the evacuation was going.

Jason returned to Gotham with Damian and received a nanotech suit from Dane, then hunted Scarecrow’s forces in Chinatown. After Jason left a trail of dead soldiers and erased surveillance footage, Batman realized another force had entered the crisis.

• Gordon told Batman that an unidentified military vehicle had entered Chinatown, and Batman left to investigate after promising to stop Scarecrow.
• Dane teleported Jason and Damian to Gotham, then sent Damian flying through a magic portal as punishment for his arrogance.
• Dane gave Jason a futuristic nanotech suit equipped with weapons, near-limitless ammunition, and a Cortana AI, and Jason set off for Gotham.
• Jason intercepted an armed transport in Chinatown, destroyed it with a makeshift RPG, and forced a soldier to reveal that Scarecrow was on an apartment building’s top floor.
• Jason killed the wounded soldier and found a syringe containing Scarecrow’s new chemical, while Batman later discovered dead soldiers and learned that nearby surveillance footage was missing.

Dane sent Damian to protect Barbara Gordon while Jason slaughtered private military forces and fought Batman. Jason escaped after Batman’s flashbang failed to stop him, leaving Batman certain his opponent knew him well.

• Dane revealed that Damian had come to find his father, Batman, and assigned him to protect Barbara Gordon.
• Dane gave Damian a ninja-style suit equipped with enhanced abilities, weapons, and a powerful shield, then sent him through a Portal to Barbara.
• Jason killed the private military forces’ fighters and declared himself the Arkham Knight when Batman confronted him.
• Jason accused Batman of hypocrisy and fought him, using League of Assassins training and suit technology to counter Batman’s tactics.
• Batman’s flashbang failed to blind Jason, who escaped using black cords, leaving Batman wondering who the Arkham Knight was.

Jason tracked Scarecrow to the ACE Chemical Plant, where he learned Scarecrow intended to expose Batman’s identity and destroy the symbol of Batman. Jason rejected Scarecrow’s offer to join forces and shot him, leaving Scarecrow wounded on the ground.

• Jason killed Poison Ivy’s guard, threatened her into revealing that Gotham’s villains had allied against Batman, and sent her through a Portal to Dane for help developing a gas neutralizer.
• Jason hijacked satellite signals and located Scarecrow’s gas production operation at the ACE Chemical Plant.
• Jason infiltrated the plant, learned Scarecrow had nearly finished making Fear Gas and was preparing bombs to spread it, then found him in the Central Mixing Chamber.
• Scarecrow revealed that Joker had told the villains Jason was alive and that Riddler had identified him, then invited Jason to join their plan to expose Bruce Wayne as Batman.
• Jason rejected Scarecrow’s offer and shot him through the lung.

Jason killed Scarecrow and disarmed the bomb, while Damian rescued Barbara and brought her to Wayne Manor. Dane sent Clark to rescue Batman and Diana to stop Scarecrow’s Fear Gas plan, leaving Barbara and Damian stunned by the heroes’ powers.

• Jason shot Scarecrow, hacked the central computer, and disarmed the bomb.
• Damian killed the mercenaries attacking Barbara at Clock Tower Base, confiscated her communicator, and teleported with her to Wayne Manor.
• Dane introduced Damian as Bruce Wayne’s son and explained his identities as Dane Davis and Shazam.
• Alfred revealed that Batman had gone alone to Penguin’s Northern Ice Plant after losing contact with Barbara.
• Dane sent Clark to rescue Batman and gave Diana a neutralizing agent to use against the Project Rain device at Simon Stark’s company.
• Clark flew out through the window, and Diana revealed her armor and prepared to fly to her assignment.

Dane coordinated the response to Scarecrow’s attack while Wonder Woman tried to stop Project Rain, a device intended to spread poison gas across Gotham. When the machine activated, Dane hinted at a high-profile backup plan as the gas began spreading through the city.

• Dane sent Jason to Arkham Asylum to stop anyone exploiting the chaos and kill Joker, while Superman arrived to save Batman and Nightwing from armed mercenaries.
• Dane took command from the Batcave, released Poison Ivy, and used Kryptonian technology to access Wayne Enterprises’ satellites and locate Project Rain.
• Wonder Woman installed a neutralizing capsule in Project Rain, but Mr. Freeze ambushed her and damaged the machine before she could stop its activation.
• Poison Ivy offered to sacrifice her life by using an ancient plant beneath Gotham to make enough neutralizer, but Dane said it was not yet necessary.
• Project Rain activated and released poison gas that could seep through skin, and Dane prepared to use his high-profile backup plan.