Chapter Summaries

Dane defeated Ares, drained his divine power, sealed his soul, and claimed his axe. After the Justice League regrouped, Diana revealed that Hades had led an army to Hell, and the team agreed to follow and finish the conflict.

• Dane seized Ares and fought him until Ares’s injured soul left him unable to resist.
• Dane drained Ares’s divine power, sealed his soul, fused Ares’s Violence into Shazam’s power, and claimed Ares’s Axe.
• The Justice League left Persephone behind and caught up with Dane, finding Ares transformed into a stone statue.
• Diana told Dane that Hades had gone to war against Hell, and she insisted on joining the pursuit.
• Clark, Hal, Barry, and Diana agreed to accompany Dane to Hell and end the conflict.

Dane returned to Hell and learned that Hades had spent nearly thirty days conquering it while fighting gods from several pantheons. He gathered the remaining demons and the Justice League for a sneak attack, while the gods’ chaotic battle continued with Hades claiming Hell as his territory.

• Dane contacted Aini, learned that Hades had invaded Hell and that gods from the Light World were resisting him, then teleported the Justice League to Aini and Belial’s camp.
• Dane explained that Aini and Belial worked for him under contract and showed the League Hell’s modernized command center and real-time battlefield simulation.
• Belial identified Norse, Egyptian, and Far Eastern gods among the invaders and explained that Hell’s weakened leadership had allowed many Hell Lords to surrender.
• Dane decided to launch a sneak attack, rallied the demons by cursing Lucifer and the gods, and led them and the Justice League through a spatial passage to the battlefield.
• Hades blocked Thor’s hammer with his bident and claimed Hell as his territory while the gods’ battle remained chaotic.

Hades used the Helmet of Nabu’s metal to overpower the gods surrounding him, while Odin and Thor were ambushed by Egyptian gods and other pantheons joined the battle. Dane arrived with his allies and charged into the gods’ battlefield, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Hades used the Helmet of Nabu to coat his bident in Ninth Metal and broke Gungnir, then wounded Odin.
• Osiris ambushed Odin, while Set attacked Thor and the Egyptian brothers revealed their alliance with Hades.
• Hades told Loki that he had allied with other pantheons, and Loki considered the offer of a share in Hell.
• Enlil and Marduk unleashed a storm over the battlefield as gods from several pantheons arrived to join the fighting.
• Dane ordered Aini, Belial, Diana, Clark, and Hal to attack, warned Barry to stay alive, and charged at the gods with a battle axe.

Dane fought the gods invading Hell, defeating Odin and killing Susanoo after Susanoo switched sides. Once the gods recognized Dane as Shazam, Hades urged them to keep fighting and Marduk asked how they would divide Hell if they killed him.

• Dane struck Loki and joined the battle as Diana, Clark, Hal, and Barry charged the demon army, with Barry using his speed to generate electricity against the demons.
• Odin healed his wound and restored Gungnir, but Dane met the spear with his axe and then wounded Odin with a powerful attack that Thor failed to stop.
• Susanoo stabbed Loki, pledged allegiance to Dane, and was immediately beheaded by Dane, who absorbed his divine power and soul with the Wizard Staff.
• The gods recognized Dane as Shazam and, despite knowing the prophecy about his unpredictable Destiny, continued fighting rather than surrendering.
• Hades urged the assembled gods to join forces and kill Dane, and Marduk asked how they would divide Hell afterward.

Dane fought Hades and the allied gods in Hell after killing Anubis, while the Justice League battled the Kryptonian forces. The chapter left Dane outnumbered and Clark discovering that the Kryptonians’ armor channeled solar energy before it shattered in his hands.

• Hades and the other gods attacked Dane, who killed Anubis and absorbed his Power of Death.
• Set trapped Dane in a sandstorm while other gods disrupted his attempts to summon thunder, but Dane fought back against Ahriman and Nuada.
• Dane and Hades clashed in a destructive battle, and Hades ordered the gods to attack together when he saw Dane holding his own.
• The gods overwhelmed Dane, while Kryptonians blocked the Justice League from reaching him.
• Diana found a sun-like magical rune inside Kryptonian armor, and Clark realized it channeled solar power before the armor suddenly shattered.

Dane awakened Nabu during his battle with Hades and used the enchanted battle axe to devastate the battlefield, leaving Hades gravely wounded. Hades then summoned the Egyptian Underworld, where Atum’s sunlight appeared through its gates.

• Faora joined the battle in Hell, helping the Justice League fight Hades’s Kryptonian soldiers, while Cortana gave Clark a suit that absorbed solar energy.
• Dane defeated Ahriman, but Nuada wounded him with the Sword of Light after Hades used magic to hide the danger from him.
• Dane struck Ares’s battle axe against Hades’s bident at a specific frequency, awakening Nabu, who enchanted the axe.
• Dane’s axe strike destroyed Nuada and Osiris, maimed Hades, and swept away demons and Kryptonian soldiers, carving a vast canyon through Hell.
• Hades claimed Dane’s divine power was nearly exhausted and summoned a stone gate to the Egyptian Underworld, where sunlight from Atum shone through.

After Aten stripped Dane of Shazam’s power, Dane accepted the Seven Deadly Sins and transformed into a colossal demon god. He killed Hades, devoured Atum, and began absorbing the fleeing gods as the chapter ended with others charging at him.

• Aten’s heat scorched the battlefield, and he tried to reclaim Dane’s Egyptian divine power, forcing Shazam’s power into dormancy and leaving Dane in human form.
• Dane opened the demonic eye on his chest and accepted the Seven Deadly Sins, while Barry saw the transformation begin from within the Speed Force.
• Dane emerged as a three-kilometer-tall giant, crushed Hades in his palm, and absorbed his divine power and soul.
• Dane seized Atum and bit into the sun god, while Hal and Diana called out to him without getting a response.
• Enlil, Marduk, Thor, Ahriman, Set, and other gods fled, but Dane crushed Set and another god underfoot and absorbed them as some gods turned to attack him.

Dane devoured the gods and became Hell’s ruler, while the Seven Deadly Sins joined with his body to form Hell’s new demon god. Diana and Faora pursued him as he remained dormant in his mindscape, guarded by the Sins and the moon ring.

• Dane killed and devoured Thor, Enlil, Marduk, and Atum, ushering in the Age of Darkness and becoming the Calamity God and Lord of Hell.
• Hal tried to reach Dane but was struck unconscious; Kid Flash activated the Green Lantern ring’s healing function while Clark stayed to protect Hal.
• Diana and Faora flew after Dane, while Clark remained with Hal and Barry.
• In Dane’s mindscape, Cortana tried to awaken him, but the Seven Deadly Sins appeared and stopped her.
• The Seven Deadly Sins merged with Dane and accepted Hell’s rule, becoming its new Satan and chief god, though the divine spark’s true holder was Dane.

Dane awakened from his divided state, defeated the Seven Deadly Sins’ attempt to control him, and returned as the Demon God of Calamity. He then proposed turning Hell into a home for a renewed Kryptonian civilization, with Diana and Faora considering the plan.

• Cortana used the silver coin from The Phantom Stranger to fill the moon ring in Dane’s mindscape with light, awakening him.
• Diana struck her bracelets with Nabu’s Ninth Metal battle axe, sending a sound through the giant’s ear that helped Dane awaken.
• Dane reunited his good and evil natures, sealed the Seven Deadly Sins in his demonic eye, and returned to his normal size before embracing Diana.
• Faora arrived and reminded Dane that he had promised to help rebuild Kryptonian civilization; Dane told Diana that Faora now worked for him.
• Dane proposed Hell as the Kryptonians’ new home, and Faora judged its geothermal resources and atmosphere promising despite its demons and harsh conditions.
• Dane promised to confine the demons and suggested that Kryptonians could eventually help govern Hell, with magic bringing sunlight into the realm.

Dane took control of Hell and returned with Diana and Faora, then explained the change to the Justice League and proposed using Hell as a prison for dangerous criminals. After the group left, Aini and Belial discovered Hell had a new master and Dane punished them for cursing him.

• Dane agreed with Faora that they would bring the World Engine into Hell and recruit surviving Kryptonian soldiers to help build a new Kryptonian civilization.
• Dane returned to his normal appearance, recharged Hal's Green Lantern ring, and watched Hal recover before letting him vent his anger with a few punches.
• Dane told Clark, Hal, Barry, Diana, and Faora that he had taken over Hell and assured them that his agreement with Heaven limited his Demon God form to Hell.
• Dane proposed building a Hell prison for dangerous criminals, and Clark and Hal supported the idea after learning Hades was no longer a threat.
• Dane led the group back to the real world, leaving Aini and Belial in Hell to manage things for him.
• Aini and Belial emerged from hiding and cursed their new master, so Dane spoke into their minds and inflicted intense pain on them.

Dane ordered Belial and Aini to gather Hell’s surviving demons and spread his rule, then returned with the others to find Earth’s political tensions and crime worsening after the God War. The Justice League welcomed Barry as a member, and Dane offered to help free Barry’s wrongfully imprisoned father.

• Dane used his control over souls to make Belial and Aini obey his orders to relocate Hell’s demons and kill anyone there who refused to believe in him.
• Dane returned with Clark, Faora, and the others to Justice Hall, where Batman described how Ares’s actions had worsened tensions between Russia and the United States and fueled crime.
• Dane proposed turning Hell into an unbreakable prison for dangerous superhumans, but the Justice League did not approve the plan because of public and humanitarian concerns.
• The Justice League unanimously approved Barry Allen’s membership, and Dane revealed Shazam’s identity and offered to cover Barry’s university expenses.
• Dane asked Barry to bring his father’s trial files and evidence so Pioneer Technology’s legal and technical teams could review the case.

Dane helped Barry pursue a way to clear his father’s name, then freed Nabu after learning that pure Nth Metal might be found in the Anti-Matter Universe. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor’s Canadian mining operation uncovered an ancient alien spacecraft, leaving him poised to investigate it.

• Dane promised Barry that he could restore the surveillance footage that might prove his father’s innocence, and Barry left to gather the case files.
• Dane suppressed Nabu when the spirit resisted staying with him, then agreed to return the helmet in exchange for information about Nth Metal.
• Nabu told Dane that Earth had no pure Nth Metal left, but that some might remain in the Anti-Matter Universe, and Dane released him to Kent Nelson.
• LexCorp’s Apple Core Project uncovered a large artificial object beneath a Canadian mine, and Dr. Murphy identified it as a possible alien spaceship.
• Mercy informed Lex Luthor that the project had reached its target, and Luthor watched footage showing the ancient black ship.

Lex Luthor watched a monster escape from an ancient alien ship and massacre everyone around a Canadian mine, then ordered Mercy to conceal LexCorp’s involvement from the Justice League. In Metropolis, Clark refused to reveal his identity to Lois, who left him, while the monster continued killing across Canada.

• Luthor watched an alien projection issue a warning before a three-meter monster burst from the ship and slaughtered the mine workers and armed responders.
• The monster destroyed the surveillance camera after seeming to look directly at Luthor, who concluded that the aliens had imprisoned it because they could not kill it.
• Luthor ordered Mercy to erase LexCorp’s traces and warned that Superman and Shazam must not discover the company’s involvement.
• Lois questioned Clark about his disappearances and his connection to Superman, but Clark stayed silent because he feared the consequences for the Justice League.
• Lois asked Clark to separate for a while and left, while Clark remained alone in grief.
• The monster continued killing every living thing it encountered in Canada, leaving countless corpses.

LexCorp concealed the aftermath of Doomsday’s emergence in Canada, but Dane learned the monster was heading for the United States and summoned the Justice League to act together. Doomsday reached St. Roch, where Hawkman and Doctor Fate failed to stop him, and he turned his attention back to Hawkman.

• Anatoli Knyazev ordered LexCorp’s forces to remove the Kryptonian ship, burn the mine’s remains, and collapse the mountain after Doomsday fled south toward the United States.
• Cortana showed Dane footage of Doomsday emerging from the ship, and Dane identified the creature and ordered Clark and the Justice League to respond together.
• Doomsday rampaged across Canada and entered the United States at St. Roch, where Kent put on the helmet and joined Hawkman as Doctor Fate.
• Doctor Fate and Hawkman confronted Doomsday, but he tore off Hawkman’s wings and shrugged off their attacks.
• Doctor Fate teleported away when Doomsday pinned him down, leaving Doomsday to turn toward Hawkman.

Dane and the Justice League returned to St. Roch and fought Doomsday, who rapidly adapted to attacks and absorbed their energy. The battle continued as the heroes struggled to restrain him, with the Martian Manhunter warning Arthur not to use energy attacks.

• Doomsday defeated Hawkman and Doctor Fate, burying them beneath a collapsing building as civilians spread footage and called for the Justice League.
• Dane arrived with the Justice League, moved nearby civilians to safety with the Dream Realm, and joined the fight against Doomsday.
• Hal restrained Doomsday with a green jackhammer and bindings, but Doomsday broke free and sent him flying.
• Barry used Hawkman's war hammer to strike Doomsday, but Doomsday adapted to his speed and tripped him before Dane intervened.
• Dane, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Martian Manhunter attacked Doomsday, but he recovered from severe wounds and absorbed Dane's power.
• Arthur lifted Doomsday with water and struck him with magical lightning, while the Martian Manhunter warned Arthur that Doomsday could absorb energy attacks.

Dane and Clark fought Doomsday, who adapted to their attacks and became stronger after surviving a crash into Earth. Dane killed Doomsday with Kiss of Death and Kryptonite, while Lois Lane realized Clark knew her name and began to suspect he was Superman.

• Doomsday overwhelmed Martian Manhunter and Arthur, while Batman and Red Hood tried to exploit his suspected Kryptonian weakness with a Kryptonite bullet.
• Dane and Superman launched Doomsday into the ground, but Doomsday survived, evolved, learned to fly, and headed for the sun.
• Dane pursued Doomsday and restrained him as Superman attacked, but Doomsday had grown resistant to their blows and magical energy.
• Dane used Kryptonite radiation to weaken Doomsday, then stabbed him through the heart with Kiss of Death, killing him.
• Clark warned Lois Lane to flee and accidentally revealed that he knew her name, leaving her to question how he knew it.

While Dane arranged for Doomsday’s body to be recovered and Luthor pursued ways to study it, Steppenwolf attacked the Amazons on Themyscira and seized their Mother Box. He escaped through a Boom Tube, leaving Hippolyta exhausted and the Amazon army devastated.

• Lois recognized Clark as Superman and fled, prompting Clark to chase after her while Dane ordered Cortana to recover every cell of Doomsday’s body.
• Luthor asked Mercy about the Cadmus Project and directed LexCorp to search Doomsday’s prison ship for surviving tissue.
• Dane told Cortana to monitor Luthor’s secret experiments.
• Steppenwolf and his Parademons attacked the Amazons guarding the Mother Box, and Hippolyta led the defense.
• Hippolyta tried to escape with the Mother Box, but Steppenwolf fought off her resistance and captured it.
• Steppenwolf withdrew through a Boom Tube with the Mother Box and his Parademons, while the exhausted Hippolyta asked about the box.

After Steppenwolf stole the Amazon and Atlantean Mother Boxes, Dane and the Justice League discovered that the final box was with Victor Stone and tried to recruit him. When the box began sending a signal, Dane, Diana, and Arthur teleported to Victor’s home and found him surrounded by Parademons.

• Hippolyta ordered the Amazons to light the ancient warning beacon after Steppenwolf stole their Mother Box, while Steppenwolf also took Atlantis’s box without resistance.
• Arthur learned from Atlanna what the Mother Boxes were and went to Justice Hall to warn Dane and Diana that Atlantis’s box was missing.
• Dane identified Steppenwolf as the thief and sent Cortana to locate the remaining Mother Box at Star Labs, where she found it had been taken home by Silas Stone.
• Dane and the others watched footage revealing that the Mother Box had transformed Silas’s son Victor into Cyborg, and Victor contacted them through the network.
• Victor told the Justice League that the Mother Box was acting strangely and sending a signal, but the connection cut off before Dane could warn him.
• Dane, Diana, and Arthur teleported to Victor’s home and found him fighting a group of Parademons with his White Noise Cannons.

Dane defeated a newly armored Doomsday and learned that Steppenwolf had taken the final Mother Box. Steppenwolf contacted Desaad at an Arctic base and vowed to unite the Mother Boxes, while Dane warned the Justice League that Darkseid might be drawn to Earth.

• Diana and Arthur fought the Parademons while Dane spotted Steppenwolf, but a new Doomsday rammed Dane and Steppenwolf escaped through a Boom Tube.
• Dane sealed the block inside a dreamscape and battled Doomsday, discovering that its armor resisted Death's Kiss and dispersed the force of his axe blows.
• Dane found the armor's limit, split Doomsday in half, then decapitated it to stop it from regenerating.
• Dane told Diana, Arthur, and Victor that this was a second Doomsday, and Cortana collected its remains before Dane restored the street.
• Dane learned that Steppenwolf had taken the final Mother Box and warned the others that Darkseid might have been drawn out.
• At an Arctic research base, Steppenwolf contacted Desaad, who reminded him that he owed Darkseid fifty thousand worlds before his plea would be heard.

Steppenwolf discovered that the Anti-Life Equation was on Earth and recruited Lex Luthor to help power the Mother Boxes while hiding from the Justice League. After Luthor agreed to hear his proposal, Cortana detected an electronic iron curtain blocking access across the digital world.

• Steppenwolf used the Mother Boxes to discover the Anti-Life Equation on Earth and considered keeping the discovery from Darkseid so he could claim power for himself.
• Steppenwolf decided to seek energy and concealment from Lex Luthor, then invaded Luthor's Gotham laboratory with Parademons and killed several mercenaries.
• Luthor surrendered and listened as Steppenwolf offered to help decipher Kryptonian technology in exchange for assistance powering the Mother Boxes.
• Steppenwolf warned Luthor that the Justice League was monitoring his systems and offered Mother Box technology to upgrade his defenses.
• At Justice Hall in Kandahar, Cortana told Dane that an unknown force had blocked her access to all servers, cloaking the digital world like an iron curtain.